Old IS Gold...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great execution, graphics, sound, controls, replay value

Cons: can be frustrating at times...

Author's Review
Computer games get more and more complex everyday. What was considered to be ground breaking soon gets left behind in the bargain bins only to be superceded by some new game. I remember getting addicted to Super Mario Bros (the very first one), and not playing anything else Nintendo had to offer. There have been many games with better graphics, but none can match the original concept of that game. I feel sort of the same way about Tomb Raider. It was the first in what is now a 4 game series, with Gold versions of originals also sprouting up every now and then.

The Original Tomb Raider was unique, it introduced one of the best 3D adventure games on the market, with a voluptuous heroine to boot. While newer Tomb Raider iterations have better graphics, the original is still the best. Like all good spooky 3D action games, Tomb Raider was scary when I first started playing it, similar to how Wolfenstein 3D made me feel. The graphics are great, and still would be considered to be good. Controls are intuitive, and the sound effects are great too. The game is quite difficult for the rookie gamer, but gets easier as you die and keep restarting the game. The game is sufficiently deep to keep you playing it for quite a while, and Lara can do many different actions and moves through the game. She battles a slew of people and animals, making things more interesting than just trying to shoot down humans with guns.

Tomb Raider is a great game and can be enjoyed by a wide swath of the public, but it's violence levels are a bit too high to be appropriate for kids younger than 13. Tomb Raider is also a more consumate action game: It forces the gamer to think (sometimes a LOT) to try to solve puzzles to move forward in the game. So this makes the game a more action/adventure game than just shoot-em-up Doom type action. The game is probably best played with a game controller of some sort, but keyboard controls will work if such a controller is not available. Tomb Raider's graphics are much better on the PC than on the Playstation, but the playstation version is easier to play, I'd say. The game is quite addicting, and this can be a very bad thing. I have lost complete track of time on many occasions. Definitely check out this game... it's bound to be cheap now that there are so many sequels to this game that are out. Tomb Raider 1& Gold are slightly better than TR2. TR3 is also good, but a bit more difficult, and requires a lot of power from your computer to run smoothly. Both TR1 & 2 will run reasonably well on most computers.