Let The Games Begin! Tomb Raider: The Adventures of Lara Croft
Written: Jun 14 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: puzzle-solving aspect, unparalled art direction and design, intriguing, good music. Lasts longer most games.
Cons: Some maneuvers too difficult for some people.
The Bottom Line: I haven't played that many games, but I've played enough of them to realize the Tomb Raider series is heads and tails above the rest.
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| BillTK's Full Review: Tomb Raider for PlayStation 1 |
Angelina Jolie sure has her work cut out for her. Not since Lynda Carter filled out Wonder Woman’s ensemble, or Alicia Silverstone squeezed into Batgirl's tights has an actress had as adventurously daunting a task as Ms. Jolie will have tomorrow fulfilling our expectations of Lara Croft. After sampling and enjoying many other Playstation and Sega Genesis games, the Tomb Raider series still stands out as the most exciting and intriguing of them all. It has scares: I remember the first time we all played it, and my sister and I heard the mysterious heavy earth-shaking THUMP THUMP THUMP of what we soon encountered was a Tyrannosaurus Rex! It was the last thing we expected in a game that up to that point had featured the more mundane bats and wolves and such. The timing and geographical design of when and where the humongous dinosaur revealed itself gave us a wonderfully alarming jolt! We may have even yelled. Well not me, but the girls. Really. No really. I might have gasped. Or something.
Anyway it’s also got the shooting aspect that a lot of gamers favor. Along with the running around and figuring things out, you do also shoot things. And what’s nice is the fact that if Lara uses her pistols she’s got unlimited ammo. But if you want the heavier artillery, such as an Uzi or shotgun, or other big guns, then you’ll have to take on a min set of careful conservation. You acquire this arsenal as you progress through the levels and come upon them lying around sometimes in obvious sight, but sometimes cleverly hidden behind trees, or up on ledges, or in so many other clever ways of concealing them.
Sometimes the hidden stash of goodies is so clever that if you do discover them, the tell-tale chime of a “secret” is heard. Levels in general have about 3 or 4 secrets. It’s not just artillery you pick up either—health packs are an essential item as Lara’s Health Line progressively decreases as she takes hits from guns or damage from creatures or falls from a certain height along the way.
But what truly sets this game series apart from most I’ve played is the puzzle-solving aspect of the game. You are nearly always faced with some sort of logic obstacle that you must solve in order to proceed further into the mysterious world’s Lara finds herself in. Perhaps you need to find all the gears to a contraption that turns out to be a wheel that you turn in order to open a flood gate, or maybe you need to open doors in a certain order to gain access to another room, but whatever it is, this concept provides the base goal for the player to keep in mind instead of it being a mere shoot-em-up with no intelligence necessary.
The other thing that raises the sophistication of this game above others is the astonishingly creative thought and brain power given over to designing the look of the places Lara meanders around in. There’s great variety to each level Lara advances as opposed to one look for the entire game. When I think about the lack of variety in the appearance that other games settle on, I’m amazed that the makers (Eidos) are able to compact so much information on the Tomb Raider discs. How do they manage? Or do other game-makers just not put in the expense and concern? In any event, it helps keep you eager to see the next level that Lara advances to. Will it be as mysterious and dank as the caves that open the games? Has majestic as the Palace Midas? As thrilling and unpredictable as The Lost World?
Then there’s Lara herself. As it has been pointed out to me she’s a fairly cleverly designed character. Her terrific sex appeal is no doubt appealing to the young boys who I suspect make up the largest percentage of players, but the fact that she’s a girl/woman sends the signal to these same boys, that girls too can compete vigorously—running, fighting, climbing, leaping, taking charge.
If you’re a total newcomer to these sorts of games, don’t be discouraged if you find the maneuvering a bit unwieldy at first. It was only the second game I played—the first being Alien Trilogy (also splendid). And although looking back on it, we were pretty slow at it, we picked up a facility for it quickly. And even though in those initial days we were not as sharp as we would become later, we never really noticed or got frustrated because we were so entranced by the world of Lara Craft.
It’s helpful of course to read the manual that comes with the CD. It will tell you how to make Lara run, walk, leap across gaps, jump up to grab a ledge and pull herself up, hop back, pull out a weapon, use the weapon, etc.
One tip that I don’t think the manual mentions is in regard to leaping across those wide divides between ledges. Position Lara right up to the edge (when you make her walk forward she will stop automatically at the edge as opposed to if she’s in run mode whereby shell step off and plummet). When she’s positioned, have her hop back once. Then simply have her run forward and press leap at roughly the same time. In other words there’s really never a need to have her get a huge running start to make a leap. It doesn’t help to have her run more than a simple hop back from the edge.
Your action button (the X button on PlayStation) is sort of your all-purpose button. It allows you to fire weapons, pick up objects, pull switches, use keys to open doors, and also when used in combination with other buttons allows Lara to push or pull large square blocks (you can often spot the blocks that are pull/pushable—they are usually slightly discolored when compared to the rest of the room).
One other thing to notice about the game is when Lara does something that you’re not necessarily making her do. For instance, when you have her guns drawn, she will extend her arms and aim at an enemy that’s in shooting range all by herself. Then it’s up to you to fire. But if there’s nothing shootable around, she’ll simply hold the guns up close by the side of her head. Also, if you have her running around looking for where to go, oftentimes she will turn her head and look at something and the POV will change accordingly. This is a clue that there’s something significant where she suddenly looked. It is usually an indication of where perhaps a difficult to find exit is.
I’m up to Tomb Raider 4 nowadays and still enjoy the game. A few things change from installment to installment, most significant of the changes is the manner in which your progress is saved so that when you return to play the game the next day you don’t have to start from square one each time. Some of the methods of saving a game have been more popular than others, but none have been unpopular enough to tarnish the fascination of the game. She has a few different maneuvers or features in later versions, but the overall Tomb Raider series has remained solidly exemplary as really the best of the lot.
I heartily recommend it for young and old alike. What’s nice about the game is that it isn’t really isolating either. The most fun I’ve had playing is when playing with a group and we all share in the excitement and call out suggestions. Several heads indeed prove better than one. You’d think it couldn’t be all that group-friendly an endeavor since one person is in control of the console, but lo and behold, I’ve had more fun in groups with it than by myself. It makes for a nice system of participation, when you pass it from person to person. Some people even prefer just watching the events unfold instead of playing—that’s how potentially entertaining the game can be.
BILLTK’s TRIVIA TIDBIT-- Nobody knows where the body of French author Voltaire is. It was stolen from its tomb in the 19th century and has never been recovered. The theft was discovered in 1864, when the tomb was opened and found empty.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
BillTK
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Member: William Kozy
Reviews written: 139
Trusted by: 32 members
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