The original Lara Croft adventure makes its return to consoles. 11 years after changing the gaming world, Tomb Raider makes its second appearance on the Xbox 360. The ever-agile Lara has been revived, but for the most part, unaltered to bring nostalgic Tomb Raider fans a wonderful adventure. With the game updated using the Tomb Raider: Legend engine and additional content, is this game a worthy update to the original?

Best49erfan has the review

Review score: 8.5/10

Introduction

Lara Croft, the daughter of Lord Richard Croft has lost her family in a plane crash. As the sole survivor, Lara makes her way back home. She soon continues the adventures of her father, looking for the Scion of Atlantis for Jacueline Natla, a business woman with ulterior motives. She is not alone in her adventure. A rival archeologist also has his eye on the prize, not to mention all the perilous caves, lakes, and animals.

Gameplay and Controls

Just like the classic version of this, the controls stay intact. Matter of fact, the game plays just like its other 360 counterpart, Legend, minus the better aiming system, although, it is staying true to its origins. One great bonus to this version is a lot of the puzzles have been made to cover a larger scale and give the player more to do. While the original worlds still exist, they have been updated so it is not just a replay of a blast from the past. A great new feature added is the adrenaline dodge. This allows you to dodge the enemy in slow motion and allows you to attack, and if you attack at the right time, will result in an instant kill. A great addition to this game is the fight with the Tyrannosaurus Rex! The interaction between Lara and the enemies revolves a lock and fire sequence using the trigger buttons. Lara moves effortlessly with rolls, flips and swinging to keep herself alive, defeat the enemy, and recover her treasure, all while holding two pistols!

Graphics and Presentation

This game looks like Legend and does it just as well. The waterfalls look really inviting. The lighting effects add to the dramatic element and make the interactive and backgrounds standout more. The only notable flaw in this game is the frame rate varies at times which makes the game seem choppy.

Long passage ways are used to hide level loading and the simplicity of the interface leaves the screen view uncluttered and maintains a continuous flow of game play.

Extras!!!!!!!

As mentioned before, this game is not a direct port. The levels have been made larger, puzzles expanded, and some extras have been added. Relics can be found throughout the game that allows the player to unlock extra content not available in the original. Some of these include extra costumes from other Tomb Raider games, in-game commentaries from the developers, comparison screen shots, a production level that combines the areas that are in the game, and as levels are completed, the soundtrack becomes available.

Sound

Music is not used much in this game except to accentuate dangerous situations and highlight other events. Where the sound of this game excels is in the little details such as the animal noises, flowing water, and the grunts and moans of Lara straining on to that last ledge.

The Straight Dope

This is a no brainer for diehard fans to get. Players who enjoyed Legend will also enjoy it. Just like the updated version of Prince of Persia, this game stays true to its roots, yet gets the modern update that is done the right way. The extra content will provide some entertainment value for a few hours. It a great touch to allow gamers to choose between the retail copy of the game or get it digitally.

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