Customer Reviews

Tomb Raider: Chronicles

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Longtime gamers remember Tomb Raider for a few things: blocky levels, millions of switches, and that feeling of being really, really lost. In their latest and last playstation resurrection of the series, Eidos addresses many of the gamers' complaints. While far from perfect, Tomb Raider Chronicles offers up a varied 20+ hours of mostly switch-free game play.

Chronicles shines in many areas. The first thing that most people will notice is that Chronicles looks and sounds extremely good. After three or four revisions to the game engine one would expect a nicely immersive environment. And while the ambiance in Chronicles would benefit greatly from more music, the segways that are present really heighten the mood.

The good graphical engine used in Chronicles is complimented by good characterizations and a nice variety in levels. Every two or three hours, when you have completed three more levels, you are taken to another time in Lara's life, another set of missions, another set of objectives, and different dangers. This variety is a welcome change of pace for a Tomb Raider game, hardly ever slipping into that feeling of "been there, done that" which the series is known for. One scene Lara is avoiding a crane arm on a nuclear submarine, the next she is a little girl swinging over gaping chasms on a deserted island. And while Chronicles lacks an overarching plot, the variety of game play situations this type of narrative allows as well as good short storytelling and characterizations will more than keep any jaded gamer's attention span.

Unfortunately despite all the polishing Eidos has put into Chronicles, it's luster is greatly tarnished by a few extremely frustrating problems. For one, the camera seems to love Lara's high-rex, mit-mapped face. This can be troublesome when you are trying to see the jump in front of you. Anytime she faces away from a wall, or walks into a tight corridor, expect to keep tapping the camera button to see anything. After so many years, they should have it right. Furthermore, the player never feels like he or she actually is Lara. Thanks to some overly precise controls, she can turn slowly, jump only at designated steps, etc. This worked perfectly in the old Tomb Raiders, which were all about careful jumping. But Chronicles isn't, and her tremendous turning radius and her extremely slow sidestepping make the experience feel like driving a school bus.

But the most frustrating part of the game is how difficult it is to interact with objects. I can't tell you how many hours I've lost because the manhole I had to crawl down or the handle I had to yank off didn't respond to repeated button presses. I figured it was just background and moved on. Hours of aimless wandering later, the strategy guide would tell me to go back and do the exact thing that I had already tried to do. This one flaw takes a huge bite out of any overall enjoyment of the game that one might derive. Knowing full well that I had to steal a coin from an underwater demon, and having plenty of time to swim to it, it still took nearly ten tries to actually be able to pick it up. If I didn't know that was the objective, I would have dismissed it as background and moved on.

Despite its flaws, Tomb Raider Chronicles manages to be an overall fun, if frustrating, experience. Hopefully the next generation of systems will give Eidos the power to do something truly unique with Lara, and solve all of the control issues. In the interim, Chronicles is the best Tomb Raider has to offer, and by now you should know what that means.

The 5th instalment of Lara Croft's adventures, this game unfortunately has both the best and the worst of the entire series.

Essentially a stop-gap to keep up public interest before Lara's rebirth on the Playstation 2 the game is a series of vignettes from Lara's previous career. The graphics are as impressive as in The Last Revelation and Lara is as smoothly animated as ever, picking up the by now obligatory new trick, in this case tightrope-walking.

The first episode is set in Rome against two old rivals. It incorporates the training level into the first level which threw me at first and also one of the secrets is hidden in the training level. Long-time Tomb Raiders will find the Rome levels absurdly easy, easier than the first Tomb Raider that was released.

The second episode, set in a Russian submarine base and then onboard a submarine is about average in difficulty for the series. It features the return of the one of the best TR weapons - the Desert Eagle pistol - but then cruelly takes it off Lara before she gets to do much with it (boo !).

The third epsiode is from Lara's youth and is set on a haunted island on Ireland. I found this ridiculously hard and frustrating. The graphics are dark and hard to make out, the colours lurid. The storyline is a patchy affair which revolves around releasing a 19th century Russian Cossack who has been trapped for seven centuries (how does that work ?). The tasks are annoyingly difficult and to add insult to injury you have to do all three levels unarmed. (Bad Eidos ! Naughty Eidos ! Go to your room !).

