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Old 04-21-2007, 05:07 PM   #1
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TOMB RAIDER LEGEND

As Lara quips on the first level “death by irony is always painful” I later couldn’t help thinking the joke was on her.

Now with the Tomb Raider franchise taken over by the Fabled Soul Reaver team, Crystal Dynamics, Legends addresses the one major problem that all fans criticised for - the control scheme – yet produces new problems and deduces established elements of the first iterations nobody wanted to leave.

Dropping the gun battle issues, which I will get onto later, Lara is a dream to handle, something we all would like to hear.

The controls depend on the angle of the camera. If the Camera is facing to the side, jumping Lara in a certain direction will be a different button combination than when the camera is situated behind.

In theory so long as you have patience in lining up the camera in your preferred direction Lara will be hassle free. That’s in theory. Truth is when you’ve limited time to climb and jump before Lara is to be hit by an object or falls it slowly becomes cumbersome. As locations get more isolated camera gradually becomes more inconsistent, fidgety and unreliable making calculated harder than they should be.

Contrary to popular belief, Tomb Raider wasn’t just a pretty face. It was a technical achievement. One of the things that made the game so memorable (or even notorious) was the ingenious and highly evolved puzzles. For all those who found the puzzles in previous iterations easy, be prepared to be insulted. The puzzles within Legends are about the same level as that you would expect in a Spyro game.

Most make use of Lara’s trusty new grappling hook (isn’t that original) which she can use to pull objects to her, or in some cases vice versa as well as allowing her to swing from platform to platform Zelda style instead of jumping at a ridiculous ten feet in the air.

Though not the most unique item I’ve seen in a game, it brings in a little more depth but generally the simplicity of the puzzles make this a missed opportunity.

Now pushing and pulling was most certainly the case with previous games but what made them so smart was the use of gigantic locations where a box would have to be delivered what felt like half a mile to the other side, climbing over and under caves and mountains whilst fighting weird and wonderful creatures along the way.

Considering Lara Croft Tomb Raider has always been about the exploration of Tombs and that Crystal Dynamic’s love-child franchise also had its fair share, it boggles the mind why there doesn’t appear to be much of it in Legends.

Lara and co call them tombs, I call them caves with the lack of size they have. Locations are so small and isolated it’s impossible to make any puzzle ambitious. A good 95% of the time a puzzle revolves around a very small room, and never require Lara to leave for another section to find the missing link. Instead of arenas, we get one-way roads. This is not something that a game competing with the likes of established franchises as Grand Theft Auto and Oblivion need.

This would not have been a problem if this were a clone or rival, but on the context that Tomb Raider held king for being bigger and better than the competition I find this almost unacceptable. Short but sweet doesn’t work for Legends.

Though the more closed in surroundings can sometimes count as a plus. Compared to the enormous games previously mentioned, the locations in Legends seem a lot more full than most I’ve played.

Credit to the varied locations, even if achieved by some pretty cheap plot elements. You get from freezing Russia, urban Tokyo nights, tropical Bolivia and England.

Having been able to play the game with full specs with minimal slowdown I can happily tell you that graphically the jungles, deserts and tombs are some of the most
visually stunning locations in any game. The detail is immense with the lighting and water effects some of the most involving I’ve ever seen.

Branches and weeds stick out the grounds and ancient walls, water flows from every direction, surfaces are uneven and believably ruined looking, dismissing the shiny, plastic surfacing now seen in most next gen console games replaced by more realistic dusty and rougher looking surfaces. This is how Tomb Raider was always meant to look.

However the urban settings have more to be desired. Japan is as clichéd as it is boring, bland and with nothing within story or scenery to justify its place. As stated earlier, the only reason I can begin to tell the urban settings are ever in the game are an excuse to show off Lara’s figure in various revealing outfits or show off some of the more [forced] action scenarios.

What gets me most is one of the major criticisms in previous Tomb Raider instalments were the use of urban environments and yet professional reviewers have been light handed with Legend’s even though urban is the majority here.

Lets face it; Tomb Raider has never been known for its deep plot development. And why should it be? We play the Tomb Raider to venture into the beautiful ruins of
ancient civilizations thousands of years ago. If anything, surely the story behind them should speak for themselves. What we have here is an attempt to ‘dig up the past’, something that goes as far back than Lara’s teens in Last Revelation.

Frankly, who cares? And although the story does allow it easier for her to dress into some of the sauciest outfits seen so far what it also allows for is overtly boring and sometimes confusing storyline, mainly unfolding within cheesy conversations between Lara and her Yankee comrades watching from her home mansion.

