Who the fuck is Lara Croft? Tomb Raider I-III Remastered review

When the first instalment of the now iconic Tomb Raider series was released in 1996, my parents hadn't even met. So, like most people born in the early 2000s, I was introduced to Lara Croft in 2013, when the franchise was relaunched. I liked the new trilogy, but I always wondered how everything in this franchise started. Although I still wasn't ready to play games that were older than me. However, gg received Tomb Raider I-III Remastered for review, thanks to which I was finally able to understand what adventure games were like in the late 90s, but my impressions remained mixed. Yes, the plot of each of the three games is interesting, but it seems that the gameplay is not adapted to modern realities at all, which caused irritation during the passage. I expected only one thing from the remaster: to make it enjoyable for the new generation to play. But instead, you sometimes find yourself thinking: "I'm going to turn this game off now". Although this could have been avoided simply by making the controls comfortable, and I wouldn't have taken my eyes off the screen.

Synopsis.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is a collection of the first three games in the series with improved graphics and minimal innovations. We play as a girl archaeologist Lara Croft, who is going on an extreme journey to the most mysterious places on the planet. The heroine is almost always on the verge of death, but her character, acrobatic stunts, logic, and ability to shoot from different weapons will help her get out of even the craziest situations with flying colours.

3 reasons to buy Tomb Raider I-III Remastered:

• You want to remember the old days when you played the original first Tomb Raider games
• You are very curious to see what games came before
• Updated visuals that make the game more beautiful

2 reasons not to buy Tomb Raider I-III Remastered:

• You don't accept the game if it's not a modern AAA blockbuster
• Crooked camera controls that do not allow you to enjoy the gameplay formula 100%

Fast forward:

• What we learned after reviewing Tomb Raider I-III Remastered
• Plot: with such a girl you can go into fire, water, and ancient places
• Gameplay: acrobatics, puzzles, shooting, and annoyance
• The technical side of Lara's travels
• Five things you need to know about Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

What we learned after reviewing Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

I understand why people massively fell in love with Tomb Raider in the 90s, but unfortunately, if the average zoomer player got acquainted with games through modern AAA projects and hasn't played the original first Tomb Raider titles, they're unlikely to like the remaster. Some gameplay and level design solutions have simply outlived their usefulness and will not be able to interest the new generation. Such games need full-fledged remakes, but I understand that everything rests on the budget, and you have to work around what you have in your arsenal.

However, if you are ready to touch the history of video games at the end of the 20th century, understanding all the risks, or you have nostalgia for the first three adventures of Lara Croft, then Tomb Raider I-III Remastered has a chance to please you.

The thing that scared me off the most during the passage was the crooked camera control. Sometimes it turned into such a nightmare that it burned me harder than my frying pan in the morning while cooking breakfast. If the game had an adequate camera, I could recommend the remaster to zoomers like me, but I can only imagine your emotions if you were given this after the games of 2010-2020. So I'll say it again, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is either for those who played the original and are ready to repeat this path again, but with new graphics, or for kamikazes who can't be intimidated by anything.

Plot: with such a girl, you can go into fire, water, and ancient places

All 3 games of the series in the collection have the same formula: Lara signs up for an adventure that is full of mysteries and dangerous moments. Keep in mind that the games were released in 1996-1999, and the emphasis was on gameplay rather than story, but despite this, all three parts are quite interesting.

Each story has its own portion of mysticism and unexpected twists and turns. For example, in the first part, it turns out that we are dealing with artefacts related to two brothers and a sister who ruled Atlantis. In the second part, the theme of the Chinese dragon and the magic dagger is played out. And the third part takes us to one of the most famous military bases in the world - Area 51.

This makes it interesting for you to move on. It's one thing to run around a metropolis, but it's quite another to explore an ancient city somewhere in Peru. The authors tried to throw the players into atypical places as often as possible and play everything so that one question runs through their minds: "How will it all end?"

Given that at times I perceived this remaster not as a game but as a trip back in time, it was interesting to see how the story and characters were worked on before. And something tells me that if I had played this in the 90s, I would have been thrilled. Of course, through the prism of my experience, I would like to see more cutscenes and dialogues, but let's not forget what years were outside the window back then. And certain moments, even in 2024, make you stick to the screen, which is an indicator that, at least in terms of story, these games can still show something in our time.

