TOMBRAIDER 1
TOMBRAIDER1 1996 - The first ever TOMBRAIDER. It seemed so breakthrough at the time, but now when you play it the graphics are so square and choppy. Ah, but you don't remember it like that do you? I have played all the games on Playstation except a couple of later ones which I also played on Xbox 360. The first time I ever saw anyone playing TOMBRAIDER was on PC but I never took to playing games on the PC. This game could be saved anywhere if you played on the PC, but with Playstation you had to find save crystals. What a pain!.
This game had 15 levels. We were taken to Peru, Ancient Rome, Egypt and finally Atlantis. This was the game that got me hooked.
This game had 15 levels. We were taken to Peru, Ancient Rome, Egypt and finally Atlantis. This was the game that got me hooked.
TOMBRAIDER 2
TOMBRAIDER 2 was released in 1997. This game had a lot more combat and featured 16 levels. Players visited the Great Wall of China, Venice, an offshore rig (first time you hear Lara walking on metal is mighty strange), underwater shipwreck, Tibet and China.
New stuff in TOMBRAIDER 2 included: new weapons, extra moves, a small set of vehicles, larger levels, many more enemies and improved lighting techniques. As well as these new features, the player may now save moreorless wherever and whenever they want. Loved this feature which sadly they removed in TOMBRAIDER 3 grrrr.
In terms of movement, Lara can now climb ladders and perform a mid-air roll used to land in the opposite direction of which the player was facing. The range of weapons has been expanded to include a harpoon gun (though more correctly termed a speargun), a grenade launcher, an M16 rifle, which requires Lara to assume an aiming stance to fire, and automatic pistols, which replace the magnums from Tomb Raider. The item inventory now includes pyrotechnic flares, which are used to light up dark corners and take advantage of the improved lighting system implemented by the developers. The two vehicles in the game are a motorboat (in Venice) and a snow scooter (in Tibet). Both are used to travel long distances across the map and can speed up on ramps or run over enemies.
One major new addition to TOMBRAIDER 2 is the ability to explore "Croft Manor", Lara's mansion. Designed as a gameplay tutorial, players can wander through the massive building, most notably her personal gymnasium with a variety of platforms, objects, and traps set up for Lara to maneuver through. This let players acclimate themselves to the game's controls and Lara's large arsenal of moves at their own pace in a relaxed, controlled environment. As a bit of comic relief, Lara's old butler slowly follows Lara around the house, with the sound of rattling tea cups on his tray accompanying him (and by proxy, the player) along the way. If the player makes Lara bump him, he grunts or groans and will even occasionally break wind.
The final shot of the game is of Lara, disrobing before entering the shower. She turns to the camera and says: "Don't you think you've seen enough?" She then blasts her shotgun at the camera. Fabulous! haha. This is a great game even though the graphics seem so dated now. It certainly takes you back.
New stuff in TOMBRAIDER 2 included: new weapons, extra moves, a small set of vehicles, larger levels, many more enemies and improved lighting techniques. As well as these new features, the player may now save moreorless wherever and whenever they want. Loved this feature which sadly they removed in TOMBRAIDER 3 grrrr.
In terms of movement, Lara can now climb ladders and perform a mid-air roll used to land in the opposite direction of which the player was facing. The range of weapons has been expanded to include a harpoon gun (though more correctly termed a speargun), a grenade launcher, an M16 rifle, which requires Lara to assume an aiming stance to fire, and automatic pistols, which replace the magnums from Tomb Raider. The item inventory now includes pyrotechnic flares, which are used to light up dark corners and take advantage of the improved lighting system implemented by the developers. The two vehicles in the game are a motorboat (in Venice) and a snow scooter (in Tibet). Both are used to travel long distances across the map and can speed up on ramps or run over enemies.
