Tomb Raider Legend (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

It's probably fair to say that the Tomb Raider series of games are some of the most influential computer games of all time. I say some, because after the first two outings the series lost its way a little, maybe by allowing a little too much exploring or producing the unforgivable Angel of Darkness. Many considered it beyond repair as a franchise and the two movie outings did little to help. It surprised everyone then when not only was Legend announced but also a new developer: Crystal Dynamics. We already know that the game has been well received on the GameCube and other consoles but this is the first outing on the DS so how does it handle its Tomb Raiding?

Gameplay

Without giving too much of the story away, Legend involves our trusty heroine attempting to investigate her mother's death some 20 years earlier. This, of course, takes you around the world but it also throws you into the heady world of puzzles and brainteasers that made the Tomb Raider franchise so popular in the first place. Everything you'd expect is here too, from pushing boxes to dodging traps and pressure pads, to discovering clues. It's never quite as easy as it first appears though and although the camera will occasionally give you a bit of help by scanning the path in front of you, the opposition's henchmen (who are attempting to get to the bottom of their own mystery) will continually cross your path with sometimes deadly results. In addition to your hand-to-hand abilities, you can also swim (which is done impressively over both screens) and use an indispensable grapple hook, which can not only pull you up to places but also pull objects down to you. It's hard to say anything else without divulging obvious spoilers but with mission control always monitoring your progress, you'll always know what to do even if you can't work out how to do it.

Breaking up the platforming action are the bike rides and there are a handful of these, which link various areas of the game. This is generally a case of staying on the bike, not hitting any trees, and shooting the various henchmen who are pursuing you but you'll also get to pull off some great jumps thanks to the odd ramp mysteriously placed at gaps in the terrain.

If you have managed to amass enough booty during your adventure you'll be pleased to know that there's a chance to trade them in for anything from concept art to mini-games. The mini-games are not original but rather old classics with a Tomb Raider theme so, for example, Memory involves you recalling the exact location of matching artifacts whilst Puzzle features sliding images taken from the game's cinematics.

Controls

The control system is well designed and implemented with the majority of moves very intuitive and the remainder done automatically except for the rather tricky adjustment when you don't quite grab a ledge in the most effective manner. When the combat switches over to the touch screen it is less impressive but you'll need to head down to the bottom of the review to discover what our problems were with that particular section of the game.

Graphics

Visually the developers have pushed every ounce of processing power out of the DS to produce one of the platform's more impressive 3D engines. If you have played the console versions you will notice that the levels are edited down but they're still well designed and detailed whilst also featuring the odd animated spots to bring the background alive. Lara herself is also well animated featuring an impressive amount of animation frames regardless of movement or acrobatics. Most notable though is the amount of FMV the developers have managed to cram onto the cart. Yes, it's been heavily compressed but we'll take cut-scenes of this quality rather than the static variety any day.

Sound

The various soundtracks are actually very good indeed with only their frequent repetition letting them down. Everything else is present and correct from the various gunshots to the groaning and grunting Lara but nothing really stands out.

Dual screen

It does appear that while the developers knew what to do with the extra processing power the DS provided, they where at a bit of a loss when it came to the touch screen. The first attempt at using it comes when you draw your gun on a henchman and rather than simply shooting him the action instead reverts to the bottom screen. Your object now is to hit your enemy (who is bobbing about the screen and now facing you) with your stylus. This is not only badly designed but also badly implemented and does cheapen the game's overall look. Other than this combat you'll also have to 'clean' found artifacts, which has been done numerous times before in DS titles. The best use of the touch screen capabilities is probably the mini-games, which while far from original are reasonably entertaining.

Final comments

Given that this is the first time a Tomb Raider game has appeared on the DS it's all suitably impressive and there's certainly enough puzzle solving to satisfy fans of Lara Croft. The touch screen elements however don't work as well, with the weapon combat section in particular, feeling very underdeveloped. That said, it's still a welcome addition to the DS' growing library of quality titles and the hidden collectables plus a handful of unlockable mini-games should keep you coming back for more for some time to come.

Pro: Great Sound and Heaps of FMV.
Con: Weapon Combat Poorly Executed and DS Functionality Under-used.
Final score: 7.1

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