Tomb Raider Retrospective Comments by Martyn Carroll

Having played them all I also have the footstep patterns for walking and running jumps burnt into my memory, so much so that the new versions assists with leaps and grabs make them feel a bit of a cheat at times.

The problem wasn't the yearly updates, it was the unwillingness to do anything new with the formula. Chronicles and Angel of Darkness were just inexcusable messes of games with little in the way of redeeming features, a drop after The Last Revelation was expected and not a surprise but following Chronicles with AoD was a mortal injury that will forever scar Lara Croft.

Personally, I think the modern era of controls has done more to help Lara than getting it back to tombs. An adventure isn't fun if every slight mistake is punished by swift and brutal revenge in the form of a messy and inescapable death, making the games slightly more forgiving on that front has dramatically improved the game. It can still be challenging, but at least not in the way that you think the developers are laughing at you.

The real issue at hand is that in 1996, Lara was a revolution - both in gameplay mechanics, genre and as a symbol and icon for a new era of technology. After AoD, over-exposure and making Lara endorse anything and everything in commercials really lessened her importance. It's taken a while to get it back to a stage where we can sit down now and actually eagerly await a new Tomb Raider game, without wondering what she'll be plugging or expecting her boobs to put Pamela Anderson's to shame. They know this, we know this. That is why we can await it, because CD and Eidos know we are wise to the old crap that was being pulled. In return, we're not being treated as idiots.

And that said, AoD pales in comparison to the lucozade ad that had grown hairy men dressed up as Lara Croft. The people behind that campaign should burn in the hottest and most pointy corner of hell for eternity and a day.

TR2 was the best by a whisker, then TR1, then Anniversary. TR3 was a bit too clever for its on good, and AOD was....pah. Legend was dull.

Hope the PS3 gets a version of Underworld on parity with the rest.

"Angel of Darkness" must be the most hilariously generic name possible

After reading this article, I was surprised at how few TR games I have played. I loved the 1st one, but not the 2nd, so didn't bother with the rest until Legend (average) and the excellent TR Anniversary.

I’m really looking forward to Underworld as it’s supposed to be 90% exploring which is what I love about the TR games. That feeling of adventure and discovery, that only computer games can give you.

Its difficult to keep a game like this fresh throughout the years while trying to keep the winning formula the same. Tomb Raider, to me, was all about the sense of adventure, exploring and a little bit of action.

I am more than happy with the way the current series has panned out. The new series may suffer slightly in the reviews for being more of the same but I'm more than happy with the current formula. After all, it just wouldn't be Tomb Raider if they mixed things up a bit.

So...from my point of view anyway...I want more of the same and lots of the stuff that made Tomb Raider great in the first place.

I'd have loved if this article came with a video of various clips of TR from the first to the last, just for fun.

It's incredible how much people must be reminded by the press that the guys behind Angel of Darkness have nothing to do with the new ones. Every single time a Crystal Dynamics game has hit shelved, I've read retrospectives which say "Lara is back on track".

Well, too early to tell. Legends was quite messy, and yes, Anniversary is great but then again, it's based on the best Tomb Raider ever...

I never did like the whole Tomb Raider thing. I played the first but never really got the whole geeky freakiness of everyones obsession with her just cos she has a pair of tits etc? Was all to off putting for me. However after seeing the demo of the latest version, and Loving Uncharted I am quite willing to give this one a go. Seems a lot smoother and better controlled so may be worth an investment for me i thin.

I remember feeling like a lone voice in disliking the original Tomb Raider. The controls where simply atrocious and constant replaying with sudden death after sudden death meant I gave up on it...but at least I got to the T-rex before I did that.

Oh man... just seeing the screens from the good ol´TRs made me shiver...
God, those games were and still are amazing!

I loved all TRs from 1 to 6 (yep, i liked AoD) and since CD got the franchise i dont enjoy playing TR.
In the new games the only thing Tomb Raiderish is... the name! =|

Well, this weekend i´ll give Sack Boy a rest and have some fun with Lara. (No pun intended...)
Step in TR2...

TR > TRA > TR3 > TR2 > TRL >TR4 >TR 5.

I remember hiring a PSone at uni for the weekend and my roommate and I played TR 2 for pretty much 48 hours.

The scariest fact, though, is that we couldn't afford to hire a memory card - so were trying to complete it in one sitting. An endurance feat of epic proportions

Christ, what a glorious waste of time that was.

/wipes tear from eye.

I managed to wring enjoyment from AoD. The controls were dreadful, but it wasn't a fundamentally broken game. In fact, the only TR game that failed to hold my attention was Last Revelation. It might have been twice as big, but only in so much as you had to trek twice as far between interesting points of gameplay. And those un-killable skeletons and insects...

TR2 > TR1 > TR4 > TRL > TR3 > TR: AoD

Never played Chronicles

I can't wait to get this.

I liked Legend, maybe because it was short and linear and I could actually get a handle on it with my limited schedule.

Anniversary actually seemed like a step backwards visually - at first. It's taking me months to get through it and I'm really surprised at the way it will introduce new ideas and new (often improved) aesthetics so many hours in. Egypt is just gorgeous! However, the game is sometimes punishing devoid of signposting and will happily let you run laps over the same long sequences until you're furious with it. Or maybe I'm just an idiot.

Underworld looks absolutely beautiful (with the exception of those ugly XBox 360 checkerboard shadows, which are in evidence the moment you start the game LOL. Can't believe devs haven't found a remedy for that yet.)

ok...so where's the review?

BREASTS.

"I’m really looking forward to Underworld as it’s supposed to be 90% exploring which is what I love about the TR games. That feeling of adventure and discovery, that only computer games can give you."

Have you never slipped your hand in your girlfriend's undies?

From the games (demos) I've played:

TR > TR3 > TR2 > TRA > TR4 > TRU > TRL

TRA made it high as it's derived from TR, TRU rating was based on the demo and the assumption that the product is more of the same.

For me: TR > TR3 ~ TR2 > TR4 > TRL ~ TRA demo

I rate TR2 the same as TR3, because albeit I consider TR3 superior in all technical aspects (level design, difficulty, graphics, secrets...), TR2 has (had) this weird charm for me (snowmobile, Maria Doria, bizzare last levels). Oh, and maybe also because I haven't used any stimpacks, flares and any weapons besides pistols in first two TR games (heh, yes, I consider it silly nowadays, but around that time I've even finished my first Diablo playthrough without actually using any scrolls and keeping potions usage to absolute minimum - using those cheap Heal staves preferably, or just free healing in town).

It's somewhat ironic then that a game that turned so many people onto gaming is an absolute bitch to play. Going back and playing it now is a sobering experience because controlling Lara is like practising a dark art.

Not if you're old enough to have played those original games when they were first released. Those controls are still second nature to me...

EDIT: Actually, it helped to have played Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback (and possibly Fade to Black) before playing Tomb Raider. Those games also had the same concept of having to start a running jump a certain set distance before a cliff edge, otherwise risking jumping too soon or not at all.

Tomb Raider Anniversary is an interesting exercise, but it simply highlights everything that was wrong with the original Tomb Raider game... i.e. nothing in the rest of the game ever matches the T-Rex encounter that occurs in the first 30 minutes.

I would probably appreciate an Anniversary-style remake of Tomb Raider 2 though.

i remember a mate from college almost coming to blows with another friend due to wiping his saved game of TR1. that game was tough, unforgiving but compelling.