These days, it would be hard to find someone in the gaming scene who hasn't heard of Lara Croft. Star of the Tomb Raider series, Lara is one of the most recognizable video game characters in history. Aside from the many in the Tomb Raider series, Lara's appeared in comic books, novels, theme park rides, and films, and she's graced more magazine covers than any other video game character ever. This kind of popularity, especially for fans in the younger generations, can often inspire them to seek out the origins of their favorite character. There's a reason why Action Comic #1-the comic where Superman debuted-is so highly prized by collectors. For Lara Croft, that meant the original Tomb Raider, developed by Core Design in 1996. It would be nice to say that, in spite of some typical faults of the early 3D-era, Tomb Raider presented a great introduction to the character of Lara Croft, and is a worthy legacy experience, even in the modern day. Yes, it sure would be nice to say that.
As what was pretty much the landmark action-adventure game of the mid 90s, one thing Tomb Raider unmistakably does well is its level presentation and visual design. The tutorial, set in Lara's home, is a unique and much appreciated atmosphere to get a grip of the game's controls and grid system, and the main game is filled with interesting levels which practically beg to be explored. The game has an impressive sense of scale, especially for a PS1 game, and its large, sprawling caverns combined with its mostly ambient soundtrack do well to create a powerful sense of isolation. On the surface, Tomb Raider seems like an impressive time capsule-but then, you start moving. And for all its great level design, no amount of deep caves or intertwined caverns can make this game's controls feel anything other than totally obsolete.
Tank controls were the norm in non-Nintendo 3D games at the time, and while they may work for a simple platformer or action game, the level at which Tomb Raider requires you to perform is incompatible with its movement. Walking, running, jumping-everything aspect of above-ground movement is awkward at best, infuriating at worst. So poor and unintuitive are the controls that the swimming sections act as a welcome reprieve. This makes each level past the first few feel like an exercise in futility, and watching Lara fall to her death time and time again because of the input lag of her jump or her stumbling off a cliff gets tiring quickly. But you persist. And eventually, you learn the tricks of how the grid-based system works, how the game wants you to play it. And it all clicks. And the game isn't that hard anymore. Even worse; it's boring. If you want to beat this game, you're going to have to succumb to its system or die trying. And it's almost more fun haphazardly throwing yourself into near-certain death than it is playing the game as intended. It's a slow, arduous, unengaging affair that feels like its only initial appeal was a lack of alternatives.
And so, before long, the game effectively reaches a cycle; start a new level, feel the overwhelming urge to explore due to its great design, only for that excitement to turn to resentment by the time its over. And then, towards the end of the game, even the level design starts to give up, as the game takes a total tonal shift from treasure hunting archeologist to Atlantean lizard people sci-fi horror. At the end, you don't even have the nice atmosphere to enjoy as you're throwing yourself at the final levels (which, at this point, seem like they're deliberately trying to waste you time) over and over again. Needless to say, Tomb Raider doesn't take its story too seriously-nor is it very good-and while that would normally be fine, it bleeds into too much of the gameplay and level design to dismiss without criticism. Besides platforming, the other major mechanic of Tomb Raider is combat, and while it's often less frustrating, it also just doesn't feel fleshed out, or all too interesting. Every combat encounter basically amounts to holding down the fire button while backing away from whatever you're fighting until they're dead. It's never really difficult, but it doesn't add much. Well, except when you fight the T-Rex. That was pretty cool.
On the back of Tomb Raider's case, there's a quote that says "Sometimes a killer body just isn't enough." For all the acknowledgement Lara gets as an iconic female character in gaming, one of the first true female protagonists, and for all her in-game skills and abilities, that's the quote they chose. And really, it acts as a good metaphor for the series as a whole. The Tomb Raider series certainly improved from here, especially in the latest reboots, and took the time to flesh out an iconic character while improving gameplay. But the series debut? It's a passion for a great idea, totally and utterly ruined by its implementation. And until the series's reboot in 2013, that description goes double for its fabled protagonist.
As what was pretty much the landmark action-adventure game of the mid 90s, one thing Tomb Raider unmistakably does well is its level presentation and visual design. The tutorial, set in Lara's home, is a unique and much appreciated atmosphere to get a grip of the game's controls and grid system, and the main game is filled with interesting levels which practically beg to be explored. The game has an impressive sense of scale, especially for a PS1 game, and its large, sprawling caverns combined with its mostly ambient soundtrack do well to create a powerful sense of isolation. On the surface, Tomb Raider seems like an impressive time capsule-but then, you start moving. And for all its great level design, no amount of deep caves or intertwined caverns can make this game's controls feel anything other than totally obsolete.
Tank controls were the norm in non-Nintendo 3D games at the time, and while they may work for a simple platformer or action game, the level at which Tomb Raider requires you to perform is incompatible with its movement. Walking, running, jumping-everything aspect of above-ground movement is awkward at best, infuriating at worst. So poor and unintuitive are the controls that the swimming sections act as a welcome reprieve. This makes each level past the first few feel like an exercise in futility, and watching Lara fall to her death time and time again because of the input lag of her jump or her stumbling off a cliff gets tiring quickly. But you persist. And eventually, you learn the tricks of how the grid-based system works, how the game wants you to play it. And it all clicks. And the game isn't that hard anymore. Even worse; it's boring. If you want to beat this game, you're going to have to succumb to its system or die trying. And it's almost more fun haphazardly throwing yourself into near-certain death than it is playing the game as intended. It's a slow, arduous, unengaging affair that feels like its only initial appeal was a lack of alternatives.
And so, before long, the game effectively reaches a cycle; start a new level, feel the overwhelming urge to explore due to its great design, only for that excitement to turn to resentment by the time its over. And then, towards the end of the game, even the level design starts to give up, as the game takes a total tonal shift from treasure hunting archeologist to Atlantean lizard people sci-fi horror. At the end, you don't even have the nice atmosphere to enjoy as you're throwing yourself at the final levels (which, at this point, seem like they're deliberately trying to waste you time) over and over again. Needless to say, Tomb Raider doesn't take its story too seriously-nor is it very good-and while that would normally be fine, it bleeds into too much of the gameplay and level design to dismiss without criticism. Besides platforming, the other major mechanic of Tomb Raider is combat, and while it's often less frustrating, it also just doesn't feel fleshed out, or all too interesting. Every combat encounter basically amounts to holding down the fire button while backing away from whatever you're fighting until they're dead. It's never really difficult, but it doesn't add much. Well, except when you fight the T-Rex. That was pretty cool.
On the back of Tomb Raider's case, there's a quote that says "Sometimes a killer body just isn't enough." For all the acknowledgement Lara gets as an iconic female character in gaming, one of the first true female protagonists, and for all her in-game skills and abilities, that's the quote they chose. And really, it acts as a good metaphor for the series as a whole. The Tomb Raider series certainly improved from here, especially in the latest reboots, and took the time to flesh out an iconic character while improving gameplay. But the series debut? It's a passion for a great idea, totally and utterly ruined by its implementation. And until the series's reboot in 2013, that description goes double for its fabled protagonist.