So, its time for yet another review and this one will be on a video game this time (or video games) and the games in question are the Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered trilogy, which are the original games from the 1990's featuring the legendary heroine Lara Croft.
Now the remastered games are purely based on the originals in terms of controls, concept visuals and combat with only the updated graphics being the real difference here.Now, I won't really go into any real major plot details for the games, so I will instead say a bit about each game in terms of gameplay and features instead.
So, with that, let's take a look at how these games fair after almost 30 years with their new update...
TOMB RAIDER I
So, Tomb Raider I of course started the entire series and features archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft travelling the globe for a precious artefact called the Scion under the employment of an entrepeneur named Natla. However as things progress, they take a sinister turn as on obtaining the Scion, Natla has her henchman capture her and take the Scion. So, from Lara follows them to try and take it back and stop Natla from using it for her own ends...
THOUGHTS
Well, there is little doubt that Tomb Raider I was a groundbreaking game with its impressive use of 3D graphics for their time (although by today's standards they are extremely dated looking of course!) as well as its use of platforming and puzzle solving combined with combat. However, depsite its great innovation out of the three games, it really remains my least favourite as I find the level design to be less compelling and side characters to be less interesting for the most part despite one or two exceptions. However, there is no doubt that the voice acting by Shelley Bond was excellent and she remains one of the most definitive actresses to do Lara's voice and the game's theme remains highly memorable, which was composed by English composer, Philip McCree.
So, even though I do not find the first Tomb Raider to be the great game it is often considered to be, its certainly still worth a look but I personally didn't feel greatly compelled to finish it compared to the sequels.
GAMEPLAY
As for the gameplay quickly I will say that it features a mix of combat, platforming and of course puzzle solving. In terms of combat, Lara will use her two pistols that have unlimited ammo but she will also pick other weapons such as a shotgun, magnum pistols and of course, uzis, which lara will find ammo for spread throughout the game. Lara mostly will shoot animals in the game such as tigers, monkeys, apes, rats and birds and even dinosaurs! However there are a limited number of human NPC's she will fight also as well as some humanoid bosses.
The game's platforming is of course very prominent here and Lara has an impressive moveset where she can run, jump, climb, shimmy on ledges, somersaults and backflips as well as swim underwater where she will have limited oxygen and drown if she stays under too long. The game will also provide quite a few puzzles for Lara to solve that will allow her to gain access to new areas or obtain key items, some of which will also be traps. Lara will also need to be wary of taking fall damage as she easily falls to her death and you will get that rather graphic sounding neck snap sound effect! Lara can also use medpacks to heal herself, which come in a small or large variety and can be found throughout the game.
CONTROLS
The controls however remains faithful to the original game but they can of course be frustrating to adapt given the lack of a jump back option in the modern controls and a very annoying forced camera perspective that can result in getting players killed as you fail to keep Lara in a straight line! This even worse to contend with regarding the tank controls where its very difficult to keep Lara running straight also, so in that regard, general movement is better in the modern controls.
GRAPHICS
As for the remastered graphics, the visual upgrade is very impressive as its a big step up from the very dated visuals from the 1990's as environments now look very detailed and have more impressive shadows. Lara's character model is now much better looking and actually bears a resemblance to the Lara we see on the original game cover for TR1. The shadows however can be a too dark at times, which can impact your ability to see what is going on. However you do have the option to switch between the updated graphics and the original ones, which can be helpful in moments where areas are simply too dark in the remaster visuals, although apparently a new patch has been released that helps with this issue.
SUM UP
So, to sum up, Tomb Raider I remains a classic title in its own right but for me its still the weakest entry in the three games, as it lacks the refinement that the sequels offfered, which made them more compelling games. So, with that said I will rate Tomb Raider I:
8 out of 10
TOMB RAIDER II
Now as for Tomb Raider II plot wise, Lara this time round is in search of the magical dagger of Xian, which gives its owner the power to turn them into a dragon. However, Lara encounters an Italian cultist group lead by Marco Bartoli, who are obssessed with the dagger and want it for themselves. So, Lara continually has to fight against Bartoli's men as they both have a race against time to seize the dagger for themselves...
THOUGHTS
Tomb Raider II is not only one the best of the three games in the trilogy, it is also one of my favourite games of all time and its vastly improves on the original in almost every aspect in terms of its gameplay, combat, visuals, story and music. The game's environments are also more expansive with more challenging puzzles and platforming than the original and there is a heavier emphasis on action this time round as Lara takes on Marco Bartoli's army of cultists.
