Tomb Raider: Legend

Tomb Raider Legend is a PS2 era cinematic action-adventure platformer game, and in a way it is the opposite of TR Anniversary: - levels, though well designed, are extremely linear and the puzzles are basic (and it's kind of a shame) - combat is ok and the addition of kicks, slides, grenades and weapons make it better but is still very easy - every level also ends with a bossfight but camera control doesn't do the player any favors - there are 2 shooting galleries on a bike sequences that are poorly executed, do not handle well and are easily the worst part of this game - strong narrative, well directed cutscenes and clear story goals lead to a good overall presentation - villains aren't laughable caricatures this time around but are still underdeveloped - really good OST that complements every action scene - Lara's character is the strongest part of this game as from the get go she is chatty, witty, confident and intelligent while still staying classy. Credit where it's due, the VA did a magnificent job - play time is again short and sweet but a bit on the shorter side, only 8-10 hours. The game doesn't overstay its welcome but it definitely makes you wish there was more With the exception of the motorcycle chase, the game as a whole plays well enough as Lara is agile and her motions are responsive and fluid with only the camera needing some fiddling in some sequences. She will still jump to her death sometimes but respawning at a checkpoint is instantaneous as you don't have to wait for the PS2 to load (heh). Just make sure to turn off the next gen option as it bugs the game out (it also makes the character models look weird). I didn't try my luck with controller but mouse and keyboard work just fine after remapping the controls. It is kind of surreal replaying this game 20 years later and noticing the building blocks of a formula that would evolve into how modern action adventure games are played, as TR Legend is essentially Uncharted 1 without the use of cover during fights and lack of close combat qte (along with the limitations of the PS2 system) and they are only a year apart! And just as Legend influenced Uncharted, so did eventually the success of Uncharted influence Tomb Raider leading to the TR Survivor era games. On its own TR Legend is a success as it achieves what it settled to do back in the day, to reintroduce Lara in a new series while keeping the timeless charm of its predecessors. And though it is not the best Tomb Raider, as it plays like a blockbuster movie (ala Mission Impossible at times, which is kinda cool ngl) and ends up losing the eerie feeling of exploration that the older games had, it is still the best [b] Lara Croft [/b] game as it emphasizes on Lara's action hero characterization. If nothing else, TR Legend is a good game to recommend and serves as an excellent introduction to the Tomb Raider series.