Their main objective is a scapegoat to explain a rather detached story, instead of having a decent plot cleverly integrated into the level design, as well as many attempts at ‘humor’, but in this case, the U isn’t the only thing missing from it.

Not only is the voice acting annoying but also it’s also obtrusive. Crystal Dynamics have a knack for programming dialog whenever I’m rushing from boulders, calculating a complex jump, or enjoying the surroundings.
The developers have cunningly integrated the worst times for Lara’s pals to speak.

I’m sure there was some very humorous jokes in there somewhere if only I could hear them over the gunfire, also resulting in possible key plot elements being missed.

Further more, how many times do we need the co-actors to emphasis how much Lara enjoys climbing – Lara: Tonight is a good night for going out in the fresh air. Radio: Uh Oh, you know what that means? – YES, we do, so you don’t need to make the point for the 10th time.

During one segment of the game, Lara lost all radio contact with her crew. For the story, this was supposed to create suspense. I felt like punching the air, praying that they would never retain contact. Unfortunately it isn’t for long, and Lara spends the next few corners anxiously calling them again and again.

I also noticed that Lara, both her voice and looks, have dropped the girl with attitude she had in original games. Her lines are quirky and occasionally cute (obviously to make her seem more approachable than past games). Despite few sly remarks here and there, there isn’t anything that forceful or powerful about her presence. I guess it’s up to the individual to decide if this is for better or worse.

And the interactive cut scenes are a waste of time too. Anyone who’s played Shenmue, Sword of Berzerk or Broken Sword 3 knows what I’m talking about. It requires the player to press the direction buttons within a small space of time or else Lara dies in the cut scene. To me this is a cheap way of avoiding involving the player in the action with any freedom.

Another tedious task were bike action scenarios. Again, they weren’t difficult as you just switch between shooting one man on a bike to another like some rail shooter, this time however Lara’s guns are as reliable as a vampire working honestly for the red cross.

Ah, and the gunfights. How tedious and unprofessional. Whilst running up to an enemy, and using them to jump a number of feet high in slow motion is fun to begin with, accidentally jumping down cliffs whilst focusing on the battle, leaving you contemplating jumping out the window isn’t.
Neither is spending about 2 minutes trying to kill an enemy from afar as, whilst Lara is the best at athletics, she is the absolute worst at aiming.

Zooming in does very little to make distant shots more accurate. Had there not been unlimited ammo for the pistol, it would’ve resulted in hand-to-hand combat to beat anyone. This nightmare worsens with the jumping around when trying to outperform a Leopard that takes about 40 machinegun bullets to kill. Luckily, 95% of enemies are humans. Did I say lucky? I meant unfortunately. They did nothing to enforce this was a game about exploring jungles and tombs.

Once you’re locked on to someone, it’s incredibly frustrating to lock onto something else. When there is an enemy behind you, chances are you’ll have to just keep jumping about until the game automatically locks on itself

Why there wasn’t the choice of an intuitive free aim control scheme instead (or maybe just skipping the action altogether, as most of the time it’s pretty darn limited and frustrating)?

CONTINUED NEXT POST
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Old 04-21-2007, 05:08 PM   #2
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Aiming in focus mode is even worse than when in standard mode. For starters when locked on focus (bringing the player to the right shoulder of Lara, Resident Evil 4 style) Lara cannot move as she shoots, leaving her as a sitting duck. Essentially, if you’re up against 5 opponents +, and you want to target the man at the top of the cliff face, be prepared to lose plenty of life. Thankfully, ‘easy’ mode is so easy it’s a challenge to be defeated by standard enemies even if you just stood there for 5 minutes.

The music is a further complaint. Whilst original composer was able to breathe rewarding, ambiance in original instalment, connoting surprise, suspense and danger, this new composer replaced that with a rather mediocre outing that generally breaks away from the action, rather than drawing us in. It’s not terrible but this is not Tomb Raider.

On the surface Legends is, especially visually, a highly polished game let down by a forced and illogical story and incredibly linier corridor levels. Why was that bike just hanging around on the top floor of an abandoned building? Why does Lara need a crack team to help her? How does these characters survive such obvious inescapable deaths?

I understand that Tomb Raider needs to take new directions to survive, but I don’t think these are the right ones. Yes it’s pretty and yes the controls are better (but not perfect) but Legend is still an average game. In most cases, there is nothing wrong with that. But considering this was the most successful and talked about series of the 90’s, bring gamers of all kinds and even non-gamers to the same experience, this stands to reason that every dog has their day, and no amount of makeup for this girl is going to hide that she’s probably had hers.