However there is one aspect of the game I am less impressed with this time round and that is new voice actress for Lara Croft, Judith Gibbons, who replaced Shelley Bond from the original, who was not available to return. So, unfortunately, Gibbons voice acting is pretty wooden by comparison as she delivers Lara's dialogue in a somewhat dull manner and Lara's quips also fall pretty flat as a result. So, overall, Gibbons perforamnce is the most disappointing aspect of the game imho.
GAMEPLAY
As for the gameplay however, this is where Tomb Raider II really excels as the sequel really upped the ante in terms of its ambition to make the follow-up a bigger and better game. This time round Lara in addition to her usual moveset from the original can now climb ladders and wade through shallow water to reach areas. Another new addition is the use of flares as Lara can light flares in darkened areas to see where she is going but they last only a limited time before they burn out but they can be found throughout the game. Similar to the first game, Lara will also use medpacks to heal herself from damage and come in the usual small and large variety.
As for the combat, this is where things have taken a big step up as Lara is no longer just shooting at animals, she is plenty of human enemies to fight against as she is up against a number of armed men with guns and melee weapons such as crowbars and pipes. Then of course there are the VERY annoying snowbikers, who can run over Lara with great ease which can be very frustarting to deal with and are pretty hard to kill! Lara, also has a larger weapon selection this time round as in addition to her dual pistols, shotguns and uzis, she also can use automatic pistols, M16 assault rifle, harpoon gun and a grenade launcher (which literally blows enemies apart!).
There are also a number of secrets to be found in the game in the form of small dragon statues and each level will have three to find in obscure areas. The bonus however on getting all three will result in Lara getting extra ammo for certain weapons and in later cases, she will be able to obtain again her weapons, which are taken from her at a certain point in the game.
Also traps and obstacles play a big part in the game too, where Lara will need to avoid falling boulders, spike pits, large spinning wheels as well as retracting blades that will cut Lara up! She will also need to watch out for certains areas that have pits of lethal substances such as acid or in some cases even lava all of which will cause Lara to give out a rather feeble groan rather than a major scream, particularly if she were to fall lava, you'd expect to react stronger than that!!
GRAPHICS
As for the graphics, the original TR2 visuals are even a big improvement over the first game, as they provide a good bit more detail (albeit they are still quite blocky!) and the environments feel more expansive as well as diverse as Lara travels to different places such as Venice, a Tibetan monastery and even the Great Wall of China. Again the updated visuals look very impressive as they are far more detailed although Lara's character model is still the same as in TR1 and in fact its identical in all three games come to think of it. However, dark areas can be a real issue here though again as some areas are way too dark, such as the spider cave, as I could barely what was going on in there at all even when I turned up the brightness to max on my TV!! However, I will need to check out the latest patch, which hopefully will have improved this issue with the darker areas of the game.
SOUND AND MUSIC
As for the sound effects, they are pretty good but they do sound quite dated and also compressed in their quality but nonetheless they have their own charm and can even be quite brilliantly creepy, especially the sound effects in the Dagger of Xian and Floating Islands levels, which is very eerie. The music again by Nathan McCree again returns to composed the music and he does an excellent job as there plenty of new tracks such as the disco beats one when Lara uses a snowbike in Tibet and also the atmospheric one where Lara climbs ladders. Its a very solid score overall and quite memorable.
SUM UP
So to sum up, Tomb Raider II simply put is a fantastic game and one of the all time greats if you ask me as it greatly expanded on the original in every aspect in terms of its platforming an action as well as intensifying the combat. It does still have minor issues to do with some very frustrating tank control and modern control issues, which can impact certain parts of the game badly at times and yes again the modern graphics are way too dark. However, all that aside, Tomb Raider II is a superb game and one that really warrants replaying. So, I will rate TR2:
10 out of 10
TOMB RAIDER III
And finally onto Tomb Raider III in which Lara goes on a journey to find four pieces of meteorite scattered throughout the globe as she is recruited by Dr Willard, a scientist working for the company RX Tech to retrieve them. So, from here Lara goes on another dangerous adventure to find the meteortie pieces in different parts of the world.