One major new addition to TOMBRAIDER 2 is the ability to explore "Croft Manor", Lara's mansion. Designed as a gameplay tutorial, players can wander through the massive building, most notably her personal gymnasium with a variety of platforms, objects, and traps set up for Lara to maneuver through. This let players acclimate themselves to the game's controls and Lara's large arsenal of moves at their own pace in a relaxed, controlled environment. As a bit of comic relief, Lara's old butler slowly follows Lara around the house, with the sound of rattling tea cups on his tray accompanying him (and by proxy, the player) along the way. If the player makes Lara bump him, he grunts or groans and will even occasionally break wind.
The final shot of the game is of Lara, disrobing before entering the shower. She turns to the camera and says: "Don't you think you've seen enough?" She then blasts her shotgun at the camera. Fabulous! haha. This is a great game even though the graphics seem so dated now. It certainly takes you back.
TOMBRAIDER 3
!998, November just in time for Christmas we were given TOMBRAIDER 3. What really annoyed me was that this game reverted to using save crystals; so, so annoying when you're on a tricky bit but I guess it sure made the game last longer!
There's a training level: Lara's Home which includes Lara's treasure room, racetrack & instructions for getting the quad bike out of the track.
We travel to India, and then, much to my own personal delight, we go to Nevada and get to explore Area 51. Woooohoooooo!! Can you tell I liked it haha? Then there's South Pacific, London (amazing again after so much tomb exploring), and finally Antarctica.
There are many improvements and new elements: more detailed environments and enhanced graphics, including dynamic lighting, rain, snow, smoke, mist, and other 3-D effects. Lara's arsenal now includes the powerful Desert Eagle pistol and rocket launcher. (The pistol, shotgun, Uzis, harpoon gun and grenade launcher carry over from TR2, and an MP5 sub machine gun replaces TR2's M-16.) New vehicles include a quad bike (ATV), underwater propulsion unit, inflatable motor boat and mine car. Lara gets some fresh moves as well. She can now traverse hand over hand (monkey-bar style), crouch, crawl and sprint.
There's a training level: Lara's Home which includes Lara's treasure room, racetrack & instructions for getting the quad bike out of the track.
We travel to India, and then, much to my own personal delight, we go to Nevada and get to explore Area 51. Woooohoooooo!! Can you tell I liked it haha? Then there's South Pacific, London (amazing again after so much tomb exploring), and finally Antarctica.
There are many improvements and new elements: more detailed environments and enhanced graphics, including dynamic lighting, rain, snow, smoke, mist, and other 3-D effects. Lara's arsenal now includes the powerful Desert Eagle pistol and rocket launcher. (The pistol, shotgun, Uzis, harpoon gun and grenade launcher carry over from TR2, and an MP5 sub machine gun replaces TR2's M-16.) New vehicles include a quad bike (ATV), underwater propulsion unit, inflatable motor boat and mine car. Lara gets some fresh moves as well. She can now traverse hand over hand (monkey-bar style), crouch, crawl and sprint.
The Lost Artifact
This short, stand-alone sequel to TOMBRAIDER 3 was released in the spring of 2000. The storyline centres around Lara's search for a fifth artifact created from a piece of the same meteorite featured in TR3. The quest takes our heroine from the late Dr. Willard's Scottish castle through the Channel Tunnel to the Paris Catacombs and the Poissy Zoo. In Paris, she meets an old enemy who is also seeking the artifact. Again for PC and Mac only.
TOMBRAIDER 4 - The Last Revelation
This was released in Autumn 1999. Much to my relief, I'd about replayed the others to death. This game took a different twist as players got to play Lara as a young girl. Also, there is a return to the ancient ruins and puzzle-based gameplay that got us hooked in the first place.
Lara herself is smoother and more fully textured, with no blocky joints or gaps in her polygons. Gameplay now includes the ability to combine items, new moves like rope climbing and swinging, and traversing around corners, plus the choice of automatic or manual targeting. And, thank God, we now have unlimited saves yahoooo!.
We visit Cambodia, Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Alexandria, Cairo and Giza.
