In this segment I will be reviewing games that I have personally played and beaten. I will look fairly at the pros and cons of each game that I review. Starting with our first review…. Tomb Raider Legend!

Look at those guns.

Tomb Raider Legend is about Lara Croft’s search to find her mother who went missing when their plane crashed and they stumbled upon an ancient sword. Her mother curiously touched the sword which activated a sort of other dimension that took Lara’s mother. Ever since then Lara has been… raiding tombs, if you will… to find any clues and other such items to help her find her mother and make sense of the whole situation.

The story does a decent job of flowing and actually having each locale that you visit make sense and fit into the story. They’re not added just to see Lara in as many different settings as they can to mix up the gameplay. You will start off in a jungle and then move to the ever present tombs and then travel from the rooftops of a busy city to the cold icy landscapes of a tundra and everything in between. Small touches like having Lara actually change outfits depending on where she will be are appreciated because even though her brown shorts and green tank are a classic, it wouldn’t be realistic for her to be running around in the snow like that.

Cold cold tundra

The combat is easy to master with Lara able to hold two guns at a time, as well as grenades. One set of guns are her dual pistols with unlimited ammo (ala Devil May Cry) and her second weapon is whatever you pick up from fallen enemies. Grenades, which can also be picked up from enemies as well, will emit a low beeping and small red light when thrown at you by enemies, and if you’re not paying close attention, you will, without a doubt, get your face blown off. There were many times when I couldn’t pin point where the grenade was, or if an enemy had even thrown one, which could have been fixed a bit in the final product.

The voice acting is generally good with Lara’s being the best out of all of them. This actress has voiced Lara in all of the recent games and is a voice, when you hear it, you know it is Lara. The graphics are sort of tough to review. I am reviewing the Xbox360 version but the game orignally came out on the Playstation 2. So what you get here isn’t jaw dropping. They are very good graphics, dont get me wrong, and they did upgrade the textures and add various shadows and light effects that couldn’t be achieved on the previous gen’s hardware. In the end what you get, though, is in no way bad, but in no way amazing, either. They do their job and sometimes look better than average… until you see some of the human characters. Not sure what happened there.

All dressed up.....for killing.

The game also breaks from the search and gun levels with a couple stages of Lara riding a motorcycle through the desert after a train or through the snow. These levels don’t look like a lot of time was put into them as there aren’t really any obstructions to get in your way other than a stray tree or rock. You shoot enemies while you drive and there are plenty of health packs scattered around the road so you shouldn’t have a problem finishing these levels without dying. So, although they aren’t anything special, it is a nice break from searching around dark tombs with nothing but your flashlight.

The puzzles in the game are on the easier side compared to some of the other games in the series. There weren’t any moments in the game that had me tearing my hair out wondering ‘Where do I go and what do I do?!”
Most of the puzzles involve Lara swinging from poles and traversing ledges and jumping from various rock structures. After a while you begin to see the same things crop up, hanging ropes, cracked ledges, a shiny box, etc..

One of the easier puzzles.

Tomb Raider Legend focuses a bit more on the action part than any of the other games in the series, and can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. It is very possible to sit down and beat the game in one day if you tried. Even with this relatively short runtime, it is a fun game and worth a rent.
So, if you are a fan of Tomb Raider or are looking for one of the games in the series to maybe start off with, this one is a fine choice. It isn’t tough, it is fairly short, and has enough fun and interesting moments to keep you playing.

LIQUID GRADE = B