For the longest time I have been absolutely obsessed with the Tomb Raider games that were released to play on PC. The first game I played was Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, I was about 6 years old and fell in love with the games ever since. The progression from game to game also has not disappointed, with each one adding new mechanics as well as updating the Lara Croft model. Not to forget that the soundtracks for most of the games are also absolutely amazing!
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So let's get to it, here are a few things I adore about each of the Tomb Raider games I played:
Tomb Raider II - 1997
I remember playing this game with a friend of mine, we sat staring at our CRT monitor and played level by level together, trying to find our way around places from around the world such as China, Venice, Tibet and England. This game is a favorite of mine, not only because of the memories, but each level was well thought out and had it's own unique challenges to it. The ability to ride a snowmobile was also pretty damn cool at the time.Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft - 1998
I could never really get into this game, it seemed a little hap-hazard in terms of story and I would always get stuck in the South Pacific, in this stupid kayak and never really managed to figure that one out, so I gave up and have since tried to replay it about 4 times and never really getting anywhere other than past the first area which was India. I think her face in this image effectively describes how I felt while playing this level.
Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation - 1999
This game was of course the first I ever played, and obviously my favorite. The entire game is basically revolved around tombs in Egypt and has a lot of intricate tombs with puzzles that have to be completed before you can proceed. I was rather young when I tried this game and I remember being absolutely terrified when I got to the Chambers of Tulun in Cairo. The Minotaur Guardian that protected the passage to the Citadel Gate was terrifying enough and then the developers decided to add the creepiest music when you first encounter this enemy.(
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Tomb Raider V: Chronicles - 2000
With the ending of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, I think it was surprising to see that Chronicles was released. The game was essentially had Lara Croft's friends / associates discussing past stories about her, as she was thought to be dead. The story takes you through some dark pasts as a young Lara to deep sea diving to find the Spear of Divinity and absolutely demolishing a submarine with that search.Tomb Raider VI: The Angel of Darkness - 2003
This game introduced a rather odd romance if you could even call it that, between a character called Kurtis Trent (which you also got the chance to play as) and Lara herself. It was difficult to not sense the chemistry they had, especially with the intimate cut scene that had him remove her weapons. Besides that the game also introduced new mechanics such as a limited time to climbing a ledge (that one got me killed many times) to the ability to scale walls silently. The fact that Lara was basically a fugitive for most of the game made it all the more intriguing - having to find alternative routes and secret passages to escape those that were hunting her.Tomb Raider: Legend - 2006
This was the first game in the three part series that involved Anniversary and Underworld. The game had a revamped Lara Croft, with some pretty mean gymnastic moves. This game included an emotional roller coaster regarding Lara and her mother as well as her long lost friend Amanda. It was awesome to play and had a few extra challenges such as bronze, silver and gold artifacts to collect as well as a time-trial for those players that wanted to complete the game 100%. And let's not forget this:(
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Tomb Raider: Anniversary - 2007
The next part of the three part series of games (which was a huge remodel of Tomb Raider I) Anniversary saw Lara searching for the Scion with the antagonist Jacqueline Natla close behind Lara, with her goons. From fighting dinosaurs to lions, crocodiles; to the more mystical centaur, mummy-cat and finally an enraged Natla.Tomb Raider: Underworld - 2008
The final part of the three part series, which was based around finding Avalon, which was later discovered to be known as Helheim and this basically mean't it was the Norse underworld. This was all to search for her mother who disappeared in Nepal, shown in Legend.Tomb Raider - 2013
Admittedly upon hearing about the release of this game and how the developers where trying to make the game feel more open world as well as play Lara as a survivalist, I hated the idea. Upon playing and finishing the game I truly think it was amazing. Lara was put through so many traumatizing occurrences that really give a background to how Lara Croft was truly made. I honestly felt engorged in the story and felt terribly for all the pain Lara had to endure.
I mean come on, she literally got impaled about 5 minutes into the game!
Rise of the Tomb Raider - 2015
This game felt way more open world to me than it's predecessor, it also allowed the player to understand the maturity growth from the innocent Lara Croft we knew to the Tomb Raider that she has become and is displayed as in the other games that exist. The game was a thrilling experience that took Lara through many beautiful landscapes each with their own adventure, the only qualm I have with this game is that the finale is usually something unexpected and challenging to beat. This game however kept the finale more realistic and really did not challenge the player in anyway.
"The extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are." - Lara Croft
Hope you enjoyed this, as much as I enjoyed ranting about how awesome Tomb Raider is!