Review of Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered: Exploring the Depths with Lara Croft – Uncovering Good, Evil, and Darkness in These Sequels | Gaming

dAcquiring treasures from the past is an exciting business. In fact, it has been returning players to the Tomb Raider series for nearly 30 years. The original trilogy was remastered and re-released last year. Now, like a family heirloom on an antique roadshow, new collections have been salvaged and on display from the attic. But will this be the equivalent of a precious Kayan vase? Or a commemorative ashtray when Prince Andrew married Fergie?

Much depends on your personal history with Lara Croft. We’ve wasted our entire English literature degree watching her fall from things and are going to be a thrill in the form of all the rusty keys and ominous spike pits. But my 13-year-old son, at first glance, asked if he had turned on the blocky visuals, and then left the room and shook his head in sympathy. Bloody children.

There are three games in this collection. The outstanding title is Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation. It is set in this ancient Egyptian ruins, first released in 1999. Like all the best games in the series, it combines a vast, atmospheric environment with a smart puzzle that is happy to solve. There are some lovely moments in Lala’s lore, like the scenes that explain how she got her iconic leather backpack. (Not a way to contain six guns, eight medipacks, countless keys, Horus talismans, grenade launchers, and kayaks.)

At the time of the launch, Last Revelation was criticized for its lack of innovation. But looking back, what came next, maybe we didn’t know how good it was. Bloody children.

Chronicles was the fifth Tomb Raider game released five years later. The Derby-based team of Studio Core Design has been burned out by all accounts and forced to deliver yet another article in time for Christmas. The result is a technically serviceable game, but it feels flat and soulless. The location has no inspiration and no atmosphere. The visuals are bland. It feels like Lala is experiencing movement. She can now walk the tightrope walk, and like fashion at the time, there’s a bit of stealth. But these are boring tricks and are not enough to distract you from the fact that the magic is gone.

Perhaps the tension in her clothes was limiting Lala’s ability to navigate the environment with her normal bounty and dexterity. Her movements are sluggish and clunky in this game, and her jumps are awkward. She’s weaker than ever. The new staminameter limits your ability to hang shelves. They also have to push the crates away and build strength before they can handle tasks that are more physically taxable. This is so boring and annoying that it sounds audible.

Lara has a new love interest, Kurtis is incredibly irritating and appears to be playing the bass for Linkin Park. (Maybe they met at the smash hit vote winners party.) There’s stealth nonsense. This involves awfully attempting to introduce some open world elements, with Lara crouching down a bit as if she was struggling with digestive issues. The whole thing is messy, frustrating and melancholy.

It also intriguing if you’re interested in the history of video games and how they are made. Yes, maintaining what made the grave raider so special in the first place is a clear failure. Lala’s agility and autonomy, clever puzzles, and actual tomb. This game is too busy trying to catch up with Jones. Rather, metal gear solids and massive stolen cars, which were extremely popular at the time. However, there are also hints on the idea that series such as Assassin’s Creed and Unknown Series will be brilliantly executed.

What made the core stop it from pulling away? Perhaps that was the limits of technology at the time. Maybe it was poor management of the team or pressure to reach shareholder deadlines before the game was ready. Probably a combination of all these things. Either way, the Dark Angels are a hassle to play with, but it’s interesting to consider them as historical artifacts.

The same can be said for Chronicle. As an example of what happens when you try to create creative pieces in a sweat shop. But the final revelation is the vintage grave raider. For £25 you’ll get a history of well-made fun games, weird handling, and flawed but fascinating games. It’s not as valuable as the Ming Vase, but it’s worth it and more fun.