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"A nice move in it's tired gameplay, but not sadly unequalled by better titles."

Tomb Raider: Chronicles

It has been five long memorable years since the launch of Tomb Raider and Lara Croft. Their tentative breach into the Playstation's domain left us with a rich world of 3D graphics that we could explore. Did we honestly want more? Yes, probably, most likely, why not? Instead of susbstansial incremental changes in the already original concept of gameplay, we watched with confused eyes how Lara soared further the game probably will never do again. The last two games may have their own merits, but altering hardly anything to the gameplay has left the series robbed of any real thrills or excitement. Eidos' idea of excitement is having Lara run around with your eyes firmly placed on her backside.

But! Wait for this! Eidos have genuinely tried to redeem themselves with this fifth installment of the now dismal series. Really, I'm gobsmacked. Gone seem to be the tongue-in-cheek pastings of Lara in bikini's and topless shoots (anyone remember that pillow photo?). Fair enough, Lara has gone on to be the face of Lucazade, but it's a far cry better than if she was chosen to front L'Oreal or countless other beauty products. It's fair to say Eidos have probably made more money from Lara herself than the games. She's did a lot for the company, and they've repaid her with bad control movements and unequalled gameplay. So with the shallow premise out of the way, die-hard fans and people who experimented with the charms of the game will ultimately be wondering; is it safe to come back to Tomb Raider? Is the game worth my money?

Kind of! Tomb Raider Chronicles is like it's predeccessors in many ways, but like The Last Revelation, this is more story focused than just plain wandering into endless labrynths. The rough incarnations in the other games have finally been smoothed over. Yes! That's camera angles, unresponsive control mechanics and speed problems have been knifed down to a minimum. The game really does seem to have that glitter of promise that we all seen in the very first game that took to our hearts. Whether you will forgive the game by now, is up to you, but Tomb Raider Chronicles serves one plate of exactly what fans have been waiting for with this series. And building up to the Playstation 2 hardware, things are finally looking fine again.

The Last Revelation finally explored some considerable amount of depth to Lara and it looked as if it might have been the last game to enter the series - the last we saw of Lara, her mentor Von Croy saw his 'revenge' and left her to die as she was buried alive under the collapsed ruins. In a shocking conclusion, Tomb Raider Chronicles begins at Lara Croft's memorial service where her friends have gathered after hearing news that she is missing, presumed dead. A group of friends, or foes turned to admirers stay behind to reminisc the times they remember Lara the most. One of them, includes Werner Von Croy himself. Their stories present a flashback of Lara in the story, and they serve as levels that you play through. It's quite a good move fro Eidos, creating suspense as to whether Lara is really gone for good or not. You probably wonder at times the point of the game considering if Lara is dead but there is a rivetting little twist in the game that leaves you throttling with anticipation by the end.

Working in episodes, Lara is back on top form with marvellous events that takes her once more around the globe to a Russian submarine, a Russian submarine, a Russian submarine! Aherm, then there are the Irish moors where Lara will probably take the time to sneak into one of the bars and get blind drunk on bitter and ale and then there is the trip to Rome. Sadly gamers, Lara isn't visiting these places on holiday, it's purely professional again. From fabled spears to confronting the one of the story tellers, Lara is pretty much waddling in a six foot compound of crap once more and will have to decently do the business in order to survive. There are some gripping moments in Chronicles, including a battle with a sniper and using wits and movement to survive death ridden traps that have slightly progressed from boulders to lasers and stealth innovated contraptions.

Eidos have given a second look on the gameplay front, tedious puzzles of pushing boxes and sliding under closing doors have been almost banished forever and replaced with an equally deadweight stealth factor. Although it's a very smiling front away from the normal gameplay we've come to dread about Tomb Raider, Eidos hasn't employed good control or even concentrated on subpar development to give other stealth titles a run for their money. It's also sad that Eidos have finally realised the aspect of gameplay that should portray Lara as a character and the actual genre Tomb Raider is based on. Even the smallest of stealth tokens such as Lara having to sneak behind an enemy, take out her crowbar from her inventory and plug them from behind is certainly light years beyond Metal Gear Solid but more entertaining than the comatose action seen in other Tomb Raider titles. Puzzles also conclude of complex jumps and sprinting to certain areas to the well bred climbing and working out how to get to higher and further points in the levels but Eidos have also thrown in tight-rope walking and target shooting as additions that decrease the repetitive side of these levels.

