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Tomb Raider's Lara Croft was originally called Laura Cruz.

"Sorry Eidos, beautiful women ain't gonna cut it. And, she ain't even that beautiful!"

I’ve come across some bad games in my time. Though I’ve never really played any of games that all the other reviewing dudes rant about all the time (Heroes of the Lance, Bokosuka Wars, etc.) but I have played a horror known as Test Drive Off Road 2. But, this game goes beyond that. I don’t know why people say that this game is a real tribute to Action games, because it is nowhere near earning a tribute. In fact, this game really mares the Action genre more than just be an average game. I’m not talking about some crappy game that no one has ever heard of. I’m talking about Tomb Raider. Don’t know why I’m rating this game so low? I’ll tell you. Now.

Graphics-2/10
Okay. Let’s say that right now, you get me a piece of cardboard. Now that you have that, I’ll throw dirt on it. Then, play this game, and run up to a wall. See the difference? Well, I didn’t. Seriously, most of the environments look just like someone threw dirt and sand on them. Also, the environments are very unimaginative and bland as well, with few differentiations sometimes between levels, other than walls being different colors. A basic environment is usually a square room, with flat walls that look like they have holes in them, and maybe a few features that separate it from the other area. Speaking of holes, did I mention there are tons of holes? Well, one time I was playing a level in Europe, and I was just about to get a lead bar that I had worked for about 40 min. to get. I accidentally sidestep, and I fall through a wall into a deep black void, never to be seen again. Other flaws are the objects. Want to know why? Well, I walk into a little shrubbery, and just as soon as I walked in, I was out. Why? The Bushes were flat. I don’t know about you, but bushes aren’t flat in my area! This is just one of another problems that adds to the overall unimaginative graphics. One last thing, at some points, the game was impossible, because I’d be walking, then all of a sudden, everything would get grainy, and an enemy would pop up, right in front of me!!!! Overall fury.

Story-1/10
Here it is. Some dudes at a company are looking for someone to go and recover the Scion, an object of unbelievable power. Problem is that the pieces are spread about very deep in tombs around the world. So, they decide that they need a person that can go and do their dirty work. So, they find Lara Croft, and say Hey, go out and get this for us! You get no pay, just do it! Unbelievably, she says yes. One thing that I really hate about this is that there are things that just pop up! Like, when I first went into the Europe levels, this guy starts shooting at me! I have no idea why, and then after I finish the level, I get word that this guy is really from an enemy company, and then they give me the go ahead to kill him. Gee, isn’t that what I was trying to do? The problem is, there are just so many of these occurrences, it just gets painful.

Sound and Music-0/10
Well, this is going to be pretty short. For one thing, there are only a few sounds, such as Lara’s foot-stepping, or enemies growling at you. But, they are very grainy, and Lara’s feet just get annoying after awhile. One thing that I had a problem with is that they would make a creature known as a Vampire Bat, which normally bite when you are asleep, come and bite you, and Lara actually makes the sound “Ooooohhhhh!!!!”. Hehe, I think I would be screaming instead of cooing it along. The only music is this one tune that will start up every once in awhile when you step into some really big, important room in the areas. But, there is no difference, just the same tune, over and OVER. Overall annoying sounds, and that one song will drive you up the wall. If I could recommend any music to you, maybe make it some light rock, like Santana. I don’t know why, but it just seems to fit the game.

Control: 0/10
I have only given 0/10 for control on one other game. But, this is almost worse than that! The controls in here are downright clunky, and it takes a lot to get your character to move around. Lara is very hard to steer around, and instead of going backwards, you do a jump backwards! So, if you’re trying to pick up an item, you need to do a lot of stepping around, and the like. And, what really sucks is the jumping. The jumping system just adds to the trouble. Instead of just doing a normal jump, you first of all press the square button, and after you run for about another 5 steps, you finally jump the way you want to. And, you have to press the way you jump BEFORE you press the jump button. This leads to tons of cheap deaths, and you know no one likes that! Plus, buttons don’t respond to you, and sometimes if you’re being attacked, you pull out your guns, and you don’t shoot at the animal! In fact, if there are about 4 enemies all around you attacking you, the control gets so clunky you can’t even move! What the hell is wrong with this?

