Tomb Raider - Featuring Lara Croft (Sony PlayStation 1, 1996)

The beginning of the Lara Croft chronicles. This game you play as a young girl who has been asked to find a relic (basically anything sacred she will go get it). There isn't too much of a story to take place in the first Tomb Raider compared to the following titles. You basically get to go around shoot enemies with your infinite ammo and go through puzzles. Now even though you may have infinite ammo in your pistols you cant kill everything with it. You will see why when you advance later in the game. If you are new to the series then I suggest that you try some of the other titles as well. Each Tomb Raider game just gets better and better as you play them. And one of the best things is that in each of the games the controls are the same, so if you know what your doing in one of the games more than likely you know what your doing in another one.

Graphics 6

The graphics are really nothing to talk about. She has her pointy boobs, which thankfully they fix that in the later games, and she has her big lips. The main focus of the game is basically Lara even though it is about her. The thing to notice in the videos is she has very huge boobs. For those of you who have played this game you know what I am talking about. The animals you run into are nothing close to what they should look like. You will run into some wolfs bears and bats at the beginning stage and you don't know what the hell is going on. But other than the mess up on the graphics the details in the plains or “background” are probably the best out of anything you will see in the entire game.

Sound 8

Nothing can be better than hearing a sexy woman with a British accent. The voice acting is good in this game for one reason. That is because in the game the characters mouths only move when there are videos and those don't come around too much in the game. So during the game play there mouths don't move so you don't have to worry about the mouth not moving along with the voice. Since this game is so old I am sure back then it wasn't that big of a deal. Even though the animals don't have the best of details at least they tried on the noises they make. The wolfs howl at you like they should and the bear will growl at you before you get your head ripped off by it. So a warning before hand is to stay away from the damn bears.

Game Play 8

The best part of the game is the game play; you can run around with a hot chick and guns. They really do a good job on the adventure part of the game. The stages you go to are really big and can keep you searching for a while if your looking for an item. So keep your eyes peeled for anything that doesn't look like it should be there, because more than likely it is an item you need to help you advance later on in the level. And always ALWAYS look for the med packs. You will need them trust me, because like I mentioned earlier the bears will destroy your health. Other than the adventure, you get the shooting which is fun to just jump around in different angles and shoot the hell at whatever comes out at you.

Graphics 6
Sound 8
Game Play 8

Overall Rating 7

This is a really fun game to play when you are really bored and you want to go shoot some wolves or something of that nature. The puzzles aren't really hard but if you're not the brightest person in the world you might have some difficulties with the game. Other than that it is a fun game and you should get it if you can find a good copy of one.

Ever had a classic game you loved as a kid and ten or more years after you grew up, went back to it? Did it let you remember how you felt as a kid? Or were you dissapointed, wondering how you could of like such a cheap faze of a game where the only thing that really pushed it was the cutting edge graphics of the time. Fortunally, the points that made Tomb Raider the hit that it was is still here; a good story and the real kicker, all the exploring you do in the game to find every last secret! Given, the graphics are almost painfully dated compaired to the modern game systems of today- X-Box 360, Playstation 3 and Wii. At the time of her release Tomb Raider, it was the cutting edge of 3-D graphics and the first game to go completely third person. I'm even betting that if young kids of today who are spoiled on high end graphics gave this game a chance for an hour, they would be hooked in the adventure of exploring all corners of the game.

The game starts you off as the main character Lara Croft. The screen follows Lara as she explores her landscapes. Sometimes you get so busy exploring, the game usually throws you a few nasty surprise attack that really do catch you off guard. You know- you're looking at an edge you think you can make it to if you can find a path and then WAM!! You just got attacked by a wolf or bear or someother creature that was just around the bend or in another room. Well, Lara is armed so after a few surprise attacks, you get into the mode of pulling out the guns when you enter a new area. But you do have to put the guns away to really explore because she can't climb with her hands full. As you keep looking for hidden areas, the game does reward you with new weapons, ammo and health packs. Believe me, once you reach the end of the game, you're going to need alot of health packs for alot of healing. The other nice feature of this game is the tension it builds when you are exploring underwater caves and cities. Lara can hold her breath awhile, but usually what you look for underwater will strech the limit of her breath as you look for that critical lever that will open a hatch underwater that leads to air. Sometimes you have to find it because you're too far into the underwater maze to backtrack to you entrance point to catch her breath again. The music in this game is sparce but all of it is very well done. When a tune picks up, it's usually a good warning that something is up.

Well, this is about as much as I care to describe this game without ruining the story. The Graphics are from the 32 bit era and the controls go back to before Analoge controlers, but the sound is solid and the gameplay still more than makes up for this being a 15 year old game. Once you beat it, this game will definitely have you coming back for round 2. This game could be considered a faze, but if it is, its a very well thought out one with a main character which millions of players refuse to forget. I know I'm one of them, could you be one too?

I love Tomb Raider! I love it so much that I own multiple copies of each game and the sequels in case one goes bad or gets broken. I have been playing them since I was 11 and probably will enjoy some good plays in the years to come. The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider II are my favorites! But they are all amazing games, whether you get I, III, Angel of Darkness, or Legend. I believe Anniversary is the remake of the first game, just new and improved graphics and game-play. I've yet to buy the newest one which is Underworld. The story lines are very unique. As for #3, for its time, the graphics are amazing. If you like puzzles, strategy, action and adventure, this is the game for you! Heck, there are even some scary parts, but not too frightening. I wouldn't call it horror, just a bit eerie and on your tip-toes when its time to fight certain creatures and bosses. I always had fun exploring her mansion. The Tomb Raider games were creatively made and are fun to play.

This game is just okay. If you aren't a fan of the game series, you will absolutely hate it. The main problem with the game is the controls. They feel unresonably stiff. You cannot turn around easily, climbing up things and picking up objects is a mess of perfect positioning, combat feels more like a chore than a nessesity, and the jumps... are God-awful. The time it takes Lara Croft to jump after you press the jump button is delayed by a few seconds, making jumps the worse part of the game. If you fall too far, you die. Death happens alot in this game, and every single time, it's always the games fault and not the players. Bottom line, expect loads of cheap deaths. The camera is also a sloppy mess. it never points in the direction it needs to be, and you can't control it. This isn't a bad game, and I've definately played worse, but it could have been so much better. It is highly overrated by fans.

My daughter purchased each game in the series individually to play with her dad, although there is a newer set available with all the games together. This game has great graphics as well as a complex story, and it is very challenging to players of all ages.