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Few
true gamers will not know of one of the biggest releases to come out
this year, it’s an Eidos series that really started what the
PlayStation became: the lads’ machine. Its subsequent games in the
series, Tomb Raider 2, Tomb Raider 3, and Tomb
Raider: Last Revelation were huge hits with the general press
and public a like. Then Core Design, the team that originally made
the first Tomb Raider and its sequels, left Eidos and the
franchise behind. Leaving Eidos to find a new team to make the
follow on from Tomb Raider: Last Revelation, which was Lara
Croft; Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, and though this game was
largely a success amongst the public, it unfortunately received a
few unfavourable reviews within the British Press.
With this release of the huge Tomb Raider name, Lara
Croft; Tomb Raider: Legend, Eidos have decided to start again
from square one, re-doing everything in the game; from the graphics,
the physics and the animation to the weapons and fighting abilities.
So with everything re-built from scratch the game should now go from
a multi-million seller to a multi-billion seller, right?
Well I have had the joy of playing the very first Preview
Code of Lara Croft; Tomb Raider: Legend, and the graphics
really have had a gorgeous makeover, from when you first start,
Lara, and all of her surroundings look superb compared to anything
else seen on the PlayStation2; the size and depth of nature around
you really brings a sense of awe to the occasion. Then, as you start
to move around the  rocks and ledges around you, you get to enjoy the
new fluidity built into Lara’s movements, instead of using the
previous system which involved much use of the camera and much
cursing to just missed jumps, you can now make Lara jump to which
ever angle you press on the left Analogue Stick, similar to that of Shadow
Of The Colossus, and the Default Camera will be in a good
position to see what you’re doing. Even if you do miss-judge the
jump, Lara has a new feature; hanging on with one hand and giving
you the option of pressing Triangle to get Lara to pull herself into
the two-handed hanging position, should you be quick enough.
The Enemies have had a large amount of work put into them,
showing, at times, quite a large amount of intelligence for ones
usually regarded as hired thugs. Lara is encouraged to use her
intelligence too, throughout all the Levels everything which is not
part of a wall or floor is breakable or movable - puzzles can
involve everything from kicking rocks to set off traps, pushing
blocks through closing walls  and therefore avoiding death, or even
using simple gravity to set-up huge complex systems which end up
with enemies being killed or sealed doors opening.
Combat is a compliment to all the puzzle solving, and Lara
can shoot and dodge in completely different directions, without any
pauses between movements: giving you complete control over all of
her actions and allowing you to do it with speed, Lara also has very
fluid interaction, meaning that any obstacle or enemy can be dealt
with without pause for thought.
The sheer size and scale of the new ideas put into this once
groundbreaking series really make it stand-out as a refreshed
edition of the Tomb Raider franchise in every way. There has
been an obvious amount of work put-in to turn Lara
Croft; Tomb Raider: Legend
into a real iconic moment in the Tomb Raider legacy, and
bring the entire series running at speed with the other
revolutionary titles released this year.
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