Tomb Raider: Legend

This was fine. I bought and played it because this whole trilogy is often less than 3 dollars, and I was curious to get a sense of what this series, and action adventure games as a whole, were like back in the mid-2000s. As often happens when playing a game from the mid to late PS2 times, there's an interesting balance between forward thinking and some pretty prominent jank. Like with Prince of Persia, Lara can alternately be incredibly animated and also incredibly awkward to control. The pacing and level design of the future Uncharted games is here, as is the modal design that only ever sees you either fighting bad guys or solving puzzles, never both or some variant of either. I'm not really one for linear cinematic action platformers anymore, so it didn't really strike a chord with me, but I can imagine someone who loves these kinds of games getting a kick out of the beginnings of the genre's evolution. That said, what I did genuinely enjoy was briefly indulging in the mid-2000s tropes and aesthetics. Lara is a Brit who wants other cultures' artifacts and will kill anyone who stands in her way, and an early iteration too, before future games would get slightly more thoughtful about that whole thing. The soundtrack has those weird pop rock guitars that every action movie from the era has, there's a cheesy intro cutscene with splash credits and cool poses, and both the villains look like Toreadors from Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines. If nothing else, that stuff is quaint and fun, if outdated, and I did get some enjoyment out of occupying that space for 6 hours or so.

I honestly wanted to like this game, but right from the start, I had vibes it was gonna get rough, from the button layout on the keyboard despite the game never showing you what controller buttons correspond if you use one instead, to the immediately obvious lackluster button mashing of the combat, the signs were all there from the beginning. It never got better, and in fact as the devs decide to try to get clever in the later levels actually gets worse... from the bad port territory to just plain a bad game. I can not recommend getting your hands on it. This might well be one of those games that, unless you are a die-hard Tomb Raider fan who needs to have them all, you would be best to avoid.

Tomb Raider Legend had a lot of great ideas that belong in an action film. Motorcycle chases, puzzle boss fights and a colourful cast of characters. Unfortunately, resources are clearly stretched thin as the motorcycle sections feel too simple and too long, the platforming isn't as forgiving as the 2013 reboot, and there is too much chatter between Lara and her friends over the radio to really appreciate the many vistas the game has to offer. It is still worth playing, just check out PCGamingWiki's page and see which fixes appeal to you.

So much fun. I played all the way through with a controller, with no issues with the controls. Definitely had issue getting past some of the harder parts of the game. It can be quite challenging. But, it is fun enough that I never felt overly frustrated. Had to watch a walk through to get past one of the bosses. The final boss is the hardest I have ever faced. I feel like it was a bit unfair and the only negative part of the game. But, overall, I highly recommend this game. Lots of fun puzzles and platforming. Aiming with a controller was pretty easy, which made me enjoy the game even more.

Good game, it runs very well.