Jonster's Videogame Talk #1 - Tomb Raider

**Jonster** · 06-06-2004, 10:01 PM

OK, this is born out of sheer boredom.
I mean I literally have nothing to do (well that's a lie, I have games I could be playing, but I'm having trouble deciding right now - as ever), so I've decided to try writing an opinion column about videogames (well it's pretty obvious being in this forum).

If it's good or whatever I may do more.
If it turns out to be total shit, then it won't happen again.
Also if it happens again, it would need a better title...

So here goes, Jonster's Videogame Talk #1 (and why not start off big)

The Tomb Raider Series

Tomb Raider
One of the best known games in the world. Ever.
Think of Tomb Raider and instantly you think of...
Lara Croft
She's appeared on the front of various magazine's around the world, and is easily one of, if not the most recognisable videogame's characters. Ever.

I'm not here to talk about Lara Croft though, that's a whole different ball game, I'm here to talk about Tomb Raider.

Now I'm going to say something that a lot of people will disagree with.
I think that the Tomb Raider games, are utter rubbish.
Now I can't speak for Angel Of Darkness (as I haven't played it - but even the reviews show hatred for that), but I have played Tomb Raider 1 through 3.

The first Tomb Raider was revolutionary, it was full of good ideas, you know what the game was, chances are you played it. Even then, I didn't like it.
Believe me I tried to like it, but it was just felt too sloppy.
The controls were unresponsive, there was a lot of pointless wondering, swimming sections were a pain and the camera was free enough, and because of this, it was often unclear where to go next.

Tomb Raider 2, well they made lots of money off the first one, why not release a sequel?
This was Tomb Raider with the action turned up a few notches and the puzzles turned slightly.
The graphics looked a bit better, and they changed the save system to make it harder (if I remember rightly, in the first you could save anywhere, TR2 had checkpoints), other than that there weren't any changes. A few new weapons and I think vehicles were added too.
The gameplay? Still rubbish.

Tomb Raider 3. I think 3 introduced crouching. more weapons, and more vehicles. This tried to find a balance between action and puzzles, and then a new save system (find crystal, using crystal means you get to save).
They also decided to make the levels absolutely huge.
Again the gameplay was rubbish.
I still didn't like it.

I'd assume Tomb Raider 4 introduced more weapons and vehicles, and fine tuned things even more.
I'd assume the gameplay was, again, crap.

I never actually brought any of the games (well I got given Tomb Raider 3), but I repeatedly borrowed for long periods of time (enough to play) to try and like them.
I thought I was missing out on something, something other people could see but I couldn't (like those magic eye things).
I gave up and declare my dislike after each time I borrowed it, then a while later would borrow them again, give up again declare dislike, repeat.
For each game.

However Tomb Raider, despite (in my opinion) being rubbish, had an interesting side effect.
As I said a lot of people liked it, and by a lot I mean it got people buying consoles, and it and Lara Croft helped make gaming more mainstream.
Now that could be considered a real plus as it could be argued that gaming wouldn't be where it is today without Tomb Raider, but that's another story.

So, erm, and thoughts on the writing, opinions, whatever?

And if you want me to do another, and have an idea for which to write about, suggest it and I'll see what I can do.

**Kalyx triaD** · 06-06-2004, 10:59 PM

Tomb Raider could've innovated the exploration genra but instead had Croft crawling in unrealistic doggy style through caves and fighting spirits from beyond. Then there was Angel of Darkness.

I like the idea of a Game Series discussion, but pick another game series.

**Ninti the Mad** · 06-07-2004, 01:54 AM

1 was the greatest of the series.

THen it was 2.

All the others were lackluster frustrate-fest.

**AareDub** · 06-07-2004, 03:29 AM

Good idea for a topic, but Tomb Raider sucks. I played through the first few bits of part 2 and lost interest very quickly. The only other one I've bothered with was Angel of Darkness and I think it goes without saying that I wasn't impressed by that one.

**Boomer** · 06-07-2004, 11:53 AM

I bought TR1 when it first came out for PC and my dad freaked when he saw the box.

