Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
. . .FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!, May 19, 2000
Don't let all the negative comments deter you! I've spent most of my life (28 years) playing video games -- the rest I've just wasted! :-) -- and this is THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN!TR III is the SOLUTION to this increasingly sad world of antisocial computer games and the dysfunctional families they ruin. Even though TR III isn't multiplayer it is just as fun to watch as it is to play! My two boys (5 and 2) beg me everyday to play "The Lara Game with us!" Since Christmas we've played about 5-10 hours/week and still are only 1/2 way through. Where else could I get so much family entertainment for $24.00? Some FUDDY-DUDDYS (who apparently think what their kids are exposed to is more damning than the lack of time/love they provide them) complain there is too much violence in TR III. BUT compared to the gruesome games at the arcade, (which your kids play whether you know it or not) TR III is VERY sanitized! Furthermore, even though Lara has an arsenel of delightfully diverse guns, the point of the game is NOT violence BUT exploration! AND WHAT A BEAUTIFULLY DETAILED (visual and audio) AND EXCITING WORLD TO EXPLORE! There's underwater caves to swim through, the mysterious Area 51, zip-lines, mazes so complex you need paper and pencil, and my personal favorites -- giant leaps (with or without an ATV) of chasms so deep and realistic it makes my stomach float up into my mouth. To accomplish all these wonderful feats of atheletism, TR III equips Lara with more moves than ever before. In addition to backflips, swan-dives, etc. she can "Monkey Swing" through the tree-tops, crawl on her hands and knees, climb ladders and slick-rock walls, operate several kinds of vehicles, and you haven't lived until you've guided Lara in an all out sprint, with the ground shaking beneath her feet, away from a rocket launch with a wall of fire surging at your heels! Learning the 3rd person interface (keyborad driven) is a bit tough at first, but stick with it because the movie like perspective it affords, once you master it, is well worth the struggle! As for its difficulty level... Yes, TR III is mentally challenging. It will be a real dissapointment for MORONIC enthusiast of the DOOM/HERETIC/DUKE NUKE 'EM type game who expect to be able to shoot there way out of any situation. The puzzels are rich and diverse, requiring creativity and dexterity (stacking blocks to reach a ceiling grate, flipping a combination of levers to open a door, ducking to avoid laser beams, etc.) BUT they are not illogical nor unrealistic! My 5-year-old is often able to understand what is expected of Lara next and he enjoys nothing more than bragging to his mom about how he helped "Daddy find the secret passage to the lower halls!" Better still, there's multiple solutions to many puzzels! Nevertheless we occasionally have to get help... WHICH BY THE WAY can easily be found on any of a dozen FREE internet sites. There is NO NEED for "resourceful players" to buy the hint book! My boys and I (and even my wife)love this game. As a parent this game gives me another excellent alternative to "Disney Movies" in which to interact with my kids. They have a blast, learn puzzle solving skills, eye-hand coordination, and I get to monitor, lead, censure (some scenes are a little too scary for preschoolers) and sincerely participate in their fun!
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
WAY TOO DIFFICULT., January 11, 2000
I've conquered hundreds of video games, but unless you have serious amounts of free time on your hand the tomb raider series is not for you. I especially don't like having to get a hint guide to progress through a game. The first tomb raider was difficult, but not unreasonably so, the puzzles made sense. The second one introduced a troubling trend of hiding the solution to puzzles in nonsensical places, and forcing a player to backtrack and turn up the brightness constantly. In this game it is virtually impossible to figure out swiftly where you need to go or what you have to do. With larger levels come an increasingly frustrating inability to simply figure out what you're trying to do in that particular level. I finally gave up after defeating two areas. I refused to buy the hint guide, but after flipping through it I was enraged at how impossible the programmers made it to find the extra weapons and ammo. The game is tough enough already without having to defeat levels with just your pistols if you don't buy the hint guide.Why the hell can't they just make the game fun? the first one was just about right. I'll never have the amount of free time necessary to enjoy this series, which I actually love. I have more fun just wandering around and jumping then trying to defeat needlessly obtuse puzzles. The only area really up to first tomb raider standards are is the south american levels with the giant statues. ARGH.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully frustrating stumper leaves thumb sore for days, September 10, 1999
By A Customer
Eidos Interactive's latest instalment in the much-vaunted Tomb Raider series sprawls itself across the screen in bold strokes. Heroine-icon Lara Croft is once again pitted against the forces of interstellar chaos, vying for posession of arcane relics that lie hidden at the four corners of the globe. Leaping, sprinting, or crawling ever closer, she encounters puzzles, booby traps and various surly types that are all meant to thwart her quest to once again be the victorious Avatar of Anarexia. Astonishingly vivid hi-res graphics allow the play of light to achive new levels of subtlety, creating eerily realistic effects within the vast gaming environments. Aural verisimilitude is augmented by an ethereal musical score that manages to weave itself coyly in and out of being audible. Refinements to the interface aspect of game play such as crawling mode and 'speed dash' are welcome additions, and indeed prove to be vital when faced with the yeoman's work Ms. Croft tirelessly undertakes in this adventure. Patience, if not already an attribute strong in the gamer, will be learned swiftly when delving into the challenging game play. The decision to change the nature in which one is able to save one's progress -- it is a rare and blessed event in TR3-- means an almost Zen-like tolerance for repititious small-muscle aerobics. Thankfully, the gifted people at Eidos have crafted an environment richly rewarding in it's discovery, replete with magical realizations of fluid-dynamics, dizzying panoramae, and the occasional moment of visceral blood-letting. Visually speaking, this game ranks at or near the apex of what's currently available, overflowing with loving details that all contribute to make the game worth spending time with. Tomb Raider 3 is ideally suited for those already familiar with the series. Neophytes will likely become frustrated quite rapidly given the immediate high difficulty level. The best strategy is to flail wildly for short bursts, leaving off before the urge to ram the controller through the screen becomes overpowering. Or, just go buy the "hint book" that spoils everything.
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