Interestingly, not only did Eidos lose original creators Core Design with Tomb Raider Legends, but have essentially lost the core design of what the series has always been about. Now that’s death by irony Lara!
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Old 04-22-2007, 01:20 AM   #3
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Quote:
This is not something that a game competing with the likes of established franchises as Grand Theft Auto and Oblivion need.
Since when does a 3rd person action adventure compete with a open ended RPG?


Quote:
Not only is the voice acting annoying but also it’s also obtrusive. Crystal Dynamics have a knack for programming dialog whenever I’m rushing from boulders, calculating a complex jump, or enjoying the surroundings.
The developers have cunningly integrated the worst times for Lara’s pals to speak.
I’m sure there was some very humorous jokes in there somewhere if only I could hear them over the gunfire, also resulting in possible key plot elements being missed.
Well, I would think most people can do actions and listen to sound at the same time. I found the dialog in the game quite a nice touch, otherwise it would be too solitude for the player, the developers want you to feel that your not alone in these eviroments. And maybe your dialog volume is a bit lower than it should be? Because I can hear all the dialog perfectly while rocks are falling, people at gunning me with a shotgun etc.

Quote:
Ah, and the gunfights. How tedious and unprofessional. Whilst running up to an enemy, and using them to jump a number of feet high in slow motion is fun to begin with, accidentally jumping down cliffs whilst focusing on the battle, leaving you contemplating jumping out the window isn’t.
Neither is spending about 2 minutes trying to kill an enemy from afar as, whilst Lara is the best at athletics, she is the absolute worst at aiming.
There are 4 (I think) different aiming/gunplay settings in the menu, are you sure you didnt fiddle around to find the right one for you instead of being frustrated?

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Interestingly, not only did Eidos lose original creators Core Design with Tomb Raider Legends, but have essentially lost the core design of what the series has always been about. Now that’s death by irony Lara!
Okay. Toby Guard was the creator of Lara croft & Tomb Raider. He left after the first game (which is the best in the series). Now Core Design were making 6 odd sequels to what Toby Guard created, now if Im not mistaken Toby Guard IS Tomb Raider, his the man that knows what makes lara tick, Core Design are pretty lost without Toby I think, thats why Lara become so sexualized over the next games, Toby never wanted something like that, but it was out of his hands. And Angel of Darkness is solid proof that core Design don't have the direction that Toby could of given them.

So Tomb Raider aint dead, because Toby is back with Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary & Tomb Raider 8. I think TRL is a revitalisation for the series, Tomb Raider 8 will take it to the next step.
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Old 04-22-2007, 03:53 PM   #4
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Since when does a 3rd person action adventure compete with a open ended RPG?
I clearly state that the original games allowed a great deal of exploration.
Not a single section of Legend was half the size of the average location in the original game for starters. But if you want to get nitpicky, comparing it to other action adventures like the Tenchu series, Shadow of the Colossus, Psychonauts, Far Cry, Mercenaries etc it still falls flat on its face.

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Well, I would think most people can do actions and listen to sound at the same time. I found the dialog in the game quite a nice touch, otherwise it would be too solitude for the player, the developers want you to feel that your not alone in these eviroments. And maybe your dialog volume is a bit lower than it should be? Because I can hear all the dialog perfectly while rocks are falling, people at gunning me with a shotgun etc.
a good point to a certain degree, but considering the American accents are boring and both the dialog and story itself are pretty pathetic, in a way I guess I should have congratulated that I couldn't always hear it.
As for feeling alone, I didn't have a problem with the previous games when pitting Lara on her own.

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There are 4 (I think) different aiming/gunplay settings in the menu, are you sure you didnt fiddle around to find the right one for you instead of being frustrated?
I think you've got me there. It still doesn't help me jumping off edges.

Quote:
Okay. Toby Guard was the creator of Lara croft & Tomb Raider. He left after the first game (which is the best in the series). Now Core Design were making 6 odd sequels to what Toby Guard created, now if Im not mistaken Toby Guard IS Tomb Raider, his the man that knows what makes lara tick, Core Design are pretty lost without Toby I think, thats why Lara become so sexualized over the next games, Toby never wanted something like that, but it was out of his hands. And Angel of Darkness is solid proof that core Design don't have the direction that Toby could of given them.
You contradict yourself congratulating Lara for her sex appeal when he didn't want it in there in the first place. Further more, I doubt he was the only contributor to Lara. He may have designed the character visually, but that may be about it. Core Design were never 'lost'. They simply gave the fans what they wanted most. More sex appeal, more action. The franchise subdued because of giving the audience too much of a good thing. As for Angel of Darkness, they had a good direction, but were forced to release the game before it was completed (hence the bugs). If I'm correct Dri3er suffered the same consequence.

