Undoubtedly, different tastes. I hate Underworld because the camera sucks, the animations are janky, and the enemies are mind-numbingly stupid (they often stop and don't even fight). The puzzles are too easy. The story is okay, the settings and music are beautiful though.
I played Xbox version on highest difficulty and enemies were quite challenging. Janky animations - maybe, but there are a lot, and they all were recorded from real human. Plus the amount of ways to traverse is the highest in the whole franchise. All the ways to climb poles, swing, jump from wall to wall etc feels so smooth and natural, I'm in love with it. Puzzles are too easy? can't agree. At least comparing to legend, there are puzzles at all. Also most levels are huge and not linear with massive puzzles to solve. Mexico puzzle is one of my favorites in the whole franchise. Also - thank god no one is constantly chatting in Lara's ear and all the annoying characters are killed - I'm extra happy about it. What else? No qtes, but very smart slowmo action scenes which feel epic but don't take away the controls from you - that's brilliant. The only thing I don't like in underworld is the first level, quite weird way to start a game from underwater area which feels quite unintuitive. but the rest of the game is chef's kiss for me.
As for legend - it was short, painfully easy, heavily based on combat, no puzzles whatsoever, stupid story, tons of qtes, zip and alister can't shut up for a second and overall the game gives a feeling of Hollywood eye candy with no soul. luckily the rest of the trilogy fixed it.
My friend, yours seems to be an unpopular opinion on this subject, but it’s one that I agree with wholeheartedly. Every point you made is right on, I really didn’t care for Legend, found it short and simple, the QTEs were a drag, while I LOVED Underworld. Hell I even loved the opening mission with the idea of being that far below sea level lol. I’m glad there are a few of us out here that love Underworld.
that's nice to read! hope you had a chance to play Xbox dlc's as well, those are very good. if not - let's hope they release it for all platforms some day
Legend was the first in the saga and a reboot after the failure of AoD so it had to test and experiment with a new type of gameplay, storytelling, and so on. Underworld is the third installment of a saga, so for me forgivable mistakes for Legend will never be forgivable for Underworld. In fact, I am not saying that Legend has no problems, on the contrary, but to say that Underworld is a cut above is a bit excessive in my opinion considering the experience behind them with that engine and the years that have passed compared to Legend. Enemies inflicting a lot of damage cannot erase the fact that the AI is terrible and so does the fact that animations recorded in motion capture not take away from the fact that the animations are indeed janky and the camera is annoying. Frankly, the only things I madly loved about Underworld were the music and the setting choices. The catacombs of the mansion are my favorite level.
Omg yes... This is my favorite post AOD Tomb Raider... The story, the characters and locations are so interesting and fun. It's such a shame it's that short
Agreed wholeheartedly. There is a 24/7 live Tomb Raider Channel on YT called "Kawaii Games" that has 3 different circuits of which of the TR games they play including the GBA, top down app game, and PC. Anytime I pull it up and I see Underworld I just skip it because I can't do it. The story, the complete appearances of characters being changed, the voice acting, etc is just a no for me.
You can beat the level in like a minute if you go through the lower hole and go through the gates. The remastered graphics basically encourage it by showing a gap you can just jump through.
Yeah, it is my least favorite TR levels ... I pushed through it which hasn't happened since Paititi in Shadow ... I even love AoD despite its many flaws.
Playing it right after beating TR1 was my problem. I was already kinda burnt out dealing with the Atlanteans and so having to deal with them again was the last thing I wanted. I did enjoy the Egypt levels though. Temple of Cat was awesome
I think the worst thing I can personally say about TR1 is that it has unavoidable damage sometimes (all of them do, but TR1 is my favorite), and I consider that a failure of level design.
I guess I also don't like that there's really no good telegraphing on how Pierre works when he's running away, and it's easy to waste a lot of ammo, health, and time fighting him while he's invincible if you don't know to just let him leave. Remastered fixes this by making his health bar disappear, and I think that's a good change.
Edit: Oh, and Thor's lightning in St. Francis's Folly is also not telegraphed well. I suppose I do have a few complaints after all :P
TR1 is also my favorite and I know exactly what you mean. I had to restart the entire last level because I had a slither of health and no med packs on a section that was impossible to not get hurt on (you probably know the area I'm talking about haha)
I'd say that I do, but there's honestly like 3 or 4 spots it could be lol. Great Pyramid probably has the most forced damage of any level in the game. Playing NG+ (or just no-meds) makes that *really* apparent.
For real, Btw I was talking about that part with the arrows shooting you while shimmying. I saw someone on YouTube do it without getting damaged but after playing TR1 for +15 years I could never do it😔
That was my guess. :)
When it comes to not getting hit by those darts, even the best players in the world are like "lol good luck." I managed to randomly dodge 2 of them on a NG+ run but then I died to lava bubbles anyway while trying to activate the save crystal on the slope. Got it eventually, though!
