System Requirements :
- Windows 95/98
- Pentium PC 166 Mhz (200 Mhz recommended)
- 16Mb RAM (32Mb RAM rec.)
- Quad-speed CD-ROM Drive
- DirectX 6.0 (included on CD)
- Supports most major 3D acceleration graphics cards and compatible
soundcards through DirectX 6.0
The Tomb Raider Trilogy
brings together the first three games in the successful Lara Croft franchise.
To summarise:
Tomb Raider:
Experience the original classic adventure that introduced
the most popular digital character in history and set a standard for all future
games. For the first time adventurer Lara Croft has been hired to recover the
pieces of an ancient artefact known as the Scion.
Tomb Raider II:
Lara Croft returns in Tomb Raider II to discover the secret of the dagger of
the Xian. Featuring an enhanced Lara, this game proved to be the sequel of the
year in 1997: it combined more moves for Lara plus enhanced elements and all-new
features.
Tomb Raider III:
The third game combines the best elements of its predecessors and takes Lara
Croft on a search to find four mysterious artefacts fashioned from the heart of
an ancient meteorite. Featuring vast locations and more puzzle-solving,
this game felt like more of a continuing story in Lara's life rather than a
great advancement.
If you choose to buy
Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artefact,
you will also get the five extra levels that come with that edition.
What's new for the Tomb Raider Trilogy?
It's worth noting that the PC specifications atop this review are for the
third game, the first two not requiring as fast a PC, but then if you haven't
got a spec. this high, you're more likely to purchase the individual games
rather than this collection.
Actions
The following are the moves used in Tomb Raider II which also includes
the basics for the first game.
Moving
Running, walking and taking side-steps are basic operations that performs as
you'd imagine, but after performing a forward jump, pressing down or roll
will make Lara somersault in mid-air and land facing the opposite direction.
This also works when taking a backward jump if you press up or roll.
Swimming
While underwater Lara can hold her breath for about two minutes, and the
direction keys will control where she goes in conjunction with the jump key
which will push her forward. She can also pull levers and pick up objects
underwater by getting as close as you can and pressing Action.
Lara can also swim on the surface, with the side-step buttons making her
swim sideways in those directions. Pressing jump will make Lara dive, while
Action will make her climb out.
In this sequel, Lara can now wade in shallow water. Controls are similar to
those when walking, except Lara can only jump on the spot, and her movement is
slower.
Attacking
Lara begins the game carrying a two pistols for John Woo-style two-handed
action, plus a shotgun, but along the way she will find semi-automatic pistols,
an M16 gun as well as a grenade launcher.
Other actions
Lara can vault over some obstacles by pressing Up and Action together.
It's also interesting to note that when climbing up to a surface that can be
jumped onto, you can also stand in front of it, jump up, THEN press action
and you'll finish standing on it instead of having to pull yourself up.
Some walls are climbable, and in one of her new moves, Lara can climb
up a wall by pressing Up and Action to jump and hang onto a handhold. Pressing
the cursor keys will move her in the direction required, and jump will make Lara
jump backwards away from the wall.
If Lara is near to a ledge while jumping, holding the Action key will make her
grab the ledge in front of her and hang there. She can then either shimmy across
from side to side or pull herself up.
The Action key can be used to pick up objects by standing in front of them,
be they objects already on the ground, or left behind by dead baddies after they
have fallen to the ground. Similarly, the Action key will activate switches in
front of her.
When Lara is in the correct position to use one of the objects she has
collected to solve a puzzle, pressing Action will call up the Inventory
Ring enabling you to select the required item.
When in a dark area, a flare is available to illuminate the situation.
These last for about a minute, and will remain in Lara's hand while vaulting,
running or climbing. However, if Lara draws her weapons she will drop it.
It can, however, be thrown a short distance first by pressing the flare button
again.