Gameplay: acrobatics, puzzles, shooting, and annoyance

Lara is one of the most flexible and physically fit girls I've ever seen in the gaming industry, so you have to use what she's spent years training for. Throughout all 3 games, you'll have to jump a lot and cling to various ledges. Sometimes you'll have to do tricks that you don't believe are possible. On the one hand, this effect is created by the locations you look at and you are afraid to press the jump button once again, and on the other hand, by the crooked controls. So let's talk about the weakest point of the game right away.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered has two control modes in the settings: classic and modern. You can joke that all game journalists are casuals, but I didn't understand how your classic controls work at all, so I switched straight to modern, because it's logical that remasters are created to modernise the game and attract a new audience. But it's so uncomfortable, and one control in particular - the camera. It's just horrible, I don't even have the words to describe all the pain I felt from time to time when using the game's camera. Sometimes it lives its own life, sometimes it doesn't respond to my right stick turns. At first I thought my gamepad was broken. I got a second one and it was the same. I opened Twitter and saw that I was not the only one. I don't know who was testing the game before release, but no one had any doubts that this modern control is not modern at all? I can already imagine how the same 20-year-old gamers, after playing indie games like Cocoon or Jusant (because there's no point in comparing them to AAA games), try to control the camera in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. And while I could understand the coolness of the plot of these games, the controls did not always allow me to enjoy the gameplay.

Having talked about the negative, we can move on. From time to time, you will have to solve various puzzles to move forward. It can be a search for a lever to open the door to a secret room. Or you need to find three gold bars to open a door. However, we only see silver bars on the level, but that's exactly what we need, because if we put these bars on the palm of the statue of King Midas, they will turn gold, and we will be able to open the passage, because according to Greek legends, Midas turned everything he touched into gold.

The puzzle can also arise because level design in games has changed a lot in almost 20 years, and when you think you're stuck, you find a ledge or a stone to cling to or climb over, and you say to yourself: "Seriously, did I have to climb this?". There were moments when I wanted to see if I could hack the game, but instead I found secret rooms with first aid kits or ammo. Nowadays, we have markers and objects that indicate exactly where to go, but back then you had to figure it out for yourself, and sometimes the answer could be in the most unexpected place. But still, it was quite an interesting experience for me, because I've rarely seen anything like this in games lately.

You also have to shoot a lot, and there are enough different enemies in 3 parts. Wolves, bears, bats, centaurs, tigers, mummies, and even dinosaurs! All the zoo you can imagine has gathered, although sometimes you'll have to shoot at people too. For this purpose, Lara has double pistols with endless ammunition in her arsenal, but throughout the passage (depending on each part) she will find a shotgun, an Uzi, a rifle and a grenade launcher. And you need to look for ammo for them, but it won't be lying at your feet. So you have to look for secret rooms and look in every corner to find ammunition.

Lara's health is not generated by itself, so in addition to ammo, you need to look for first aid kits, but if you look around a bit, there will be no shortage of them.

In general, the first parts of Tomb Raider have an interesting and diverse gameplay formula. Shooting, acrobatics, secrets, stunts, sometimes even transport will be allowed to drive, but due to control problems, I could not enjoy it. While playing the first part, I believed that I would either accept it or adapt. However, it just turned into passive aggression. So I would still advise you to refrain from buying it if you are not ready for such an experience.

What innovations have appeared in the collection?

Although it is a remaster, not a remake, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered has brought some interesting innovations that were not present in the original parts:

• Action Indicator. When Lara is close to an object that can be picked up or interacted with, a white exclamation point will appear next to it.
• Ability to save at any time. There is no auto-save in the game, and it may happen that you have completed a large section but died, and you will have to do everything from the beginning. Therefore, do not repeat my mistakes and save every 2-3 minutes.
• Health level. Now, when you fight bosses, you will see their health indicator, which will help you understand how many more shots you need to make to win.
• All add-ons. Each part has several additional missions, and they are immediately added to the collection.
• Photo mode. You can take beautiful photos by switching on the photo mode with the L3+R3 combination on the gamepad (left and right sticks).
• Enable old graphics. If you want to feel 100% old-school, press the options button on the gamepad, and the graphics will be the same as in the 90s.

The technical side of Lara's travels

I played the game on PlayStation 5, and there are no problems with optimisation. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered keeps a stable 60 fps all the time. Also, the game never crashed, and I didn't encounter a single bug (although the camera controls are a bugger).

Visuals have modernised the game (although it doesn't always help)

The new model of Lara deserves special attention. You can look at her and look at her. I have a feeling that the most attention was paid to her redesign. Although the water, lighting, shadows, enemies, and all the textures in general have been tightened up. You just have to switch to the old graphics once, and you immediately notice all the changes with the naked eye. However, despite the modernisation of the graphics, it doesn't really help the situation. It's great that the visuals are better, but when you can't see objects properly because of the crooked camera, what's the point?

Audio that hasn't been touched

The audio in the game was not touched, so everything remained at the level of the 90s. It feels like the same sounds of weapons or enemies are outdated, but the music still holds the bar. It appears at the right time, sets the atmosphere of the situation, and part of the composition even stuck in my head, which doesn't happen every time in games.

Five things you need to know about Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

• Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is a collection with a re-release of the first three games in the series, which were released in 1996-1999
• The collection includes all the additional content that the original trilogy received
• Most attention in the remaster was paid to improving the graphics
• The game has a crooked camera control, and it is sometimes very annoying
• The remaster is suitable for those who miss the original games, but it is unlikely to interest a young audience

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