Since they've cropped up a couple times in recent discussions, I got a hankering for a classic Tomb Raider game earlier, but couldn't decide which to play.
At first, I booted up my half-complete save file on Tomb Raider II, only to remember why I'd abandoned that particular playthrough. Lara was stuck aboard a sunken wreck, and there's just something about that environment which makes me wanna quit, so I did yet again.
Then I considered starting Tomb Raider III, but I didn't wanna spend ages fiddling with a bunch of settings and custom launchers to make my PC copy sing, and there's no way I'm gonna attempt a cold start on the PSone version, not when its save system is so needlessly intransigent. I'd need to get "in the zone" with Lara's tank controls in order to survive what is considered her toughest outing.
So I'm now a couple hours into Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, a.k.a. the only classic Tomb Raider game I've never properly played before... and I'm kicking myself for that oversight right now, because I'm having the time of my life. Once you get past Von Croy's painstakingly patronising tutorial, the first few Egyptian stages are some of the best I've ever experienced, with some creepy claustrophobic crypts giving way to a rotating cylindrical chamber which was great fun to figure out. I've just survived a wonky-but-charming Jeep chase through the Valley of the Kings, and now I'm off to Karnak. Some of the platforming puzzles and traps have been challenging (to say the least) but the ability to save anywhere, at any time, is a huge help, and the difficulty doesn't feel unfair, either. I'm very impressed!
Particularly since Core Design never wanted to make this game in the first place!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger Well that’s great timing, I installed Tomb Raider II on my Vita last night, so that I can start it tonight! I did enjoy the first one even with the weird controls and rather irritating final level so hoping the second game’s as good.
@nessisonett Sweet! If it helps, I really did enjoy the first half of Tomb Raider II. It feels very different to its predecessor, though, in terms of gameplay balance and design, and it'll take every opportunity to kill you, so be on your guard and make plenty of saves whenever it's safe to do so. Hope you have fun!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Halo 3. Since Spyro the Dragon has been a disappointment for me, I dropped that for the time being and switched to Halo 3 on my Series X. I don't remember playing much of the campaign, if any at all, when it was first released on the Xbox 360. My slow road to going through the Halo series so I can finally play Halo Infinite's campaign continues though, and so far I'm enjoying it.
PSN ID/Xbox Live Gamertag: KilloWertz
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@RogerRoger I usually love a sunken wreck location, but it drags on for too long and outstays its welcome in Tomb Raider II. It didn't help that the levels just before it were also dreary, modern, man-made areas.
The Last Revelation is my favourite of the classic Core Design Tomb Raiders. It can get tricky, but it's fairer and has a much better difficulty curve than TR III.
I've been having a go at "Die Hard Arcade" on the Sega Saturn. It's extremely strange - kind of a "Streets of Rage" or "Final Fight" style brawler but on a one stage at a time basis with quick time events in between each level to disguise the loading. It's also pretty obvious that the game has been hastily repurposed from something else entirely to cash in on the popularity of the "Die Hard" franchise by throwing in a Nakatomi logo here and a wife beater vest there. It's strangely compulsive - I'm really enjoying it but admittedly that might just be down to the novelty of playing a new (old) game on a new (old) system.
@crimsontadpoles Ah, thanks! Glad it's not just me who groans at the thought of the Maria Doria. I will admit that, whilst I didn't mind the change of pace Tomb Raider II represented, the one-two punch of Venice and the offshore oil drilling platform definitely made me crave something a bit more traditional. Perhaps that's part of the disappointment as well, then.
Real pleased to hear a positive take on The Last Revelation, as the general consensus tends to overlook or outright dismiss it. I'm excited to get back to it later this evening!
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@LN78 In my (admittedly limited) experience, Die Hard games have always felt like they started out life as something else entirely, and got a licence slapped over the top months before launch. Which is a shame, as most Die Hard movies have plots well-suited to videogame structure.
Nevertheless, I'm glad you're having fun with it regardless, and that your new Saturn works!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger I think that's probably quite fitting as a couple of the "Die Hard" movie sequels started out as stand alone films or entries into other action franchises. As far as the Saturn goes, I absolutely love the out of the box six button controller - the D-Pad is superb. On the negative side, words cannot express how much I hate the standard issue game cases. They're unbelievably awful.
@LN78 That's a good point, I didn't think of that but you're right, they did shop around for pre-existing scripts or novels to adapt. Die Hard With a Vengeance being the most notable, I believe?
Yeah, apparently the Saturn controller is considered one of the best of its generation, if not the best, by many aficionados, at least in relation to the Saturn's library. I've always thought that the MegaDrive controllers were far superior to their Nintendo contemporaries, as well. Glad you've got a good one!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger Insofar as I can tell this machine has been undisturbed in its box for quite a while. I couldn't understand why I had to reset the date, time and language every time I switched it on so I assumed it was a fault caused by a melted capacitor or something. A little research revealed that there is a port on the back of the console housing a coin battery slot for powering the memory and the internal clock. I popped a new one in and Bob's your uncle - good as new. But yeah I can completely understand why this system is so beloved of tournament fighting fans - and why so many of that type of game are available for it.
@LN78 I’ve heard seriously fantastic things about the Saturn’s D-Pad. Tempted to pick up a repro of one, the best I’ve tried is the Vita’s with how clicky it is.
@nessisonett It's definitely one of the best I've ever used. I'll give it some serious welly when my brother and I get into some "Street Fighter" sessions on Monday and report back.
Jeez, Tomb Raider II really throws you in at the deep end doesn’t it? The Great Wall was a bloody nightmare especially considering I didn’t find any save crystals and kept dying to a never-ending wave of traps. Can’t tell if the traps were great level design or not because I was too busy having to restart the level over and over.
Oh for f**k sake, only found out there I could save anywhere. You’d think such a massive improvement for the sequel would be explained.
@nessisonett Oh, buddy! I'm real sorry you struggled so much! The difficulty spike in Tomb Raider II is still pretty considerable, but it's largely offset by the new save system. Stuff like this is why I think digital re-releases of old games should always show you a scan of the manual on first load.
For the record, if you're intending to proceed with the entire series, here's how saves work on PSone.
1)Tomb Raider
Save at crystals located at fixed points around each level.
2)Tomb Raider II
Save anywhere, anytime, via your inventory's passport.
3)Tomb Raider III
Save anywhere, anytime, via your inventory's passport, but each save costs one save crystal. Save crystals have now become a finite collectible item, scattered about all levels and often in secret areas.
4)Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Save anywhere, anytime, via your inventory's memory card.
5)Tomb Raider: Chronicles
Save anywhere, anytime, via your inventory's memory card.
If you've got the space, I'd advise a two-save strategy, or even a three-save one, as Tomb Raider II will happily let you overwrite your save whilst Lara's trapped in an inescapable pit or something. The freedom to save whenever you want can be a double-edged sword in these games!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@nessisonett If it helps, I had a similar "D'oh!" moment in The Last Revelation earlier, so I'd say that one should definitely grant themselves a grace period when returning to these classics.
Lara had to play a giant board game in order to unlock a tomb's exit and, to access said board game, she had to retrieve an artefact from an adjoining room. When I did this, I smiled at the happy little jingle that played, watched my route to the board game open, and then spent thirty minutes of trial-and-error figuring out how to win the blasted thing (which, in the end, I did purely by luck). "Blimey," I thought to myself, "these old Tomb Raider games don't give you much help, do they?"
It was only much later, whilst randomly browsing through my inventory, that I noticed an "examine" option on that initial artefact.
An option that, when pressed, told me the board game's freakin' rules.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
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