Customer Reviews

Tomb Raider Legend

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know, I know, nowadays the kids have been spoiled by open-ended RPGs that can take 70+ hours to complete, and you hear a lot of unfair complaints about the relative "brevity" of standard action-adventure fare. I'm not some video game shut-in with no life, so I couldn't spend 70 hours on a game even if I wanted to - and anyway that's not the point of an action game, nor should it be. When I hear people complaining about "short" games, I tend to take it with a grain of salt.

That said, "Tomb Raider: Legend" IS short, by any standard. "Leave 'em wanting more" was apparently the developers' philosophy here. If you ask me, that's preferable to the philosophy of the last TR installment, "Angel of Darkness," which was apparently "Frustrate 'em till they give up." Everything about "Legend" feels right, from the moment you take control of the newly-designed Lara as she scales the cliffs of Bolivia in the first level. It's actually fun rather than merely grueling to perform the various acrobatic stunts required to ascend the mountainside; and when you encounter enemies (the traditional generic bad guys and endangered cats), the ensuing battles are fairly satisfying, if not very difficult or technically sophisticated. Gone is the rigid grid upon which all prior TRs were based; gone is the clumsy control scheme that made navigating the grid such an unforgiving experience. Lara is finally a contender again in the world of game heroes. Of course, the fact that "Legend" is such a pleasure to play just means that you'll reach the end even faster.

"Legend" is essentially a 6-8 hour game. That's the bare-bones time to get through all the levels including the Croft Manor. If you really want to find all the "Rewards" (you knew them as "Secrets" before), you can probably tack on a few hours of replay; but there aren't any "extras" beyond that - no online, no mini-games, no unlockable "Tomb Raider" arcade or what-not. A lot of people will have a problem with that, and practically everybody will wish there was more here. But on balance, I have no qualms recommending "Legend." For me, what with my actual life and all, a 7 hour game is really a 7 day game at least; and I'm the type to replay a game I like over and over again just for the fun of it.

I mentioned the Croft Manor, which is one of many motifs from previous TR games to make a reappearance in "Legend." The developers - Crystal Dynamics rather than Core this time around, since the latter so conclusively botched "Angel of Darkness" - have truly done their homework, and "Legend" is packed with homages to classic moments from the series. Bolivia, for example, is like a wish-fulfillment version of Lara's very first Tomb Raiding excursion in Vilcabamba, while Ghana recalls TR3's South Pacific levels, and Kazakhstan brings up memories of Antarctica from TR2. But whereas before it took a definite act of imagination to believe in the blocky, pixelated environments, the sets in "Legend" are practically flawless. This is one of the most impressive games on XBox, graphically speaking. The levels are typically huge and exotic, the textures look great even close up (in most cases), and ambient effects like sunlight and mist are handled beautifully.

Gameplay is also leaps and bounds over the old titles, as should be expected; but considered against the backdrop of all the other excellent action games on XBox and PS2 (and now 360), it's nothing really exceptional. Enemies, as always in TR, are few and far between, and the combat segments are just convenient ways of breaking up the exploring and puzzle-solving sequences. When she encounters them, Lara can blast away at enemies with her trademark pistols or a single alternative high-powered firearm (shotgun, assault rifle, etc). She can also perform a special maneuver in which she vaults off an enemy's head and then litters him with bullets in slow-motion (a la Max Payne); and she has a grappling hook that occasionally comes in handy for some BloodRayne-esque snaring of foes from a distance. But that's pretty much all she wrote as far as combat. The "puzzles" themselves still revolve around pushing blocks and dodging rolling balls, but they're neither as difficult nor as tedious as they used to be, and you'll have no problem figuring out what to do next. Rope-swinging and pole-climbing are back, but fortunately with vastly-improved mechanics. As for wall climbing, let's just say Lara's taken some notes from Prince of Persia. She's much nimbler, and you can even make her "double-time" it by hitting Y in sync with her movements. Swimming also comes into play in a few of the levels (nothing as "involved" as those abysmal underwater portions of London in TR3), and the mechanic is simple and intuitive. To top it off, there are a few segments in which Lara takes off on a Ducati just to add some variety to the gameplay. All in all, she's a lot of fun to control - the only problem is that she feels like she could handle a lot more punishment than she's ever dealt in this game.

Basically, what we have in "Tomb Raider: Legend" is a beautiful game that finally brings the franchise up to date while remaining close to its roots. True, TR fans are used to MUCH harder games than this, and it's so short you could miss it if you blink. Still, it's nice to finally be able to say "Lara's Back!" - and mean it!