THOUGHTS
Even though it doesn't quite hit the heights of TR2, Tomb Raider III is still a very enjoyable and worthy follow-up, which again expands on the previous games in terms of its environments, platforming and puzzle elements. The combat this time however has been scaled back a bit as while she fights some human enemies, its not the large numbers that we got in the previous game and instead its a mix of humans, animals and almost mythical like bosses. The game also sees the return of the Judith Gibbons in the role as Lara Croft and she does a better job this time round than in TR2 but she is still the weakest performer in voicing the role imho, she's not terrible, just her delivery is a bit flat even if her accent isn't too bad for Lara in general. Regardless of this though, this is still a very solid entry in the series.
GAMEPLAY
As for the gameplay, TR3 adds some new elements this time round, which are quite welcome by this stage as Lara can now sprint (or dash) in order to cover ground faster, or run away from boulders or get through timed doors. Lara can now also crouch, as there numerous parts of the game where she will need to crouch to get in some tight small areas and passage ways, either to pick up items or progress through the levels. In addition to this in the remastered version, Lara can now do a forward flip to jump out of tight areas where she was crouching, which I believe wasn't in the original, so its a nice touch they added in. Lara can also now monkey swing using overhead grab bars to do so in order to get to other areas. Lara also can access new vehicles such as quad bikes and also kayaks in one of the water levels, where she has to navigate dangerous rapids.
Moving onto the combat, Lara similar to the previous will have her standard dual pistols but this time round she will have access to a few new weapons such as the desert eagle, which is pretty powerful, an MP5 assault rifle and also a rocket launcher, which comes in handy against powerful enemies. These weapons are all pretty good although the MP5 is probably a bit slow to aim, which can be annoying against faster enemies.
As for the enemies, Lara will face again a mixture of humans, who are often armed with firearms and in some cases also flamethrowers (similar to TR2) and just like the previous games, they will drop ammo or medpacks on dying. Lara will also face the usual mix of animals such as tigers, monkeys, birds and this also dinosaurs such as a T-Rex and raptors (similar to the original). However there is one new enemy, which is easily the MOST annoying one in the entire game and that is the green wasps as there are tons of these not-so little buggers and they DO NOT stop respawning in a later level! Lara will also encounter several bosses throughout the game but fighting them can take different methods to complete rather than just shooting them although Lara of course does that too!
Last of all are the platforming and puzzles elements, which this time round are pretty challenging as there are various traps and dangers Lara will need to overcome such as spike traps, falling boulders, collapsing spiked ceilings or sliding spiked walls. There are also some invisible platforms in certain parts of the game, which Lara can only see through statues that emit fire to make them visible.
GRAPHICS
As for the graphics, again even the original game's graphics are pretty impressive this time round with improved lighting effects and better texture and details and Lara's chest is now more smooth and not so pointy and polygonal! ;-) However the remastered graphics are easily way better of course with much more detail and the character models much improved over the blocky originals but again the game suffers from excessively darkened areas in shadowed or sheltered areas but again hopefully the new patch will have resolved this.
MUSIC AND SOUND
As for the music, we get another score by Nathan McCree and this is easily the best score yet in the series up to this point with plenty of new tracks with some favourites include the one where Lara has to solve puzzles and there is also another where Lara is generally in combat. It also recycles some of the music from TR2 at cetain points particularly the atmospheric track for Lara climbing or the one for her making discoveries. So, overall this is an excellent score, which also has a nice warm vibe to it too.
Sound effect wise, TR3 is also a big improvement as the audio is now a lot cleaner sounding with general sound effects sounding less compressed than before especially Lara's footsteps when running or the sounds for firing weapons. Basically the in-game sound effects now match the quality of the cutscenes, which is a welcome change and a step in the right direction audio wise.
SUM UP
So, to sum up, Tomb Raider 3 is an excellent sequel to TR2 and again offers a nice visual upgrade and particularly a nice audio one in terms of the sound quality of the effects for gunfire and other effects. The game also features a good challenging mix of platforming and puzzle solving, although if there is one big cavaet here its to do with finding the secrets as they are a bit too well hidden this time round and it can be very difficult to get them all and yes the tank and modern controls can wreak havoc again with the gameplay.
The game also sees the return of Judith Gibbons, who I always thought was lacklustre in the role of Lara Croft but she does OK here but she would then be replaced by the excellent Jonelle Elliot in TR4: The Last Revelation, who did a terrific job in the role and her voice much suited Lara better.
Regardless of any of its drawbacks though, TR3 is still a very solid entry in the series and one, which is well worth replaying or playing for the first time, just be prepared to get used to those pesky controls like in the previous games though!
So, I will rate Tomb Raider III:
9 out of 10
So, that's it for my review of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered and I will be back again soon with another post.
Until then bye for now!
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