The PS3 is making a welcomed habit of digitally restoring some PS2 classics to be present in the glorious HD of its system. First up, the first two God of War games were given the makeover following the enormous success of God of War III, and then the Prince of Persia Trilogy was given the same treatment. The most recent franchise to get the glistening overhaul is the Tomb Raider Trilogy, bringing together HD renditions of the PS2's Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary and the most recent PS3 Lara Croft release, Tomb Raider Underworld.
To have all three games on one disc is a real treat and the developers at Crystal Dynamics have taken their time to present them in beautiful new detail, but they have also offered a nice amount of bonus extras with the compilation. There are outfits for Playstation Home, a non-dynamic theme, developer diaries and a vast amount of videos, trailers and concept art. There is also now Trophy Support for all three games, which gives you the extra sense of accomplishment when you successfully traverse a crumbling temple, find a new weapon or shoot a charging gorilla between the eyes.
The whole trilogy feels like a fresh gaming experience, despite me having completed Legend and Anniversary numerous times on the PS2 and having been fairly familiar with the PS3's Underworld. The reimagining on the first two games is subtle, keeping the core of what makes these Tomb Raider titles so popular in the action-adventure genre. The facelift they have received is simply a better paintjob for an already wonderful piece of machinery and they make the transition to this current console generation with ease. Once you get into the games you soon forget that these are upscalings of past titles and begin to appreciate them for the combination of accomplished level design and gameplay. The dazzling animation holds up as Lara jumps from ledge to ledge, swings from protruding bars and latches her magnetic grapple to hooks on the wall. Even when she falls to her death, her limbs flailing about and her bones breaking horrifically, you have to commend the authenticity of it all.
Tomb Raider Legend was Lara Croft's first decent outing on the PS2 (after the underwhelming Angel of Darkness). It's an origin story of sorts, dealing with Lara's past in a way that hasn't been explored in any of the previous games. The beginning shows Lara as a young girl and details how her mother vanished, swallowed by a mysterious portal that's somehow linked to the legend of King Arthur. Cut to present day and an adult Lara is still looking for answers, zipping from one exotic corner of the globe to the next.
It's a departure from the standard Tomb Raider template and it was a risk that certainly paid off, swapping the gigantic labyrinthine levels of earlier titles for short and snappy stages that focus more on action elements than puzzles. The brain-teasers are still there, but they aren't as frequent and they rarely have you scratching your head in frustration for more than a few minutes. That gloomy feeling of being all alone as Lara in a massive ancient tomb is gone as there are now armed mercenaries around every corner. That said, the gunplay has come along leaps and bounds from the early days, with environmental assists and slow-motion headshots making it much more enjoyable and far less frustrating.
Tomb Raider Legend is one of the most exciting Tomb Raider titles to date, and that's because it's been dragged into the 21st Century amidst stunning action set-pieces and exploding gas canisters. That may sound like an obvious and damning change for most Tomb Raider fans, but it doesn't take away from the spirit of Lara Croft. It maintains the essence of what sets the Tomb Raider franchise head and shoulders above many other action-adventure games but pushes it that inch further to keep the newest generation of gamers on their toes. Add to that the already mentioned HD upgrade and you've got a game that will live long amongst the PS3's best titles.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is the remade version of the very first Lara Croft adventure, which was the first game I owned on the PSOne and a game that I would say is up there in my top ten video-games of all time. For this game to be reimagined, ten years after its original release, was a brave move by the developers, especially after the success of Legend. There was a chance to take the series in an entirely different direction, but that was put on the back burner until Anniversary could reacquaint gamers with everything that made Tomb Raider a magical experience. The traditional Tomb Raider feel, with lengthy exploration and difficult puzzles appearing one after the other, is back. It is expanded upon using much of the new dynamics from Legend, but the gargantuan levels return with a vengeance, and manipulating the landscape is the only way to get from one area to the next. It's a new spin on the classic set-up and after a few hours of gameplay it's hard to accept that remakes are always cheap rip-offs of the originals. Everything from the soundtrack to the enemies to the sheer scale of the complicated traps and puzzles surpass the original in a way that's both refreshing and fun.
Anniversary is by far my favourite game of the trilogy and that's because it combines every single element of the Tomb Raider experience that has worked well in the past to create a perfect action gaming experience. It has your heart racing just as often as it has your brain ticking, every now and then popping up with a moment that leaves you awe-struck. The HD transition is much more noticeable in this game than it is with Legend, perhaps because the level design is on a much grander scale, relying on the money-shots of mountain exteriors, majestic columned halls and an Egyptian Sphinx within a dusty cavern, which hold up just as well as any graphically superior PS3 release.
The final game in the loosely linked trilogy is Tomb Raider Underworld, the game released on the PS3 in 2008 to conclude the melodrama of Lara Croft's plight in dealing with her now familiar enemy, Jacqueline Natla, an ancient Atlantis ruler with demonic powers. It’s here where the visual potential of these games is thrust into the limelight, with everything from water ripples to blades of long grass bending as Lara walks through looking nothing short of amazing. The game merges together everything that was popular in Legend and Anniversary, two very different approaches to the Tomb Raider idea, and the outcome is a positive one.
There are some problems with Underworld, including a dodgy camera that refuses to play ball at times and an ending that is fairly disappointing, but they aren't massive issues that restrict enjoyment. Highlights in the gameplay include an escape from a burning Croft Manor, an interesting take on a battle with a giant octopus and an escape from a sinking tanker. Loose ends are tied from the other games in the trilogy and all in all, it’s a fitting final chapter with thrilling moments that keep you interested until the credits roll.
With a new, grittier Tomb Raider game in the works, this collection proves that Lara Croft will be a popular video game heroine for years to come. I’ve yet to give the Playstation Network’s Lara Croft – Guardian of Light game a whirl, but I soon will because this trilogy has reignited my love for everything the female Indiana Jones is about.
Tomb Raider Trilogy is worth a go for anybody who has even a passing interest for any of the Tomb Raider games on any platform, because they remain unrivalled by any other games in their genre. And you have to admit, with a central character as charismatic and attractive as Lara (yes, she’s just polygons!), they’re a lot of fun!
Tomb Raider Trilogy gets a superb 9 / 10.
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