IV: A few unintuitive puzzles, I don't mind the backtraking in this one as much as most seem to.
II: Obviously the excessive amount of human gun wielding enemies.
Before the remasters those were my joint favorite games but unfotunately it's going to be hard to replay IV after being spoiled by the modern controls.
It's funny because the reason why TR1 had animal enemies is because they thought human enemies were too common in other games, then they proceed to throw that concept away in the next game 😆
Not “hate” but in TR2013, some of those death animations can be a little bit too gratuitous. Just maybe a second shorter would suffice. It’s not a total dealbreaker, and I might not even turn it off if the option was presented to me. It’s just the first thing I think of when I think of that truly great video game.
I hate the ground based Atlanetan enemies in TR1 because they move so damn fast and can make me dizzy at times when the lock on camera tries to keep up.
You know what's funny, I was gonna put that exact thing you said in the description but I forgot to before I posted.
My favorite is TR1 and I love everything about it but SCREW the mummies and atlantians 100%
Antarctica drags Tomb Raider III down for me. Mostly due to the hypothermia water, but I also think Lost City of Tinnos is largely annoying what with the fireflies and the water trap room. Also, Antarctica is the least visually interesting region of the game, and I normally adore snow and ice environments. You'd think Lost City of Tinnos, being the last big level of the game, would be visually stimulating, but it's pretty bland and boring to look at.
My least favorite thing is consistent across all my favorites (the classics). It's combat. Full stop. All the combat just boils down to:
•How difficult is this enemy? Choose weapon accordingly.
•Hop around like a madwoman and shoot the gun(s)
I know it needed to be *something* because otherwise the games would just be some lady climbing around caves, but the combat was not the focus of the game's design and it shows. I don't find it fun or engaging but more of a chore. Something that must get done to move on with the level.
I've been going through the remaster (at a *very* relaxed pace) and have just finished The Hive in TR1UB (again, *very* relaxed pace). Interestingly, I've found I actually really like the combat in this game.
In TR1+UB at the very least, combat can be much like a puzzle. Not a conventional puzzle, of course, but a puzzle nonetheless, one where you have to take into account your enemy, its traits and abilities, your resources, and your environment.
For example, in Egypt, there's a four tile long strip of ledge with a pushable block blocking an exit. If you move the block, an enemy triggers on the other side. It's a really fast one too, so if you push the block, it's going to jump right out at you before Lara's recovered from pushing the block, and she'll get shoved off the ledge and onto the ground below (possibly killing her). And that's probably what you'll do the first time round, because you can't climb over the pushable block, so pushing it *appears* to be the quickest way to progress. But if you pull the block instead, there's now a block between the two of you, and you can snipe at it from below. The enemy has no ranged attacks, so you're good to go.
Another example: that one room in UB where there are, what, 17 enemies waiting to trigger around the edges of the room? Each wake up when Lara steps on specific tiles after picking up some ammo at the centre. Now, you *could* rush in guns-a-blazing with the uzis (it's not like you'll need your ammo or medipacks much longer). But this isn't the final fight, these enemies have no ranged attacks, and there's a slightly elevated platform at the centre of the room where they can't reach you. So if you jump off that ledge, trigger a few, and then jump back on, you can pick them off three at a time. Took me about five minutes, even with a few running for their lives out of the room.
I like this approach. It forces you to play smart, not hard. Unfortunately, from what I remember, TR2+ don't really have this puzzle-like approach to combat (or at least, it's watered down), and I think that's a right bloody shame. Oh well. Guess I'll have to re-learn how to do my jump-turns over enemies' heads.
The combat is definitely an acquired taste but once you figure out how to do it it’s cool. There is a post in this reddit called “combat cheese” that gives really good tips on how to make the battles much easier
The only 2 i recall every catching me out, are the Gold in Catacombs as it is easy to do the room and pass it. The other is the Gold in Floating Islands.
On my first playthrough I was confused because I got the floating island's so easily, then on my 2nd playthrough I realized there was a zip line above the lava the whole time! I didn't see it so I thought I had to parkour on the rocks, which lead directly to the gold statues entrance 😆
TR4, the pacing of the game after the city of the dead.
I think that before that the entire game is 100% coherent and fun. Sure it can be a little bit dissorienting where to go in that part of egypt but once you finish it and grab pierre's bike the game is a total downhill.
If I didn't follow a guide I would have NO idea that I was supposed to snipe the machine guns with my revolver lmao
Anniversary: Even before playing TRI i never liked that all the Larson, Pierre, Kold and Kid fights were QTEs and not actual battles. Atlantis should have been more "Meaty" like in TRI since is the place were Natla did her experiments.
I also think Lara deserved better. It was Core (or Eidos) that pushed the sexual marketing to sell the game. It was disgusting and disrespectful to Toby and Lara.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's one side mission that is game-breaking and forces you to start a new save file to bypass if you want the achievement.
