Tomb Raider: Legend

Lara Croft will forever be remembered as one of the most important videogaming icons ever. Alongside the likes of Sonic The Hedgehog and the Mickey Mouse of videogames, Mario, she shot herself to stardom almost immediately. A lot of her success as an icon had to do with the quality of her games, Toby Gard's original Tomb Raider design will long be thought of as the pinnacle of the series, but even more so, Lara represented a shift in the industry where cartoon, child-like heroes were a thing of the past. Here we had a mature, busty form, holstering two pistols on her thighs but relaying a sense of elegance and class. Lara Croft, stood for everything the next generation of gamers wanted out of a hero: sexy, strong, capable and smart. As an icon, Lara was also an unofficial mascot for Sony's PSOne, though there was nothing specifically exclusive about her, and much like the path of Sonic, she would end up gracing other systems after a few years building the momentum and exposure of the now mammoth PlayStation brand. This brings us to Tomb Raider Legend, a game starring the ever curvy Lara Croft that is available across all platforms, we've been luck enough to have run the Xbox version through its paces, and while there are a few nagging gameplay moments that end in frustration, on the whole, Tomb Raider Legend is probably the most competent entrant in the series since the first and second games all those years ago.

Tomb Raider Legend actually delves into Lara's past quite a bit, and we even get to see her in her old khaki shorts and tight blue top on more than one occasion. The first glimpse of her past we're given is when she is on a plane with her mother, the engines fail and the plane is sent plummetin, Lara is quite young but this cinematic serves to show us where Lara's strength and conviction come from, it also builds a portrait of her relationship and ties with her mother. Unfortunately, after the crash, things don't get much better as Lara and her mum stumble onto an ancient ruin. The young Ms Croft inadvertently activates a device that creates a portal, her mother is then sucked into oblivion and Lara is left standing with the consequences.

Beyond this key intro, the game's story continues to focus on moments in Lara's past where friends and family have met their end, however, not all is as it seems and eventually these flashbacks coalesce with the narrative of the present. We won't spoil anything for you save to say the plot is full of twists and surprises, and die-hard Tomb Raider fans won't be disappointed. In fact, even without the story, this iteration of the series is remarkably well put together. After Core Design was pulled from the project for their efforts (or lack thereof) on the atrocious Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, development was handed over to Crystal Dynamics, who spent a lot of time researching the series to ensure the best Tomb Raider experience could be met and that Lara's relic-hunting career could be reinvigorated. For all intents and purposes they've done just that with smart design decisions that both liberate the series and sate fans of first two games.

One of the first points of change comes in Lara's movements. She is no longer confined to a grid of movement and free to run about the place as she sees fit. Moreover, her acrobatic skills have been given a much needed face-lift and she can swing on, hang on and jump on all manner of objects, ledges, and more. She's no Prince of Persia, but she's also not far off it. Action is pretty solid, and the use of elements such as grenades really help a lot. I found myself having a few issues with the target-lock aspect where particular enemies I didn't want to lock onto would remain the focus, and this became very frustrating (especially in a hectic firefight). Equally, I also found the camera a little frustrating here and there, there's no free look (unless you use the free-aim system with your gun), and the camera's rotation in certain areas is a little limited, making it difficult to look at the surroundings with any level of forward planning. However, these gripes aside, the free-form approach to movement works incredibly well with Tomb Raider Legend, and it's amazingly liberating.

On a visual level, the game looks pretty nice, though some of the textures throughout are a little flat and nondescript. There could have also been a bit more to interact with in the environments, but overall the game looks nice and runs very smoothly. The greatest visual element is Lara herself though. She's still voluptuous, but her entire body has been built with enough polygons she doesn't look at all jaggy anymore. Her perfect figure is both athletic and sexy at the same time and this works very well for the character she is, you'll find yourself drawn to her for some weird reason (c'mon, she is ONLY a videogame character). Lara's animations are all spot-on and she moves with such grace, Crystal Dynamics deserves a pat on the back for a job well done. Equally, the voice-acting throughout is great and you really feel like you're a part of Lara's world.

Tomb Raider Legend has saved the series. Thanks in part to smart puzzles, a free-form idea of movement, clever level design, competent visuals and great characterisation with a stunning Lara and some great voice-acting. There are a few issues to be had with the camera and some of the action controls, but these can be overlooked for the delivery of a great package that will sate fans of the series who've been waiting for a refreshingly invigorated Tomb Raider. Kudos to Crystal Dynamics for reviving a gaming legend.