Gameplay: 2/10
Well, this pretty much sucks as well. You play as Lara Croft, a young adventurer, who sets out to find the Scion. Through your quest, you’ll visit such places as Incan Ruins in Peru, and gothic ruins in Rome. But, be warned! There will be many things that will stop you in your path, such as Lions in Rome, and Wolves in Peru! But wait. Did you just hear what I said? I’m sorry, but Wolves are not found in Peru, especially in old decrepit Incan ruins. And, unless lions live over 3,000 years without food, they aren’t going to be in Rome. In fact, the game is plagued with what I call Delta Force Syndrome. A game that is filled with tons of stupid, stupid idiosyncrasies. Things include being able to be attacked by swimming giant rats, a dude shooting at you that you first get word of a level before he dies, and how ancient civilizations are able to rig up pull switches to electrically open doors. Just plain stupid. But, it goes beyond there. The gameplay is just plain boring, and the enemies are just plain stupid. Such as when I am in a pool, the Wolves around it will go around it and not even notice me, even if I’m at the edge! But, if I get out, they all of a sudden notice me, and run over. Also, as I mentioned before, the enemies will all of a sudden pop up at you, and since the screen gets so grainy when this happens, you can barely move around. You’ll have no fun playing this, as after the first level, it gets to just be all tediousness. Plus, one last thing from my mind. Tomb Raider: One that travels deep into temples, mosques, or the likes, and acts as a grave robber, taking all that they can possess from the dead. Well, this game doesn’t even live up to it’s namesake. None of the environments acts, or looks like a tomb of any sort, and she never really raids areas of anything really large or full of wealth. An overall dissapointment.

Replay Value: 1/10
Well, there is a mode where if you beat the game once, it gets harder, with more enemies in certain areas. Gee, that’s just what I want to do! After playing an already miserable game, let’s play it again, except this time with even more pop up, and due to that, it’ll make the graphics even WORSE to look at! Come on, dude! Boot up Tomb Raider again, so we can play through this monstrosity AGAIN! And, if you can find all of the secrets in the game, you get an added bonus of yet MORE enemies in ALL of the levels! Let’s do it! Yeah, right.

Fun Factor: 0/10
There should almost be no explanation for this. What you need to do is read the rest of my review above this. Then, come back to here, and say, “Am I going to have fun?” Well, what do you think you’re answer is going to be? NO. It is a teenie bit fun in the first level, after 1/3 through that, you’ll be swearing, angrily at your TV.

Difficulty Description: It’s Hard!
I’ve seen some hard games, but COME on! You have no idea where to go since you don’t have a map, master all of those moves, play through this monstrosity, and still be able to hang from a wall shooting? Give me a break! Hmmmm, now does seem like a good time to have a Kit Kat. *Runs Off To Get One*.

Mmmmmmm!!!! That was good! Now, back to this game, and the recap.

Graphics-2/10
Story-1/10
Sound and Music-0/10
Control-0/10
Gameplay-2/10
RV-1/10
FF-0/10
Difficulty Description-It’s Hard!

Score, let’s see, carry the 2, divide, I got it!

Overall-0.1/10. But, since I can't do that, 1/10

To Buy? Hmmmmmm. Let me think. No.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/01, Updated 01/13/01

"Indiana Jones eat my dust!"

Tomb Raider is an ActionAdventure game developed by Core Design. I'm sure that most gamers know of Lara Croft. She is the most popular videogame heroine in the world after all. Her looks polarized opinions and made many people talk about how she was nothing more than an unrealistic girl made to excite boys adding that she was a very bad role model for girls. In my opinion all these were bull@#$%, but most importantly people tend to forget that behind the bust of Lara hides a wonderful game, with great gameplay and a fantastic atmosphere. Read on to find out why Lara Croft isn't just a girl with a large bra…