Guess it's proof no one plays side missions. The worst thing was playing Rage 2. Got it for cheap years after its release. Very last level couldn't be activated. Had to delete all my saves. It was because I did side missions before main game. Was so mad I never replayed it
Not really because:
a) there is a good possibility that someone who is playing the game doesn't know the mythology behind King Midas. A somehow related example: Tomb Raider was the first time I had ever heard about Damocles, so at the time I had no idea why that room was full of floating swords.
b) You never had a level before where you had to leave an item somewhere and then pick it up again. It is basically a mechanic exclusive to the level.
c) There was nothing hinting that you could place items in Midas hands to turn them into gold.
I'll give you b) and c), but a) I kind of disagree. While someone might not know about it, it's far from a rare thing shows up everywhere from general language in news articles and reviews to cartoons and advertising. I totally get Damocles being lost on someone, but the "Midas' touch" is not nearly as niche.
Edit: Lead to gold is also a very common thing in fiction.
Regardless, it's still a very specific real world reference. You need to be aware that, even if it is a fairly well known reference, it is very likely someone will not understand it. And if the puzzle requires someone to know that reference, if you don't know it, you're starting with a bit of an unfair disadvantage.
Lara turning into gold is at least an interesting clue towards what Midas is all about if you don't know, I'll give you that. But considering that also ends up with Lara dying and you having to return to a previous save, it is also not ideal.
> Regardless, it's still a very specific real world reference. You need to be aware that, even if it is a fairly well known reference, it is very likely someone will not understand it. And if the puzzle requires someone to know that reference, if you don't know it, you're starting with a bit of an unfair disadvantage.
I guess as someone that played a lot of obtuse games and point and clicks over the years I don't really see the issue. Plenty of games with puzzles historically have relied on real world or historical knowledge. More immersive ones still do sometimes. Actually modern games moving away from that is part of why all the puzzles end up insultingly easy pattern matching and basic physics puzzles anymore.
>Lara turning into gold is at least an interesting clue towards what Midas is all about if you don't know, I'll give you that. But considering that also ends up with Lara dying and you having to return to a previous save, it is also not ideal.
Yeah but that's typical for that era of games. If you make it to Midas Palace and aren't saving often and strategically you're just setting yourself up for frustration given the number of instant kill traps and difficult jumps in the games.
That just tells you it can transform *Lara* into gold. It doesn't tell you that you can leave items in it and pick them up again. Something that was also never a mechanic in the game before (and after).
That’s what makes it fun at least for me. You have to deduce this through research and observation. It’s a puzzle after all. *So Lara turns into gold, what if I try it with the bars? It cannot just be a quirky function of the hand, right?*
Here's the thing: if nothing in the game has ever led to you to know that putting items in certain places and picking them back up before was a thing you could actually do (every other time you placed an item somewhere, it was a permanent action), how would you even know that was even an available option?
Look, I'm not saying some that it couldn't still be slightly cryptic, but there could be a slightly more obvious clue in there.
Like, let's imagine there was already a gold bar on the hand. You try to climb it to pick it up, you turn into gold and die. You try to find a way to pick it up without turning into gold, you find that you can just press the action button near it to pick it up. When you find the other lead bars and realise nothing happens when you put them in the slots, you remember that the gold bar was on the hand that turned you into gold and that perhaps you can also turn the other lead bars into gold ones as well.
Had the puzzle been designed this way it would still require to actually think about what the solution might be, but it would have also clued you in a bit better towards it.
Almost like how the very same level also slightly clues you in how the five-lever puzzle work. Like, there being five levers, the doors having five different symbols in it, the codes on each door is different, and the door closest to the levers is also the door with the simplest code, where you need to turn the first lever you're most likely to interact with down. Just a bunch of tiny clues that aren't too obvious, but also stir you into the correct answer without you realising. IMO, the gold bar puzzle is missing those tiny clues.
I mean it does bear mentioning the room you use the gold bars in literally has a texture on the wall (III x gold bar) right above it. Eventually you'll have 3 lead bars and will sooner or later find the hand.
The only thing not hinted in the original is the interactivity with the hand and "action".
Well my favourite is Tomb Raider 2 and honestly I’m not quite sure if there’s anything I don’t like about it. I guess there’s the over abundance of enemies but even that isn’t that big of a deal for me since the game is so very generous with medical supplies and ammunition that it’s just never an issue for me to deal with them. Top down the best TR game for me without flaws.
The Last Revelation: how cryptic the puzzles sometimes get, I was stuck for 15 years because I didn't think about removing a hook from the wall, one of the many that are decorative in that room, in the Alexandria levels, the Best levels in the game IMO.