Tomb Raider Chronicles is also not as solid in difficulty as the other games were. Some of the sequences left you with relief that you would never have to endure such boredom and confusion again - killing off replay value. However, Chronicles will have some events that may require help from a walkthrough but most levels can be breezy and fun at the same time. The discord of no audio cueing in when you've lost your way is a missed feature that perhaps is a little too unfair to the gamers. Though not as bad, Chronicles also leaves you in some levels like a lost child far away from home - you're just clueless and it may take you hours to realise there's more to the level design, and then to realise the actual solution of completing it. That said, Chronicles is more playable than some of the other titles - Tomb Raider III to be namely.

Preview screenshots to the intrique of the ageing hardware of the Playstation were rather harsh to Tomb Raider Chronicles, especially when to play the game, the feeling is immensly different. The graphics are undoubtedly the best ever to be seen in any Tomb Raider game. To look at the graphics now make the original seem bland, and the level design trounces the others into being sparse (even though they aren't). Despite the aging of the Playstation, Eidos have successfully been able to put more quality into the graphics of Tomb Raider and the 3D world of polygons may never look any better than this. The fantastic lighting effects are flawless, as are detailed textures such as water and the model of Lara may be pinched and tucked, but she's looking more sophisticated than just slutty (aside from her arse - it's still fat and nobody's interested, get over it Eidos). Great smoothness of the environments is also honed to perfection and the FMV has never been more pretty. Chronicles may not be entirely different in graphics to what we've seen, but even the small improvements are commendable considering company's are taking for granted that the Playstation has maximised their worth instead of still trying to squeeze just a little bit more out of the 32-bit system. Well done, Eidos! Now, have a biscuit and have an apology letter for the mess of the other games ready for the next time we have to bear watching Lara's stomach being hacked at.

The degree of music glorifies most of the excitement to be seen in the game and the Tomb Raider theme tune only sounds more beautiful each time it's reinvented with the orchestra. It would be even more fitting if there was background music to blend in with the goings on in the gameplay. It's getting a little too boring just having Lara roam the labrynth like levels without music to listen to while you're at it. The voice acting is used more than ever here, and the voices of the characters telling the stories are a real flavour for their characters - they even upstage the game's heroine herself, and for Lara -if you're interested- is sounding more affected about her travels these days. Or should I say those days?

Despite Tomb Raider Chronicles being a sequel that has a glimmer of what we all used to love about the series. It genuinely tries to opt for a different experience whilst remaining in good relations with the series as whole and almost gives you a definitive reason to play the game. Sadly, there are far more external flaws that effect the internal ones more badly than they should. The sudden move to stealth is nice, but wasted potential and why should we be playing a second rate adventure when we have the likes of Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid on our shelves. Added with the fact that most are just tired of playing a cardboard character in the form of buxom Lara, there is not much about Tomb Raider Chronicles because if you've played The Last Revelation, and the 'others', then you've already played this game. The story is worth playing alone and definetly essential to the thousands that were gripped by The Last Revelation's cliffhanger concerning Lara.

Final Fantasy works so well because none are sequels, and the stories are unrelated with new premises each release. This is a hard lesson Eidos just don't seem to comprehend as their Tomb Raider titles compare to a five part film release. Asking an audience to stay with you and still have remarkable praise for you when you're not really doing much in return is hard to ask, and impossible to get away with hence the reason why most people just don't care about the games anymore. But providing that you've been out of touch with the latter titles, then this game will serve as a worthy sequel that will not be criminally predictable as the games have become famous for. But for those who are still dying resiliant with this series, Tomb Raider Chronicles doesn't tread on new material and the ground is still creaky. If Tomb Raider is to take a dive into the upcoming next generation of gaming, then it will have to be a million miles way from this.

It would almost be the cremation of Eidos' journey with Tomb Raider if it weren't for their flashy success with the prettier and more credible Fear Effect keeping their reputation afloat.As a final recommendation or warning for people fingering this game, if you're content with playing just an above average game with nothing suprising or unique then Tomb Raider Chronicles is for you. Just don't be upset when I say I told you so.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/04