The fourth episode is easily the best. Lara goes all Entrapment-like to pilfer an artifact from the office block of her former mentor Von Croy. This is loads of fun with the added bonus that Lara gets to blast away happily with the return of the sublime MP5 from TRIII which, whilst the only weapon she has, can be locked onto single-shot sniper mode, three round burst and full auto (when you absolutely, positively just have to kill every *&%^*@~#*% in the room). More of this please Eidos if you're listening.

Until the release of Lara: The Next Generation, Lara fans will have to make do with the forthcoming movie starring Angelina Jolie. Looks good from the trailer.

Tomb Raider Chronicals is a very fun game!! I starts off where the preceding one ended. There are 4 new adventures that take you from the rooftops of a high tech city to the bowels of a German U-boat. Lara has new weapons as well as new moves. She also has some new outfits. Her new weapons are th e grappling hook gun, sniper rifle, and choroform. Her new moves are tightrope walking, parallel bar swinging, and a hand-to-hand stealth attack. The inventory systen is enhanced for greater

combinations of weapons and accessories.

You now can search through files, drawers, and shelves for useful inventory items. You will be 16 year old Lara as well as adult Lara. Tomb Raider has always been known for the 100% freeness of movment. I'm sure you will love Tomb Raider Chronicals if you are new to Tomb Raiding or a old fan. It is full of strategy and adventure and there are many puzzles to solve. If you are an old fan of Tomb Raider then you will love this edition. There is now a added challenge. You can search for hidden roses which will open special features in the menu.

The movie begins with a scene of Lara's grave. No one is sure if Lara has died or not and they are waiting for word from Von Croy. Then Winston and some friends and family return to Lara's mansion to talk about all of Lara's past adventure. They are discussing Lara's deathe. You can see the emotions on their faces and feel their sadness and dispair. Then you take it from there. As you start the game there will be another movie where Lara is making a deal on a artifact she has found. The person that she made the deal with pulls a gun on her. She narrowly escapes. She looks like a James Bond girl. The graphics are very good and the people almost look real. Everyth ing looks so very life-like.

Lara has never been very quite, but this Lara is even more dynamic then ever. She can now walk the tight-rope and now if Lara is not seen by the bad guys or heard by them they will not attack her. Before the bad guys would just come out at her even if they didn't see her. There's a level editor wich will enable you to edit the levels the way you want them.

Tomb Raider 1 was one of the most influential games ever created and undoubtedly this will be as well.

My friend had this game when I went over and I played it you get so hooked on it and you find out something new each time but i must worn you you should get a memory card if you don't have one yet goes if you get far in the game then you die then you go back to the begging unless you have a memory card.

This game is SUPER! It is one of my favorite video games i've played, if not my absoloute favorite. I acctually havn't been able to play the whole thing because I don't own it(I rented it from a video store for about a week.) But from what i have played I know it's a great game. It starts off with a mamorial/funeral service for Lara(she is thought to be dead). And three of the people go back to the house or mansion were she lives. Her buttler(i think his name is winston), Father Something or other and someone else(i don't know all the names). Then they begin talking of lara's past adventure..... so you play there stories.

The first storie is in rome. It has a limited amount of gunfighting. And a realitivly easy puzzle solving difficulty and amount. It has two bad guys, along with other enamys. It also has the training level in a building in the first level(I should say training area)so it's optinal of training. Basic Level.

The second storie is my favorite. It is set in a russian base and in a submarine. You have Some good weapons(i love the Uvis or whatever it's called). In the first level you are dressed in an amry-camoulflauge-like sute.