The look button, when used in conjunction with the cursor keys, allows
Lara to look in all available directions. If you're not facing forward when
trying to line Lara up for a jump, pressing Look on its own will make her
face forward.
When using vehicles, the cursor keys will take her in the requisite
direction. Holding down 'Walk' will make her vehicle travel slower, while
'Action' will make her travel faster or fire weapons if the vehicle has that
capability. Pressing Jump and either left or right, will choose which side to
exit.
Additional Actions for Tomb Raider III
Moving
Sprinting is now a possibility. Need a quick burst of energy? Don't
have another doughnut, just press the Sprint key. A small energy bar will
appear and when that bar depletes Lara will revert back to a run.
Other actions
Lara is now able to Duck and Crawl by pressing the crawl key and holding
that down whilst using the cursor keys. If Lara is not able to stand up, then
holding this key down is not necessary, but when she is able to stretch her
pixelated legs, she will resume her erect position.
Monkey is not only the name of a highly-popular Japanese TV show from the
1980s, but is also one-half of the phrase Monkey Swing and if Lara
discovers an overhead frame she may decide to "Monkey Swing" across it.
To perform this, press the Jump key and then Action to jump and then cling onto
the frame. Keep the Action key held down whilst pressing the cursor keys to
move Lara in your chosen direction.
Pressing the Left and Right cursor keys will cause Lara to rotate, while
releasing the Action key will drop Lara like a stone.
And one other thing...
Unlike the first two games, after completing the India levels, you will be
presented with an Area Selection screen, allowing you to choose which one of
the three remaining areas to visit first: London, South Pacific or Area 51.
You can choose each of these in any order and upon completion, you shall finish
up in Antarctica for the final leg of your journey.
Graphics, Sound and Playability
As ever, there's great fluidity and movement in the game engine, displaying
crisp, fast and smooth graphics. However, if the Lara series is to continue
beyond adventure No.4, things will have to change radically.
The sound effects and music match this too. From the music on the start
screen, to the special effects and music which shout out at you during the game,
everything is very good indeed, but still the same.
The playability is spot-on throughout the series. The controls allow Lara to
move simply around the environment be it simply running, or running along up to
a ledge, performing a forward roll and then pressing Action to hold onto the ledge
before swinging forward to clear certain items. Sounds like a complicated
manoeuvre, but it could be the sort of movement you'll need to perform many
a time.
Overall
Now four games on - including a turn on the Dreamcast console - and the cult
of Lara Croft continues. When Lara was portrayed in the media by
model-turned-Pepsi Chart Show presenter Rhona Mitra, Ms. Mitra
was due to release a single in the UK a while back called Raiders. It
never materialised in this country, but France were allowed to hear her dulcet
tones on an album entitled Come Alive which was more like an extended
12" single, since most of the tracks are remixes, but on the plus-side, it was
produced by Dave Stewart.
Afterwards, came Man-O-Man chicken-skinned-bimbo-turned-model
Nell McAndrew (real first name: Tracey). It was when she appeared naked
and bald that she came to the fore, but I really wished she'd been left at the
"three" as she turned out as appealing as Sinead O'Connor's lesbian sister.
After a brief spell for Lara Weller, the model on the right, is the
current Lara, 16-year-old Lucy Clarkson, thus replicating the young
16-year-old Lara in level one of
Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation,
although the film version will be portrayed by Angelina Jolie.
Tomb Raider Trilogy is a package that's going to appeal to those new
to the series in the main and is out not long after the fourth game was
released on PC, Playstation and Dreamcast. Sure, games with much better graphics
have come out since these three were released but if you haven't given Lara
a spin for yourself, this is certainly a great package with which to get
started.
GRAPHICS
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ORIGINALITY
ENJOYMENT
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OVERALL
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Please check out my reviews for Lara's separate adventures in :
If you're after some more info on Eidos Interactive's games, you can check
out their official Website at
www.eidosinteractive.com or
the
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.
[Up to the top of this page]
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
