(First time playthrough as part of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered)
The first Tomb Raider is a solid 3D platformer that, while it definitely shows its age in some areas, excels in others. Above all else, it is a unique game that could unfortunately not be made today -- not for any stupid culture war reasons, but because its game design, as compelling as it may be, is decidedly at odds with that of modern action/adventure games. The fact that these games even got a (great) remaster at all is a surprise, but certainly a welcome one.
Like many early 3D games, Tomb Raider is light on story, sending Lara on the hunt for an artifact in Peru after a short introductory cutscene. There's probably about five minutes of dialogue across the entire game, if that -- and most of that occurs in the final level. Still, cheesy as the writing may be, Lara and Natla's personalities come through well, and I imagine Lara is given a bit more development in the later classic games.
With the story almost entirely in the backseat, the clear focus of Tomb Raider is in the gameplay. I had heard the horror stories of the game's tank controls, but as a big fan of the original Resident Evil, I found them quite comfortable, and quickly gave up trying to use the new "modern" control scheme included in the remaster. Unlike the newer Tomb Raider or Uncharted games, platforming is the main source of difficulty. You don't just tap a button to automatically grab the next platform, you have to manually line the jumps up with the D-Pad and the jump button, accounting for distance if necessary. There's little handholding, and jumping too far or too short will usually mean Lara's untimely demise. This might sound miserable on paper, but in practice, it just works; as you practice the platforming and controls, you gain enough confidence to bounce through levels without taking time to line your jumps up. It's a simple system that rewards mastery, and the precision of the tank controls means that any platforming-related death is firmly the fault of the player.
While the platforming is great, the rest of the gameplay has not aged so gracefully. There is plenty of combat, especially in the Egypt and Atlantis levels, and it is clunky at best, terrible at worst. There is (thankfully?) no manual aiming: Lara will lock on to targets in front of her and you can blast them apart with ease. The annoyances come in when there are multiple enemies or you have to fight in a tight space; the camera is a mess in combat, and the fact that you have to flip through the air to reliably avoid damage only exacerbates the issues. Some of the later enemies will also jump around you faster than the camera can keep up, leading to some headache inducing fights. I'm not sure how they could have done the combat differently here, but even when you're only dealing with one enemy at a time, it's more tedious than challenging.
Another issue I have with the game is the lack of variety. Although there are 15 levels, this is spread across four different zones, with each level largely having the same aesthetic and challenges as the other levels in the same zone. This is less of an issue in Peru and Atlantis, but Greece and Egypt feel repetitive and samey (Greece, in particular, has no reason to be five levels long). I would have liked to see more locations with fewer levels each for the sake of shaking up some of the monotony. Similarly, although I tend to like the obtuse '90s level design and exploration, it doesn't feel very rewarding once you realize that you're only going to be finding medkits and ammo that, in all likelihood, you won't need. Making ammo and health more rare, or having treasures to loot, may have worked better for me here.
Overall, I enjoyed playing through the first Tomb Raider and look forward to starting the sequels soon. Although there are a number of shortcomings due to its age and being the first entry in the series, I had a good time, and the platforming is fun and unlike anything else on the market today.
The first Tomb Raider is a solid 3D platformer that, while it definitely shows its age in some areas, excels in others. Above all else, it is a unique game that could unfortunately not be made today -- not for any stupid culture war reasons, but because its game design, as compelling as it may be, is decidedly at odds with that of modern action/adventure games. The fact that these games even got a (great) remaster at all is a surprise, but certainly a welcome one.
Like many early 3D games, Tomb Raider is light on story, sending Lara on the hunt for an artifact in Peru after a short introductory cutscene. There's probably about five minutes of dialogue across the entire game, if that -- and most of that occurs in the final level. Still, cheesy as the writing may be, Lara and Natla's personalities come through well, and I imagine Lara is given a bit more development in the later classic games.
With the story almost entirely in the backseat, the clear focus of Tomb Raider is in the gameplay. I had heard the horror stories of the game's tank controls, but as a big fan of the original Resident Evil, I found them quite comfortable, and quickly gave up trying to use the new "modern" control scheme included in the remaster. Unlike the newer Tomb Raider or Uncharted games, platforming is the main source of difficulty. You don't just tap a button to automatically grab the next platform, you have to manually line the jumps up with the D-Pad and the jump button, accounting for distance if necessary. There's little handholding, and jumping too far or too short will usually mean Lara's untimely demise. This might sound miserable on paper, but in practice, it just works; as you practice the platforming and controls, you gain enough confidence to bounce through levels without taking time to line your jumps up. It's a simple system that rewards mastery, and the precision of the tank controls means that any platforming-related death is firmly the fault of the player.
While the platforming is great, the rest of the gameplay has not aged so gracefully. There is plenty of combat, especially in the Egypt and Atlantis levels, and it is clunky at best, terrible at worst. There is (thankfully?) no manual aiming: Lara will lock on to targets in front of her and you can blast them apart with ease. The annoyances come in when there are multiple enemies or you have to fight in a tight space; the camera is a mess in combat, and the fact that you have to flip through the air to reliably avoid damage only exacerbates the issues. Some of the later enemies will also jump around you faster than the camera can keep up, leading to some headache inducing fights. I'm not sure how they could have done the combat differently here, but even when you're only dealing with one enemy at a time, it's more tedious than challenging.
Another issue I have with the game is the lack of variety. Although there are 15 levels, this is spread across four different zones, with each level largely having the same aesthetic and challenges as the other levels in the same zone. This is less of an issue in Peru and Atlantis, but Greece and Egypt feel repetitive and samey (Greece, in particular, has no reason to be five levels long). I would have liked to see more locations with fewer levels each for the sake of shaking up some of the monotony. Similarly, although I tend to like the obtuse '90s level design and exploration, it doesn't feel very rewarding once you realize that you're only going to be finding medkits and ammo that, in all likelihood, you won't need. Making ammo and health more rare, or having treasures to loot, may have worked better for me here.
Overall, I enjoyed playing through the first Tomb Raider and look forward to starting the sequels soon. Although there are a number of shortcomings due to its age and being the first entry in the series, I had a good time, and the platforming is fun and unlike anything else on the market today.