**Fryza** · 06-07-2004, 02:42 PM

Yeah, these games suck.

**Cyke** · 06-07-2004, 04:40 PM

The first Tomb Raider was a truly great game of its time. It was the first true 3D game to combine elements of exploration and action that were heavily inspired from the Indiana Jones films. However, every game after that got progressively worse, as the series got stuck in the past while technology moved along. Terrible controls, outdated graphics, and repetitive gameplay plagued a once promising franchise.

The Tomb Raider series hit rock bottom with its PS2 incarnation, "Angel of Darkness." The game, which had previously promised to fix all the prevalent problems of the series, was rushed out the door like a naked woman after a one-night stand without giving her the time to get ready. Angel of Darkness was horribly buggy, unpolished and unfinished, all thanks to corporate bastards forcing the release date in time for the crappy second movie based on the game.

EIDOS seemed to get their act together, though. They snatched the franchise away from the hands of Core, and gave it to the proven and capable hands of Soul Reaver developers, Crystal Dynamics. As much as I enjoy trashing the series, I'm glad that any new Tomb Raider game will be under a new developer's control. I just hope EIDOS lets Lara rest for a while, so we can all recuperate from the wounds left from her last terrible adventure.

**Oxstar** · 06-07-2004, 06:01 PM

Yeah I played Tomb Raider 1 I thought it was really good until I got to the 8th level and I thought its too difficult so I used the cheats, after playing the first I knew I couldn't be bothered with the rest so I didn't bother.

**Shaggy** · 06-09-2004, 04:11 AM

I honestly was never a big Tomb Raider fan. I just couldnt get into the games and the controls were all screwed up to me. I did play them all and the only one that I even liked was the original. I got the farthest in that game with out cheating so If I had to choose the best out of the series for me it would be the original.

**Jonster** · 06-10-2004, 06:16 PM

Suprising reading your responses, I thought more people liked it than actually do.

Any ideas for another one then?
I had an idea last night that wasn't tied to any game, but I've since forgotten it

**Kalyx triaD** · 06-11-2004, 01:50 AM

Mortal Kombat? Street Fighter? Zelda? Final Phantasy? Mario? Sonic? A series that's been around for a good while.

**TheNamelessOne** · 06-11-2004, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonster

Any ideas for another one then?

As far as I am concerned, all they need to do is fix the flaws that have been in the series since the very beginning. The Tomb Raider series always has been a set of clunky, unresponsive computer games which have barely evolved because its been stuck with the same lousy engine since the first edition.

**The Tokefatha** · 06-12-2004, 05:39 AM

Yeah, Angel of Darkness was crap and a big let down.

**FFD** · 01-16-2005, 01:24 PM

I've played and beat Tomb Raiders 1-3, Tomb Raider: Last Revalation and Tomb Raider Chronicles. I liked them for the most part.

I have AOD and I played the first couple of levels and it sucked, so I stopped. I only payed 10 dollars for it anyways.

Anyways, for the most part the Tomb Raider series is pretty awesome.

**Jonster** · 01-16-2005, 03:48 PM

Wow, that's an unexpected bump.

Was thinking of writing that Mortal Kombat one I did again (as I wrote for like an hour or so and then the pc crashed )

**Mister Sinister** · 01-16-2005, 05:09 PM

Here are a few Ideas

Resident Evil..
House Of The Dead
Resident Evil...
Final Fantasy
Resident Evil...
Metal Gear Solid
Resident Evil...
Grand Theft Auto
Resident Evil..
Mortal Kombat

**Joe Kerr** · 01-16-2005, 05:17 PM

Never played Angel of Darkness..It got a lot of bad reveiws and crap. But i had the first one for Sega Dreamcast. It wasnt to bad never finished it...that was back when I didnt have patience to figure out a path through a game.

**Kalyx triaD** · 01-16-2005, 09:30 PM

Seems like bumping old threads is picking up...