Lara herself is smoother and more fully textured, with no blocky joints or gaps in her polygons. Gameplay now includes the ability to combine items, new moves like rope climbing and swinging, and traversing around corners, plus the choice of automatic or manual targeting. And, thank God, we now have unlimited saves yahoooo!.
We visit Cambodia, Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Alexandria, Cairo and Giza.
TOMBRAIDER 5 - Chronicles
Released in Autumn 2000. After being buried alive in the Temple of Horus at the end of TOMBRAIDER 4 - The Last Revelation, our heroine is presumed dead. Friends and colleagues gather at Croft Manor to pay their respects and reminisce over Lara's past deeds. In flashback sequences the player gets to relive four of these adventures: The hunt for the Philosopher's Stone in Rome, a deepsea dive off the coast of Russia in search of the Spear of Destiny, a brush with Hellspawn in old Ireland, and a foray into a high-tech office complex to retrieve the Iris artifact.
The game engine is pretty much the same as in Last Revelation. Lara has some new outfits—arctic camo for the Russian sub base levels, even an Extreme Depth Suit for swimming in icy waters—and in the Irish adventure, we get to play as the teenage Lara. Lara also gets a few new moves: She can now tightrope walk, swing around horizontal bars and somersault out of tight spaces.
The game engine is pretty much the same as in Last Revelation. Lara has some new outfits—arctic camo for the Russian sub base levels, even an Extreme Depth Suit for swimming in icy waters—and in the Irish adventure, we get to play as the teenage Lara. Lara also gets a few new moves: She can now tightrope walk, swing around horizontal bars and somersault out of tight spaces.
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TOMBRAIDER 6 - The Angel of Darkness
Finally, in 2003, we had a long wait! this game was available for Playstation 2!.
29 levels of play. Well, it was worth the wait in my opinion, but there are many who didn't like it. I really enjoyed it and have replayed a few times since over the years.
Overall the graphics are much improved. Scenery is less blocky and there are plenty of lovely things to look at. Lara is smoother and more realistic than before.
The action all takes place in Paris and Prague.
29 levels of play. Well, it was worth the wait in my opinion, but there are many who didn't like it. I really enjoyed it and have replayed a few times since over the years.
Overall the graphics are much improved. Scenery is less blocky and there are plenty of lovely things to look at. Lara is smoother and more realistic than before.
The action all takes place in Paris and Prague.
TOMBRAIDER 7 - Legend
This was available on many platforms including Xbox and Xbox 360 but not released until April 2006!!
This is a fantastic game if a little short compared to previous games.
The environment is so beautiful and graphics are, as one would expect by now, fabulous.
One of the major highlights of this game is the motorbike chase (see pic below). Great fun!. I really love this game.
This is a fantastic game if a little short compared to previous games.
The environment is so beautiful and graphics are, as one would expect by now, fabulous.
One of the major highlights of this game is the motorbike chase (see pic below). Great fun!. I really love this game.
TOMBRAIDER Anniversary
June 2007. They're spoiling us now. How much TOMBRAIDER heaven can one person take. A highlight of this game is that you get to fight a mahoosive T-Rex, and that bugga is hard to kill, and the move that is special to this game I still to this day find tricky to master so have often killed him by standing in secret spots where he cant get at you, slightly cheating I know but needs must. If you happen to be stuck killing him, Stella's website walkthrough explains all the methods you can kill him with, if you like me cannot master the 'adrenaline dodge maneuver.' I hate that move!
TOMBRAIDER 8 - Underworld
This little bobby dazzler was released in November 2008. Underworld picks up where TOMBRAIDER Legend left off. Technically, Underworld takes traditional TOMBRAIDER-style gameplay to a whole new level, with next-gen graphics, an expanded range of moves for Lara, greater interaction with objects in the environment, and many more new features. Fantastic game. There's a couple of expansions available through Xbox 360 marketplace too.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
This is a digital download game, not officially TOMBRAIDER series, but Lara Croft and all the same kind of things. I have it on I-Phone and have only played a bit of it. To be honest, I find it a bit small lol. I'd be keen to play it on a different platform though.
