Primed for the sequel.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Tomb Raider reborn, better graphics, better controls, better sound, better music, better game.

Cons: A little short from end to end. The scene-analysing-binoculars should have been night-vision-goggles.

The Bottom Line: 
TRL has single-handedly saved the Tomb Raider franchise. It's a thorougly enjoyable new game and ripe for a sequel.

Author's Review
I received a copy of Tomb Raider Legend for my birthday and whilst I was pleased with it as a present, I had my doubts about the game. The Tomb Raider franchise ended up mired in bad gameplay, terrible camera problems and questionable controls, but with this latest installement, Crystal Dynamics have taken over the reigns and the difference is like night and day. Gone are 90% of the camera problems where the cam would get stuck behind an object preventing you from seeing what is going on. Gone are the hideous control problems. Gone are the confinements placed on Lara for certain moves. What we have here, then, is a totally new game, and one which could be the basis for a third movie should they choose to make one.

Level Design
The design of the levels in TRL is great. For the most part, you no longer can look at a level and instantly see how to complete a particular puzzle. There are lots of outdoor scenes as well as some dark levels (my pet hate) but Lara has a flashlight this time around so you can illuminate the darker areas as you play. There are a bunch of in-game levels which progress the storyline and an out-of-game level which is Croft Mansion. Once you've completed the first level, all of Croft Mansion is open to you to explore. There are four main areas - Lara's bedroom, the gym, the pool and the library. Each has it's own puzzles to solve and secrets to find and it's a nice addition to be able to do these areas in a leisurely fashion without affecting the outcome of the main game.

Graphics
The PS2 is really on its last legs nowadays and with the PS3 just around the corner, it really amazed me how good TRL looks. The graphics engine is totally revamped. Lara is her typically anatomically questionable self, but there are some neat new touches. For example if she runs under a waterfall or gets out of a pool, for a few moments afterwards, the game engine has a great specular reflection effect on her skin making her look wet. The background graphics are equally as impressive and have been created with a similar eye for detail. Stand too close to the edge of a snowy precipice and little chunks of snow and ice will fall away underneath. Little touches like that make the environment more dynamic and more believable. When you mess something up and Lara falls, rag-doll physics come into play as she bounces off scenery to her demise.
In between the gameplay there are set pieces done with animatics - the in-game engine rendering the storyline in realtime. Whilst the detail in these scenes isn't what you'd find in a pre-rendered piece, that doesn't matter. Because they're done with the game engine, it doesn't interrupt the flow. You're not presented with a Hollywood-esque big-budget pre-rendered piece only to be jarred back into the realtime world of the game afterwards.

Sound
The sound in TRL is good, but the music is the really outstanding achievement. Every level, cut scene and animatic is accompanied by a fantastic musical score and ambient music and effects. The ambient music used in the last-but-one episode in the Himalayas is just perfect for getting you to believe you're there.

Gameplay and controls
The control system in TRL is totally logical. How many Tomb Raider games have you played where you could say that? Lara has two new items in her itinerary this time around. The first is a magnetic grapple. It can be used to grapple stuff and pull it towards you, or to hook on to overhangs and swing Tarzan-stylee over gaping holes in the ground. The second is a set of scene-analysing binoculars. These are a bit of a cheat in my view - when you look through them, you can activate a scene analysis mode which will point out items that can be moved, hooked on to, destroyed or otherwise used to complete the level. It takes some of the skill and trial-and-error out of completing the puzzles because it more or less shows you exactly what you need to do. I would have preferred night-vision goggles for this feature.
The usual collection of run, jump, climb, drop, push and pull moves are all present as well as an array of climbing and shimmying moves. The male gamers out there (me included) will giggle at the fact that on the Japan level, in her ripped evening gown, when Lara is shimmying around steel poles it's basically the game designers giving you the chance to see her pole-dancing. It's enough to bring out the juvenile in all of us.
There is another new addition which will catch you out the first time you see it. For certain set pieces, the designers have gone for a Dragon's Lair type control system. Basically, Lara goes into a cinematic pre-staged sequence, and at set points, an icon will appear on screen. The icon will either be a button or a joystick position, and you have to either press the matching button or move the joystick accordingly within about half a second. If you don't, Lara typically comes to a hollywood-esque ending, sometimes with amusing results. If you do, the sequence carries on. Another new gameplay mode which comes into play in some places is the out-and-out panic mode where you have no breathing room and just have to go for it. If you stop or slow down, you're dead, normally because you're being chased by something that wants to eat you, the scenery is collapsing, or a tunnel is flooding. The sorts of things you wouldn't want to wait around for in real life.
Finally, there is the camera system. It will always attempt to position itself to maximise your ability to play the game, but you can always override it with the right analog stick, which is a nice touch. Plus, it gives you the chance to look at some of the scenery (including Lara) up close and personal.

Extras and replay value
TRL may be short in the initial playing, but it has replay value in that it has three difficulty settings, and two challenges. The first challenge is to find all the treasure items on each level (including those in the non-game Croft Manor level). The second is a time challenege in the grand finale. I've yet to finish that within the allotted time so I can't tell you what happens when you do.
The more treasures you find on a level, the more extras and secrets the game unlocks, from new costumes and peeks at level design, to pistol upgrades for Lara which make her aim better and give more ammo.

The sequel
One thing you'll discover from reading this review and/or playing TRL to its completion is that Crystal Dynamics are 100% depending on a sequel here. I'm not giving you the storyline of the game, but suffice to say that in the grand finale, they pull the Big Reveal in which you discover you've only really played 50% of the storyline, and Lara ends up prepping the support team for a new mission as the scene fades to black. If / when they do make a sequel to this one, as long as they keep the same programming team together, I expect it to be every bit as good. Frankly, I would be disappointed if they didn't follow it up. I played the game to the end and I want to know how this story is going to conclude.....

Caveat - why I knocked one star off the rating
It's worth mentioning the following not because I'm boasting, but because it inevitably affects my view of the game. I'm playing my PS2 on a 125-inch forward-projected screen hooked up to a 7-channel, 1500Watt cinema sound system (all items reviewed elsewhere on epinions by me). I would have rated the game 5 stars but I realise that I have a pretty far-out gaming system. I've not been able to play it on a "regular" TV setup so I can't tell you if the sound and graphics will be quite so impressive for the average gamer. For that reason and that reason alone, I've given it 4 stars instead of 5. In other words, assume a 5-star rating if you have a top-notch PS2 setup.

"Miscellaneous"
One parting comment. I've since played TRL on a friend's X-box 360. It was an interesting comparison, because despite being a "next gen" console, it didn't actually look as good as the PS2 version, and the control system was lacking the fluid continous methodology that the PS2 version has.