Story: 7/10
Presentation: 7.5/10

Several years before the start of the game's actual plotline an explosion occurs in New Mexico, unveiling a strange device, which holds a mysterious figure bound in cryo-sleep. Present Time: Aristocrat-Gone-Treasure Hunter Lara Croft, is hired from a rich & powerful lady who wants her to find a mysterious ancient relic called the Scion which resides in an ancient temple in Peru… and the game begins. But what starts off as a simple adventure ends up into an Indiana Jones-like chase where along with the dangers of the ancient temples you'll traverse through, you'll also have to deal with some hired mercenaries who are after your findings. While simple the game has quite good presentation and most of all, its has my favorite thing in videogames next to gameplay… ATMOSPHERE!!! The game is simply one of the most atmospheric games for the Playstation, (the best one possibly being Silent Hill), and that is a huge plus for me. While simple the plot of Tomb Raider is well presented and will please gamers with its mysterious atmosphere, short but sweet FMVs and its plot twists. All in all what we have here is no Final Fantasy 7 but for a puzzle oriented ActionAdventure title it'll do.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Replay Value: 7/10

Tomb Raider introduces the classic platform-oriented gameplay of the first Prince Of Persia in full three dimensions and fuses it with a lot of exploration, puzzle solving and a bit of bad-guy shooting. You control Lara from a third person perspective and your purpose in each level is to find the entrance to the next one… however things aren't exactly that simple. Between you and the next area lie myriads of enemies & deadly traps, not to mention that the road to victory isn't exactly straightforward!

Indiana Jones eat your heart out:
Most of the game revolves around “platform puzzles”, meaning that in order to reach a certain place you'll first have to figure out how to reach it. You can make all sorts of jumps and get grip on the edge of a flat surface in order to climb on it. At first you'll find it a tad hard to get used to Tomb Raider's controls since this isn't just another action game. Don't worry though. All it takes is a little practice and understanding of the game's mechanics and nothing more and after that controlling Lara become as easy as drooling over her, (ahem). As you go on, the various acrobatics you must do become even more elaborate, more challenging and more lethal with a single mistake leading to certain death. While this can become a bit repetitive and while near the end of the game the challenges become less imaginative, a great part of Tomb Raider's success lies in this wonderful platform-puzzle style. Now when it comes to shooting enemies everything is pretty simplistic. Lara Croft automatically targets enemies so it's insanely fun and easy to run & jump around while shooting baddies. Enemy AI is very simple so enemies don't pose any real threats, especially after finding the most advanced weapons of the game, but to say the truth, the first Tomb Raider is the one with the less shooting going on, something that some people may not like. I prefer it that way though, not to mention that the fact that you'll rarely see an enemy creates some sort of tension.

Explore uncharted territories:
This game is made for those who love exploring. If you want fast pace action look elsewhere since in most levels you'll spent more than 20 minutes searching for an item and about 1 or 2 minutes shooting at enemies. There is no explanation about what to do and where to go. It's you against an unknown territory so you'll have to use your brains and imagination in order to move on. Each level poses different challenges and keeps the game from being too repetitive. For example: In some levels you'll have to do some insane acrobatics in order to reach a very high part, while in an other one you'll have to shoot a couple of monsters in a very narrow area. In some levels you'll have to avoid traps that you'll suddenly set off, while in others you must solve some tough puzzles. Some are just about finding the right key and in some others you must twist your brain in order to figure out how to use the various strange machinery you'll find. Besides all these the game is full of secrets that lead to health packs and ammo, secrets that range from the plain obvious to the where-the-heck-is-the-darn-secret! The flaws of the game? You can only save in certain locations of the level leading to a LOT of deaths, something that can become quite annoying especially after having made a couple of tough jumps. However this will force you to play more strategically, be more careful and use the save crystals in the best time possible. Finally the game besides not being a game for everyone, (since it's quite slow paced), can be quite repetitive, since after the first half of the game nothing will really excite you. If you can get passed these few problems you are in for a great adventure.