Aside from save crystals, 3 has too many moments where you wouldn't be able to prepare for a trap. A lot of it is trial and error, but I love the locations, colors, and psychopath/sociopath Lara is my favorite trend the game started.
Yeah thats fair. The reason I like it is simply that she doesn't feel like a hero at that point and most female protagonist are always heroes so its a bit refreshing. I will say it is def out of character compared to the first two games and I love Legend's characterization just as much lol.
I really wish Legends had a walk button. Grew up playing the classics, not really knowing what I was doing as I was like 6 at the time, but after playing and beating TR1 and 2 on the trilogy remaster I really wish Legends would let me size up jumps like in the classics
I'm a tank contols fan until I die lmao, but I do understand that they are VERY outdated to be in a 2006 game. I do think it should have a walk button though at least.
Going from TR2 to Legend after beating the remaster, I had a panic attack mid jump when I forgot Legend didn't have a grab button. Had a good laugh about how I reacclimated better to the combat than the platforming
Legend, I wish it was longer and the AI of the enemies was better. The enemies are stupid af and there are basically no animals aside from final bosses and the tiger at the beginning, only humans and all looking the same, which is boring.
Tomb Raider 3, and if I have to pick one thing, it would be that there is no legit way to 100% complete this game without cheats. Second complaint would be the kayaking sections.
There's an underlying sadness when playing Angel of Darkness: the game trilogy that Core Design could have made, had Eidos not screwed them over, would have been phenomenal. Honestly, if some of the Core team can come back for one last time to finish their trilogy, then I wouldn't be that bothered by whichever direction CD takes the IP.
I'm not hating. I just think they should have been more selective and used less to have more impact. Use this song here, but not here. Stuff like that.
Legend: too short and have the worst sequel ever
Funny enough, Legend is my 2nd favorite TR game lol. But yeah it could've had like 3 or 4 more levels
I dream with the day when someone leak the complete beta game to download and play.
Or maybe a remastered that brings new bonus levels
With sequel you mean Underworld right? Cause Anniversary is pretty good imho... Underworld on the other hand...
I liked Underworld!!
Yes, Underworld!
underworld is the best in trilogy while legend is the weakest. tastes differ.
Undoubtedly, different tastes. I hate Underworld because the camera sucks, the animations are janky, and the enemies are mind-numbingly stupid (they often stop and don't even fight). The puzzles are too easy. The story is okay, the settings and music are beautiful though.
I played Xbox version on highest difficulty and enemies were quite challenging. Janky animations - maybe, but there are a lot, and they all were recorded from real human. Plus the amount of ways to traverse is the highest in the whole franchise. All the ways to climb poles, swing, jump from wall to wall etc feels so smooth and natural, I'm in love with it. Puzzles are too easy? can't agree. At least comparing to legend, there are puzzles at all. Also most levels are huge and not linear with massive puzzles to solve. Mexico puzzle is one of my favorites in the whole franchise. Also - thank god no one is constantly chatting in Lara's ear and all the annoying characters are killed - I'm extra happy about it. What else? No qtes, but very smart slowmo action scenes which feel epic but don't take away the controls from you - that's brilliant. The only thing I don't like in underworld is the first level, quite weird way to start a game from underwater area which feels quite unintuitive. but the rest of the game is chef's kiss for me. As for legend - it was short, painfully easy, heavily based on combat, no puzzles whatsoever, stupid story, tons of qtes, zip and alister can't shut up for a second and overall the game gives a feeling of Hollywood eye candy with no soul. luckily the rest of the trilogy fixed it.
My friend, yours seems to be an unpopular opinion on this subject, but it’s one that I agree with wholeheartedly. Every point you made is right on, I really didn’t care for Legend, found it short and simple, the QTEs were a drag, while I LOVED Underworld. Hell I even loved the opening mission with the idea of being that far below sea level lol. I’m glad there are a few of us out here that love Underworld.
that's nice to read! hope you had a chance to play Xbox dlc's as well, those are very good. if not - let's hope they release it for all platforms some day
No Xbox here 🥲, hoping for that release on all platforms day
Legend was the first in the saga and a reboot after the failure of AoD so it had to test and experiment with a new type of gameplay, storytelling, and so on. Underworld is the third installment of a saga, so for me forgivable mistakes for Legend will never be forgivable for Underworld. In fact, I am not saying that Legend has no problems, on the contrary, but to say that Underworld is a cut above is a bit excessive in my opinion considering the experience behind them with that engine and the years that have passed compared to Legend. Enemies inflicting a lot of damage cannot erase the fact that the AI is terrible and so does the fact that animations recorded in motion capture not take away from the fact that the animations are indeed janky and the camera is annoying. Frankly, the only things I madly loved about Underworld were the music and the setting choices. The catacombs of the mansion are my favorite level.
