# Tomb Raider "Legend" (7) What do ya think of it?



## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Any one play it?.. 
I just finished it. I didn't pick up all the hidden items.

I love the new look and Lara's new moves..... But....
The PC version is almost 8 gigs installed, I thought the game would have been longer.
You could easily get through this game in 2 days..
Only like 7 or so levels..

The Japan skyline looked great. With my new vid card I'll play it again, as much of the detail was off.. 

scale 1 - 10 ... (10 is best)

Look; 8 (video card limited)
Game Play; 9 ( it was fun, using a keyboard is a bit hard at times.)
Length of game; 4 :down: ( looking this good, I wanted it to last longer.)
In game weapons; 3 (much more and better guns in earlier TR's.)

The game looks good, plays nice, but I would give the whole thing a 5..
The lack of guns and levels, just hurt the fact it looked great.
Lara can only have two guns at once, only carry 3 medi packs. (Yes they are easy to find, but) 
At times the camera was in a bad spot and wouldn't move.. Once Lara got stuck, had to reload my last save.. 

Oh!.. Saves.. They suck too.. I saved right after a pick-up of a secret. I reload after dying and it takes me back to the "auto save" point before the pick-up.. You can't save in an exact spot. Most auto saves are right before a challenge, but I would like to save right after making some difficult jump/leaps.... But Nooo! 

Looks better than Angel of Darkness, but still failed in many areas I liked in other Tomb Raiders.. 

It has cinematic action sequences.. Where its Lara moving in a cut scene, but you need to make moves at times, so she wont die.. Nice idea, but it really threw me off..

Many un-lockables, but not so sure it's worth it. You can unlock outfits for Lara to wear, but only after you finish the game can you wear anything in any level..  


So, my $.02... Not worth the purchase. Just rent it. :up:

Few game shots.. First is un-lockables.. Second is in game the Japan level. Third is Roof on Japan level.
(Note; pics were shrunk for size, so some quality is lost.)


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Hiya
I agree with most of your points about Legend, though I haven't finished it yet.

The environments look just great (as does Lara). I often just look around marveling at the detail and superb texture rendering. I can enable Next Gen graphics but it doesn't play very smoothly, you really need top-of-the-line hardware for that. 

Many have mentioned the brevity of the game, and I also think it's not really challenging compared to earlier TR games (some of which were darn near impossible without help!).
I do plan to replay it on the highest difficulty setting later, because it is fun. The control scheme is way better than AOD, but takes a bit of getting used to. I wish it had more of the classic Tomb Raider layout, though.

Don't much care for the sorta frantic way Lara moves, ala Prince of Persia. Don't see the point of the save system, you automatically get checkpoint saves, why include a save function that doesn't really save your true progress in the game?

Some weapons don't really feel right, somehow, and there could be a greater variety.

Even so (and without yet having played it through) overall I'd give it a 7 or so, 

(could that be why I'm up at 3:30am?  )


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Could be... 

Yeh the gun with a scope, it has one and a laser sight, but you can't use them.. :down:
True it did seem easyer.. I went all the way through on med difficulty..
The only real trouble spots are those stupid interactive cut-scenes.. You have like half a second to hit the right key as it flashes on the screen, or your dead.

I'll be getting an ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 pro soon.. I'll try it again with that. See if things look better.

Plus I'm glad to see some one else has even played it... 

I do like the sword at the end.. :up:
But I haven't unlocked the cheat to use it on other levels yet.


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Not to be disrespectful, but the 5200 card you have isn't going to show the game at it's potentional....even though you already state it looks great, wait til you see it with a more modern card! 

Not too familiar with ATI cards but I think you'd need something that supports Pixel Shader 3 at a minimum. Need top of the line stuff for Next Gen graphics, which would be the X1000 line, I think. If you prefer ATI cards and the 9800pro is in your budget that may be a good deal these days, though the game was developed with Nvidia GPUs.

