Customer Reviews

Tomb Raider Legend

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Legend member of the Tomb Raider series combines both traditional platforming and shooting along with some Dragon's Lair style button pressing timing.

I'm very pleased that Lara Croft has moved beyond being a "huge cleavage woman that male gamers simply like to watch" and turned into a legitimate action heroine. Yes, she's still quite busty, but she's actually admired now for her ability to shoot, think and puzzle her way out of solutions.

Many of the puzzles she faces are traditional. You climb up pipes and walls to reach higher areas. You push boxes in order to block spinning fans of death or to cross flaming passageways. You kill off bosses in a variety of ways.

In addition, you have timed sequence actions. These are much like Bond Moments from James Bond games, or the gameplay of the old classic Dragon's Lair. In these games the game makers would create gorgeously fluid sequences of animation and you would be instructed to hit buttons at precise moments in order to keep the animation flowing. I always found this style of gameplay to be a bit hokey - it took you out of the 'immersion' of the gameplay - but on the other hand it does mean you can view some fantastic cinematics when you get the timing right.

The game is relatively quick on the first pass, but there are plenty of secrets and items to find to get you to go back and replay a number of times. Still, for the high price you pay for 360 games, I really would have expected this to be MUCH longer. On one hand, you have games like Elder Scrolls Oblivion that you can literally play for months and months and enjoy it. On the other hand, you have games like this where you could play through in say 6-8 hours and be completely done. Surely there was plenty of room on the DVD to fit more levels.

The graphics were quite impressive - from the lighting to the flickering flames and dark tombs. The way in which you light up your world as you look around really added to the feeling that you were down in a dark world, with perhaps new secrets lurking just around the corner. Little touches like the swing of Lara's braid added to the realism.

The sound was reasonably good; the voice acting wasn't Drama Movie quality, but it certainly did well as a fun action game atmosphere.

I would really recommend renting this one first to see how much the game grabs you. If you're a real Tomb Raider fan, you might be thrilled to have this in your collection. However, if you're not sure, it's best to give it a quick try before you pay out the full price for what amounts to a weekend game.

I've never been a "huge" big fan of the Tomb Raider series, and I don't like third-person games in general. But I picked up Tomb Raider: Legend on a lark, and now I'm addicted. I have completed this game on all difficulties and earned all of the Xbox 360 achievements for this title.

The game storyline dives into the Arthurian legend which reveals an interesting parallel to Lara's personal life as you uncover more about the story. It's an interesting spin and makes for a great epic adventure. To really connect you to the story, there's "Super Actions," which are parts of the cut-scenes where, as you're watching a predicament unfold, you're suddenly required to hit a specific button on your controller (to move, duck, jump, grab, or fire your grappling hook) or Lara will meet an untimely death. These Super Actions will remind older player's of Dragon's Lair, a game where you were required to match your button presses with the on-screen directions. In short, it's a great way to remove the monotony of cut-scenes and makes you really focus on the story, because it could mean the difference between life or death.

The rest of the game is a well-done adventure story. Navigating Lara through the adventure with a 360 controller is nearly flawless, a testament to the many years of experience behind the series. The only problem comes with inopportune camera redirects, such as the change between climbing on the ledge of a cliff and pulling yourself up above the edge. When you do so, the camera will spin around; changing the direction that pushing "up" on the controller will move you. This will cause you to occasionally direct Lara back to the edge of the cliff or, sometimes, to leap off entirely and plummet to her death. Aside from this flaw, most users will find that this is one of the best controller layouts for a third person game, which is something I'm always hyper critical of.

If you've read the other reviews, you know this game is short. In fact, I would say this game only has 7.1 levels, since the last level is nothing more than a glorified "boss fight" (usually the ending of a level where you face a super powerful foe) which could have been tacked on to the previous level. However, Tomb Raider: Legend does offer a considerable amount of replay-ability with the massive amount of unlockables and secrets the game offers. Hidden on every level are bronze, silver and gold treasures, often in unusual and interesting places. Bronze are easily found while gold treasures will require all of Lara's skills and a bit of ingenuity to find them all. The most exciting find may be the gold treasure hidden in Croft Manor (an extra level unlocked as you play through the single-player campaign.) The Xbox 360 achievements are tied to finding most (but you do not have to find all) of these treasures, as well as earning points for finishing each level and the game (with separate achievements for completing it at the hardest and easy or medium difficulties) and the time trials. There's also an incredible number of additional features (outfits for Lara, cheat codes, developer's content and more) for completing each level and the time trials.

So, if you love scouring levels for secrets and unlocking special features, this game is for you and will easily quadruple the amount of playtime you get from this title. If you're a fan of the Tomb Raider series, you'll be absolutely delighted with this well-executed and exciting episode that will, most certainly, leave you excited for the next installment of the story.

