The Tomb Raider Trilogy (PS3) Review

Triple hits.

 The original Tomb Raider games for the PlayStation cemented explorer Lara Croft as a gaming icon back in the 90s and spawned many games where Lara travelled around the world raiding tombs and shooting a wide bunch of creatures a long the way. However, after the constant strain on original developer Core Design to create more games and declining sales of later entries, the franchise tanked with 2003's Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. It was ultimately rebooted with Crystal Dynamics replacing Core Design and focusing on a new trilogy exploring Lara's origins. Three games were released and each was a hit, managing to revitalise the franchise. In 2011, the trilogy was remastered in HD for the PS3 and after sitting in the backlog forever, I've recently went back and played them. How do they hold up years later? Let's find out.

Tomb Raider: Legend (2006) 

Lara Croft is reborn!

 Tomb Raider: Legend takes us through Lara's childhood where she must uncover the truth behind King Arthur's sword while understanding the disappearance of her long-lost mother and her friend's death. She's joined by her companions Alistar, Zip, and her butler Winston who offer some witty chats throughout the adventure. The plot was really entertaining and packed plot-twists to keep you hooked. I liked Lara's more confident and mature portrayal despite the narrative being simplistic.

 The gameplay has you controlling Lara as she shoots enemies with her dual guns, solve some puzzles, and explore environments. The shooting was solid as you'll lock-onto enemies and fire away using albeit a limited selection of weapons. Lara's atheltic skills also will have you jumping, leaping, and swings between ledges and platforms to get where you need to go. They were fun distractions from the combat and I enjoyed the puzzles in levels. Speaking of levels, they were good though standouts were Bolivia, Tokyo, and Nepal, which were fun to play. The game took over 6 hours to beat, though there's more to explore after the adventure like Lara's mansion and time trials challenges. Also, there are hidden collectables to nab if you're going for the 100%.

 Visually, Legend is on the dated side, even with the HD update. Still, the level designs, backgrounds, and character models were good and didn't feel out of place. The voice-work was excellent with many performances, Lara's portrayal being the best. The soundtrack was nice with tracks that complimented the scenery well. Overall, it was solid experience amidst a few glitches.  

Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007)

A classic remade.

 Crystal Dynamics remade the first Tomb Raider in celebration for the franchise's 10th anniversary back in 2007 with Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Set before Legend, Lara is hired by businesswoman Natla to find the Scion of Atlantis, an ancient artefact sought by Lara's father years ago. Her adventure takes her to Peru, Egypt, Greece in search of its pieces while also running into trouble. The story was straightforward and the characters were interesting, though nothing special. 

 Being a remake, the gameplay gets a slight overhaul playing similarly to Legend. The new "Adrenaline" mechanic lets you slow-down time to quickly finish off an oncoming enemy. However, the focus is more on puzzle solving and platforming than the action as you spend much more time activating switches and mechanisms to proceed through. Each level had its own sets of puzzles and platforming parts, with some relaying more on trial and error. The action segments where fun as you get to shoot supernatural monsters with the trusty dual pistols as well as a shotgun and dual SMGs, though there's no grenades this time. While I'm not a big fan of them, Anniversary added quick time events during cut-scenes and boss fights to keep you more focused during them. 

 There are secret artefacts and relics to find in each level, with some being really well-hidden. Collecting them will unlock gallery pieces and insights from Lara, which were cool. There are also time trails where you must beat a level as quickly as possible and the Croft Mansion to explore as well. Anniversary was a longer game compared to Legend, clocking in over 10 hours. 

 Visually, it holds up better than Legend with the character models, backgrounds looking good in HD, despite some low-quality textures here and there. The voice-work is solid despite a few cheesy performances, with Lara and Natla being standouts. The soundtrack is great and nails many of the game's action moments, with the main theme being a memorable standout. Overall, Anniversary was a fun ride and faithful remake of the original game. It's my favorite of the bunch. 

Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)

The grand finale of the Lara's adventure.

 The final chapter in the trilogy, Underworld picks up where Legend left off with Lara having to locate the lost city of Avalon, where her mother is said to have vanished to. Things won't be as easy as she'll have to decipher the Norse lore relating to the place while also dealing with her past enemies, so more trouble for Lara than usual. Surprisingly, the story was really engaging and was my favorite given how Lara was heavily invested in the journey of finding her mother. Without spoiling much, it's my favorite out of the three though its disappointing that the extra story DLCs were exclusive to the Xbox 360 version.

 As for the gameplay, it has you shooting enemies, solving puzzles, and platforming through obstacles, the usual by now. New features include the ability to shoot two targets at once (which was really helpful against groups) and can throw sticky bombs at enemies to blow them off. The grapple and adrenaline of previous games make a return too. The levels are bigger and more open this time around, with you having to find lots of artefacts hidden around and drive a motorcycle in some too, though it sucks that there aren't any boss fights. My only gripes were that the controls and camera tended to feel unresponsive at times and felt really buggy, which detracted from the enjoyment a bit. 

 Underworld is the better-looking game of the trilogy given it was the first TR game in HD. The lush backgrounds, neat water effects, and smooth character animations were impressive for their time and hold up well today. I also enjoyed Lara's matured redesign and found it to be the best in the series. This time around, the voice-work was excellent as I enjoyed Lara's performances the rest of the cast equally. The soundtrack was movie-tier and was packed with many action-packed tracks. 

 Overall, the rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy was a solid one that managed to save the franchise from near-death. Sure they might have their issues, but I really enjoyed the games and loved this Lara Croft more than the new one. If I would rank the games it would be Anniversary then Underworld then Legend. Anniversary is the better game and Tomb Raider experience yet Underworld is more engaging story-wise and I can find myself replaying it in the future. While good in its own right, Legend is surpassed by the latter games in story and gameplay, and just feels bare as a result. Still, if you're a fan of the series or just action-adventure games in general, the games will surely entertain and they're pretty cheap nowadays as well.