06-06-2004, 10:01 PM	#1
Jonster Has an evil monkey... Posts: 7,299	Jonster's Videogame Talk #1 - Tomb Raider OK, this is born out of sheer boredom. I mean I literally have nothing to do (well that's a lie, I have games I could be playing, but I'm having trouble deciding right now - as ever), so I've decided to try writing an opinion column about videogames (well it's pretty obvious being in this forum). If it's good or whatever I may do more. If it turns out to be total shit, then it won't happen again. Also if it happens again, it would need a better title... So here goes, Jonster's Videogame Talk #1 (and why not start off big) The Tomb Raider Series Tomb Raider One of the best known games in the world. Ever. Think of Tomb Raider and instantly you think of... Lara Croft She's appeared on the front of various magazine's around the world, and is easily one of, if not the most recognisable videogame's characters. Ever. I'm not here to talk about Lara Croft though, that's a whole different ball game, I'm here to talk about Tomb Raider. Now I'm going to say something that a lot of people will disagree with. I think that the Tomb Raider games, are utter rubbish. Now I can't speak for Angel Of Darkness (as I haven't played it - but even the reviews show hatred for that), but I have played Tomb Raider 1 through 3. The first Tomb Raider was revolutionary, it was full of good ideas, you know what the game was, chances are you played it. Even then, I didn't like it. Believe me I tried to like it, but it was just felt too sloppy. The controls were unresponsive, there was a lot of pointless wondering, swimming sections were a pain and the camera was free enough, and because of this, it was often unclear where to go next. Tomb Raider 2, well they made lots of money off the first one, why not release a sequel? This was Tomb Raider with the action turned up a few notches and the puzzles turned slightly. The graphics looked a bit better, and they changed the save system to make it harder (if I remember rightly, in the first you could save anywhere, TR2 had checkpoints), other than that there weren't any changes. A few new weapons and I think vehicles were added too. The gameplay? Still rubbish. Tomb Raider 3. I think 3 introduced crouching. more weapons, and more vehicles. This tried to find a balance between action and puzzles, and then a new save system (find crystal, using crystal means you get to save). They also decided to make the levels absolutely huge. Again the gameplay was rubbish. I still didn't like it. I'd assume Tomb Raider 4 introduced more weapons and vehicles, and fine tuned things even more. I'd assume the gameplay was, again, crap. I never actually brought any of the games (well I got given Tomb Raider 3), but I repeatedly borrowed for long periods of time (enough to play) to try and like them. I thought I was missing out on something, something other people could see but I couldn't (like those magic eye things). I gave up and declare my dislike after each time I borrowed it, then a while later would borrow them again, give up again declare dislike, repeat. For each game. However Tomb Raider, despite (in my opinion) being rubbish, had an interesting side effect. As I said a lot of people liked it, and by a lot I mean it got people buying consoles, and it and Lara Croft helped make gaming more mainstream. Now that could be considered a real plus as it could be argued that gaming wouldn't be where it is today without Tomb Raider, but that's another story. So, erm, and thoughts on the writing, opinions, whatever? And if you want me to do another, and have an idea for which to write about, suggest it and I'll see what I can do. I have no signature. Last edited by Jonster; 06-06-2004 at 10:38 PM.

06-06-2004, 10:59 PM	#2
Kalyx triaD Raw Video Footage Posts: 45,951	Tomb Raider could've innovated the exploration genra but instead had Croft crawling in unrealistic doggy style through caves and fighting spirits from beyond. Then there was Angel of Darkness. I like the idea of a Game Series discussion, but pick another game series.

06-07-2004, 01:54 AM	#3
Ninti the Mad Mad as in crazy, dumbass Posts: 27,739	1 was the greatest of the series. THen it was 2. All the others were lackluster frustrate-fest.

06-07-2004, 03:29 AM	#4
AareDub I Hate Bottles Posts: 4,362	Good idea for a topic, but Tomb Raider sucks. I played through the first few bits of part 2 and lost interest very quickly. The only other one I've bothered with was Angel of Darkness and I think it goes without saying that I wasn't impressed by that one.

06-07-2004, 11:53 AM	#5
Boomer The Wretched Posts: 4,690	I bought TR1 when it first came out for PC and my dad freaked when he saw the box.

