| Description:
Lara Croft, cultural icon, cover girl and scourge of wildlife everywhere was last seen buried beneath an Egyptian pyramid at the end of Tomb Raider: the Last Revelation. Despite this apparent demise, Lara returns in Tomb Raider Chronicles, an adventure that features previously unseen episodes from her career. Old friends of Lara who have gathered for her funeral and to swap stories about her exploits introduce the stories. The first level is set in Rome, and is classic Lara; plenty of jumping and puzzle solving with a minimum of gunplay and is reminiscent of the very first Tomb Raider--it even features the comedy bad guys Pierre and Larson from that game. This chapter also serves as an introduction to Lara's various moves and is a real nostalgia-fest for long-time fans. The other chapters have distinct themes: on a spooky deserted island an unarmed teenage Lara must get through by wits alone, there is an action-packed level set on a submarine and, most intriguing of all, Lara infiltrates a high-tech building and utilises various stealth techniques. This is very Metal Gear Solid-esque and possible indicates the direction the series will take in future. (Lara's not really dead? Now there's a surprise.) Unfortunately, the fiddly control system still remains, and the graphics have only been given a slight polish, but to combat this, an array of customary new moves have been added--this time Lara can use a tightrope, for example--but these are essentially cosmetic. The gameplay overall hasn't evolved much, but thankfully the puzzles are less obscure this time round, and the levels are tightly designed which cuts down on the aimless wandering that was common in the middle games of the series. Tomb Raider fans will be very happy with what is probably the most purely enjoyable game since the first. Lara-phobes will take more convincing, but all the hype that surrounds her shouldn't obscure the fact that the divine Ms Croft hasn't appeared in a bad game yet and Tomb Raider Chronicles is no exception. --Michael Bartley
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