Quote:
So Tomb Raider aint dead, because Toby is back with Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary & Tomb Raider 8. I think TRL is a revitalisation for the series, Tomb Raider 8 will take it to the next step.
For me if it remains as linier and tedious as this game I'll carry on thinking it as dead. From what I've heard also Toby is nothing more than a marketing ploy.

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Old 04-22-2007, 08:56 PM   #5
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That seems a bit harsh, but if it's your opinion, so it goes.

Personally, I found Legend to be an incredible experience. The puzzles may have been dumbed down a bit, but the entire game sort of placed the emphasis more on a fast-paced, action-packed experience; it seemed to me to be mirroring action movies and possibly channeling Indiana Jones. And I certainly got more into this story than the last few (though the end of Revelations was very shocking to me at the time).

As for controls...idk, I did have some trouble getting the configuration how I wanted it, but once i did, I was moving through those levels and up those walls like I owned the place. There were a lot of nice touches to keep the actions interesting; hitting triangle in time with her movements so she moved faster or didn't fall to her death kept me more alert than the previous "hold x and right arrow for 5 minutes" technique.

Honestly, I'd say this game improved and freshened the formula in just about every way...really, the only think I didn't like was that the cool death animations were replaced with the rag-doll effect.

And the next game, from the preview section of my PSM, is a remake and extension of the original, so you can expect the difficult puzzles to make a glorious return; PSM seemed quite excited about the game after play-testing it.

So, in my most John Maddenish tone: "If you don't like the games, maybe they aren't for you."
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Old 04-23-2007, 01:31 AM   #6
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My favs were the first and third. I'm a little interested in this remake but I'm not the kind of person who likes to support remakes with my own money.

I for one played Tomb Raider for its exploration and adventuring. If I want action that bad, I'll reload Max Payne or Far Cry. Who's John Maden? I don't think Tomb Raider was a complete disaster, only that if I were director I could make a better job. Probably write something better even. I don't care much for stories in Tomb Raider - I knew it would be lame before I bought it.
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Old 05-11-2007, 02:58 PM   #7
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Well, I would think most people can do actions and listen to sound at the same time. I found the dialog in the game quite a nice touch, otherwise it would be too solitude for the player, the developers want you to feel that your not alone in these eviroments.
The thing is, for me personally, I like there to be solitude in Tomb Raider, and I LIKE feeling that I am alone in the environments except for, say, dangerous things like wolves, the odd monster etc etc like in Tomb Raider 1. That was one of the reasons I enjoyed the first tomb raider; feeling I was all alone in these huge ancient ruins with nobody to help me apart from myself. For several reasons I enjoyed the first Tomb Raider better, and I'm wondering if it'll be the same with Tomb Raider Anniversary although I'm hoping I will be wrong and enjoy it lots.
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Old 05-11-2007, 03:30 PM   #8
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The thing is, for me personally, I like there to be solitude in Tomb Raider, and I LIKE feeling that I am alone in the environments except for, say, dangerous things like wolves, the odd monster etc etc like in Tomb Raider 1. That was one of the reasons I enjoyed the first tomb raider; feeling I was all alone in these huge ancient ruins with nobody to help me apart from myself. For several reasons I enjoyed the first Tomb Raider better, and I'm wondering if it'll be the same with Tomb Raider Anniversary although I'm hoping I will be wrong and enjoy it lots.
In TRA it will be you and the enviroment, its been said in reviews that its all about puzzles, danger you and lara.
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Old 05-11-2007, 10:01 PM   #9
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In TRA it will be you and the enviroment, its been said in reviews that its all about puzzles, danger you and lara.
Maybe, thing is though is it's technically not an original game, just a money spinning remake.
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Old 05-12-2007, 01:57 AM   #10
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Maybe, thing is though is it's technically not an original game, just a money spinning remake.
Erm, if you comapre TRA with TR1 how can you not see that IT IS a whole new game, its got new graphics, new puzzles, new enviroments, new music etc. Crystal Dynamics worked hard on this and it shows, its not some quickie remake thats half arsed. And they said this game is for the fans as a thank you for their support and TR: Legend selling very well.
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Old 05-12-2007, 02:55 AM   #11
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Maybe, thing is though is it's technically not an original game, just a money spinning remake.
LOL. That's ridiculous. I would hardly call revisiting this particular classic a "money spinning remake." You obviously haven't done your research. Everything that made the original spectacular is even better here. Take the new engine, updated locations and puzzles, and all of the amazing new movement mechanics, and you've got a VERY cool revisiting of a masterpiece. This is not your typical remake. The same way Sierra's revisiting of Quest for Glory 1 VGA with enhanced clay animation and hand-painted backgrounds made a faithful and exciting NEW experience, Tomb Raider Anniversary's update will do the same.