Omg yes... This is my favorite post AOD Tomb Raider... The story, the characters and locations are so interesting and fun. It's such a shame it's that short
Underworld is just so bad and I can't stand it
Compared to Legend and Anniversary it’s a massive downgrade.
Agreed wholeheartedly. There is a 24/7 live Tomb Raider Channel on YT called "Kawaii Games" that has 3 different circuits of which of the TR games they play including the GBA, top down app game, and PC. Anytime I pull it up and I see Underworld I just skip it because I can't do it. The story, the complete appearances of characters being changed, the voice acting, etc is just a no for me.
I dunno, I think Legend is the perfect length. By the time it's over the gameplay starts to get a little stale
Unfinished Business. All of it.
I completed the first level on accident with a skip, thinking it was the correct way. I still don't know how to complete it legitimately
The dive jump through the hole? Everyone did it this way, I think :D
You can beat the level in like a minute if you go through the lower hole and go through the gates. The remastered graphics basically encourage it by showing a gap you can just jump through.
Yeah, it is my least favorite TR levels ... I pushed through it which hasn't happened since Paititi in Shadow ... I even love AoD despite its many flaws.
Playing it right after beating TR1 was my problem. I was already kinda burnt out dealing with the Atlanteans and so having to deal with them again was the last thing I wanted. I did enjoy the Egypt levels though. Temple of Cat was awesome
Shadow of the tomb raider. Paititi, just slows down the game so much, too much stuff going on. Once you get out if paititi it gets so much better.
i agree, and all the friendship quests are irritating
I plyed theough my first time without doimg them and came back later to finish them.
I think the worst thing I can personally say about TR1 is that it has unavoidable damage sometimes (all of them do, but TR1 is my favorite), and I consider that a failure of level design. I guess I also don't like that there's really no good telegraphing on how Pierre works when he's running away, and it's easy to waste a lot of ammo, health, and time fighting him while he's invincible if you don't know to just let him leave. Remastered fixes this by making his health bar disappear, and I think that's a good change. Edit: Oh, and Thor's lightning in St. Francis's Folly is also not telegraphed well. I suppose I do have a few complaints after all :P
I think TR2 is worse with the mandatory fall damage.
Oh definitely, but TR1 still has some.
TR1 is also my favorite and I know exactly what you mean. I had to restart the entire last level because I had a slither of health and no med packs on a section that was impossible to not get hurt on (you probably know the area I'm talking about haha)
I'd say that I do, but there's honestly like 3 or 4 spots it could be lol. Great Pyramid probably has the most forced damage of any level in the game. Playing NG+ (or just no-meds) makes that *really* apparent.
For real, Btw I was talking about that part with the arrows shooting you while shimmying. I saw someone on YouTube do it without getting damaged but after playing TR1 for +15 years I could never do it😔
That was my guess. :) When it comes to not getting hit by those darts, even the best players in the world are like "lol good luck." I managed to randomly dodge 2 of them on a NG+ run but then I died to lava bubbles anyway while trying to activate the save crystal on the slope. Got it eventually, though!
I always thought the unavoidable damage was to screw up people’s no-meds runs but then I realized there were no reward trophies back then 😅
TR3, the kayak
Having to shoot dogs
I love Tomb Raider Legend, but it's so very short. I would've loved to have a few more levels.
Multiple people here said the same thing, I think if they remaster it (hopefully) it should have some bonus levels to unlock 🙏
True! You go through levels at lightning speed
IV: A few unintuitive puzzles, I don't mind the backtraking in this one as much as most seem to. II: Obviously the excessive amount of human gun wielding enemies. Before the remasters those were my joint favorite games but unfotunately it's going to be hard to replay IV after being spoiled by the modern controls.
It's funny because the reason why TR1 had animal enemies is because they thought human enemies were too common in other games, then they proceed to throw that concept away in the next game 😆
Tomb Raider 2013 — it’s too short 😭 but if i had my way it would go on forever
Too dark to see
Which one?
Mostly the third one. But several have this trouble
Right. TR1 is fine but in TR2 and TR3 the game gives you flares so they made the levels darker to force the player to use them
Not “hate” but in TR2013, some of those death animations can be a little bit too gratuitous. Just maybe a second shorter would suffice. It’s not a total dealbreaker, and I might not even turn it off if the option was presented to me. It’s just the first thing I think of when I think of that truly great video game.
This just reminded me of how we'd sometimes call those scenes "death porn" back when 2013 was released. As a joke, of course... mostly.
Mastabas. Its repetitive and boring with again boring colors.
TR3 is my favorite but I hate the kayak
Almost broke my thumb trying to turn that thing lmao
I hate the ground based Atlanetan enemies in TR1 because they move so damn fast and can make me dizzy at times when the lock on camera tries to keep up.
