Review: Tomb Raider Legend 3D action game

It doesn't seem possible that Lara Croft has been on our PC screens for nearly 10 years now.

A decade is an eternity in standard showbiz terms. But, unlike many real-life starlets, the voluptuous virtual videogame icon has the unique ability to get better looking with age.

And that's the first thing you'll notice when you start up Tomb Raider Legend (or Lara Croft Tomb Raider Legend to give the game its slightly uncatchy full title).

Both the game and its - ahem - titular heroine look absolutely stunning when played on a PC running a decent graphics card. But, while Lara herself is clearly none the worse for wear, just how kind has time been in terms of gameplay?

Well, given that the Tomb Raider series has been getting progressively worse over the years, it's hard to get too excited about a new instalment, especially since the last games in the series - The Angel of Darkness - is widely understood to be an unmitigated disaster.

In fact, a lot has happened in the world of third-person action gaming since then, and it seems as if Eidos has learned not only from its own mistakes, but also from the success of other excellent adventure titles like Ubisoft's The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and, more recently, The Two Thrones.

This is particularly evident in the way that our Lara controls. Where once she had all the manoeuvrability of a ten tonne truck, old hotpants now has a graceful, fluid set of moves that are genuinely enjoyable to wield.

Betraying its console roots, the game is distinctly better when you switch your keyboard and mouse for a gamepad. But, unlike in the previous outings, you'll rarely be moved to throw things at the screen in frustration.

There are a couple of slightly misjudged motorbike chase sequences and the occasional annoying 'interactive cutscene' to cope with. But, during all the climbing, jumping, swinging and shimmying that makes up the majority of the game, Lara's behaviour is impeccable.

The high point of the game may well be its puzzle-solving sections. These aren't particularly difficult as such, but usually require quite a bit of lateral thinking and frequently take advantage of the game's realistic physics.

Story-wise, there's the usual hokum about some missing artefact or another. It's not exactly original or even particularly coherent, but it certainly serves as an adequate backdrop for Lara's globetrotting archaeological adventures.

Most of the action takes place in or around the now familiar gloomy tombs and temples, but a few notable exceptions, such as a Tokyo skyscraper and an abandoned Russian research lab, prove to be interesting variations on the theme.

Also of note are both the script and the voice acting. Casting Keely Hawes (last seen in BBC One's Spooks) as the voice of Lara is a stroke of genius for which someone surely deserves a medal.

The actress's clipped feminine tones bring a whole new warmth to Croft's personality, as well as adding a hitherto unexploited layer of sex appeal to the character.

All in all, Legend is a tremendous success and goes a long way towards restoring the Tomb Raider series' slightly tarnished reputation.

Our only slight reservation is that the game is a fairly short experience (about nine hours in total) with relatively little in the way of replay value.

There's no multiplayer and, apart from collecting hidden treasures and unlocking new outfits for Lara to wear, there's not a lot to keep you coming back.

Having said that, the brief Croft Mansion standalone sidegame is another of the Legend's highlights.

System requirements:
Pentium 3 1GHz
256MB of Ram
10GB free hard disk space
DVD-Rom drive
Windows 2000/XP

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