Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation - Review
Tomb Raider the Last Revelation is very much Core Designs swansong to the PlayStation 1 era. It very much feels like they have taken everything they have learnt from the last three games and produced a near perfect (original era) Tomb Raider game, moulded from the first three games.
Despite its success on the sales front Tomb Raider 3 struggled to gain the critical acclaim of the first two titles, so one year later we have Tomb Raider: TLR. Lara Croft was as much of a pop culture phenomenon back in 1999 as she was a year before and the hype surrounding this game in 1999 was like nothing we’d seen before in video games. Was the hype justified or was Tomb Raider: TLR a let-down? Let’s find out.
The first thing you’ll notice is that this Tomb Raider does feel different to the previous three. Gone are they old menus, replaced with more conventional style while we are shown clips of the game in the background. Croft manor has also been removed, in part due to the lack of disk space on a CD but also as Core felt they had done all they could with that setting in the last three games.
Core have brought in professional story writers from TV and movies this time around and it really shows. The story opens in Angkor Wat in 1984, when Lara Croft is 16. She and her mentor, Werner Von Croy, are exploring ancient ruins, searching for an ancient artefact called the Iris. They find it, but Lara finds inscriptions that warn of terrible retribution for any who disturb the artefact. Von Croy ignores the warnings and the temple begins to close. Lara is forced to run, leaving him trapped inside.
In 1999, Lara and a local guide are searching for the Tomb of Seth, hoping to find the Amulet of Horus. Upon removing it from a sarcophagus, she finds that the amulet is the key to sealing the dark god Seth away for eternity. Horus and his ally Semerkhet constructed the sarcophagus to hold Seth and that, by removing the amulet, Seth has been released. Her guide is revealed to be working for Von Croy, who is determined to take the amulet for himself. Lara quickly escapes after being chased by Von Croy's mercenaries. Lara must work to re-seal Seth away before he destroys the world and stop Von Croy from taking it for himself.
This is easily the best story in the Tomb Raider series up to this point and the addition of professional writers really shows. Told again through FMV and in game cutscenes the story moves at an almost perfect pace and keeps you far more invested than in previous titles. The ending (as I’m sure you all know) is a huge cliff-hanger and one that kept fans talking for years, right up to the release of Angel of Darkness.
One of the key differences with TR:TLR is that apart from the first level, the game is based entirely in Egypt, rather than a globe hopping adventure as before. My initial fears with this were quickly eased as the level design is almost second to none. Each area of the game feels different with great lighting, architecture and new puzzles to explore. Levels are now spread over multiple loading screens and back tracking is now required to complete objectives. For example one level has a tomb door that requires you to go to three different levels to collect part of the key and return each time. This helps lend a bit of believability to the levels that feel far more like you would expect a Tomb to feel. It’s a linier game than Tomb Raider 3 was but levels are not as linier as they were in Tomb Raider 1 & 2 striking an almost perfect balance.
TLR features many new moves. Lara can now grab hold of ropes dangling from the ceiling and swing from them. These can be used to cross large gaps. She can climb up and down ropes and poles also. She can now shimmy around corners unlike in previous titles. Lara herself in this instalment has a smoother, more refined appearance. This is due to moving and flexible joints between meshes, creating a more realistic approach to the heroine. You can also combine items such as puzzle pieces and there are different ammo types for the shotgun as well as other weapons. Lara can upgrade weapons as well, such as adding a sight to the new revolver and crossbow allowing for first person aiming.
Tomb Raider the Last Revelation was meant to be Core designs final Tomb Raider game before they turned their attention to a next generation Tomb Raider title and it shows. This for me is the perfect balance of all that the original games brought to the table. Combat is great with new and old weapons but not over the top as it was in Tomb Raider 2. Exploration is fun and diverse but not as “all over the place” as it was in Tomb Raider 3 and despite 95% of the game being set in Egypt the level design moulds and changes well throughout the game, unlike the original games repetitive environments.
However if you have not liked Tomb Raider up to this point you’re not going to enjoy TLR. It’s a near perfect example of what the original Tomb Raider series was and a great way to bow out for Lara and Core design. Sadly they would be forced to make one more title prior to working on their next gen Tomb Raider game but we will get to that another time. If you like the original Tomb Raider series you own it to yourself to pick this up as for me it’s the best in the series.
