Tomb Raider: Legend

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Tomb Raider: Legend

Platform: PS2 Also On:  PC  |  Xbox  |  PSP

Publisher: Eidos  Developer: Crystal Dynamics

ESRB Rating: Rating Pending  Genre: Action

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by Jeremy Parish 01/30/2006
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It\'s been ten years since Lara Croft debuted in the original Tomb Raider, which means that by my count it\'s been ten years since she was last in a good game. Many still swear by Tomb Raider II, but all the floating islands and terrible combat versus other humans (as they wandered aimlessly while Lara pumped bullet after bullet into them) led Ms. Croft from her real strengths: Taking the concepts of Prince of Persia into 3D with style.

While Core Designs was floundering with mediocre TR sequels, Ubisoft went and raised the bar for the genre; the recent Prince of Persia games have ranged from good to exceptional and have completely left all the series\' imitators in the dust. That poses a steep challenge for Lara\'s new stewards at Crystal Dynamics: Not only does Tomb Raider Legend have to revitalize a crumbling franchise, it also needs to exceed what the competition has managed to achieve in the past decade. Which is why the demo that landed in our office last week was met with no small amount of curiosity and anticipation. Everyone gathered around to see if, after all the hype and all the skepticism, Crystal could pull it off.

If the demo is any indication of the final game, the answer would seem to be a resounding yes.

Not only is Legend the first time Tomb Raider has felt fresh in the better part of a decade, it also gives Ubi\'s Prince a run for his money. As before, Lara runs, jumps, shoots and solves puzzles. But now she\'s much more agile, moves far more fluidly, climbs poles and makes dazzling leaps, edges along the sides of cliffs and more. But make no mistake; this is still Tomb Raider through and through. While God of War took the Prince of Persia dynamic in an extremely action-oriented direction, Legend goes the other way; the pace is slower and far more methodical, and the acrobatics are far more realistic in nature; Lara isn\'t a time-bending superhero or the embodiment of vengeance, just an ass-kicking archaeologist. Significantly, Angel of Darkness\' stealth kills appear to have been dropped, along with melee combat, in favor of good old-fashioned gunplay.

Fortunately, there\'s much, much more to shootouts than in previous Raider titles. It\'s not simply a matter of drawing your weapons and letting Lara auto-target while making her angry face anymore. Targeting closely resembles San Andreas\' (though combat is far, far more natural and comfortable than GTA has ever dared dream), with a strong lock-on possible at middle ranges and a weaker, less accurate lock-on possible from a greater distance.

You can also skip targeting altogether in favor of manual fire -- simply press R3 and the camera viewpoint switches to a Resident Evil 4 over-the-shoulder perspective with a targeting reticule. This mode is helpful (especially from a distance) since it allows precise aiming -- and it allows you to fire at targets which aren\'t enemies. Since your enemies are fairly intelligent, working together to flank Lara\'s position and making use of available cover, it\'s important to use the environment against them. Not only can you shoot away cover (a technique enemies can also employ against Lara, so be careful), you can also cause weakened structures to come toppling down on their heads.

Despite the vastly refined control scheme, much of what makes Legend feel so fresh and new is its seeming return to the principles of the original game. The demo begins in the outskirts of an abandoned temple high in the mountains and gradually moves into its interior; the process of moving from beginning to end involves lots and lots of puzzle-solving and shimmying along sheer cliff faces. It all feels very fluid, a first for the series: Not only is Lara animated well, she also moves naturally. When dragging a block or box, you\'re not limited to moving in cardinal directions but instead can pull or push it freely in all directions. The game world is no longer divided into a grid, and lining up jumps is no longer a matter of backing up, taking five running steps and pressing jump half a block before the edge.

Lara\'s animations aren\'t simply window-dressing, either; they provide helpful contextual clues about what needs to be done next. When dangling from a ledge, Lara will turn her head to look at the next place to jump; when hanging near a gap, she\'ll lean her body toward the nearest ledge and slowly sway in that direction. Jumping while she\'s at the farthest extreme of her sway adds a little extra momentum to the leap. She looks, moves and sounds a bit different these days, but it\'s all for the best.

There are some significant changes to the gameplay as well. As if to further prove that no game is safe from Halo\'s influence, Lara can carry only two guns at a time: Her trusty infinite-ammo dual pistols, and whatever she can score from the bodies of fallen foes. Likewise, ammo is what Solid Snake would refer to as \"OSP\" (on-site procurement). Also, Lara\'s headset is constantly buzzing with chatter from her command center -- a pair of men pretending to be Cortana. Their banter helps ease the learning curve, but does detract significantly from the sense of isolation and mystery that made the original game so compelling. With luck, their nattering presence is merely temporary.

Lara\'s in-game information is managed via a menu dressed up as a PDA, but you don\'t have to go to a menu screen to perform common tasks as many actions have been mapped to the D-Pad. Tap up to use a health kit, or down to change weapons. The interface has been very thoughtfully designed -- every button is used for a distinct function, and Lara has extensive abilities for both combat, including targeting and crouching, and exploration - she can climb, crawl and even use a grappling hook to reach new areas, swing past traps and even open inaccessible doors. In fact, the magnetic grapple has been given its own dedicated button on the controller, which suggests it will play a significant role throughout the adventure.

Based on this one-hour demo, Tomb Raider Legend looks great (even on the humble PS2), and it plays extraordinarily well. Unless something goes horribly wrong with the final version of the game, this will absolutely be the follow-up that fans have been waiting for since the original. For now, be sure to check out our fresh new footage and join us in looking forward to the game\'s April release date....