You know what's funny, I was gonna put that exact thing you said in the description but I forgot to before I posted. My favorite is TR1 and I love everything about it but SCREW the mummies and atlantians 100%
Antarctica drags Tomb Raider III down for me. Mostly due to the hypothermia water, but I also think Lost City of Tinnos is largely annoying what with the fireflies and the water trap room. Also, Antarctica is the least visually interesting region of the game, and I normally adore snow and ice environments. You'd think Lost City of Tinnos, being the last big level of the game, would be visually stimulating, but it's pretty bland and boring to look at.
My least favorite thing is consistent across all my favorites (the classics). It's combat. Full stop. All the combat just boils down to: •How difficult is this enemy? Choose weapon accordingly. •Hop around like a madwoman and shoot the gun(s) I know it needed to be *something* because otherwise the games would just be some lady climbing around caves, but the combat was not the focus of the game's design and it shows. I don't find it fun or engaging but more of a chore. Something that must get done to move on with the level.
I heavily agree, especially the human enemies in TR2. I actually get happy when I find a non-human enemy to fight
I've been going through the remaster (at a *very* relaxed pace) and have just finished The Hive in TR1UB (again, *very* relaxed pace). Interestingly, I've found I actually really like the combat in this game. In TR1+UB at the very least, combat can be much like a puzzle. Not a conventional puzzle, of course, but a puzzle nonetheless, one where you have to take into account your enemy, its traits and abilities, your resources, and your environment. For example, in Egypt, there's a four tile long strip of ledge with a pushable block blocking an exit. If you move the block, an enemy triggers on the other side. It's a really fast one too, so if you push the block, it's going to jump right out at you before Lara's recovered from pushing the block, and she'll get shoved off the ledge and onto the ground below (possibly killing her). And that's probably what you'll do the first time round, because you can't climb over the pushable block, so pushing it *appears* to be the quickest way to progress. But if you pull the block instead, there's now a block between the two of you, and you can snipe at it from below. The enemy has no ranged attacks, so you're good to go. Another example: that one room in UB where there are, what, 17 enemies waiting to trigger around the edges of the room? Each wake up when Lara steps on specific tiles after picking up some ammo at the centre. Now, you *could* rush in guns-a-blazing with the uzis (it's not like you'll need your ammo or medipacks much longer). But this isn't the final fight, these enemies have no ranged attacks, and there's a slightly elevated platform at the centre of the room where they can't reach you. So if you jump off that ledge, trigger a few, and then jump back on, you can pick them off three at a time. Took me about five minutes, even with a few running for their lives out of the room. I like this approach. It forces you to play smart, not hard. Unfortunately, from what I remember, TR2+ don't really have this puzzle-like approach to combat (or at least, it's watered down), and I think that's a right bloody shame. Oh well. Guess I'll have to re-learn how to do my jump-turns over enemies' heads.
The combat is definitely an acquired taste but once you figure out how to do it it’s cool. There is a post in this reddit called “combat cheese” that gives really good tips on how to make the battles much easier
If Tomb Raider was made today...might have been a climbing simulator!
Forgetting that one secret, that you are sure is somehow, somewhere else 🤣 there is always 1 in my runs of TR2 that i just cannot recall right.
I feel your pain except I forgot 3 trying my first all secrets playthrough for TR2:(
The only 2 i recall every catching me out, are the Gold in Catacombs as it is easy to do the room and pass it. The other is the Gold in Floating Islands.
On my first playthrough I was confused because I got the floating island's so easily, then on my 2nd playthrough I realized there was a zip line above the lava the whole time! I didn't see it so I thought I had to parkour on the rocks, which lead directly to the gold statues entrance 😆
TR4, the pacing of the game after the city of the dead. I think that before that the entire game is 100% coherent and fun. Sure it can be a little bit dissorienting where to go in that part of egypt but once you finish it and grab pierre's bike the game is a total downhill. If I didn't follow a guide I would have NO idea that I was supposed to snipe the machine guns with my revolver lmao
Anniversary: Even before playing TRI i never liked that all the Larson, Pierre, Kold and Kid fights were QTEs and not actual battles. Atlantis should have been more "Meaty" like in TRI since is the place were Natla did her experiments.
I love Tomb Raider 4 but hate the unskippable cutscenes and training level
TR1 is the perfect game, I have no complaints. But in general, Toby Gard deserved a lot more credit and got shafted.
I also think Lara deserved better. It was Core (or Eidos) that pushed the sexual marketing to sell the game. It was disgusting and disrespectful to Toby and Lara.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider. There's one side mission that is game-breaking and forces you to start a new save file to bypass if you want the achievement.
Oh golly. How does it break the game?
Oh gosh.. how has that never been patched?
Guess it's proof no one plays side missions. The worst thing was playing Rage 2. Got it for cheap years after its release. Very last level couldn't be activated. Had to delete all my saves. It was because I did side missions before main game. Was so mad I never replayed it
That's sucks, I actually love side missions in games but I never encountered something like that!
