Like Santa Claus and Scrooge, you can count on her to make an
appearance around the holiday season. She's as common this time
of year as eggnog, mistletoe, sleighs and snow. She's Lara Croft of
course, and she hasn't missed the celebrations since 1996 when
she made her first appearance. Now, if only somebody would tell
this beautiful lady to stop showing up at the party in the same
dress year after year.
It was a cold winter day in December of 1996 when Lara Croft
leaped onto the action scene in her first swashbuckling adventure.
It was an action game like never seen before on the PC and it
turned more than a few heads that holiday season. It quickly
spawned a myriad of third-person action spin-offs, not to mention
several sequels of its own. Much like the Grinch, Lara peaks out of
her tomb every holiday season, without failure, and provides thrills
for residents of Gameville.
(Cue The Grinch's musical score)
You're a pretty one, Lara Croft
You're slender, voluptuous, and soft
But you're becoming a bit of a pain
Because your adventures are all the same
Lara Croooooooft!
Ok, so I'm no Dr. Seuss, but the fact of the matter is that this is the
fifth straight year that Lara Croft has welcomed the holiday season
with a brand spanking new adventure. Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider
2, Tomb Raider 3, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and now
Tomb Raider: Chronicles. Just like clockwork. So, without further
ado, let's examine her latest exploits.
For those of you who have followed Lara through each of her
adventures thus far, you'll probably recall that Lara appeared to
kick the bucket at the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.
Does she make a miraculous return? Well, not quite. In light of
Lara's recent disappearance, those closest to her have gathered
together at the Croft Estate for a memorial service in her honour.
Afterwards, the attendees sit quietly in the study of the Croft
Mansion and begin to recount Lara's past exploits. Wait a second,
if these exploits have already occurred in the past, what's the point
of going back in time to replay those adventures if you can't
actually die, since doing so would change history? Oops, I'm
thinking too much again. Check your brain at the door folks.
Tomb Raider: Chronicles, like it's numerous predecessors, is a
third-person action title. The same dated engine is employed for
Lara's latest adventures, but Core Design has thrown a surprise or
two into the mix. Much like her recent excursions, Lara has added
a few new moves to her repertoire. Near the beginning of the
game, you'll be required to use her tightrope walking skills, which
basically consist of manoeuvring Lara forward while occasionally
moving to the right or left to centre her gravity. Besides steady
feet, Lara also shows off her parallel bar swinging skills and,
perhaps most impressively, her hand-to-hand stealth attack which
helps avoid those repetitive handgun battles.
Tomb Raider: Chronicles unveils four untold adventures. To its
credit, Chronicles provides a superb variety of venues for Lara's
latest undertakings. You'll journey deep into the ruins of Rome,
search the bowels of a German U-Boat, ponder the skyscrapers of
a hi-tech city and visit some haunted Irish islands. However, unlike
real estate, location isn't everything in a game. Despite the
interesting locales, Chronicles suffers from the same problems that
have plagued the series for the past few years. For starters, the
scenarios are full of tiresome generic third-person puzzles. The
usual 'find key to open door' kind, except in Chronicles it's
replaced with 'find object to open door'. A spade is still a spade.
Oh well, at least we don't have to search for levers that lead to
more levers. Core Design has included an enhanced inventory
system in Tomb Raider: Chronicles, allowing you to search through
cabinets, drawers and shelves for items, but considering how
finicky the Tomb Raider series is when it comes to interacting with
the environment, you'll probably be pulling your hair out at times
trying to position Lara just right.
Although the engine is relatively dated now, the graphics in the
Tomb Raider series continues to impress. Although clipping issues,
often involving Lara getting caught in the walls, continue to
surface throughout the game, the textures are relatively crisp and
colours are used well. If there's one thing I've always wondered
about this series, it's why Lara Croft herself always look so good,
yet her foes look so bland. Character detail is inconsistent to say
the least. Matrix fans will be happy to hear that Lara now sports
her own skin-tight rubber costume as well. Lara is equipped with
an arsenal of weapons this time around including a nifty sniper
rifle, a grappling hook and of course chloroform for those stealth
tactics.
Perhaps the most interesting addition in Tomb Raider: Chronicles
is the level editor. With it, you can now create your own missions
and scenarios to pass along to your friends in the mod community,
but before you get excited, it should be known that this is one
complicated tool. Although it comes with samples and a tutorial,
it's unlikely that the average Lara Croft fan will sit there long
enough to learn the intricacies of the tools. If you're thinking the
mod community for Tomb Raider is about to increase ten-fold
because of the level editor, I wouldn't count on it. Still, it is
available now, so knock yourself out.
What would the holiday season be without Lara Croft? Tomb
Raider is a lot like all those seasonal specials that play on
television. Hey look, A Christmas Carol is on tonight. I'd be
interested if I hadn't seen it last year, and the year before that, and
the year before that, and… well, you get the picture. Maybe one of
these years Lara will arrive at the party wearing something new
and glamorous. Until then, pass the eggnog.
[ 34/50 ] Gameplay
[ 07/10 ] Graphics
[ 07/10 ] Sound
[ 06/10 ] Controls
[ 07/10 ] Storyline
[ 07/10 ] Fun Factor