By now I imagine most people have heard of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider game series - a sort of flagship for the playstation. Incase you have just been awoken from a few years of cryo-sleep here's the low down on the original Tomb Radier.
Our heroine, the young, foxy, well spoken British archaeologist Lara Croft has been hired by an american business woman to recover a mysterious artefact known as the Atlantean Scion from darkest Peru. On recovering part of artefact Lara discovers that there is alot more mystery and intrigue to this story than she anticipated. Her adventures will take her to the four corners of the globe and along the way she will encounter may obstacles, puzzles and enemies to dispose of.
Tomb Raider is presented in a 3D third person perspective view and you control the lovely Lara through 15 menacing levels in search of the mystery behind the Scion. Lara is a very versatile young woman who can run, jump, somersault, dive and swim as well as being competent in the use of many a firearm which she may hold in her "sport billy" style backpack. The levels are quite big and although there is only one way to finish any level, the area to discover makes it quite non-linear. Enemies come in animal form including wolves, apes, bats and dinosaurs to name but a few and Lara definately doesn't support the RSPCA. The targetting system is quite nice as once an enemy is in view and Lara has her weapons drawn she will auto-target them leaving you only to press the fire button a couple of times and then enemy is no more. In between episodes FMV sequences carry the plot along nicely as Lara travels from Peru, Ancient Greece and the Egyptian Pyramids where things really start to hot up. Puzzles come in allsorts of forms including levers and buttons to push, keys to find, blocks to move and many more which makes the game alot more brain taxing than you would imagine. The save game system is implemented by using "save crystals" which are located at points throughout the levels and you may only save at these points. There is also a nice training level which is set in Lara's mansion which she has recently moved into and combines all the skills that you may need throughout the game including a swimming pool.
It is a few years old now but Tomb Raider can still cut it with the best in the graphics department. Slick polygons make up the viewing and apart from the odd bit of clipping now and again it looks excellent. The animation and detail of Lara is second to none and the beasties which she encounters are equally well animated. The intro and inter-linking FMV sequences are of a high quality and the level detail does the job using a system whereby distant objects fade in from darkness as you near them so as to avoid pop up.
The Tomb Raider music is excellent and has been scored like a motion picture. Upon loading a serene title piece plays as you sort through the options. Once into the game the music is used as and when neccessary, creating a tense atmosphere when you aren't sure what's around the corner and sharp stabbing pieces to create the shock factor. Spot effects including gunfire, animal roars and the odd word from Lara have also been done well and add to the atmosphere.
Tomb Raider is an excellent adventure game that knocks spots off most it's rivals. The Indiana Jones type storyline keeps you gripped and wanting to come back for more and the sound and vision are considerably good for a game that has been around for so long. Considering it is now on the platinum label is is definatley a must have for all playstation owners.
