"From this moment, your every breath is a gift from me." Alternative title: "Oh, I’ve missed Ghana!" Tomb Raider: Legend is a fun and lovely game from the year 2006. Back in the days when the big names in this industry could still produce very genuine things, it seems. And is the first rebooting the series went through. I thought that pretty much everything about it ranked at least as "good", but the dialog in particular is very well written and endearing (especially by videogame standards). There's good banter between the characters, but more importantly the protagonist is characterized beautifully, as she should be. She is witty, clever, relentlessly determined and resourceful, a badass indeed, but also vulnerable and human; someone the player can both empathize with and admire. There are very many memorable lines, some of which I am going to list at the end of this review. Speaking of Lara Croft , she has very obviously received the "royal treatment" when it came to development resources, because it shows. All of her many graceful animations, stunts and gymnastic moves are especially impressive and cool looking. Gameplay-wise, there are many things she can pull off, including using a grapple to interact with the environment. The game's usage of environmental interactions, and especially physics, is way above the norm. Today especially, it seems like developpers have completely given up on using in-game physics in interesting ways, which is a shame. Because Tomb Raider: Legend reminded me of how physics can make a game world feel more immersive and alive (compared to your run-of-the-mill modern, pretty, but lifeless and static world that feels like a movie set). I am now going to go on a tangent for one paragraph: I miss physics in games. It should not have been just a trend of the mid-2000's that developers eventually lost interest in, but it should be an integral part of any game world (in the same way that, for a long time now, there has been absolutely no excuse for games to have bad A.I.; yet they do have bad A.I., because it's not considered a priority, something which is completely silly, but has to do with the industry having evolved into being little more than a very greedy toy factory: very ambitious about making money, while being at the same time very unambitious when it comes to quality and innovation). End of the tangent. Without entering into spoilers territory, the general plot mostly references the Arthurian myth, which is always nice in my book. And at the same time the story is a personal one for Lara, and brings her back to events that took place during her childhood, lost loved ones and ghosts from her past. I could not fathom finishing this review without ever speaking of Lara's voice actress, she whom indeed gives life to our protagonist... because that person, who's name is Keeley Hawes, did an unequivocally stellar job. Keeley Hawes' performance in this game is way up there with the best. Bravo to Keeley Hawes, and bravo to whomever directed her performance (and then bravo to the writers, whom I will also name, since I've already mentioned that I think they did a superb job: Eric Lindstrom, Aaron Vanian, and Toby Gard). A few more points, in brief: [*] In terms of length, the game took me around 7 hours to play through once. I have a vague feeling that the later levels are not as interesting as the first ones. Even though the difference in quality is not obvious, I wouldn't have minded shortening the later levels a little (on the other hand, they do offer some interesting challenges in terms of gameplay, so this is not an easy call and may simply have to do with my own personal preferences). [*] There are some cinematic QTEs here and there, but they are not complicated, nor very annoying, nor punishing. [*] There are two motorbike levels, and I did not care for them. Fortunately, the first one doesn't overstay its welcome. I thought the second one did overstay its welcome, but some could argue it offers a challenge and, fair enough, it did. It was completely doable by just gritting my teeth and taking up that challenge; and I would say it wasn't non-sense it terms of how it was made, just something I do not care about. [*] The OST was composed by Troels Brun Folmann. I thought it suited the game well, and I appreciated the use of vocals. I particularly enjoyed "Main Theme", the diverse "Croft Manor" tracks, the various "Bolivia" tracks, but so many other tracks are also well worth listening to. The music blends so well with the other elements of the game that I found it is usually almost unnoticeable. My appreciation for it grew immensely once I went out of my way to listen to it on its own. It is not easy to produce a good soundtrack, and I found this one managed to be that. And voilà ! We've finally reached the end of this review of Tomb Raider: Legend , well done, us! I'm glad we made it! And I'm glad I decided to play through that game (which I had previously owned for the metaphorical eternity). One final thought? I will miss Ghana. (As promised, I will now conclude by writing down a few memorable and enjoyable lines from the game:) Anaya : Lara? Lara, can you hear me?! Those bastards from town are here and they’re coming down after you! Lara : Well, this is a tomb. I’ll make them feel at home. Lara : ( She approaches the Bolivian temple and takes out her binoculars. ) Isn’t she beautiful? I’m falling in love all over again. Zip : You say that to all the ruins. Zip : Your cam doesn’t pick up detail that small. What do you see? Lara : Men with guns. Mercenaries, by the look of them. Alister : What’re they doing there? Lara : Getting into trouble. Lara : ( notices that doors and shutters are closing upon her arrival. ) They don’t seem quite so keen on visitors these days. Zip : Well hey, you’re the one with the guns. Lara : You can’t blame me for knowing how to accessorise. Anaya : I am an engineer, Lara. I build for the future; I don’t dwell in the past. Lara : You will someday. Eventually, everyone does. Merc 1 : Seen a panther, I think. Hard to tell. Merc 2 : Jaguar. They don’t have panthers down here. Merc 1 : Jaguar, then. Whatever, I saw a damned spider big as your hand, too. Merc 2 : Tarantula. You grow up in a cardboard box or something? Zip : Lara, this is crazy-people stuff! Alister : Don’t ever do that again. Lara : Not on that bike I won’t. Takamoto : You have disrespected me. You have broken into my house. You have killed my men... Lara : I’ve simplified your payroll, and now, if you don’t mind, I’ll streamline your inventory. Lara : Meanwhile, it looks as if I’m bound for colder climes. Zip : Pack warm. Lara : I mean to be cold. Zip : Damn, you’re lucky; you know that, right? Lara : I’d like to think some skill was involved.
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