TOMB RAIDER LEGEND REVIEW

TOMB RAIDER LEGEND REVIEW
Posted:2006-04-27 By Master Chief Number of View:7101
TOMB RAIDER LEGEND REVIEW By :Master Chief Posted:2006-04-27 xtreview is your : Video card - cpu - memory - Hard drive - power supply unit source Tomb Raider Legend Review Developer: Crystal Dynamics Genre: Action / AdventureESRB: Teen System Requirements Minimum :Pentium III 1GHz or equivalent, 256 MB RAM, 64 MB Video Memory, Windows 2000/XP, 9GB HDD Space Recommended: Pentium IV 2 GHz or equivalent, 512 MB RAM, 256 MB Video Memory-ory-   I'm sorry Amanda. If I 'd known that you were alive, I swear I would have done anything I could to save you! - Please... I got over that a long time ago. You know what really used to bug me though? When I got out, I saw that you left without even trying to... what is it that archaeologists do? Oh, right, DIG! - We thought of it as a memorial. - Whatever... Don 't let her follow me...     tomb raider legend review The bridge went down, mercenaries are shooting at Lara and her "dead" friend is alive and walking. Welcome to Tomb Raider Legend! This is what you should expect from the latest game in the Tomb Raider franchise. The first impression when you enter the game is "WoW!". Crystal Dynamics developed a completely new engine and you can see it in action even in the main menu. If you have an appropriate graphics card, you can activate the "Advanced Features" option and you'll meet the most beautiful virtual Lara Croft you've ever seen.   The game isn 't just for Tomb Raider fans. The storyline is easy to understand and the game even starts with an episode from Lara's childhood. There are a couple of flashbacks during the game, thus making the player familiar with Lara 's past. The flashback and cinematic design is great. Actually, some cinematics are interactive. When you least expect it, a white arrow appears and if you don't press the corresponding key, something bad happens to Lara. So don't rest your hands if you see a cinematic starting. The good thing is that the developers didn't make this aspect of the game annoying. So, if you're not prepared and you miss the right moment to save Lara, you just start over from the beginning of the cinematic. And don't get scared, it 's the easiest part of the game and it 's pretty rare.   The control isn't perfect, but it causes no problems. The mouse and keyboard work pretty good together and Lara goes where you want to. Control is very important in this game, because half of the game, if not more, is based on controlling Lara on steep ledges or in deep tombs. The environment is really smartly designed, and sometimes you will not see the path you need to follow instantly. Not everything is so obvious from the start, because you must fully use the environment to get from one place to another. You might need to shoot the ropes that hold a giant crate so it can act as a bridge or use an ancient lift system so you can go to the upper level. Of course, you 'll not only ask yourself "how will I get to that door up there", but also "how will I open that door". These are the puzzles that make this game worth having "Tomb Raider" as part of its name. Discover ancient mechanisms and try to make them work again. What I liked about these puzzles is that they really could be in an ancient tomb. In other adventure games you might ask yourself "how did the ancient Aztecs make a system to recognize the color of the rock you place in each hole in the wall?". In TRL all the mechanisms are very ingenious and the way they work is pretty obvious once you set them into motion. No hidden mystery component, you get to see all the chains and gizmos that all make it happen. I enjoyed the TRL puzzles a lot because their solution was logical.   You think a lot in TRL. From time to time, you have to defeat a boss that has some special power and there's always a different way to kill him. If he recharges his life with the help of some stones you might want to destroy those, or if he doesn't like electricity you might want to shock him. So, puzzles are everywhere.   There are different other things you can use to do a particular part of a level. For example, there are really intense motorcycle chases, during which you have to drive, dodge the obstacles, and shoot the mercenaries that won't leave you alone. The motorcycle control is very good, no problems there. You'll also use a Ducati to jump over a bridge. In some levels you will find big machine guns that will help you kill enemies that keep coming, or giant electricity/magnet machines that help you defeat a boss or get a platform where you want to.   In the main menu you can access "Croft Manor", Lara's home. It's a big house where you can explore different parts of it, change Lara's clothes (there are a lot of outfits you can unlock), take your dualie pistols from behind a painting and talk to the three men living in the mansion: Zip, Alister, and the Butler. Zip is the tech guy, you hear him wherever you are, he's the voice in the headset guiding you when you need help. Alister is the smart guy who just so happens to know a lot about history and does the research for Lara when needed. Graphics:  With a completely new engine behind TRL, the game looks absolutely amazing. Of course, you need a solid hardware configuration to activate "Advanced Features" in the Display options. If you do, you will be viewing the game with cinematic qualities. Excellent effects, water drops from Lara's skin when she gets out of the water and dirt if she touches the ground. In short, the graphics are excellent. Interface:  The control system is almost perfect and the interface is easy to use. You don't see the ammunition or remaining life when you don't need to, like when solving a puzzle or jumping from one side to another. These are only visible during combat, or when you point your weapon at something. The saving system is based on checkpoints. There are some checkpoints set in different parts of the level and if you save the game, it will just save the last checkpoint.     tomb raider legend review Gameplay:  There are a lot of puzzles, and a lot of thinking is needed to finish the game. During intense cinematics Lara needs your help to get past the problems she encounters. The environment is very interactive, you can use it to help you solve puzzles, go further or kill some enemies. Different things you can use are present during the game, like motorcycles, machine guns, different machines. The mechanisms that you need to start or use to go further are ingeniously designed. Multiplayer: Multiplayer is not available in this title.   Sound FX:  Nothing special to be honest. The sounds are well formulated and everything sounds like it should, but there wasn 't really anything that stood out and knocked me off my feet. Just your standard fare of footsteps, gun-shots, and the like.   Musical Score:  Same as Sound FX. It exists, it does its job, but the Musical Score is only present when something special happens and it is very subtle.  tomb raider legend review   Intelligence & Difficulty:  Difficulty can be changed at the beginning of each level, there are three settings: Easy, Medium and Hard. The game can be played by anyone, it's not too hard to learn. The AI isn't the brightest I've seen, but it does its job. Mercenaries are, as I expected, a little dumb, but TRL isn't about the mercenaries, but about the puzzles and the bosses. Speaking about bosses, these seem a little smarter, as they recharge their life if they can, or dodge your bullets.   Overall:  The game is excellent. It's one of the best singleplayer games I played in the last year. There are people that say a good game must have good graphics and some that say its gameplay is the most important. TRL has both. Great graphics and a superb gameplay make this game a true jewel. All past Tomb Raider fans are invited to play this game, even if they've been disappointed by Angel of Darkness. It's a must have for all Tomb Raider fans. Those that didn't play Tomb Raider before will find the game very enjoyable and the good thing is that anyone can understand the story, as it's explained during flashbacks or cinematics.Publisher: Eidos Interactive   xtreview is your : Video card - cpu - memory - Hard drive - power supply unit source we would be happy to answer for your question . if you have suggestion or comment regarding this review our support would be glad to help just join our forum and ask u will get the best answer to discuss check our forum section :-) RATE THIS REVIEW 1 2 3 4 5    / 5   View Stat

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