In this edition of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft finds herself traveling & exploring one exotic place to the next in order to piece together her past - and more specifically - what happened to her mother with the help of her two pals Zip & Allister.

Its your basic Tomb Raider game with a lot of jumping, flipping, swinging from ropes, sliding down ramps/hills, grappeling onto objectsand shooting things. You get a few weapons like a shotgun, SMG, assault rifle, grenades & grenade launcher, and the infamous dual handguns with the bottomless clip. Also, there are a bunch of "rewards" hidden throughout the levels and if a lot are collected you unlock new outfits and areas in Lara's Mansion. Oh, thats the other thing - you can run around Lara's Mansion.

Whats good though is that this game places you back into ruins and tombs instead of trying to make Lara some special agent (Angel of Darkness anyone?). So you'll find yourself in areas such as Ghana, Bolivia, Nepal, Lara's homeland of England, and many other areas. Each level looks absolutley beautiful - especially the jungle looking stages. The water effects are magnificent, and the lighting is beautiful. The character models are alright, nothing spectacular with the exception of our main heroine herself.

The music was superb. I can't really explain it.. it was just really good. Each stage has it's own song which fits beautifully with the level's culture and design..sso for instance in Nepal - a really empty & voide of life snow stage - it has gegorian chants which help intensify both the beauty AND the lonlieness of the level. You just have to hear it for yourself. The voice acting was GREAT and there are some really interesting and funny conversations between the characters at points.

So whats Tomb Raider: Legends' downfall? Well for starters its extremley repetitive - you'll be doing pretty much the same thing in every stage. Secondly, its a pretty easy game. Thirdly, its very short; its only 7 missions long come on!, and lastly the gunfights are kind of lackluste r. The guns don't sound powerful, nor are they - I literally had to empty a clip with my assault rifle into a Jaguar before it keeled over - and they ae terribly inaccurate. Thankfully the targetting system is pretty right on.

The ending to this game was interesting to say the least. You wind up at the stone dias after beating Amanda in her beast form. From there you place the ancient sword into the stone, the dias starts up, and you see your mother in a parallel universe doing the exact same thing you are. Amanda awakes and begins screaming to your mother for her to pull the sword out so the dias explodes while Lara tries to silence Amanda. Anyway, the mom pulls the sword out, the dias explodes, and Lara loses a chance to re-unite with her long lost mom.. so in a rage she threatens to kill Amanda at gunpoint. Amanda reveals that Lara's mom is in Avalon, Lara is so heated she begins shooting basically right next to Amanda to freak her out.. then she pistol whips her so hard she KOed Amanda. Then Lara says a great line, "every breath you take from now on is a gift from me.", and proceeds to make arrangements to see if she too can get to Avalon.

To finish it up, Legend is a decent platforming game but really not worth the $50 price tag it carries. It's definitley worth playing, even with it's flaws. I suggest you rent it first.

I've played almost every Tomb Raider since the first one released a decade ago. That first one was brilliant, but the sequels only reached varying degrees of "good" and "OK." This Tomb Raider, however, reminds me why I fell in love with the game in the first place.

First, the entire game -- and not just Lara -- is beautiful on the X360. The level of detail in the locations is astounding. Second, Lara has a decent selection of gadgets and guns to play with. Everytime someone drops a weapon, she can swap out for it. Unfortunately, she can only carry two kinds of weapons at a time, one of which is always her pistols with the unlimited ammo.

Beyond the graphics and gadgets, though, is the game itself. They finally went back to the heart of Tomb Raider -- the tombs! Instead of blasting bad guys through Venice or dodging mummies in Egypt, this Tomb Raider lets you explore tombs and solve puzzles just like the original. There are plenty of bad guys, sure, but they don't get in the way of just wandering around empty tombs trying to figure out the proper series of switches or levers to activate the centuries-old mechanism protecting the god's idol. This is finally the sequel that should have been made years ago -- just good, fun tomb raiding.

Lara Croft the pistol wielding somersault shooting fanboy fantasy is back for a new adventure in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Legend for the XBOX 360 and the result is an enjoyable but at times frustrating game. Lara Croft opens in the jungles of South America at the ruins of an ancient civilization, but the relic Lara is after has another taker, James Rutland, a rich spoiled brat who's used to getting whatever he wants. Lara will find out that the piece connects into a larger picture that involves the long ago disappearance of her mother through a strange Stargate looking portal. Lara will have to travel around the world through many different environments trying to put the puzzle together of what really happened to her mother.

