Ever wonder what it would be like to travel the globe in search of ancient artifacts ? Well Tomb Raider Legend could be the game for you. It is an action RPG game that follows the iconic character of Lara Croft across the planet in search of various artifacts to help her explain what happened to her mother who disappeared decades earlier. The game is almost 4 years old, but it is super worth its new, uber cheap price.
Story: 6/10 Its a pretty confusing plot line. The game itself starts with a cinematic of Lara as a child and her mother being involved in a plane crash. When they escape the wreckage, Lara mistaken activates an ancient artifact and her mother disappears before her eyes. From there you flash forward to Lara as an adult. She begins a quest to find out what happened to her mother, a friend who is currently in danger, and locate several ancient items. Its kind of confusing because she is going from one exotic location to the next. She visits Nepal, Bolivia, Tokyo, England, Peru, Africa, and more. She hunts down ornate stones, maps, keys, and somehow King Arthur's Excalibur is involved. Basically the story is hard to follow but really not that important for playing the game.
Graphics: 7/10 The graphics are pretty good considering the game is around four years old. From time to time the camera angles become a little annoying. There is also the issues of the surroundings. Sometimes the details are too good in the walls but the third dimension doesn't keep up. That makes it kind of hard to see where your next ledge is or where you came from. Other than that, its pretty believable and the guys will love Lara's bouncy figure.
Sound: 8/10 I liked the soundtrack to this game. There is nothing really fun that sticks out in my mind. But at no point do i remember being annoyed by the music. The voice-acting was totally respectable. No one is getting an Oscar, but overall it kept me engaged in the game. The sound effects were good and at some points incredibly helpful. When looking for my next rope to swing on or tucked away artifact, the little glowing sound was exactly what I needed.
Game Play: 8.5/10 What this game lacks in story, it more than makes up in playability. There are several features to the game that make it super fun. Lara gets to carry around a grapple hook and it is really fun to use. She is amazing at swinging, climbing, and jumping. Almost every room is a puzzle in its own right to figure out how to get Lara's acrobatic body from one side to the next. So mentally, you never really get bored. Plus, for those who want more action, almost every level has multiple shootouts so you can test the third person shooter that lives inside you. Once the game is finished, you can go on the hunt for the hundreds of collectibles including tokens and unlockable outfits. I played the game through twice and after all that, I still had time-trials to play around with. This game can definitely keep you occupied for awhile if you want to do all the little extras.
Overall: 7.5/10 I like this game. It has a lot of different types of gameplay crammed into one single title. While the story lacks, the ability of this game to keep you busy for hours more than makes up for that. As much as I am a video game feminist, I have never really played much of the Tomb Raider series. I should have run around with this iconic female lead much sooner. But I think that I started at a pretty good place by playing TR: Legend.
Rent/Buy: Ok, this is where I blow your mind and tell you to Buy this game. Since it is so old and still playable in Xbox 360, you can find it used for only $7.99 ! Plus with that beloved Edge Card discount, you get it for something like $6.50. This game is definitely not worth the $60 it was released at, but you get every single penny's worth when you are only shelling out seven dollars. Its a great way to start off the Tomb Raider series and it is a nice way to pad your video game collection.
I have to take a second to thank my roommate Zack for letting me rummage through his video game collection. If it weren't for this gem hiding on his shelf, I would have missed out on this kick ass game. More proof that if you have this game, people will borrow it from you and they should.
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