Graphics: 7.8/10
Design: 8.5/10

The graphics of Tomb Raider polarized gamers' opinions, for several reasons, mainly for Lara Croft's ridiculously large breasts. Before reviewing the actual graphics of the game let me say one thing here folks… I don't give a damn about political correctness and I hate puritans!!! People get extremely uptight, especially when they deal with matters of sexuality. I could go on and on about this subject but in the end this is a game review and not a social analysis. However let me point out a mistake that many people, especially women make with videogames… videogames can be realistic but they tend to be unrealistic more often for one simple reason… THEY ARE FREAKING GAMES DAMN IT!!! A marine who fights demons, a robot ninja, a sexy vampire babe, warrior gals in chainmail bikinis, buff dudes with dual chainguns, etc, etc… all these are unrealistic but they are also cool. Oh, to hell with it… on with the review! Tomb Raider is a fully 3D PS game and many gamers don't like that, usually due to the large amount of pixelation. Well I judge a game depending on the system it came out… so, while Tomb Raider has a lot of visible pixelation, I deal with it. Why? Because it's a PS game folks, not a PS3 one. More importantly though it's not how good a graphic engine but you've done with it and Tomb Raider is simply a wonderfully designed game that oozes with atmosphere! You'll traverse through Snowy Peruvian ruins, deep caves with underground rivers and waterfalls, dark Greco-Roman dungeons, Egyptian labyrinths and some even weirder locations that all look wonderful, have excellent lighting and use of special effects like the wonderful light refractions when you swim, or the wonderful distance fog technique that keeps things smooth but also creates a certain mysterious feeling. The levels look good and have a nice variety between them and are filled, (well not exactly filled), with various creatures that range from wolves and bats to… oh, I don't won't to spoil the surprises :) Finally Lara Croft IMO is a wonderfully designed character, with great a great body analogy, (yes girls, I know she is unrealistic *rolls eyes*), nice use of colors and small details but more importantly with 100% flawless animation. Finally we have some small but great FMVs. Between episodes. All in all a great looking game.

Sound: 7.8/10
Music: 7.8/10

The sound effects of the game are generally pretty good. Running sounds different in different surfaces, Lara moans & groans as you climb or bump around, the weapons sound good, (although a tad weak), and so do the various creatures that range from wolves to strange mutations. The ambient effects like waterfalls, rivers and so on are even better because they create a certain atmosphere. However the best thing about the sound section of Tomb Raider is… the silence! Most of the time you don't really hear anything else apart from your feet on sand, something that can make you feel that you really are traversing through a dark ancient temple. The music of Tomb Raider is simply fantastic. It consists of marvelous, dreamy tunes or fast paced orchestral pieces. The first are used when you enter a new and good-looking part of the level, or where you reach a certain key area where an important item is. The later is used in order to build tension usually when an enemy appears, although sometimes this kind of music will start in parts of the game where it shouldn't, like in the first level, where after having confronted a lot of wolves you reach a place where the “action” music starts and all you see in front of you is another measly wolfy. Another minor flaw is that the “dreamy” music I've mentioned before is very, very short and starts so rarely that it is somewhat disappointing. In the end though this is just nitpicking since the sound portion of TR is awesome.

[+]:
-Good, well presented plot
-A unique platformpuzzle oriented gameplay
-Great mix of platforming, puzzles, exploration and action
-Very good level and character design.
-Great, mysterious atmosphere
-Great animation
-Wonderful music, very good SFX

[-]:
-A tad repetitive, especially near the end
-Enemies too stupid and easy
-Not many gunfights available
-Not being able to save anywhere on the map

Also Play:
Prince Of Persia (PC & Other Platforms)
Prince Of Persia : The Sands Of Time (PC)
Super Metroid (SNES)
Tomb Raider 2 (Playstation)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PC & Other Platforms)
Tomb Raider: Legend (PC & Other Platforms)

Overall: 7.7/10

Without a doubt Tomb Raider is a wonderful game, an exciting experience, a fantastic adventure. No… hype and a large digital bust aren't enough to sell a game… in the end all that matters is gameplay and Tomb Raider is very good at that. Sure it's not for everybody, but those who like slow paced platform oriented adventures with a lot of exploration involved will find their selves at home in the ruins of Tomb Raider.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/12

Game Release: Tomb Raider (US, 11/15/96)