TOMBRAIDER 9 - A Survivor is Born (expected release date Autumn 2012)
Well, this game has been much talked about and is now expected to be on sale in Autumn 2012! . It will be available for Windows PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
UNOFFICIAL STORY - When a sudden storm destroys her research vessel, a young and inexperienced Lara Croft finds herself stranded on a mysterious and remote island hidden off the shores of Japan. Despite several signs of various inhabitants the island is oddly deserted, and an uneasy feeling settles in as strange sounds emerge from the shadows.
With only her determination, inner strength, and resourcefulness to help her, Lara must overcome the challenges of a harsh and unforgiving journey that will take her across a vast island wilderness and deep into the claustrophobic and menacing underground tombs from the island's past.
As she struggles to prevail through brutal combat encounters and treacherous exploration, Lara will be pushed to her limits and forced to adapt to her situation in order to survive and escape from the lethal predators that stalk her every move.
UNOFFICIAL FEATURES:
• Hunt or Be Hunted: Evade, outsmart, trick and kill the mysterious enemies that hunt you as prey.
• Survival Action: Brutally attack and defend yourself as you fight to survive through visceral one-on-one melee combat.
• Strategic Weapons: Gain an advantage in combat by finding an array of different melee and ranged weapons including a variety of guns, and the hunter's ultimate weapon, the bow.
• Creative Survival: React and adapt to the island by using only that which you can salvage from the environment like climbing axes, rope, and machetes that can be used to unlock new traversal and combat game play options.
• Free Movement: Scramble up a vertical cliff wall, sprint and leap across a huge chasm, steer mid-air to land a misdirected jump: There is no one right way to traverse, survive, and explore the harsh environment of the island.
• One Cohesive World: The diverse multi-region island is an open playground alive with creatures, weather, and natural events.
• Origin Story: The new Tomb Raider concept reboots the franchise by exploring Lara Croft's transformation into a hardened adventurer as you unravel the story behind the island's mysterious past.
UNOFFICIAL STORY - When a sudden storm destroys her research vessel, a young and inexperienced Lara Croft finds herself stranded on a mysterious and remote island hidden off the shores of Japan. Despite several signs of various inhabitants the island is oddly deserted, and an uneasy feeling settles in as strange sounds emerge from the shadows.
With only her determination, inner strength, and resourcefulness to help her, Lara must overcome the challenges of a harsh and unforgiving journey that will take her across a vast island wilderness and deep into the claustrophobic and menacing underground tombs from the island's past.
As she struggles to prevail through brutal combat encounters and treacherous exploration, Lara will be pushed to her limits and forced to adapt to her situation in order to survive and escape from the lethal predators that stalk her every move.
UNOFFICIAL FEATURES:
• Hunt or Be Hunted: Evade, outsmart, trick and kill the mysterious enemies that hunt you as prey.
• Survival Action: Brutally attack and defend yourself as you fight to survive through visceral one-on-one melee combat.
• Strategic Weapons: Gain an advantage in combat by finding an array of different melee and ranged weapons including a variety of guns, and the hunter's ultimate weapon, the bow.
• Creative Survival: React and adapt to the island by using only that which you can salvage from the environment like climbing axes, rope, and machetes that can be used to unlock new traversal and combat game play options.
• Free Movement: Scramble up a vertical cliff wall, sprint and leap across a huge chasm, steer mid-air to land a misdirected jump: There is no one right way to traverse, survive, and explore the harsh environment of the island.
• One Cohesive World: The diverse multi-region island is an open playground alive with creatures, weather, and natural events.
• Origin Story: The new Tomb Raider concept reboots the franchise by exploring Lara Croft's transformation into a hardened adventurer as you unravel the story behind the island's mysterious past.
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