Tomb Raider Legend was a masterpiece - especially the bonus secret area puzzles in Lara's mansion.. many of which could ONLY be opened after you gained new abilities and moves. I was totally into this game. It's only natural the team involved has chosen to update the original game. They're talented and they've got all the elements necessary to successfully bring the old into the new - why not do it? I, for one, can't WAIT.

GREAT graphics and sound. I recently went back to play using my 8800GTX card and played it in 2560x1600 if you can imagine. Pretty unbelievable.

THUMBS AND BOOBS UP!

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Old 05-12-2007, 03:23 AM   #12
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Sounds like people are just looking for excuses to not buy the game.
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Old 05-12-2007, 03:28 AM   #13
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sounds like a grumpy gamer to me. LOL.
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Old 05-12-2007, 06:37 AM   #14
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Sounds to me like gamers who're more interested in upgraded graphics and engines than original storytelling and innovative gameplay.

In any case, if I want good gun action, I'll play Max Payne, if I want good graphics I'll play Oblivion, if I want good voice acting I'll pretty much play any other game.

I'm grumpy that I wasted £5 and about 5-10 hours of my time on this terrible excuse of an action game.
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Old 05-12-2007, 07:34 AM   #15
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Old 05-12-2007, 08:26 AM   #16
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Heehehheh!

Legend was an awesome game, it brought the franchise back to life and to it's roots as an exciting and good action adventure.
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Old 05-12-2007, 08:36 AM   #17
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Tomb Raider was never deep in story or action.

I remember ever since Tomb Raider 1 I would just lock on my enemy and hop from left to right unloading my unlimited ammo. It did not matter who is enemy or how much it/he/she had. This time they tried to avoid this “invincibility paradox” by disabling “fire while you jump option”. While the result required greater exchange of bullets between parties, the AI is just as dumb as ever.

The only time where I saw improved combat system was when Lara performed Head shots on enemies in Chronicles. I found it kinda neat because it could open more tactical style game play. It never went through. Tomb raider wants to have “in your face action” so the gun play needs to be visual, action oriented. The problem is that when you use this approach you will never have a deep combat system. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself. What would you change to make combat system of tomb raider deeper? It is a very big problem indeed and we are not the only ones who realize that.

As far as story is concerned my favorite was Last Revelation. There was character interaction, suspense and I actually cared for what happened to Lara at the end. Angel of Darkness too, had an attempt to have a story. Even if the game failed on all levels, my motivation was to find out what happens. Legend goes back to the old formula of collecting artifacts, putting them together to prevent end of universe. As original poster argued this is what made the game fun, but to me, I got bored after tomb raider 3. TLR made an attempt to deviate from this formula (by having one artifact yahoo!) but still the core concept remains unchanged. The movie followed this formula and suffered miserably. While this formula is a great excuse to make Lara travel from one exotic location to another, it needs to have more to it.

As far as commentary of Legend is concerned, I think it is matter of taste. I found commentary kinda fun. Indeed it made Lara more dependable (which isn’t in her character) but it made game more fun, and less boring. Previous tomb raiders were such a lonely affair. Some may find it good, but to me when there is a lack of coherent and engaging story, these things can be a good relief.

Something to note here: Legend was not meant to revolutionize anything. AOD tried that and failed miserably. Legend was to decide the fate of future series, so there was no room for trial and error in search of innovation. Creators had to go to the “roots” (no matter how boring and outdated they are) and re-invent them in modern style using modern hardware and address problems that plagued games from start. So those who expected revolution were left with bitter taste. Legend was short and sweet, and it is anything but legendary.

What is disappointing is that CD never addressed problems of legend. I looked at demo of TA and it has identical system to Legend (without next gen graphics, so go figure). We can already guess the review score the game would get keeping this in mind.

If I were to advise on future of Tomb raider I would offer the following:
• Brand New battle system that allows for more strategical gameplay. This needs to be well balalnced with lara’s signature gun play. Most likely impossible
• Deeper story that does not involve fetching artifacts from far corners of the world
• When using Urban locations , make them Urban. Unless Tokyo’s 35 Million population experienced mass migration, an urban location should have… well people, I guess.
• Puzzles that don’t involve pushing and pulling of crates. It has been 10 years already. If you want puzzles don’t be lazy. Legend allowed blocks to be pushed 360 degrees. Wow. That is quite an innovation.

That is my 2 Cents.
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