06-07-2004, 02:42 PM	#6
Fryza Fthagn? Posts: 10,042	Yeah, these games suck.

06-07-2004, 04:40 PM	#7
Cyke Awesome Posts: 25	The first Tomb Raider was a truly great game of its time. It was the first true 3D game to combine elements of exploration and action that were heavily inspired from the Indiana Jones films. However, every game after that got progressively worse, as the series got stuck in the past while technology moved along. Terrible controls, outdated graphics, and repetitive gameplay plagued a once promising franchise. The Tomb Raider series hit rock bottom with its PS2 incarnation, "Angel of Darkness." The game, which had previously promised to fix all the prevalent problems of the series, was rushed out the door like a naked woman after a one-night stand without giving her the time to get ready. Angel of Darkness was horribly buggy, unpolished and unfinished, all thanks to corporate bastards forcing the release date in time for the crappy second movie based on the game. EIDOS seemed to get their act together, though. They snatched the franchise away from the hands of Core, and gave it to the proven and capable hands of Soul Reaver developers, Crystal Dynamics. As much as I enjoy trashing the series, I'm glad that any new Tomb Raider game will be under a new developer's control. I just hope EIDOS lets Lara rest for a while, so we can all recuperate from the wounds left from her last terrible adventure.

06-07-2004, 06:01 PM	#8
Oxstar "Autobots transform" Posts: 2,551	Yeah I played Tomb Raider 1 I thought it was really good until I got to the 8th level and I thought its too difficult so I used the cheats, after playing the first I knew I couldn't be bothered with the rest so I didn't bother.

06-09-2004, 04:11 AM	#9
Shaggy Yipee Kai Yay!!! Posts: 5,705	I honestly was never a big Tomb Raider fan. I just couldnt get into the games and the controls were all screwed up to me. I did play them all and the only one that I even liked was the original. I got the farthest in that game with out cheating so If I had to choose the best out of the series for me it would be the original.

06-10-2004, 06:16 PM	#10
Jonster Has an evil monkey... Posts: 7,299	Suprising reading your responses, I thought more people liked it than actually do. Any ideas for another one then? I had an idea last night that wasn't tied to any game, but I've since forgotten it

06-11-2004, 01:50 AM	#11
Kalyx triaD Raw Video Footage Posts: 45,951	Mortal Kombat? Street Fighter? Zelda? Final Phantasy? Mario? Sonic? A series that's been around for a good while.

06-12-2004, 05:39 AM	#13
The Tokefatha blacks out Posts: 18	Yeah, Angel of Darkness was crap and a big let down.

01-16-2005, 01:24 PM	#14
FFD Eh, **** it! Posts: 2,896	I've played and beat Tomb Raiders 1-3, Tomb Raider: Last Revalation and Tomb Raider Chronicles. I liked them for the most part. I have AOD and I played the first couple of levels and it sucked, so I stopped. I only payed 10 dollars for it anyways. Anyways, for the most part the Tomb Raider series is pretty awesome.

01-16-2005, 03:48 PM	#15
Jonster Has an evil monkey... Posts: 7,299	Wow, that's an unexpected bump. Was thinking of writing that Mortal Kombat one I did again (as I wrote for like an hour or so and then the pc crashed )

01-16-2005, 05:09 PM	#16
Mister Sinister Less Talk, More Rokk! Posts: 3,555	Here are a few Ideas Resident Evil.. House Of The Dead Resident Evil... Final Fantasy Resident Evil... Metal Gear Solid Resident Evil... Grand Theft Auto Resident Evil.. Mortal Kombat

01-16-2005, 05:17 PM	#17
Joe Kerr my other rides your mom Posts: 6,346	Never played Angel of Darkness..It got a lot of bad reveiws and crap. But i had the first one for Sega Dreamcast. It wasnt to bad never finished it...that was back when I didnt have patience to figure out a path through a game.

01-16-2005, 09:30 PM	#18
Kalyx triaD Raw Video Footage Posts: 45,951	Seems like bumping old threads is picking up...