Customer Reviews

Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

After completing TR1 and TR2 I thought I'd like to buy TR3, so I checked out the reviews. It was about 50/50...half said it was great, half said it "sucked". I contemplated and decided to buy it anyway, and have not regretted it since. The game is a lot of fun. The only complaints I have had with it are the camera angles at times make it difficult to see what you're doing. Also, on one location (London), I found each level (there are 4) to be "over-burdened"...by that I mean there was so much to do and all of it was rather difficult and I became frustrated. However, the excitement and fun of the rest of the areas made up for that frustration 100%. One of the great parts of this game is you get to choose the different levels you'd like to go. If you like the Tomb Raider series, then you'll find this game gives you a lot of hours of enjoyment. It's not easy, but it's not impossible either. The difficulty is what makes the game challenging and fun. I hope this helps make up for some of the bad reviews you've read and helps you make up your mind whether or not to buy it.

I LOVE the Tomb Raider series, and while I found the locations, music, and puzzles greatly improved in TRIII, I was sorely disappointed by the difficulty of play. This game expects movements to be absolutely EXACT, which means you can play a particular jump about fifteen times without getting it just right, and thus dying or having to repeat a long series of actions. There is one puzzle which requires timing that is, and I mean this, virtually impossible to do. Hoard your save game gems for this kind of use.

I completed the first two Tomb Raider games, and was impressed with the improvements in Tomb Raider III. The games in the TR series are easily the best video games I have ever played. Here, the levels are unbelieveably complex and beautiful, even in comparison to TR I and II. Also, I found quite interesting and challenging the "save gem" strategy -- which has been fundamentally altered from the first two games -- in that you collect save gems, and can use them at any time, but you only have a limited amount. Those good things being said, I give the game a mediocre rating simply because it is impossibly hard, even with a walkthrough telling you what to do. In fact, I finally said enough's enough and gave up on the game about half the way through. There literally is one incredibly difficult situation to solve followed one after the other. The game needed better pacing, with easier stretches to complete in between the tough ones, so you at least have the sense that you are moving along.

If you loved Tomb Raider I & II then definitely get this game. Tomb Raider III has the same feel and gameplay as the first to so fans will not be disappointed. The new graphics are great! The new textures are more realistic and such touches as sunbeams and her smoking guns really appeal. On the downside, items are smaller and much harder to spot and identify. Lara's new moves are fun to try out but the crawling feature is a little hard to control at first. As for the new save option, all I can say is get a hint book right away. The weapons cheat will also give you 50 extra save crystals. Trust me, you'll need them.

As for the analog compatabilty, I'm not sure it's worth it. Most of the time it's great and makes the game real fluid, but sometimes when you're backed up into corners or trying to look through windows the screen starts jumping wildly. Also I haven't experienced much vibration at all. I don't think the guys at Eidos really planned for analog the way the creators of Metal Gear Solid did.

All in all, the game is fun, the graphics great, the gameplay the same. It is a good solid edition to the Tomb Raider series, but I'm already looking forward to #4.

This is my fav Tomb Raider game (the 1st is a close 2nd), but.... It's way too hard for people just starting with the series. You really have to check out all of your options, because secrets are often irretrievable once you passed a certain point (The level River Ganges even has 2 alternative routes, one of which makes you miss out on a secret!) and in other points you really start to think the makers of this game are a sadistic bunch hellbent on annoying the hell out of you.
Some, in retrospect fairly easy, moves kept me occupied for hours. But, all in all, a game isn't a game if it isn't challenging. And this game is challenging to the max!

Please be warned: this game is long and arduous. If you love to spend long hours searching through trees for some hidden switch with very poor lighting then this game is a good investment. The new weapons, improved graphics, and "duck & crawl" move are a plus. My advice is to stick with the first two and possibly get the fourth which is more in the lines of the first: actual "tomb raiding". All in all, not a pleasant experience.

Why do developers contiue to insist that the best games are virtually impossable to complete? Instead of using pro-gamers as play testers they should use regular people. The game looks good and plays well but unless your a vidio games freak you wont be able to get your moneys worth out of this game.

In 1996, the brilliant TOMB RAIDER was released. Although the graphics weren't great, the gameplay was. The puzzles were difficult but intriguing and fun, the pace was fast, the amount of action kept things going and there wasn't one bad level.
The next year, TOMB RAIDER II was introduced to the world, and God, it was good! It improved upon the original, with each level longer and more action-packed. Even the first level was a treat!
Then in 1998, there was TOMB RAIDER III, and it really fails to reach the height of the first two games. Although everybody likes a challenge, this game is just far too difficult. I've only got as far as Level 2, so I had to use cheats, and I couldn't complete any of the other levels. It's still a good, fun little game, but it's very disappointing.
This time, Lara Croft must find different artifacts dotted around the globes. All of the artifacts are connected to a meteorite that struck the Earth long ago.
Once again, the graphics aren't perfect, although not entirely bad, but it doesn't matter anyway.
To conclude, the first two games were fantastic - so enjoyable - but TOMB RAIDER III can be very boring in parts, and it's just too difficult for alot of people. It's not really the best way to start the series if your new to TOMB RAIDER.

Gameplay: 3/5
Graphics: 3/5
Overrall: 3/5

A review by Dale White.

Yes, TR3 is a bear (so to speak ;-). E.g., there's a particular spot at the very outset of the game, hiding under the leaves, which you have to make a blind leap to find, and would never guess is there if someone hadn't told you. But that is in the grand old tradition of Adventure -- the one point remainder (a postage stamp, usually, in the old days, or dropping the magazine in a particular place when you're at your wit's end). The impossible puzzle drags you out of the game and forces you to kickstart your social life, and ASK REAL PEOPLE for the answer. Very legitimate. Same as, "Don't kill monks at Barkhang Monastery" (TR2), and don't kill monkeys either (TR3)! This game is a heckuva lot of fun on a great many levels OTHER THAN gameplay. It's full of visual splendors that rival the next to last discontinuous maze of TR2, and I enjoy everything about it ... except playing. The game part is tedious, unfair and annoying beyond belief. But it's a real collector's item, especially on PlayStation 2 (be sure to keep your PS1 memory card!), and in our family, it's in its second generation of total immersion.

Tomb Raider and Lara Croft are, and forever will be, the pinnacle of Action/Adventure gaming. Although there are haters out there who try to tear the games down at every cost, these games are the perfect blend of action, exploring and puzzle solving. While I don't think Tomb Raider 3 is as good as the first two, it has it's moments. The levels and their design are excellent. The control is great, as always ( anybody that tries to tell you the control is horrible obviously has no skills ). The only things that drag this one down is the insane difficulty of some of the later levels and the villians ( or lack of villians ). TR 3 is hard, particularly when you get to Anartica, sometimes way too hard. Sometimes it's so frustrating you just want to give up and cheat, but I urge you to keep trying, it will make winning the game that much more rewarding. Then there are the villians, one scottish wussy who is about as menacing as Mini-Me, some English woman you chase across a rooftop and a giant spider. I mean c'mon, remember the greatness of villians like Natla, Larsen and Pierre. These were villians that were worthy of my time. TR3's villians are mere obstacles in your way. Even with these minor dissapointments, TR3 has great graphics, nice storyline and the most important thing of all, Lara Croft. A great buy for Action/Adventure fans.