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GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 12/12/2006
- Released on: 11/14/2006
- Originally published on GameSpot: Tomb Raider: Legend (DS) Review
Companies haven't made the best effort to really show off the Nintendo DS's 3D capabilities thus far; but, as games like Tomb Raider: Legend prove, the system can push polygons and deliver cinematic experiences on a level that is to equal to the Nintendo 64 or the original Sony PlayStation. Thanks to the game's wicked hot 3D-graphics engine, fans of Lara Croft's adventures can experience the same sort of gunplay and environmental puzzles on the diminutive DS that they've been enjoying for years on consoles and computers. Her twin pistols, high-flying acrobatics, and swimming talents have made it onto a Nintendo DS cartridge relatively intact, as well as the 3D environments and video cutscenes that people have come to associate with the Tomb Raider franchise. While some intermittent gameplay issues occasionally get in the way of enjoying the game, Tomb Raider: Legend is otherwise a slick action adventure that should appeal to anyone who wants to raid tombs and gun down smugglers on the go.
Like the console versions of Legend that were released months ago, Tomb Raider: Legend on the DS follows the exploits of Lara Croft as she investigates the mysterious circumstances of her mother's death some 20 years earlier. Her search begins at an old Incan temple in Bolivia; but, of course, one thing leads to another, and she ends up canvassing various ruins and smuggling dens all over the world to track down the pieces of an ancient sword that is somehow the key to her mommy's demise. While the story mainly serves its purpose--in that it gives Lara an excuse to visit the game's eight different locations--what's impressive is that the game doles out its plot points through a vast number of full-motion video scenes, which employ computer animation and recorded dialogue. Most portable games resort to static pictures and text boxes to keep the story going. In that regard, Tomb Raider: Legend for the DS is presented more like a console game, which does not mean that this version of Legend is identical to its console counterparts. The people, places, and general gameplay are the same, but because the DS lacks the horsepower and storage capacity that the other consoles have, the environments, level layouts, and graphics have been reworked with those limitations in mind. As such, someone who has played one of the console versions, can pick up the Nintendo DS version and feel as if he or she has played two entirely different games.
In terms of the hands-on stuff, most of the game involves searching each environment for clues on how to get from one spot to the next using Lara's many acrobatic abilities. Lara can leap, grab onto ledges, swing on ropes, vault off of horizontal beams, swing between platforms using her magnetic grapple, as well as shimmy across and propel herself upward from sheer handholds. She can also push and pull certain heavy objects, as well as use her guns and grapple to shoot or yank certain environmental decorations, which play into the switch puzzles that you'll come across at regular intervals. Some levels also include swimming or riding a motorcycle that don't require much in the way of thought, but do require quick reflexes to navigate without running out of air or crashing. Falling from a lofty height or getting sliced to bits by a trap can eat away Lara's health and result in death. Thankfully, you can use first-aid packs to regain health, and the only penalty for dying is that you have to restart from the last checkpoint.
Throughout the journey, you'll also encounter hungry tigers and armed smugglers that usually aren't happy to see Lara. Lara carries a pair of pistols that are perfect for such occasions, but she can also pick up and use the shotguns, machine guns, and grenades that dying enemies leave behind. You can make wild shots by repeatedly tapping the fire button or make precise shots by tapping the first-person representation of the enemy that appears on the touch screen. Sometimes, you can grapple or shoot objects in the environment to make them explode or topple on top of enemies. Generally speaking, the puzzles and gunplay never get too complex or furious, but the game shakes things up so frequently that you'll feel like you're always on your toes.
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