Tomb Raider 1+2+3

Forget the reboot(s), these are the titles you should be playing. If you had a PC or a PlayStation in the 90s, you just could not have missed Tomb Raider, or the main character Lara Croft. The success and fame of Lara as a gaming icon can easily overshadow how good these games actually are. When Tomb Raider came out in November 1996, it basically created a new genre: the 3D action adventure game. Instead of a sidescrolling platformer or a first-person shooter, you had over-the-shoulder (or rather over-the-head) camera and you could move freely in a 3D environment. Sure, the tile-based moving system might seem archaic by today's standards, but it totally works. I prefer to play these titles with a pad (PS1 Dual Shock is made for these!), but you can play with a keyboard, it just takes a bit of getting used to. Running around, jumping and shooting is pretty easily mastered, as all the games have excellent tutorials. And you're going to need all of Lara's skills to survive the fantastically designed levels. While the original Tomb Raider is usually considered the best in the series, I actually prefer the other two games in the series. The demo for TR2 was the first one I played, and TR3 was a game I was obsessed with for years. All the games differ pretty heavily from each other, with the settings changing almost as much as Lara's cup size. The original one lives pretty much up to its title, with gameplay consisting of exploring tombs, caves and the like with the occasional enemy here and there. TR2 changes the environments completely, and puts Lara up against human opponents instead of wolves and bats. TR3 has best of both worlds, as it goes from the jungles of India and South Pacific to the high-tech Area 51. Not only do the settings change, Lara's weapon and moving arsenal expand with each game: in the first one, you have a handful of guns ranging from the trusty pistols with never-ending ammo to dual Magnums; by the time you reach the third game, Lara has the ability to crawl, fire a bazooka and ride a quad-bike. I've already bought these titles multiple times (TR2-5 originally for the PlayStation, then TR1&2 as a box-set for the PC and finally all the six games in one box for the PC) and I'm pretty sure I'm going to spend another $9.99 for this set. So should you. PS. It's unclear if this set includes the expansion sets (TR Gold or Unfinished Business, TR2 The Golden Mask and TR3 The Lost Artefact).

The first Tomb Raider is one of the most important adventure games of videogame's history; don't let the the iconic, often freely criticized, figure of Lara fool you. The first Tomb Raider games are pure gems. These games are great examples of what adventure games should be. Specially when it comes to puzzles and atmosphere. Maybe the action is not as well developed as everything else, but the game does not resent by this. Also, keep in mind that the sequel is probably the worst of the first trilogy. Fortunatelly, the third game tried to blend the best parts of both games, resulting in the most refined experience -althought extremely difficult. Anyway, even Tomb Raider 1 alone deserves your money; don't let slip the chance to play a little, but shiny piece of videogame's short history.

I'm a big TR fan, but I read on the community pages that people were having trouble getting these games to work, so I was on the fence about buying them. I decided to take the plunge, though, and I'm glad that I did. There *were* some problems with the first two games, but these were easily fixed by running them as an admin. TR3 ran fine as it was. It should be noted, however, that TR1 doesn't have the gameplay music that you're familiar with if you played the console version. I've since read that none of the PC ports of it have ever had the music; that's disappointing, but it doesn't ruin the game for me.

For myself there have been only a few really WOW moments whilst playing video games, like first seeing the isometric graphics of Knightlore on the Spectrum and the speed of Sonic's movement on the Megadrive, but on the PC, it has be the moment T-REX appears out of the mist in Tombraider 1. The game defined all other FPS games that came after, with unfortunately the main character Lara Croft becoming more of a star than the game itself which is a pity because the series is extremely playable and entertaining with tricky puzzles and brilliant sequences to complete. Needless to say the series may not have been quite so massive if they hadn't introduced a well-endowed heroine. Even though the game is a now a teenager, it does stand up well and there is not much out there to beat it if you want a game to play that doesn't need a large manual to read first and 24 fingers to play it. Load up and enjoy ! Thanks GOG