ITT We talk about the original Tomb Raider series.

[Howling Wind]

So I dusted off my PS1 yesterday and decided to play some games because I was called and told not to bother coming into work after school. The game in the console was the original Tomb Raider.

I first played this game when I was like 8 years old and the PS1 was one of my first consoles IIRC and man was Tomb Raider scary. I remember the first time bats flew at me in the caves at the beginning of the game and when the dramatic classical music played as I got attacked by three wolves at once. Of course I will never forget the surprise T-Rex in the third level. I don't remember finishing this game till years later, probably 2012 or so but its still one of my favorite games of all time and my favorite areas are probably the Egypt levels. I always liked deserts and middle eastern designs.

Tomb Raider 2 I think maybe was the first one of the series I played. The Great Wall is still one of the best first levels in any game. It had tigers, killer crows, crumbling floors, spikes, blades that cut your feet off and pesky little bugs. The graphics and sound were also a major improvement xD. Lara actually has her braid that the physics on it are actually really amazing for the PS1 in 1997. I never got passed the 3rd level when I was younger so the first two are the most nostalgic. The level design is amazing in this game but its VERY hard later on and there is more action than the first game which kind of brings out a limitation of the engine. It isn't exactly combat oriented. Once you get enemies with guns it kind of shows BUT it makes it all the more satisfying to master it enough to survive.
I finally finished this game a few years ago.

Tomb Raider 3 added some little graphical improvements but nothing really major like TR2 and I think it was down to just how much the PS1 could do. TR3 has one of the longest and hardest opening levels ever and it starts in the jungle. One thing about this game I can remember is one, I haven't beaten it though I got pretty far and two... most of the levels are really long and there are a lot of hunting for levels which is kind of a downside. I remember the levels being really cool though.

Tomb Raider The Last Revelation (TR4) Is actually my favorite game in the series. It doesn't have the nostalgia that the other two have but it takes place in Egypt and the level design is really neat. Its also the longest game in the series. The first two sequels introduced new moves for Lara to do and I think, though I'm not sure that TR4 had a few more. Nothing much else was new to the game but I just found the levels better designed than the 3rd one. I actually finished it and I think its the longest game in the series.
I remember in the end Lara Croft dies and I think the company wanted to end the series here after 4 years and 4 games but the publisher ended up wanting a game for 2000.


Tomb Raider Chronicles is a weird one. Its short, the shortest and has a part where you play as young lara in ireland(?) i think. I am pretty sure I finished it and though it wasn't bad it kind of felt like a Tomb Raider lost adventures pack.

Tomb Raider Angels of Darkness was supposed to be a new direction for Tomb Raider on the PS2 and released in 2003. Everyone was waiting for it back then I'm sure. What is bad about TR angel of darkness? Well, nothing unless bugs and major glitches making the game almost unplayable aren't your thing >_>
Its obvious the publisher rushed the team to finish this game and it wasn't ready. It could have been pretty amazing with its little RPG elements. I never finished it but from what I remember Lara Croft survived her supposed death at the end of TR4 and for some reason people were after her or something. It seemed really cool but those bugs ;-;


After that Core Design lost the rights to their own series (how should this even be legal?) to Crystal Dynamics. I might add more about the new series and the remake later but... anyone else have any fond memories of these games? Which was your favorite? DO you think angel of darkness could have been good if it had another year of dev time?

[Crescent]

anyone else have any fond memories of these games?

My palms getting sweaty from gently tapping the directional pad so as not to fall off the edge of cliffs, ledges etc. Oh n the piranhas, traps everywhere.

The Croft Mansion n its hidden areas. Completing the outdoor gym circuit under the time. Then getting the keys to the Quad Bike circuit.

Bt mostly locking the butler in the freezer.

Which was your favorite?

3.

[Rowan]

I always thought they were the hardest games ever made. The bloodborne's of the 90's. Surprisingly, I was much better at the original tomb raider games as a youngster than I am now. I remember getting really far in the game. I also remember there was a cheat to make her in swimwear, but I never bothered to look up if it was true or not.

[Howling Wind]

OMG yeah locking the butler in the freezer XD The first game I went to the mansion in was TR2, I didn't even know about it in TR1 till later XD

Also, there is a code you can put in that makes Lara blow up. Its weird XD

A lot of people hate the controls because Lara moves on a grid and feels like a tank. But I kind of like the feel, it makes her have more weight. I used to love the controls in the newer TR games like Legend when I was younger but later on when I went back to Legend after playing TR3 I found her waay too touchy at first in the new games XD its weird, when you get used to tank lara, she actually controls pretty well. Its hard to explain XD

[loaf]

The reboot is good but it's nothing like the old games. I never owned them but I played them and they were pretty hard.

Can't say I have a favorite one since I never really owned them but I say they good ^_^

[Pete]

Personally, I love the reboot, if only because it makes her seem more like an actual person who has to come to gtips with the world being a harsh place, and with killing.

I played the first two on PC, which was an adventure and a half in itself, but played the third on ps1. They were hard for a number of reasons (keyboard and mouse), and the inevitable distractions of a busty girl in short shorts.

The only thing I was and still am truly ambivalent about is the mystical/magical shit that goes on. 90%of each game is kind of believable, until dinosaurs or just straight up magic curses

[Rowan]

She's the female indiana jones... and I like it.