I guess I'll address the positives about the game first, and there are a lot. First, the environments are breathtaking, especially the first level, where you encounter steep cliffs, and real-life beautiful flowing waterfalls. Even when you use the binoculars to zero in on faraway horizons, the picture is crystal clear. No corners were cut in terms of the graphics. You can see around yourself in a 360 degree angle which really makes you feel as if you're really there. Jaw-dropping to say the least. In terms of Lara, her model is juse as sexy as always and the ragdoll effects when she gets hurt are great, and she always moves in a sleek and elegant manner. I don't know, but she seems motion captured. Another thing that reminds me of the old games is the sense of exploration you get from the game, as if you ARE the only one exploring the ruins in the game and are the first human to walk there in centuries. I also liked the fact that the game is not that difficult. It's more for a casual gamer than for someone that ones to memorize every move for hours before they can advance to the next level. I thought the storytelling in the game was a notch above previous incarnations and the fact that she's looking for information about her lost mother really makes it personal.

Now, for what I didn't like about Legend. There are scenes in the game where the game takes a bit to load up because of the Dragon's Lair type mini-games where you have to get through a sequence that requires pushing certain buttons. The problem is that the first couple of times, you die and then you have to wait for the long loading time over and over again. These semi-passive sequences, while exciting to watch, are not that exciting to play. Another aspect of the game that got on my nerves were the "boss" battles. Boss battles just seem out of place in a game like this that works more on atmosphere and feel and should be reserved for Mario Brothers. Especially when you cannot concentrate on fighting your enemy. As the boss is basically slaughtering you, Lara has to be flipping a switch or shooting a jewel or pulling a lever to keep the boss from continually healing themselves. Instead of making it essential to the story, these distractions come off more as a gimmick to make killing the boss more difficult. Which brings up the sorry targeting system of your firearms, which makes it very hard to divide your attention, especially when you have multiple enemies. Any time you have more than one target, it's very hard to select the one you want on the fly. Lara also drives a motorcycle in parts of the game which was enjoyable in some of the earlier Tomb Raiders but here it makes you feel like you're playing an old Atari game. It just doesn't FEEL like you're riding a motorcycle as you pick off the bad guys. And if you try to avoid the villains, then the motorcycle levels just repeat in an infinite loop until you kill them off.

Tomb Raider Legend has a lot going for it. I know that some fans believe that Tomb Raider before this was on its last legs, but I beg to differ. To me, all of the Tomb Raider games were pretty much the same and didn't suffer from a serious decline in terms of quality: Except for Last Revelation which required a lot of backtracking. So to me, the only difference here in Legend is the improvement in graphics. Most of the positives and negatives of the old games are still here, including a camera that even with improved control is still a little limited. It just looks better. So don't buy this game thinking you'll see a Tomb Raider you've never seen. Why does a game have to continue to "improve" anyway and what does improve really mean? If it's only as good as the last game, which was great, why change things? As far as length, Yes, if you sit for hours a day for several days, it won't take you long to finish Legend, but I'm more casual and just played a little each day and it took me about a month. The game is meant to run on HDTV 480p/720p. There were some small framerate problems running it on 1080i, but hardly noticeable except in the beginning level where you had the highest graphic content.

I'm glad the chaps at Edios went back to basics to revive and fix the Tomb Raider franchise. After "Angel of Darkness" Lara needed to get back to her roots or the franchise would have died: "Legend" was the right direction to bring back the series.

Tomb Raider: Legend takes Lara back to her true character while updating and elaborating her looks, abilities, puzzles, rooms, and storyline. The game introduces some new features that are rather cool: un-lockable cheat codes, outfits, character concepts, designer commentaries, and journal entries. The game is packed full of stuff. The developers also did a nice job of exploiting the graphics engines of the day, though they did improve later for "Anniversary" and "Underworld". The title is a bit clever in that it has double meaning. First, the developers focus more on the legacy of Lara and how she became the character she is and: Second, the game deals with the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table.

Strengths:
-During game play the developers have added short camera shots that help the player figure out where to go next when the player reaches a particular point at several stages in the game.
-Outfits feature
-Graphics are stunning
-Story
-Croft Manor
-Achievements

I enjoy this game. The storyline and characters are original while giving a kind nod to it's past and the movies: it still blazes it's own trail while following logic and continuity. I recommend this game to gamers who enjoy have followed the franchise, and those who are just now discovering it, players who enjoy puzzles along with their action. 5 stars.

This game is as fun if not more than its predecessors. Graphics on the 360 are not as spectacular as you'd expect, but I think this game was made before the 360 really got rolling. So I expect better graphics in the following game, T.R. Underworld. But this game has a good story and new moves for Lara. Plus there is some motorcycling along with kick ass music. So far, I'm playing on difficult setting, but it's not as difficult as I expected. Overall, it's worth a good $10.

Every so often I'm guilty of hunting down older (yes, cheaper)games. I guess that all I'm expecting is something remotely playable. Admittedly, I had apprehensions when I bought Tomb Raider: Legends. I guess because there really hasn't been a good Tomb Raider game for a while.