The third story is my second favorite(It's acctually my favorite as an adventure game...Storie two is my favorite as an action game). You are a younger lara than in the others(she is the same as in the training level of TR4). She has hid on a boat belonging to father-Whatever. You are on an island wich is haunted by demons and ghost and wierd things called imphs. You don't ahve any weapons or form of defense. The puzzles are rather difficult. I had to use an f.a.q. for the begining of Level 1, Almost all of level two(i figured some out myself) and i still havn't gotten past Level 3. Still it's a very interesting story/level.

I don't under stand the fourth storie very much. all i know is that lara is trying to get in to a building owned by the v.c.i. or something like that(correction. she is allready in the building) i think the mission for the first level is to find the iris artifact(if youv'e played TR4 you know what that is). It has a Hi-Tech desing with Guys in somekind of highly cool battle sutes, robots, Security laser machines(you know like ones were if you walk through them they set of an alarm, Exept these are on moving machine things and they hurt you, ALOT). You also have one weapon with three modes. This level/storie takes alot of stealth.

Alltogether it is one of the best games around. However, If you get it i suggest you find some cheat codes. I will give you the code to go to the second storie(russian base) right here. At the main menu have new game highlighted, Then hold down L1, then, while keeping L1 held down, press and hold down Up, Keeping those held down, press X. You will go strait to The russian base. The third level(Black island, or black isle) Is exactly the same exept, instead of holding down L1 and Up and X, You do L2 instead of L1. The third level cheat is again the same exept for you do R1. You will have to find other cheats somewhere else.

This agme is without a doubt one of the best games ever made. The money is worth it. So Get It.

At the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, many fans were left devastated thinking Lara was gone for good. They need not have worried as Lara returned in November 2000 in Tomb Raider: Chronicles, the fifth installment of the most successful PlayStation game series ever. There was one slight problem - Lara was presumed dead! Tomb Raider: Chronicles contains four sections of different times of Lara Croft's life from the past. These four stages are titled Rome, Search For The Spear, Black Isle and VCI Headquarters. Each quarter includes three brilliant levels, except Search For The Speach which includes four. Whilst probably the worst game out of all five, Tomb Raider: Chronicles is still superb, proving the excellence of the Tomb Raider phenomenon. The Official UK PlayStation Magazine says of Chronicles, "10/10 - Lara's swansong on PlayStation is a triumph". They're not wrong!

The first section is Rome. As with all Tomb Raider games, the levels become harder and more challenging as the game progresses - Chronicles is no different. In Rome, Lara is attempting to acquire the Philospher's Stone. This adventure brigns her into contact with Pierre and Larson, who you will probably remember as the peksy guys who wouldn't die from the first Tomb Raider! The three levels in Rome are called Streets Of Rome, Trajan's Markets and Colloseum. All levels are superb, mainly because of the scenery. The sky is a deep blue and the sound is superb. You can hear the crickets chirping away and you can almost sense what the levels are like - early evening with fresh air and a cool temperature. I know, this sounds so strange but it's true! The second section, Search For The Spear is a lot harder and complex. In this second section of Chronicles, Lara is seeking the Spear of Destiny, an age-old artefact currently lying in the ruins of a wrecked and abandoned U-boat. She is not alone in desiring possession of this mystical object, however - a mafioso boss has heard of its power and wishes to harness it for his own nefarious aims. He has bribed the admiral of a Russian submarine to take him to the resting place of the Spear. Lara decides to hitch a ride. The four levels in Search For The Spear are called Base, Submarine, Deep Sea Dive and Sinking Submarine. This section is my favourite of the four because it's very exciting and has the best storyline in the whole game...