I'm not even remotely a Tomb Raider fan. In fact, I hated all the previous ones. But this latest installment proved to be worthy of a place among the finest games. Legend delivers in all aspects of greatness. The graphics are incredible, the environments are beautiful, and the gameplay is most definitely inspired by the new Prince of Persia titles, which means it resembles the best. The voice acting in English is good, but the German track is to die for (you'll have to set your XBOX to Deutsch to hear it - subtitles are available in English if needed). Although the game is short, it is quite re-playable, with all sorts of hidden stuff to find (or use gamefaqs to find...). I love this game, and have only two minor complaints. The first is the cliche: it's pretty short. About seven hours. The second is when you are trying to jump hanging from ledges, the directional control changes with the camera angle, causing occasional oops-I-just-jumped-into-oblivion moments. Luckily checkpoints keep you from losing too much progress. Anyway buy this game even if you've never played Tomb Raider or think the movies sucked (I won't express my opinion here), it is worth your money.

Don't get me wrong this game is by far a better buy then "Angel of Darkness." However for a "Tomb Raider" game it was too short of a storyline. I was hooked on this game, the controls are so much easier to understand and use. Lara moves so much better then in previous games and the graphics are awesome.

As I said the storyline was a disapointment. In "Tomb Raider Last Revelation" it took me about a month or more to finish the game completely. This game I was able to beat in 5 days and thats from 5 hours of game play each day about.

This is game is worth buying but dont be surprised about how short it is. Eidos needs to know for future games a much longer storyline for Lara Croft game is far better. To this day "Tomb Raider Last Revelation" is still by far my favorite.

While I know they released this game for the Xbox, and the Xbox 360, I didn't own a 360 yet when I got this. I have played Underworld and Anniversary since playing this game, but this one is my favorite of the new trilogy.

Story: as the name suggests, this one follows legends and the search for Lara's mother, who disappeared right in front of her after pulling a sword from a stone when Lara was 9. It shows a lot of back story in Lara's history and lots of friends who share in her passion with archeology. She discovers an artifact that similar to the one she found when her mother vanished. She now chases down 4 pieces of artifacts that appear to be the Excalibur when combined, part of King Arthur's legend. she travels to various locations in the world hunting down the fragments of the artifact. Once completed, she finds herself at the ruins of where her mother vanished.

Gameplay: while similar to typical Lara Croft fashion, the difference in this game is you fight mostly humans, such as mercenaries. You will also fight a few wild animals and one mythical creature chasing you in the game that your best friend is controlling. You go through various location not only in the world, but also different time lines. Every level has a time trial and hidden objects to find. Each objective you complete will give you certain rewards, such as costumes. There are ten locations in the game, including croft manor that contains puzzles and hidden passages. You get the typical guns and some other weapons to shoot as well. I finished the game at 100% completion including all the time trials and hidden objects.

I found Anniversary and Underworld to be a little boring, but not this game. The legends are fun to follow and the gameplay is more fast-paced. The characters in this game are memorable and it was nice seeing people from Lara's past that don't include her family.

Worth getting on any system, as it is one of my favorite tomb raider games of all time. Lara has never looked better.

I loved this game! If you like action packed games with a puzzle-type of theme, than this is it. There is parts that really make you think.

Tomb Raider Legend delivers the fun game play that many of us have come to expect from a Tomb Raider Game. The puzzles in the game are challenging but not impossible. The combat difficulty can be adjusted so this game is perfect for anyone, especially if the person has ever played a Tomb Raider Game before. Tomb Raider Legend utilizes the XBox's hardware well to produce stunning in-game graphics. The controls are easy to use. In addition to the main storyline, obtaining all the rewards to gain 100% completion in the game adds hours of fun. This game is definitely worth picking up!

As many others have stated, the older TR titles have been fun but hard to control. Legend gets it right!

I am now on level 3 and I have to say Legend is well done indeed and is a blast to play. The cinematic cutscenes as well as the interactive cutscenes are wonderfully done. The in-game graphics as beautifully rendered and as you play you can't help but stop to look around and enjoy the landscapes such as waterfalls and mountainsides.

I have only played TRL in two sittings so far so I cannot tell how long the game will take except from what I have read in other reviews...approximately 7 hrs give or take. My goal is to complete one level per day due to the fact that I work a full time job in my career.

The levels are fairly long too, but not too long to get tedious. They are pretty much the right length.

I did get to ride the Ducati yesterday and it was a nice break in the gameplay. Variety makes a game good and keeps you interested and TRL seems to have that.

As far as how much the game is worth paying due to the length..well that is entirely up to you. I found a copy on clearance for only $10 and it is well worth it.

I do at some point recommend this title to anyone interested in Indiana Jones type genres due to the fact that TR is basically a female Indy. =)

This round Lara is swept up in quite a few new adventures. There are more new moves, more complex puzzles not to mention more difficult enemys to destroy. The Croft Manor is a fun puzzle in itself as well. Over all a great addition to the Tomb Raider game list.

This game is great, there are not many good action Xbox games for girls and this one is a great one, this game has strong acrobatic skills plus lots of action. My daughter loves it and can't stop playing it

good fun game but very hard i like it because im a girl you play a girl