The Legend herself, has found her way back into the tombs

Author's Rating:

Pros: When Lara is back like this, everything is good!

Cons: When Lara is back like this, nothing is bad!

The Bottom Line: 
Fans will love this. Really. You will.

Author's Review
Believe it or not, but Lara Croft is back. Some of you may sigh in disgust while others may jump up and down with joy. Reasons why some may turn away from this game is that the last game featuring Lara Croft (Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness) was a huge disappointment. I found the game pretty good, but I know why people hated the game. It was full of bugs, controls were whacked, camera angles were horrible, etc. So when I heard about another sequel, I turned my nose away from this. However, Lara Croft lured me back into the tombs and damn, she really is back and better than ever!

The story to this game goes back to old days where Lara is searching the tombs and what not to find a missing artifact. This time though, this artifact, if in the wrong hands, will destroy mankind. So who better than Lara to go tomb-raiding? I couldn't think of another woman. This is a third-person adventure/action game. You take control of Lara--a dashing, strong and brave woman who will do anything to complete her mission. You can climb rocks, mountains, rope and many other things in this game; each tries to be a pain to get to your destination, but with Lara, it's a ride in the park. The adventure part of this game revolves around climbing yourself around in certain parts of the world and most of the time, you will climb, but I never found it boring or tiresome because you'll always find it exciting, a little dangerous and lots of fun! I actually felt like I had accomplished something whenever I'd reach the top of a huge rock, cliff or mountain. It's exciting really! During these adventure parts of the game, you can collect three types of rewards; which are scattered throughout each level. Lucky for you, they shine really bright so you can see. Each reward actually holds a reward for you. Whether it's a new costume to a cinema scene in the game.

In Lara's gadget collection, she has a PLS(Personal Light Source) which you will need in dark areas. I hope you aren't scared of the dark. The Magnetic Grapple which is a real cool gadget. This little thing can grab enemies and make them come toward you or to the most exciting feature of it yet, is the swinging. Let's say there is a huge gap between you and your destined path. You can use the gadget to swing yourself across. Fortunately for those who don't know when to do this, a button will appear on the screen telling you when to do this. You can also move obstacles with this gadget as well such as a bolder blocking your way. You'll also have a health pack to heal yourself if you get injured. Your binoculars have also got a new device in it as well. You can now go into RAD mode which it gives you a readout on objects in your view that tells you whether that object is chemically unstable(explodes at the right impulse), technical(object is part of machinery), movable(object can be moved) and finally physically unstable(object can be toppled or broken). You'll be quite fascinated because you will need this more than you think. You'll also have access to your PDA which lists information such as how many rewards you have and what kind, a map and your objectives. Thank goodness it is waterproof because you can swim in this game. You can go underwater, but you can only hold your breath for so long. Also, swimming is a good thing to do when obstacles are blocking your path and if water is near, you could see if it hides a route to your destination.

Now, for the action side, you will have access to your guns and other people's guns. You can use these guns on your enemies which vary greatly. Either humans, animals or even non-human things. Lara's target system is a targeting reticle that glows red when the target is in your range, gray for not in range and blue is when the target can be grappled. Along the way, you can also use grenades and flares. Lara also packs some new moves in this awesome game. She can do the slide attack which she slides into the enemy and knocks them off balance, she can do an aerial attack which has her in the air and lands on the enemy and during this, slow-time is activated and she can shoot her target and finally she can do the power kick which is a powerful kick by Lara's boot. She also have some defensive attack which Lara can roll out the way and she can also do a flip to also get out the way of danger. Lara's will to complete her mission also includes driving. You can still do gun fights though. Lara can also use her settings to her advantage. She can grapple on obstacles that are easy to break(example: a cliff) and pull it down. Believe me when I say that the grapple is a very important gadget in this game.

I know many people hated the controls in the Tomb Raider series. However, you all can finally be in relief in this game. No more awkward button lay-out(although you can set them to your liking), no more bugs in the controls and no more controls that make Lara move stiff. In Legend, the controls have stayed the same, but however, it has a cleaner, smoother design to them. The controls are a little different in the driving mode and the swimming mode. I won't get into that, but believe me, the controls are much improved(possibly the best controls over Lara yet). The controls are more polished, smoother and more slicker.

The Xbox 360 has blown me away with it's graphical power and in Legend, it makes the game feel alive. I have played also the Xbox version and I will take the Xbox 360 version any day. For $10 more, you'll be engrossed into Lara's world. The tombs, ruins, water effects, lighting, etc. look alive and breathing. The texture to everything are so rich and full of detail that yes, you can tell Xbox 360 is behind this. Also, the characters in the game have amazing detail in them. You can literally see the pores on Lara's face to an old man's wrinkles. If you have the Xbox 360, go ahead and get this on that console. You'll very much appreciate the game much more than on other consoles because it fleshes the settings out into a more realistic tone.

Having little interest and having a little disgust that this game could suck, I was literally amazed by this game. Not only does it fix the problems the series had that bugged people out, but it brought new things to make the experience in this game even more exciting. For once in my life, I have finally a Tomb Raider game that has finally engrossed me with it's looks, gameplay and the exciting adventure. Yes indeed, Lara Croft is back and she IS better than ever! Lara has finally made it home...where she belongs.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend Information:
Genre: Action/adventure
Rating: T for Blood, Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
# of Players: 1
Lasting Appeal: A few weeks to a few months