The game continues with Black Isle. In this third chapter, Tomb Raider: Chronicles follows an early Lara Croft adventure. After Lara overhears a conversation about spooky occurences at a nearby island, she stows away on a boat chartered by Father Patrick as he heads to investigate. The three levels are called Gallows Tree, Labyrinth and Old Mill. Throughout these three levels, Lara is completely without weaponry. Only your wits will protect your beloved Lara from the devilish shandes that haunt the Black Isle. These levels are set somewhere in England, but I'm not sure where. Even though it's always raining and is very dark and damp, it makes for an interesting and refreshing change from the typical hot desert/jungle style levels of previous Tomb Raider games. The fourth and final chapter in Chronicles, VCI Headquarters, is large and very hard! In one of the sternest challenges ever faced in a Tomb Raider game, Lara must steal the Iris - an object of immense power. Mixing stealth with brute force, she has to negotiate complex corridors, fight crack troops and even survive an entire level without a gun. Fortunately, she has Zip - an American hacker - on hand to advise her as she progresses. The fourth section is set in a New York tower block and the three levels are called 13th Floor, Escape With The Iris and Red Alert. All levels are incredibly tough and deeply frustrating if you fail to achieve the required task to progress with the game. Some sections on these three levels are downright scary (echoing footsteps when there's no one there and the sound of invisible laser beams that get closer), yet you will experience an immense feeling of success and achievement once you complete these final levels!

OVERALL GRADE: 9/10

All in all, Tomb Raider: Chronicles is a fantastic game. It's not quite up there with the superior excellence of Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider 2 and Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, but it's still a superb game to play. The game isn't very long - it took me less than a week to complete over the Christmas 2000 period - a lot shorter than the time it usually takes for me to complete a Tomb Raider game, which is usually in the region of a year! Compared to a lot of other PlayStation games, however, Tomb Raider: Chronicles stands head and shoulders above the rest. Buy this now from Amazon to complete your Tomb Raider collection!

Tomb Raider: Chronicles (TRC) features the lovely Lara Croft in her many adventures from Rome to a U-Boat to a high-tech tower complex. The game has one of the most awkward controls and frustrating adjusting camera angles since Danger Girl (that's a cheap game, and one should buy it simply for the art inside and NOT for the game or gameplay!). Anyway, one will keep on falling and falling...etc. and continously get blindsided by enemies for the most part. Additionally, Lara still moves like a tank with feet, instead of having fluid and sly movement. However, the stealth in the latter levels in particular is a welcome addition, being spoiled by the Metal Gear Solid series. The puzzles aren't too difficult, but they are very physical-oriented as opposed to mental-oriented (like Eidos' Fear Effect). The cinematics are okay, but they are rather short. My two favorite levels on this game is the U-Boat/Russian Base level and the Tower: Level 13 level. Both of these are reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid. Otherwise, this game is definitely for fans of Tomb Raider previously, but for newbies, definitely rent before you buy.

I have played almost all the tomb raider games. From the first through the chronicle. This game was very short. It only had 13 levels. Delivery was on time.

but still it is not a bad game. I just finished it and am left not excited, yet I still enjoyed Chronicles throughout regardless. Upon assumption Lara is dead or either hopelessly lost, her closest friends gather together and tell a few stories about her past adventures which you will play through, one even includes when she is young yet again like in the beginning of Last Revelation when she traveled with Von Croy. And yet again, she is with no weapons, which can make that level definitely one of the harder ones.

Nonetheless, the entire game itself is not too hard. It isn't as difficult as Tomb Raider 3 or 4 that's for sure. The ending gets difficult on the last level, but nothing more strenous than we had to face in the last few Tomb Raiders I think. I got through all the levels with hardly breaking a sweat. The entire game I think is just average difficulty for Tomb Raider fans whom have played both 3 and 4 already. If you're new to Tomb Raider then it might be hard though- I would say if you're new to the series build up from either TR 1 or 2, then go on either to 3 or 4- at least beat one of them before attempting this. Basically, know some TR history before doing this one. If you have played TR before, Chronicles is no challenge. Fun, but no real challenge.

I would say, buy it if you're a fan of the series, it is a nice addition. The stories are exciting and the puzzles are interesting enough. Just don't expect much. It is really just a few stories of Lara's past adventures and that's it.

3.5/5

tomb raider chornicles is a great game. Its a high energy action game. I like all the tomb raider games, if you like spending lots of time entertaing yourself with action games these are the ones to get. I,m an adult and I love all the tomb raider games. I just hope they continue to make more. I recomend this game highly.