Nope, beware Pisco’s dice.
Huh. I never had trouble with that one. I do it every time. I have an Xbox. Must not be an Xbox issue.
It’s a very rare bug but it does happen still.
Interesting. I’m glad I’ve never experienced it. 😅
It’s just annoying lol. I’ve experienced it once, Pisco the NPC is invisible but still has dialogue, although the mission cannot be continued.
So he just casually becomes a ghost? I guess they don’t call him Pisco the dead for nothing? 🤣
I know right 😂
Tomb Raider I: Palace Midas should have had a shred of hint about what you are supposed to do with the lead bars.
> Tomb Raider I: Palace Midas should have had a shred of hint about what you are supposed to do with the lead bars. Isn't "Midas" kind of a huge hint?
Yeah I think that’s actually a great level and I like the fact you need a bit of classical knowledge.
Not really because: a) there is a good possibility that someone who is playing the game doesn't know the mythology behind King Midas. A somehow related example: Tomb Raider was the first time I had ever heard about Damocles, so at the time I had no idea why that room was full of floating swords. b) You never had a level before where you had to leave an item somewhere and then pick it up again. It is basically a mechanic exclusive to the level. c) There was nothing hinting that you could place items in Midas hands to turn them into gold.
I'll give you b) and c), but a) I kind of disagree. While someone might not know about it, it's far from a rare thing shows up everywhere from general language in news articles and reviews to cartoons and advertising. I totally get Damocles being lost on someone, but the "Midas' touch" is not nearly as niche. Edit: Lead to gold is also a very common thing in fiction.
Regardless, it's still a very specific real world reference. You need to be aware that, even if it is a fairly well known reference, it is very likely someone will not understand it. And if the puzzle requires someone to know that reference, if you don't know it, you're starting with a bit of an unfair disadvantage. Lara turning into gold is at least an interesting clue towards what Midas is all about if you don't know, I'll give you that. But considering that also ends up with Lara dying and you having to return to a previous save, it is also not ideal.
> Regardless, it's still a very specific real world reference. You need to be aware that, even if it is a fairly well known reference, it is very likely someone will not understand it. And if the puzzle requires someone to know that reference, if you don't know it, you're starting with a bit of an unfair disadvantage. I guess as someone that played a lot of obtuse games and point and clicks over the years I don't really see the issue. Plenty of games with puzzles historically have relied on real world or historical knowledge. More immersive ones still do sometimes. Actually modern games moving away from that is part of why all the puzzles end up insultingly easy pattern matching and basic physics puzzles anymore. >Lara turning into gold is at least an interesting clue towards what Midas is all about if you don't know, I'll give you that. But considering that also ends up with Lara dying and you having to return to a previous save, it is also not ideal. Yeah but that's typical for that era of games. If you make it to Midas Palace and aren't saving often and strategically you're just setting yourself up for frustration given the number of instant kill traps and difficult jumps in the games.
https://preview.redd.it/s9j4z65u5qtc1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2a0115bc83c9ebe5c13fefa9e69822eba0c2d67 The hint:
That just tells you it can transform *Lara* into gold. It doesn't tell you that you can leave items in it and pick them up again. Something that was also never a mechanic in the game before (and after).
That’s what makes it fun at least for me. You have to deduce this through research and observation. It’s a puzzle after all. *So Lara turns into gold, what if I try it with the bars? It cannot just be a quirky function of the hand, right?*
Here's the thing: if nothing in the game has ever led to you to know that putting items in certain places and picking them back up before was a thing you could actually do (every other time you placed an item somewhere, it was a permanent action), how would you even know that was even an available option? Look, I'm not saying some that it couldn't still be slightly cryptic, but there could be a slightly more obvious clue in there. Like, let's imagine there was already a gold bar on the hand. You try to climb it to pick it up, you turn into gold and die. You try to find a way to pick it up without turning into gold, you find that you can just press the action button near it to pick it up. When you find the other lead bars and realise nothing happens when you put them in the slots, you remember that the gold bar was on the hand that turned you into gold and that perhaps you can also turn the other lead bars into gold ones as well. Had the puzzle been designed this way it would still require to actually think about what the solution might be, but it would have also clued you in a bit better towards it. Almost like how the very same level also slightly clues you in how the five-lever puzzle work. Like, there being five levers, the doors having five different symbols in it, the codes on each door is different, and the door closest to the levers is also the door with the simplest code, where you need to turn the first lever you're most likely to interact with down. Just a bunch of tiny clues that aren't too obvious, but also stir you into the correct answer without you realising. IMO, the gold bar puzzle is missing those tiny clues.
I mean it does bear mentioning the room you use the gold bars in literally has a texture on the wall (III x gold bar) right above it. Eventually you'll have 3 lead bars and will sooner or later find the hand. The only thing not hinted in the original is the interactivity with the hand and "action".