This might give you an indication of where you stand:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

It will ask to install a small program (safe and deletable, when you're done). Look in the "L" section for Lara Croft Legend, click 'can you run it' and wait... it will give a graph and suggestions for your current system. (BTW it will always suggest driver updates, even if you have the latest).

As for the Unlock-ables, you have to get all the Rewards, which will unlock some, plus beat the Time Trials, I think, for the rest.

You must replay the levels with Time trial enabled...hmm.
I'm just not too exited about that at this time


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

I've looked at comparisons, and the 9800 is about double what the 5200 is. So I should see a really big difference..

I tried one time trial on the first level... Yet, how far do you need to get?.. 
I failed 3 times, the only time I stopped, was for the stupid jaguars.. 
I got the 3 boxes, and the door open, but ran out of time climbing for the door. 
Grrr, I hate time trials all ready.. :down:


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Hope that card work swell for you, it was top dog not too long ago.

Time trials, I haven't even tried, but I know I'll hate it too. 

BTW, there's a Saved Game package available for download at the Tomb Raider Chronicles website...97 savegames for PC, if you ever need 'em.
Might help with those time trials if you get too frustrated  

Haven't needed it yet so I don't know how user-friendly it is.

There are some strange graphic glitches all through it for me. Most are minor but I sorta took advantage of this one, if I Alt+Tab and go back to the game the spikey thing is gone:

[URL=http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=whut5no.jpg]


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

OK, Got the new card, but the "next gen" features are still greyed out.. Any ideas?
I don't need to reinstall do I?.. 
I tried the setup exe, but it still won't let me check them..


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Run that link I posted before, it'll tell you stuff about your system and Legend.
Stuff you may not want to read....but there it is.

Again:
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Oh, I found it.. It only works with shadder V3.. This card is V2..
FireFox blocks it.. I'll use IE.


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Eh, not bad.

Also says my system will rock at Doom 3, Half Life 2, and GTA SA... LOL, sweet! :up:


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Yup, that's the catch.

You've a fine card for most every game on the market. The difference is brand new games demand brand new hardware. 

If you can play the game OK with the 5200, the 9800 pro will be just fine, and you older games will look great!

I think I said earlier, I can enable Next Gen but the FPS drops down to the extremely annoying level. I think it looks damn good without it and it plays quite smoothly.

You just have to have the most recent hardware, if you can afford it, and I can't.

Oh, BTW, my specs are:

Dell 4550, P4 2.0Ghz 
1 GB RAM, @ only 2100Mhz 
EVGA GeForce4 6800 GS, AGP interface / 256MB Vram - not overclocked yet!
Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM 80 GB primary drive


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## Raziel_ (Mar 30, 2006)

Personally I think that its a great game. I have seen a lot of comments slating Angel of Darkness. Calling it the worst Tomb Raider game ever. Well, I think that AOD is good, and Legend is great. 

The whole "I don't feel strong enough so I'll kick a door and then i'll be stronger" thing in AOD did suck, but it only played a small part and AOD struck the right balance as far as difficulty goes. It wasn't ridiculously hard like TR3. The worst Tomb Raider game for me is The Last Revelation by a long way. It was a pretty poor story really, but it did fill a hole.

Back to Legend, I like what they have done with Lara. Graphically it looks good. Although i'm sure that it could look much better if I had a better card than a Radeon 9600. The new moves are nice, although the pole swinging is over-used quite a lot.

The only big thing is that it was too short. I agree on that count. I did like the story though. The reacion cutscenes were a nice added extra. I think that the Croft Mansion is a great extension too. It is much better than the Croft Mansion of old. The mansion is one of the best levels in the game for me. The riddle for the Gold Secret is the highlight.


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Yes, I did like AOD too. This mansion has the look of the one used it the Tomb Raider movies.. :up:

More guns would have helped, also the use of the scope.. I mean sheesh it's there, but you can't use it.. 

Graphics are the best yet, but they still could have made a better game.. 
#7 in a series, you think they would have had some idea what players wanted..


