The Tomb Raider games have so many amazing aspects. The music is expertly crafted and creates a lot of tension throughout the series. Each level feels perfectly designed, and the worlds are full of character. Even Lara Croft's character model, with its limited polygons, is still impressive. Whether you're playing with updated controls and graphics or the original tank controls and graphics, Tomb Raider fits perfectly into the modern gaming world.
The original Tomb Raider trilogy is an iconic set of video games. If you were to write a book on video game history, you could not leave Tomb Raider and Lara Croft out of it. Before 1996, there were very few female protagonists in video games. Lara Croft’s character paved the way for strong female characters in gaming, demonstrating that women don’t always need to be saved like Princess Peach and can be just as badass as male characters. The Tomb Raider game series is a trailblazing franchise that has had a huge influence on the gaming world. Without these games, franchises like Uncharted could not exist.
The adventures of Lara Croft have finally been remastered and brought to modern consoles. The developers have captured the magic of the original Tomb Raider games and adeptly ported it to the current generation. While playing any of the three games, you can seamlessly switch between the original graphics or the updated, modern graphics. Even if you decide to play with the original graphics, you will find that the games play smoothly and that the pixel art has been polished to highlight all the details that were put into the games decades ago.
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Not only have the graphics been updated, but control options have been added as well. You can now switch from the classic tank controls to a modern control scheme. You also have the option to remap all the buttons and play however you want. I opted to play with the tank controls because that is how God intended for Tomb Raider to be played. Truly, I found that I had much more control over my actions and character using the tank controls and the d-pad instead of the analog sticks.
I was worried that the games would be altered, losing their charm. However, my concerns quickly vanished as soon as I played the first game. Everything has been left the same, and I mean that in a positive way. The games’ difficulty remains challenging, and every level induces anxiety. All enemies still have the same spawn locations and behavior. It was so refreshing to pick up this trilogy again after more than a decade and immediately fall back into it. Like riding a bike, I began to remember how to be the Tomb Raider.
If you have never played a Tomb Raider game before, you might be curious about what it entails. Tomb Raider is an action-adventure game where you assume the role of Lara Croft, a renowned archaeologist who embarks on exciting expeditions to discover treasures and ancient artifacts. Throughout the game, you’ll explore magnificent locations, solve challenging puzzles, and defeat tough adversaries. Lara Croft is not driven by money but instead is motivated by her passion for adventure.
Although the series’s core gameplay is action-adventure, it offers much more than that. You progress through levels and different parts of the world, and they are quite challenging with no guidance provided. Tomb Raider is a game that requires a lot of trial and error, so it’s always a good idea to save your progress frequently. Numerous traps in the game can catch you off guard, such as rolling boulders, spike pits, and even a T-Rex lurking around the corner. If we view the trilogy through a modern lens, we can see that it has the same level of difficulty as a Soulsborne game, while also featuring a Metroidvania-style design.
