Aspyr has done it again in bringing a late 90s/early 2000s game series into the modern day with a new lick of paint. A few months ago, I reviewed Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. I thought they were some great action RPGs that had been given a great remaster. Another Crystal Dynamics-developed game series, the later original Tomb Raider games, have had an upgrade.
I’d never properly played the original Tomb Raider games, but now I feel that I understand what makes them great. They haven’t quite aged as well as Demi Moore, but Lara can still raid tombs and the clunky controls aren’t that bad. The platforming and exploration are satisfying, and that is what is at the core of these games. The first two in the collection are better than Angel of Darkness, but I’d say the first two are worth the entrance fee, whether you’ve played them before or not.
Clunky platforming
Upon start-up of the collection, the player is greeted by a clear, clean title screen of the fourth game, which can be toggled to then see the fifth and sixth game. New Game, Load Game, and Options are the choices available for each. On all three games, at any point including in cutscenes, you can switch between original and new graphics by pressing the start button. The new graphics are realistic and adhere to the original concept art. The graphical switch feature, is great for retro fans and is nice to help show off the game to friends and family.
I started off my playthrough with Tomb Raider: Chronicles, the fifth game in the series. Upon original release on PS1, Dreamcast, and PC the game sold 1.7 million copies. The game starts off with a relatively long tutorial to introduce you to the tank controls. Considering I’d never played these games before, it took me 45 minutes to get through the tutorial and get used to the controls. After the cumbersome, difficult tutorial Lara is loose in the streets of Rome with the first enemy being a Rottweiler/Doberman dog. The fun shooting gameplay is made easier with a lock-on mechanism.
The levels generally include platforming, simple puzzle solving such as lever pulling, and combat, using guns mainly. Levels are designed like small puzzles in themselves. As you progress, more of the level becomes open to you. Upgrades, bullets, and health are scattered around levels (usually slightly hidden). The gameplay rests on how fun Lara is to control. Lara is not as nimble as Mario and she controls more like a rugby player than a free runner, but her movements can be accurate and Lara is nice to look at.
Tombs have been raided
There’s one instance early on in Tomb Raider Chronicles where you find a revolver, then a door with a large padlock, and then you find a laser sight. You have to use your creativity to know how to shoot the padlock off the door in order to gain access to an item that will let you through to an important area. This kind of puzzle-like scenario plus odd-style platforming, and unconventional gunplay, is what makes the early Tomb Raider games so special.
In terms of presentation, everything looks good and the menus are functional. This remaster allows the player to save at any time, in any of the three games. I hear that this is different from the original games. Also, I hear that the controls have been upgraded and that in the original version, it was more like Lara was on a set track. I’m not complaining too much about the controls because I find the platfoming fun, even though it is clunky.
The cutscenes can come across as tacky and they stick to simple tropes, but they are interesting and will push you forward to find out what happens in the story. In terms of graphical presentation, the opening area in the first game, (Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation) is graphically attractive. I’d say it’s a tight contest between Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, and Tomb Raider: Chronicles (the fourth and fifth games in the collection) as the best game of the package.
Lara shows her age but can still raid tombs
The ease of just jumping into these titles is maximized with these remasters. I’m envious of those who have nostalgia for these games as I can see what accessible experiences have been created with this remaster collection. If Mario 64 was remastered in a similar way and the player could switch between old, and new graphics with the flick of a button, I’d be singing its praises.
Whether these games hold up to modern standards is more of a difficult question. I’m not a veteran of the old Tomb Raider games, yet I like the gameplay here of exploring, doing some clunky platforming, doing some light gunplay, and solving environmental puzzles. Whether youngsters who have grown up with games full of quality-of-life features in games like Fortnite will be able to get into these slower experiences is debatable. The pure fun of making a jump and finally collecting that last item to open a big door might be a retro kind of gameplay loop, but it works.
Conclusion
Overall, Aspyr has done a really good job of remastering Tomb Raider 4-6. The fact that you can switch between old and new graphics with the flick of a button is a feature I’d like in every remaster of a classic 90s’ game. The feature of saving at any time is also a good addition. It’s almost like having save states. Since these games are old and established, giving the player freedom over how these games are played is a positive feature.
The first two titles in this package are worth the asking price alone. It’s a pleasure to raid tombs as Lara. The gameplay hook is retro, but there’s nothing wrong with that; the joy is still there. Lara is no Mario in terms of platforming, but she’s also not as tank-like as Leon in Resident Evil 4. The feeling of making a jump and obtaining that key item is timeless and looking at the lovely Lara is a bonus.
I understand why my cousins used to stare at Lara and obsess over the gameplay when I was a kid. However, whether kids who play tablets daily will like games like these is doubtful. These are great remasters and I only wish Apspyr would work on GoldenEye 007 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The recent remasters from Aspyr are simple and allow for the great aspects of the old games to shine through.
The Review
Good
