Tomb Raider
PlayStation
Nostalgia Factor:
I have been a fan of the Tomb Raider franchise since the very beginning. Back in 1996, I remember reading video game magazine previews for the game before it came out. I thought it looked pretty darned good. The same year, I also played the original Resident Evil for the first time and was completely awestruck by the title. It really showed me what video games were capable of, and I was expecting the same thing out of Tomb Raider as well.
The game was released to universal praise. Best of all, it was available for the Saturn - which was the only 32-bit console I owned at the time. There was no way I was not going to get this game. And get it I did, as a gift for Christmas that very same year.
Can you believe my initial reaction to the game was extreme disappointment? I don't know why, but for whatever reason I was expecting something different. I looked at the pixelated graphics, the clunky controls, the cheap deaths left and right. I struggled to make it through a level or two of the game, and I was like - this is crap! I could barely control Lara, much less play the game with the precision required to jump around on all the ledges and platforms in the game.
Eventually my feelings changed. The more I played the game, the better I got. Eventually I started to really enjoy it. I didn't have many games for the Saturn back then, so I didn't have many other playing options. I basically became obsessed with this title, playing it day and night. This was a good time in my life. It seemed like all I did was watch Star Trek: The Next Generation reruns and play this game. Oh, to be 14 again! In particular, I remember a day where it was dangerously cold outside. Negative 20 degrees, something like that. Because I had to take the bus, my brother called me out of school since he was 18 and could legally do so. Hey, I wasn't about to complain. So instead of going to school I just sat at home all day and played this nonstop. I must have played it for seriously 15 to 20 hours straight.
Good times.
I have so much nostalgia for this game. I remember one of my first experiences EVER using the internet was trying to look up a way to get through the stage with the water levels that go up and down. The Cistern. This was age of dial-up internet. It took ten minutes to load one page of simple black and white text from my high school's library computers. But I did it, and I was able to read through those pages to gather the information necessary to make it on to the next level.
In relatively short order, I ended up beating the game. Tomb Raider had turned out to be quite the journey after all! So what did I do? I started from the beginning and played it again. I can't tell you how many times I must have beaten this game. At least ten times. At least.
Good times.
I have so much nostalgia for this game. I remember one of my first experiences EVER using the internet was trying to look up a way to get through the stage with the water levels that go up and down. The Cistern. This was age of dial-up internet. It took ten minutes to load one page of simple black and white text from my high school's library computers. But I did it, and I was able to read through those pages to gather the information necessary to make it on to the next level.
In relatively short order, I ended up beating the game. Tomb Raider had turned out to be quite the journey after all! So what did I do? I started from the beginning and played it again. I can't tell you how many times I must have beaten this game. At least ten times. At least.
That being said, it's 2015 and I can't tell you when the last time I played this game was. It has to be at the very least about ten years ago. Well, I'm about to play it now. And due to issues with my Sega Saturn, I'm actually playing the PS1 version of the game for the first time ever. I wonder how it will hold up!
Story:
You play as Lara Croft, adventurer and tomb raider extraordinaire. Lara is minding her own business, sipping on some coffee and looking at her laptop when she's given a business proposition from a rich woman named Jacquelyn Natla. Pardon my spelling if that is wrong. I am not looking that shit up.
Lara is sent out to collect a rare artifact known as the Scion. When she recovers it, one of Natla's men tries to kill her and take it for himself. Lara puts an end to that nonsense and sneaks into Natla's headquarters looking for answers. She finds out there are other pieces to the Scion that Natla is looking for. Lara heads out to collect them before Natla can find them, as she can tell Natla is up to no good.
At the end of the game you find out that Natla is a survivor of the advanced, yet lost, civilization of Atlantis. She was exiled from Atlantis for trying to use the powers of the Scion to advance her own personal agenda. She is sealed in a tube and buried away. Years and years later, nuclear testing in the area awakens her from her slumber. Now she is attempting to assemble the pieces of the Scion to turn herself into some sort of god, or something. So naturally it is up to Lara to stop her and save the day.
