As influential action/adventure titles on the PlayStation are concerned, Tomb Raider is pretty high up on the list. While Tomb Raider wasn’t a PlayStation exclusive (available on both PC and Sega Saturn), it’s safe to say a lot of players were first introduced to Lara Croft on their PlayStation consoles in the late 90’s, myself included. I didn’t buy this game new as it came out a couple years before I picked up my PS but I knew of it and knew it was considered one of the best titles for the system so I grabbed a used copy and gave it shot. I remember being pretty amazed by the graphics and gameplay and having a lot of fun solving the puzzles (loved these types of games since Zelda). 20 years later, I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with anyone who claims it to be a classic but also a flawed game. There are certainly aspects of Tomb Raider that haven’t aged well such as controls, as any 3D adventure platformer that doesn’t utilize dual analog controls might suggest. I have fallen off too many cliffs than I can count while misjudging distance or my orientation to the edge of the cliff. However, the concept of a you controlling a bad-ass woman with a gun and a sense of adventure, as a female Indiana Jones type, was certainly welcome in the 90’s. The game itself is huge with lots of tombs & temples to explore, puzzles to solve and monsters to dispose of.
Tomb Raider, in spite of its iconic status, is a game I’ve never finished. I can’t remember how far I got back in the day but I recall playing it for quite some time before finally moving on to something else. In spite of the fact I never finished it, I remember this being one of the first 3D games I learned how to play and it did take quite a bit of time for me to master how to look all around you in near first person perspective as well as the mechanics to aim and shoot in a 3D environment. To this day, this is not something I’m terribly proficient at despite Tomb Raider’s attempts at helping me figure it out for the next generation of gaming. I couldn’t spend a month with my PlayStation and not admit Tomb Raider was a flagship title and a late 90’s classic. All hail Lara Croft and her angularly shaped breasts!
Rating: B+
Currently in my collection: game, manual, case
Cartridge Corner 