Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend (PlayStation 2)

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Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb raider legend ps2 cover.jpg
Publisher:	Eidos
Developer:	Crystal Dynamics
Alternative Title:	None
Release date:	JP: date/monthintext/year NA: date/monthintext/year EU: 07/April/2006 AU: date/monthintext/year
Genre:	Action Adventure
Number of Players:	1
Rating:	ESRB - ESRB-rating PEGI/ELSPA - PEGI-rating CERO - CERO-rating
Platform:	Sony PlayStation 2
Media:	DVD-ROM
Online Functions:	No
Amazon:	UK US De Fr Jp Ca

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is a 3D action adventure, starring Lara Croft. The game is the seventh 'main' game in the Tomb Raider series, and is the first to have been programmed by a company other than Core Design.

Contents 1 Story 2 Gameplay 3 Trivia 4 Credits 5 Formats 6 External links 7 Screenshots 8 Review Scores

Story

Lara Croft was rocked as a child by the loss of her mother to a mysterious device they discovered amongst some ancient ruins. Since then she has spent her life trying to discover the link between that device and a number of similar sites that have come to her attention.

Her quest to find out what happened to her mother is not helped by rivals from her past who have a more sinister agenda. It's up to Lara to travel the globe in a search for the missing answers to her past, in a bid to put her ghosts to rest once and for all.

Gameplay

Anyone who has played Tomb Raider in the past should be instantly familiar with this, however, it also has plenty of new tricks to keep you interested.

Lara has benefitted from a significant overhaul and this doesn't just show in the graphics. Lara looks amazing and has a large reportoire of moves, though some of the lesser characters and enemies aren't as well off, while the backdrops are lush and varied. Lara can also interact with a large proportion of the world and can leap about with superb grace.

The game probably owes more to the recent Prince of Persia series than it's own predecessors, as most of the time is spent carefully leaping around tombs and performing death defying acrobatics that are both pleasing on the eye and satisfying to pull off.

The combat is significantly weaker, as a tap of the lock on button does most of work as you then proceed to run around hapless enemies who pose little threat even on the harder difficulties. The bosses pose more of a problem, until you figure out they aften work on a predictable routine and then they are just as easy to overcome.

The games longevity is helped by the addition of a time trail mode to redo previously complete levels and also a variety of gold, silver and bronze artifacts cleverly hidden about the levels, the collection of which opens up hidden features and allows a player to attain the unique 360 achievements. Even so, the game is still remarkably short.

Still, compard to Lara's last disastrous outing this is a step in the right direction. The levels are cunningly designed and players get a great sense of fun from clambering about. Well worth spending some time on if you don't have your own climbing pit - or are a wuss like me.

Trivia

• On the floor of Zip's office, in Croft Manor, several humorous Post-It notes can be found. These include "legal says "no"", "get more soda" and "reboot web-cams in bedroom".
• Lara's back-story and character design, plus the design of Croft Manor have all been brought in line with the movies rather than the continuity established in the previous 6 games.
• On the unlockable costume Goth, the symbols on Lara's vest and belt buckle are for another Crystal Dynamics/Eidos series, Legacy of Kain. They are the symbols for Raziel and Kain's respective clans. Also, in the main hall of Croft Manor, a painting can be seen of the human Kain, the same one that Raziel sees in Kain's Mausoleum in Defiance. Lara's blue sport outfit uses the Soul Reaver symbol of the sound glyph on the shoes. The unlockable Soul Reaver weapon is also a nod to these games.
• In the first Bolivia level, in the corridor after the interactive sequence, skeletal corpses can be seen in a hole in the wall. The corpses are similar to those that can be seen in certain areas of the first Tomb Raider game, such as Peru.
• The lyrics to the main theme and other musical cues in the game are from a Gaelic folk song named Ailein duinn.
• As of June 30, 2006, the game has sold over 2.9 million copies worldwide, has become the fastest selling Tomb Raider game in the series and has helped the series sell over 30 million units. [2]
• In the last level, Bolivia Redux, the crates bear the Natla Industries logo. Jacqueline Natla was the main enemy in the original game, and Natla Technologies was her company.
• The main hall of Croft Manor is nearly identical in layout and ornamentation to its counterpart in the first movie.

Credits

(the people who made the game)

• Important Person: Important Job

Formats

• Sony PlayStation 2
• Microsoft Xbox
• Microsoft Xbox 360
• Nintendo GameCube
• Personal Computer
• Sony PlayStation Portable
• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo Game Boy Advance

External links

• Tomb Raider Official Site
• Tomb Raider Chronicles

Screenshots

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend Screenshots

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend Screenshot 1

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend Screenshot 2

Review Scores

• Magazine Name: score (issue number or date)