This game reminds me that we play video games because they're fun. This one is very, simplisticly fun. I almost hate to use the words simple or simplistic, because I don't want it to be confused with boring, because it is not. So many games now place so much emphasis on stunning visual effects, complex combat systems and multiplayer modes that they forget to be fun.

Aided by backdrops like the Himalayas in Nepal and the highrises of Japan, the graphics are actually quite impressive without being pretentious. Gameplay is short, but makes up for it in replayability. Usually I don't call searching for unfound objects replayability, but some artifacts require you to get creative and find ways to manipulate the level, sometimes in complex ways to find them. I'ts a little more challenging then finding the discolored portion of the wall and merely kicking/shooting through it.

The combat system is pretty basic. You have (lock-on and) shoot and that's pretty much it. There was some explaination of some melee attacks at the start of the second level, but I could never get them to work. It was just easier to shoot them. Plus, there are interactive cut-scenes that are just in essence trial and error/remember 2 or 3 button combinations. Kind of cheesy but not too annoying. Plus the time trials can be frustrating, because there is very little room for error to complete it in the alloted time. There really isn't much combat anyway, just minor annoyances with guns and poorly thrown grenades.

The hardest difficult rating is "Tomb Raider - Hard", but it really isn't that hard. For me, the most difficult part was trying to figure out the puzzles than it was any "tourists" trying to shoot at me. Plus the damage that they do isn't much and they drop health power-ups everywhere.

For the achievement score hungry population, and you know who you are, this is a good game for the price. The first 800 or so can be easily achieved in a day or two. It might take a bit of time and effort for the other 200.

People's biggest complaints are going to be:

1. It's to simplistic
2. Graphics aren't very good (every game is not Halo 3)
3. It's too short

For those that just appreciate good platform gaming this is a very good choice for the price. I would say rent it before you buy it, but you just may finish it first.

Oh, Lara how I love thee. Only not really. Truth be told, I could never get into the series from day one because of the clunky controls. I appreciated the step in the right direction with the original Tomb Raider but I regard it as a catalyst for what third person games are now as opposed to a great game. The following games all had the same controls, but the gameplay devolved into the horrific Angel of Darkness.

Now, we have Tomb Raider: Legends and man is it nice. Having passed reigns to Crystal Dynamics, the creators of such games as Legacy of Kain and Soul Reaver, the gameplay was scrapped to create an entirely new property that, mostly, washes off any malingering stink. In place of controls that are based on a grid system (creating improper jumping controls among other issues), the new movement feels fluid and is easily manipulated much like the new Prince of Persia games.

Action takes the side seat as the game focuses mostly on Lara and tombs (what a novel concept). When action does take place, Lara can easily lock onto a target and then switch from target to target via flicking the right analog stick. It's pretty simplistic, but it is fun and easy to get into. Sometimes, there are context driven situations where instead of shooting at an enemy, a possibility will open to shoot an exploding can or a precariously balanced ruin that will take out multiple foes. While the gunplay isn't difficult, it does create some scenarios that feel like they would fit in perfectly in an action movie.

The action is also broken up with some motorcycle based missions. These mostly involve getting you from point A to point B, with plenty of chasing enemies in the middle. Again, much like the combat, this isn't the focus of the game. I won't go so far as some reviewers to say its needless, filler and poorly implemented, but I do think it could have been strengthened a bit more. It makes sense, in the context of the game, to be driving. It never feels tacked on. However, if you're going to do it, you might as well make it as exciting as possible.

All of this is dressing for what really counts: the Tombs. They are really fun. Figuring out how to get from point A to point C, with a step at point B, is most of the fun much like it is in Prince of Persia. The game touts "physics based puzzles" and it's true. But, I don't think the physics engine is all it's cracked up to be. A lot of times, items don't feel like they have the weight they should.

A story involving Lara's past and a search for a sword rounds out the action, providing a context for what you're doing. It's pretty decent as far as these games go and of course can't live up to excellent stories like those found in Dreamfall, but it's okay.

As far as value goes, you're spending about $60 for about 10 hours of gameplay. That's a problem in my book, not because of the length (although I do prefer longer games), but because of the HUGE price differences between the systems. If you're looking at just consoles, then yes I would recommend shelling the extra $10 for the 360 version over the others. But, Xbox 360 games are costing us $10s more, blah blah HD age/next gen blah blah, but the game looks better on the PC, has better resolutions and doesn't have as much frame rate issues as the Xbox 360 version. And its $20 cheaper. So, if you have a computer top lay it, plug in a Xbox 360 controller into your PC and you have a game that's cheaper, plays just as well and looks better. You tell me what the best deal is.

Now the platforming is good, the puzzles are good, the action not so much. Gun battles are not well made & that ruins the experience for me. Legend unlike most TR games has the most action sadly. I'd prefer if they left it out.