Gameplay:
Gameplay:
I could see why I wouldn't have liked the controls or the combat when I first played this game. Lara moves forward in a short little burst of steps. If you aren't careful, you can go right over a ledge or somewhere you don't want to go. You can hold down the walk button, which is a big help. This positions you better for jumps and things. Plus you can't fall off a ledge while walking, which is my main reason for using it so much. Push the down button, and Lara takes a short hop backward. Which again can be very dangerous when on ledges and the like. Hold the walk button, however, and she cautiously takes a step back.
Jumping can be a dangerous affair. Every jump seemingly requires precision alignment. If you aren't lined up properly, don't expect to make that jump. If you come into this game with no patience, expecting it to be easy - it is not. And it is not forgiving either. Take your time and understand how the game works and this will be a much more rewarding experience for you. Just beware that there is a learning curve.
Besides running, walking, and jumping, Lara can also hang on to ledges and push and pull giant blocks of stone out of her way. The combat of the game is very simple. Pull out your guns and Lara locks on to the enemy. Hold the fire button. Shoot enemy. That's it. The game does almost everything for you. The only real challenge in fighting comes from dodging enemies that rush at you as you fire away at them.
The controls take some practice, but even now after it having been so long since the last time I played a Tomb Raider game, the controls came back smoothly and easily to me. It took me literally no practice to get the hang of this again. The entire game, I only died a small handful of times from falling off a ledge or mistiming a jump.
The controls take some practice, but even now after it having been so long since the last time I played a Tomb Raider game, the controls came back smoothly and easily to me. It took me literally no practice to get the hang of this again. The entire game, I only died a small handful of times from falling off a ledge or mistiming a jump.
*makes cheesy gun gesture, blows off smoking guns*
Still got it.
I don't think I have seen better level design in a game before. All the levels in the game are huge. There are secrets hiding in many a nook and cranny. There are puzzles and things you must do in order to advance to the next level. For example, one stage you must explore looking for cogs in a giant wheel that you must turn. Find the cogs, turn the wheel, and it cuts off a waterfall that you must enter to find the next part of the game. The whole game is filled with puzzles like this. One thing I really love is that it is usually pretty clear where you need to go or what you need to find in order to advance throughout the stage. Rarely are you left floundering.
Lara's journey takes her to 4 major areas. Ancient ruins in Peru, Greece, Egypt, and finally the lost continent of Atlantis. Each stage has within it 4 or 5 levels to complete. Each stage and each area is unique and has its own distinctive visual style.
I don't think I have seen better level design in a game before. All the levels in the game are huge. There are secrets hiding in many a nook and cranny. There are puzzles and things you must do in order to advance to the next level. For example, one stage you must explore looking for cogs in a giant wheel that you must turn. Find the cogs, turn the wheel, and it cuts off a waterfall that you must enter to find the next part of the game. The whole game is filled with puzzles like this. One thing I really love is that it is usually pretty clear where you need to go or what you need to find in order to advance throughout the stage. Rarely are you left floundering.
Lara's journey takes her to 4 major areas. Ancient ruins in Peru, Greece, Egypt, and finally the lost continent of Atlantis. Each stage has within it 4 or 5 levels to complete. Each stage and each area is unique and has its own distinctive visual style.
All in all, the game takes a good long time to complete. Even having played this game before and knowing what to do (for the most part) this game easily still took me 20 to 25 hours to complete. Maybe more. I should have kept track!
Graphically, Tomb Raider has some issues. When people say they hate this era of gaming because the graphics are ugly, I hate to say it but Tomb Raider is a prime example of this. The environments are heavily pixelated (although I must admit the graphics are better on the PlayStation as opposed to the Saturn). From afar everything in the game looks good, but when you get close it is kind of a mess. There are weird glitches happening left and right. Randomly you can see through walls sometimes, or spot an enemy through a doorway in another room.
I understand that some new gamers may be turned off by the way this game looks. But I grew up with this game. It was cutting edge for its time. I find the way this game looks to be incredibly charming. The pulsating walls of meat located in the Atlantis stages really do it for me.
All jokes aside, the atmosphere in the game is terrific. You really feel magically transported to some of these dank, nasty tombs. Put on some headphones, play this in the dark, and let it transport you away from your mundane life for a few hours each day.