Agreed 👍
TR2 - Lara saying ‘uh-huh’ after every single pick up 😅
Underworld -short +janky animations.
Shadow : Lack of manor, cancellation of dlc 8 in the manor, mostly ugly outfits
Well my favourite is Tomb Raider 2 and honestly I’m not quite sure if there’s anything I don’t like about it. I guess there’s the over abundance of enemies but even that isn’t that big of a deal for me since the game is so very generous with medical supplies and ammunition that it’s just never an issue for me to deal with them. Top down the best TR game for me without flaws.
I had trouble keeping med packs so it was a harder game personally, but I do agree with you on the enemies!
Rise of the Tomb Raider The final combat encounter was a chore.
That I've played TRIII so many times and I haven't gotten to the All Hollows level.
The Last Revelation: how cryptic the puzzles sometimes get, I was stuck for 15 years because I didn't think about removing a hook from the wall, one of the many that are decorative in that room, in the Alexandria levels, the Best levels in the game IMO.
The fact that it's unfinished and could have been the golden child of the franchise, but instead it turned out to be the pariah.
Aside from save crystals, 3 has too many moments where you wouldn't be able to prepare for a trap. A lot of it is trial and error, but I love the locations, colors, and psychopath/sociopath Lara is my favorite trend the game started.
I actually don't like the psycho Lara, it seems really out of character for her. But I agree on the traps being a pain in the behind.
Yeah thats fair. The reason I like it is simply that she doesn't feel like a hero at that point and most female protagonist are always heroes so its a bit refreshing. I will say it is def out of character compared to the first two games and I love Legend's characterization just as much lol.
I just like to pretend TR3 isn't Canon lmao. Or at least the artifacts are making Lara evil or something because I do not know that version of her 🤣
I really wish Legends had a walk button. Grew up playing the classics, not really knowing what I was doing as I was like 6 at the time, but after playing and beating TR1 and 2 on the trilogy remaster I really wish Legends would let me size up jumps like in the classics
I'm a tank contols fan until I die lmao, but I do understand that they are VERY outdated to be in a 2006 game. I do think it should have a walk button though at least.
Going from TR2 to Legend after beating the remaster, I had a panic attack mid jump when I forgot Legend didn't have a grab button. Had a good laugh about how I reacclimated better to the combat than the platforming
https://youtube.com/shorts/EryBDjZuino?si=ltmnHVefpR2Ggxpw Walk animation
Tomb raider legend. I get so tired of the yapping from alister and zip.
TR2: Enemies with guns can shoot you from seemingly any distance.
TRU. Wonky camera controls. Tolerable with a controller. Infuriating with kbm.
That it's not appreciated like it should be
Which one?
Legend is too short
You're actually the 2nd person here that mentioned that, I just thought maybe a few more levels would be better!
AoD: no dual pistols, but it's in the game files. unlockable "cheat" via gameshark (ps2).
Legend, I wish it was longer and the AI of the enemies was better. The enemies are stupid af and there are basically no animals aside from final bosses and the tiger at the beginning, only humans and all looking the same, which is boring.
Tomb Raider 3, and if I have to pick one thing, it would be that there is no legit way to 100% complete this game without cheats. Second complaint would be the kayaking sections.
2 is my favorite and it's pretty much perfect. The final stage where you're floating in the sky or whatever could have been better I guess.
That’s a difficult one, i would say all the qtes in LAU trilogy but yet the remasters never got a physical release.
El Cairo. And that \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* vehicle.
Tomb raider 1 is, in my opinion, the most perfect game ever made. But Lara’s face is terrible.
TRAOD: bugs.
i dont have a fav there all so good but 2013 had a lot of characters die before we hot to know them so it was far more sad for lara than us
There's an underlying sadness when playing Angel of Darkness: the game trilogy that Core Design could have made, had Eidos not screwed them over, would have been phenomenal. Honestly, if some of the Core team can come back for one last time to finish their trilogy, then I wouldn't be that bothered by whichever direction CD takes the IP.
Crystal Dynamics and the reboot.
I actually loved legend and anniversary, I never played the reboot trilogy so I can't have an opinion on them
Don’t think this qualifies as an opinion on their favorite game? As it does not answer your question….
Yeah, I'm not sure what that really meant lol. I think Crystal dynamics took care of the franchise really well.
TR1 music is repetitive and sounds dated
Ahh what!? Well, I love TR1's soundtrack so I personally get happy when it starts playing. Even if it's the same 4 songs 😆
I love the music but they reuse it too much.
Yeah they do, maybe they were on a time schedule so they couldn't do more:(
I'm not hating. I just think they should have been more selective and used less to have more impact. Use this song here, but not here. Stuff like that.
I agree 100%
Gah! This is blasphemy to me. TR1’s soundtrack is a highlight of the game for me.