Dungeon Master Forum

Being a fan of the Tomb Raider series since the beginning, and having dropped out of that fandom because of inferior sequels, I was quite curious about the remake of the very first game.

TRA uses the same engine as TR Legend of last year. The levels are not identical to the original, but most of the memorable locations are recognizable. The levels were shortened a bit so you don't have to run around endlessly without doing anything, as was often the case in TR1. But fortunately, the game isn't as linear and short as Legend was. There is some exploration to do again, though admittedly not as much as in the old games. The controls are good and the graphics are very nice. The camera is a bit irritating at times, but not too annoying.

I was a bit disappointed by the storyline in general. The chance of enhancing the promising, but ultimately unexciting plot is missed. But some puzzles were added which are, at times, rather complex and refreshing. I also liked the fact that combat is usually more of a detraction from the game instead of a fixed part of it. Just like in the original. the focus of the game lies in exploring, running and jumping, with the occasional fights thrown in. The boss fights are rather nice.

All in all, TRA plays nicely and isn't quite as quickly over as Legend was. Sure, there is a lot of stuff to be unlocked by finding all secrets and completing the levels in Time Trial mode for those who can't get enough, but I would have liked the levels a bit larger still. Nevertheless, it's a nice game that evokes the classic TR atmosphere once again (no chatter with Lara's random friends this time!). If you liked Legend, you will love this one.

Eh. I didn't get past the first part of the first level. For some reason I was expecting the same quality as Legend, and it wasn't delivered. Any game that frustrates me that much in the first two minutes is not worth playing.

Im stuck at the t-rex with pistols.. AGAIN.

Is there a better gun I can use against this thing???

In the original, you could hide in a cave (under a suspended bridge IIRC?) and shoot the beast safely with the pistols until it died. It took forever, but it solved the problem. I have no idea whether this is still doable in this version, as I'm likely to never play it.

You can get the Shotgun first andyboy, but if you are already in the Valley itself, I think you have to kill the T-Rex first before being able to track back to the waterfall. Anyway, the T-Rex is very killable with the Pistols, they were all I used. Just roll and jump away from him and keep shooting until his "rage gauge" (or whatever it is called) is full. When he charges you and the screen turns all blurry and bullet-time-y, roll to the side, wait until both circles concentrate on his head, and shoot. Repeat as often as necessary.

Dont think im going out tonight, so may give it another go, im trying to avoid going into the valley as I know once you there you are stuck with the damn thing.

I so wanted to like TRA. While it was better than Legend and got back some of the old school TR feel, it was still a hand-holding exercise in linear rail-roading and still suffered from terrible controls and bad camera angles.

With the recent announcement of the next TR game, Underworld, being a proper next-gen, TR game, I remain cynical that the new developers simply don't know what it was that made TR great. Shame really.