This game does a lot of really great things with its music and sound effects. Music is sparsely used throughout the game. Mainly the game is silent, with nothing but ambient sound effects and Lara's echoing footsteps leading the way. When the music does kick in, it is never anything short of amazing. This game has a really, really epic soundtrack.
Overall:
I think you know how I feel. This game is brilliant. Forget the controls. Forget the janky graphics. You'll get used to 'em both. This game is one of the best.
Everything about Tomb Raider just screams classic. The level design is great. Everywhere I turn, I see something iconic or something that makes me say "this was so ahead of its time!" Maybe there are some rose-tinted nostalgia goggles coming into play here, but there isn't a single level in this game that isn't fun, isn't unique, and doesn't have something interesting about it. I have to reiterate, I have never seen such great level design in a game before. Every level I played, I was like "yeah this one! I remember this level" or "wow, this one was so good!" There isn't a dull one in the batch.
If you are new to the game, it may take you a while to explore each stage and find out what you are supposed to do next. I had an advantage seeing as how I have played this game before. But even still, I got stuck a few times. But the game isn't frustratingly difficult. Be patient, and you will find your way through.
I understand that this game isn't going to be for everyone. I am sure there are some who don't like the way it controls. Or some who think it looks too primitive compared to games nowadays. But old doesn't mean bad. Don't even get me started on Tomb Raider Anniversary, a remade version of this game for the PS2. It is so dumbed down, it isn't even funny. Sure, the graphics are much better. But there is almost no challenge or originality in the game whatsoever. I'll take game play over graphics any day of the week.
So if you can't tell, I really like the game. As soon as I fired it up for the first time in over ten years, I was immediately engaged once again. It sucked me in and I just could not stop playing it. I beat the game in under a week, and played pretty much every night nonstop. I had a great time. Compare this to the last game I reviewed: Final Fantasy 9 where it took me months and months to slog through it. Just the fact that a game like Tomb Raider kept me coming back as often as it did is a testimony to its greatness.
I was going to give it just an A, but the more I think about it, the more I think it gets a higher score. I mean, I really had a great time. Not only does it have sentimental value for me, but it is just so much fun to play. Solving puzzles and exploring have never been as fun in a game. I liked the game when I was a kid. It is only as an adult that I can come back to it and truly appreciate it. This is a classic, and aside from a few graphical issues, I can't say anything bad about it.
It is amazing, and definitely one of the all time greats. Oh yeah, and there's dinosaurs.
If you are new to the game, it may take you a while to explore each stage and find out what you are supposed to do next. I had an advantage seeing as how I have played this game before. But even still, I got stuck a few times. But the game isn't frustratingly difficult. Be patient, and you will find your way through.
I understand that this game isn't going to be for everyone. I am sure there are some who don't like the way it controls. Or some who think it looks too primitive compared to games nowadays. But old doesn't mean bad. Don't even get me started on Tomb Raider Anniversary, a remade version of this game for the PS2. It is so dumbed down, it isn't even funny. Sure, the graphics are much better. But there is almost no challenge or originality in the game whatsoever. I'll take game play over graphics any day of the week.
So if you can't tell, I really like the game. As soon as I fired it up for the first time in over ten years, I was immediately engaged once again. It sucked me in and I just could not stop playing it. I beat the game in under a week, and played pretty much every night nonstop. I had a great time. Compare this to the last game I reviewed: Final Fantasy 9 where it took me months and months to slog through it. Just the fact that a game like Tomb Raider kept me coming back as often as it did is a testimony to its greatness.
I was going to give it just an A, but the more I think about it, the more I think it gets a higher score. I mean, I really had a great time. Not only does it have sentimental value for me, but it is just so much fun to play. Solving puzzles and exploring have never been as fun in a game. I liked the game when I was a kid. It is only as an adult that I can come back to it and truly appreciate it. This is a classic, and aside from a few graphical issues, I can't say anything bad about it.
It is amazing, and definitely one of the all time greats. Oh yeah, and there's dinosaurs.
THE GRADE:
A+
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