Alright, people. It's time for another QnD review, reviews in which I lazily whip up a load of unprofessional rubbish on a game I have yet to finish truncate an otherwise full review into a short, concise, and impersonal retrospective. This time we cover 3 adventures starring Lara Croft. I contemplated giving this a full review but I figured the opportunity to do anything quick and dirty with Lara Croft shouldn't be one someone should pass up.
It’s Tomb Raider Trilogy! A compilation available on PS3 that sports not one, not two, but three amazing Tomb Raider adventures. There have been several HD collections available for the PS3, but this is by far one of the best if not the best. This particular set includes the series of TR games that have been made since Crystal Dynamics took over for Core Design in 2006. The games featured are the PS2 versions of Legend and Anniversary (a remake of the original 1996 game) and the PS3 version of 2008s Underworld. So, you’re already getting a pretty good deal there as you get two games in the set for the price of what you would have paid for Underworld, just three years ago.
Tomb Raider Legend is the first game in the bunch and it’s easily the weakest in the set. Unfortunately, the vastly superior looking 360 version wasn’t ported over as it would have been a real treat to have seen it presented on a Sony console for the first time in stunning HD. The PS2 version looked pretty decent in say, 2006 but by 2011 standards it doesn’t fare quite as well. Animations and movements are still decent looking but the backgrounds look somewhat bland. Play control was great at the time, but again it’s shown its age and better play control has been seen in other games.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is in my estimation the best in the set. It takes the classic Tomb Raider formula and remakes the first game using not only the superior engine first presented in Legend, but improves upon it in every way. Control is tighter, Lara moves much more deftly and areas seem more expansive than the somewhat restricting Legend. Best of all, because this is a remake of the original, the plot is pretty much stand alone and you can jump right into it without knowing a thing about Tomb Raider. The version is also amazingly superior to the original PS2 version as the HD treatment looks far better here than it does in Legend for some reason.
Tomb Raider Underworld is the final game in the set and graphically and control wise, it’s probably the best. However, the level design isn’t quite as good as it was in Anniversary’s and the plot is also pretty humdrum compared to some of the other games as well, but TR games never were that big on plot anyways.
If there were any serious complaints about this collection is that nothing is really offered outside of the games themselves. If you already own all three of these games, I wouldn’t recommend it. However, if you’ve never played a Tomb Raider game before, this is a fantastic and fairly inexpensive way to experience what it’s all about before diving into the new Tomb Raider due out later on.
It’s Tomb Raider Trilogy! A compilation available on PS3 that sports not one, not two, but three amazing Tomb Raider adventures. There have been several HD collections available for the PS3, but this is by far one of the best if not the best. This particular set includes the series of TR games that have been made since Crystal Dynamics took over for Core Design in 2006. The games featured are the PS2 versions of Legend and Anniversary (a remake of the original 1996 game) and the PS3 version of 2008s Underworld. So, you’re already getting a pretty good deal there as you get two games in the set for the price of what you would have paid for Underworld, just three years ago.
Where's L.A. Noire's MotionScan technology when you need it?
Any fan of the Uncharted series of games should definitely check these games out as all three build upon the gameplay concepts presented in the Uncharted series. At the time the platforming design was pretty revolutionary and it’s great to go back and see the Uncharted series roots. The only difference here, besides playing as a character unquestionably hotter than Nathan Drake, is that Tomb Raider tends to focus more on puzzle solving than combat. Uncharted has wave after wave of enemies with guns blazing and frequent explosions; Tomb Raider not so much. Even still, there’s plenty of action and bad guys to kill for action game aficionados who may be having a few reservations about the bigger focus on puzzle solving and platforming.
Tomb Raider Legend is the first game in the bunch and it’s easily the weakest in the set. Unfortunately, the vastly superior looking 360 version wasn’t ported over as it would have been a real treat to have seen it presented on a Sony console for the first time in stunning HD. The PS2 version looked pretty decent in say, 2006 but by 2011 standards it doesn’t fare quite as well. Animations and movements are still decent looking but the backgrounds look somewhat bland. Play control was great at the time, but again it’s shown its age and better play control has been seen in other games.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is in my estimation the best in the set. It takes the classic Tomb Raider formula and remakes the first game using not only the superior engine first presented in Legend, but improves upon it in every way. Control is tighter, Lara moves much more deftly and areas seem more expansive than the somewhat restricting Legend. Best of all, because this is a remake of the original, the plot is pretty much stand alone and you can jump right into it without knowing a thing about Tomb Raider. The version is also amazingly superior to the original PS2 version as the HD treatment looks far better here than it does in Legend for some reason.
Tomb Raider Underworld is the final game in the set and graphically and control wise, it’s probably the best. However, the level design isn’t quite as good as it was in Anniversary’s and the plot is also pretty humdrum compared to some of the other games as well, but TR games never were that big on plot anyways.
If there were any serious complaints about this collection is that nothing is really offered outside of the games themselves. If you already own all three of these games, I wouldn’t recommend it. However, if you’ve never played a Tomb Raider game before, this is a fantastic and fairly inexpensive way to experience what it’s all about before diving into the new Tomb Raider due out later on.
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