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Super-D-38 said:


> Graphics are the best yet, but they still could have made a better game..
> #7 in a series, you think they would have had some idea what players wanted..


I think they did have a fairly good idea. I've heard that people that actually work on game development have been perusing TR fan forums for input, and some actually post in them, too. Well, I know of one guy for sure 

While I liked AOD ok, it has been obvious a lot of folks didn't, even some die-hard TR fans. Terrible combat control, and departure from the classic TR story...but the story had so much more potential.

AOD could have been great, Eidos screwed up by releasing too soon, needed more work by the Core Design team. So Eidos blames Core and Paramount for the poor reception of AOD and hands off development to Crystal Dynamics (while Paramount blames Eidos for the poor reception of _The Cradle of Life_  ... corperate BS, ya know ). They want to make sure the same mistakes aren't made, but got too caught up in deadlines or something.

The more I play Legend the more I like it. I'm on the last level tonight, so yep, I'm disappointed in the length. It's just such a darn gorgeous game, though. I anxiously await TR 8! Though I'll probably have to replace everything to be able to play it!

OK, I'm a fan of the series, not a fanatic. It's just so hard not to like something with Lara Croft in it!


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## RT (Aug 20, 2000)

Raziel_ said:


> The whole "I don't feel strong enough so I'll kick a door and then i'll be stronger" thing in AOD did suck, but it only played a small part and AOD struck the right balance as far as difficulty goes. It wasn't ridiculously hard like TR3. The worst Tomb Raider game for me is The Last Revelation by a long way. It was a pretty poor story really, but it did fill a hole.
> 
> Back to Legend, I like what they have done with Lara. Graphically it looks good. Although i'm sure that it could look much better if I had a better card than a Radeon 9600. The new moves are nice, although the pole swinging is over-used quite a lot.
> 
> ~ I did like the story though. The reacion cutscenes were a nice added extra. I think that the Croft Mansion is a great extension too. It is much better than the Croft Mansion of old. The mansion is one of the best levels in the game for me. The riddle for the Gold Secret is the highlight.


 Hi Raziel_
I didn't care for Kurtis as a playable in AOD, and that "I'm not strong enough" deal was sort of a joke as you say. Combat control sucked. Good looking game, not on a par with Legend, though.

My first Tomb Raider game was TR 3, actually only the second PC game I'd ever played (the first being _Myst_ :up: ). So I played TR3 practically forever, seemingly being hooked on frustration  My wife used to refer to Lara Croft as "the other woman." 

So I went into the TR series thinking it's an impossible game without help. Stella became my new best friend. I've played and enjoyed all of them except the first one. I just don't think I could handle going backwards that far, graphically speaking.

Especially after seeing Legend ... the rainbow on the waterfall, shafts of sunlight that glint as you change position, the dust motes and insects, birds flying, clouds moving, mist that parts beneath your feet as you move.... just beautifully detailed work.

I beleive the mansion was included because of fan feedback, as I mentioned.


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

I think I have all Tomb Raider games.. 
Well all for the Playstation.. I think there were some "fill-in" games for the PC, but I've been with Lara from the get go.. 

They are getting better, but I think Legend was rushed..

Now that I'm done with it, I find it hard to go back through it again to find all the hidden items.. For me it's a play through once game.. :down:

Maybe in the months ahead there will be mods or add ons.. Add extra guns or something.. Make it interesting again.


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## aghamm (Apr 22, 2006)

I have an Ati all in wonder 9800 pro vid card . In options, the next gen content is greyed out I am gettin pissed. I dont want to go and buy a pci express new card yet. Have any of you has that feature greyed out . Is there any hack or crack so that I can turn that feature on. I want to see the better graphics. This card plays awesome at maximum levels in FEAR and quake 4 never had any problems or issues now I got Legend but I want to see the bump mappin or parallax . Help please and thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Miles in Dallas


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

No crack I know of.. As far as I know it is only for the new cards that have shader version 3.. 
Our 9800's only have ver. 2... Sad aint it?


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