[Dasilva]

Lara Croft regained her place at the top of the UK all-formats sales charts this week, with Tomb Raider: Legend going straight in at number one - confounding the predictions of many industry commentators, including this one, that the undeservedly strong first week chart performance of Angel of Darkness was the last time that the heroine who defined gaming in the late nineties would jump, swing and backflip her way to such lofty heights.

Admittedly, as one colleague pointed out this week, for Lara Croft to crow about doing well in Britain would be like David Hasselhoff pointing out how big he is in Germany; everyone already knows, and nobody's really all that impressed. On the other hand, regardless of Britain's affinity for Lara, there's no doubt that the success of Tomb Raider: Legend, both commercially and critically, is an achievement of which both developers Crystal Dynamics and publisher Eidos' new SCi management can be proud.

Certainly, the critical response has been warm - albeit hardly the stoked inferno which has greeted other recent hits such as Bethesda's Oblivion. There's a feeling that while this outing is great fun and even boasts such surprises as genuinely well-written dialogue and good voice acting alongside its platforming treats, it's not without its failings - and there's widespread agreement that the onetime Queen of Videogames has been rather upstaged by the impetuous Prince of Persia. However, the very fact that the media and gamers alike are discussing the game's triumphs and flaws rather than simply tolling another bell for the Tomb Raider franchise is crucially important.

What it means, in essence, is that we're witnessing something highly unusual for the videogames industry - an event which, if the Christians in the readership will forgive me for the slightly off-colour analogy, is rather in keeping with the current theme of Easter. Eidos' biggest franchise has not merely been reinvigorated, it has been resurrected - and it's easy to see why some gamers are rather surprised at the spectacle of a horse's corpse that's been thoroughly beaten and whipped for several years suddenly standing up and walking around.

Congratulations, then, to SCi / Eidos and to Crystal Dynamics. It's going to take more than one seven or eight out of ten game to erase the memory of several unforgivably weak instalments in the Tomb Raider franchise, but as this week's chart proves, the gaming consumer can be surprisingly magnanimous at times, and a genuine, heartfelt dedication to building a high quality product to satisfy the fans of a franchise is something to which they will react positively, and lucratively.

The challenge for both developer and publisher is now to build upon the work set out in Legend and bring the series to new heights for its next iteration. The original Tomb Raider and its first sequel helped to define a genre and create one of the most enduring videogames legends of all time; that's the legacy which gamers have in mind when they approach the franchise, and for both publisher and developer, that's the benchmark of quality which must be reached. It takes only the merest glance at historical sales figures to show that Eidos' reward for keeping its eye on the ball in this regard will not just be the adoration of critics - it will be the cold, hard cash of punters pouring through the tills. We wish them - and Lara - all the best.

- http://www.gamesindustry.biz/

[Legolas813]

This game is awesome. I'm playing the Xbox version and it's just so much fun. Haven't played a Tomb Raider since Tomb Raider Gold way back when.

I didn't even realize the time! I've been playing for 3 hours straight.

(Oh, and I'm 12% through the game).

[Lucien21]

Finito

Bottom save shows the save after finishing the game on the Xbox 360.

87% in just under 7 hours gameplay.


Overall I enjoyed the game but for £50 7 hours isn't value for money (And I know there is the Manor section and time trials and I could replay it to get all the silly gold, silver and bronze artifacts)

The actual tomb raiding bit, the boss battles and the story are all top notch.

I was less thrilled with the lame motorcycle bits which were naff in the extreme and the basic combat which was far too easy.

Loved the addition of the grappling hook which really added a lot to the game.

Hopefully the next game can improve the combat (I missed firing while jumping backwards and sideways moves from the original), ditch the on-rails vehicle sections and of course make it longer and more difficult.

7/10 is probably a reasonable score for it.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

7/10 is probably a reasonable score for it.

Which, incidentally, is the score awarded by Gamesâ„¢ ...

[Dasilva]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

(And I know there is the Manor section and time trials and I could replay it to get all the silly gold, silver and bronze artifacts)

Their not silly.

[Legolas813]

I'm at 4:48:05 and 34%. I'm not too concerned about the length, as most of my Xbox games I play for free through Blockbuster Online (note: free monthly game rentals no longer available for new members).

The game is awesome though. I haven't played a non-adventure in a while.

The only thing I keep wishing for is reverse time from Prince of Persia.

[Dasilva]

I've found every Bronze, Silver & gold reward in every level of the game (except for Croft Manor), I've only got 5 time trials left.

I love all the boss fights in this game, and killing people with a sword is great.

[Tanukitsune]

I just got the game in the mail today...

Ooooh-Kay, it's say I CAN'T run the next gen stuff?

What the?

What do you need an brand new 500$ graphic card or what?

Don't tell me this game has higher requierements than Oblivion?

This is just silly, I can run Oblivion at near max specs, yet I can't even use HDR in Tomb Raider Legends?

[Dasilva]

Next Gen button is just reminding you that you could get the 360 version.

[Tanukitsune]

Originally Posted by Dasilva

Next Gen button is just reminding you that you could get the 360 version.

What I find ironic (more like, moronic) is that to access the next gen stuff you need a graphic card that costs as much as the 360!

Bah, no matter, the game is great so far...

[Legolas813]

Don't forget that Legend is also out on plain old Xbox, if you don't have a 360.

I'm playing on Xbox and it looks and plays just fine.

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by Dasilva

I've found every Bronze, Silver & gold reward in every level of the game (except for Croft Manor), I've only got 5 time trials left.

I love all the boss fights in this game, and killing people with a sword is great.

I finished the manor level getting all the Gym items were fun.

[Dasilva]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

I finished the manor level getting all the Gym items were fun.

I could never figure out how to get the silver award all the way on top. I guess I waisted 10£ (20 USD) on that game guide, I only used it to look at the making of and all the lush artwork.

[Dasilva]

''It's another legendary week for Eidos as Lara Croft picks off the competition to retain the top spot, new entries from several publishers failing to make an impact on the re-shuffled top ten listing.'' Game Industry Biz

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by Dasilva

I could never figure out how to get the silver award all the way on top. I guess I waisted 10£ (20 USD) on that game guide, I only used it to look at the making of and all the lush artwork.

Figured out the gold one yet

[Dasilva]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

Figured out the gold one yet

Yeah! That was so fun, all the riddles.

[Giligan]

What kind of pistols does Lare Croft carry? From what I've seen of the first game, it looks like she carried Smith & Wesson 59 nickel plated 9mms. In Legend screenshots, it looks like she carries some kind of compact-polymer framed autos with some strange kind of silencer on the muzzle. Anyone know what kind of guns she carries?

[jjacob]

Who cares?

[Giligan]

I do, obviously.

jjakob

[jjacob]

guns are bad...mmmmkay