PC – 9.2 PS1 – 9.1
Tomb Raider the Last Revelation is very much Core Designs swansong to the PlayStation 1 era. It very much feels like they have taken everything they have learnt from the last three games and produced a near perfect (original era) Tomb Raider game, moulded from the first three games.
Despite its success on the sales front Tomb Raider 3 struggled to gain the critical acclaim of the first two titles, so one year later we have Tomb Raider: TLR. Lara Croft was as much of a pop culture phenomenon back in 1999 as she was a year before and the hype surrounding this game in 1999 was like nothing we’d seen before in video games. Was the hype justified or was Tomb Raider: TLR a let-down? Let’s find out.
The first thing you’ll notice is that this Tomb Raider does feel different to the previous three. Gone are they old menus, replaced with more conventional style while we are shown clips of the game in the background. Croft manor has also been removed, in part due to the lack of disk space on a CD but also as Core felt they had done all they could with that setting in the last three games.
Core have brought in professional story writers from TV and movies this time around and it really shows. The story opens in Angkor Wat in 1984, when Lara Croft is 16. She and her mentor, Werner Von Croy, are exploring ancient ruins, searching for an ancient artefact called the Iris. They find it, but Lara finds inscriptions that warn of terrible retribution for any who disturb the artefact. Von Croy ignores the warnings and the temple begins to close. Lara is forced to run, leaving him trapped inside.
In 1999, Lara and a local guide are searching for the Tomb of Seth, hoping to find the Amulet of Horus. Upon removing it from a sarcophagus, she finds that the amulet is the key to sealing the dark god Seth away for eternity. Horus and his ally Semerkhet constructed the sarcophagus to hold Seth and that, by removing the amulet, Seth has been released. Her guide is revealed to be working for Von Croy, who is determined to take the amulet for himself. Lara quickly escapes after being chased by Von Croy's mercenaries. Lara must work to re-seal Seth away before he destroys the world and stop Von Croy from taking it for himself.
This is easily the best story in the Tomb Raider series up to this point and the addition of professional writers really shows. Told again through FMV and in game cutscenes the story moves at an almost perfect pace and keeps you far more invested than in previous titles. The ending (as I’m sure you all know) is a huge cliff-hanger and one that kept fans talking for years, right up to the release of Angel of Darkness.
One of the key differences with TR:TLR is that apart from the first level, the game is based entirely in Egypt, rather than a globe hopping adventure as before. My initial fears with this were quickly eased as the level design is almost second to none. Each area of the game feels different with great lighting, architecture and new puzzles to explore. Levels are now spread over multiple loading screens and back tracking is now required to complete objectives. For example one level has a tomb door that requires you to go to three different levels to collect part of the key and return each time. This helps lend a bit of believability to the levels that feel far more like you would expect a Tomb to feel. It’s a linier game than Tomb Raider 3 was but levels are not as linier as they were in Tomb Raider 1 & 2 striking an almost perfect balance.
TLR features many new moves. Lara can now grab hold of ropes dangling from the ceiling and swing from them. These can be used to cross large gaps. She can climb up and down ropes and poles also. She can now shimmy around corners unlike in previous titles. Lara herself in this instalment has a smoother, more refined appearance. This is due to moving and flexible joints between meshes, creating a more realistic approach to the heroine. You can also combine items such as puzzle pieces and there are different ammo types for the shotgun as well as other weapons. Lara can upgrade weapons as well, such as adding a sight to the new revolver and crossbow allowing for first person aiming.
Tomb Raider the Last Revelation was meant to be Core designs final Tomb Raider game before they turned their attention to a next generation Tomb Raider title and it shows. This for me is the perfect balance of all that the original games brought to the table. Combat is great with new and old weapons but not over the top as it was in Tomb Raider 2. Exploration is fun and diverse but not as “all over the place” as it was in Tomb Raider 3 and despite 95% of the game being set in Egypt the level design moulds and changes well throughout the game, unlike the original games repetitive environments.
However if you have not liked Tomb Raider up to this point you’re not going to enjoy TLR. It’s a near perfect example of what the original Tomb Raider series was and a great way to bow out for Lara and Core design. Sadly they would be forced to make one more title prior to working on their next gen Tomb Raider game but we will get to that another time. If you like the original Tomb Raider series you own it to yourself to pick this up as for me it’s the best in the series.
PC – 9.2 PS1 – 9.1