Chickaroo Reviews: Tomb Raider (PS1)

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chickaroo1
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Chickaroo Reviews: Tomb Raider (PS1)

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A game that defined the 3D games we see today. A character that inspired a generation. A game that we all know, a character that girls want to be and guys drool over...this is Tomb Raider, starring the lovely Lara Croft.




Game: Tomb Raider
Systems: PlayStation 1, MS-DOS, Sega Saturn, N-Gage
Release Dates: 10/25/96 (EU), 11/14/96 (NA), 1/24/97 (JP, Sega Saturn), 2/14/97 (JP, PS1)
Developers: Core Design




Where It All Started...
Story: The story of the first installment in the Tomb Raider series stars our main character, Lara Croft, a British archaeologist who goes around the world in search for treasure and adventure.
She's hired by an American businesswoman named Jacqueline Natla who own Natla Technologies to find a rare artifact named the Scion. No one knows what the Scion holds or what the consequence will be if it is claimed. So Lara heads out to find the Scion.




Not As Amazing These Days
Gameplay: The gameplay here is very...stiff. Lara controls like a tank and making her move is kind of awkward. To make her move, you hold up and in the direction you want her to go. But if you want to change her direction, you have to make her stop walking and rotate her to where you want her to go. The jumping can be a pain. You have to time your jumps perfectly.
Up next is the "combat". A signature in the Tomb Raider series is Lara's double pistols. By pressing Triangle, she will pull out her pistols and by holding X, she will fire. Ammo is infinity here so you don't have to worry about wasting them. Basically all you really have to do is hold down the shoot button and wait for your enemy to drop dead. And as well as jump around while shooting to avoid getting hit.
Puzzle solving is slow and confusing.
The saving system is a kick to the balls. Along your journey, you will find these purple crystals scattered throughout the game. Here, you can save your game - ONCE. You can save the game once and the crystal will dissapear until you find another one.




Dem Pointy Boobs Are Sexy Right?
Graphics: Here comes the fun part.
Since this was an early 3D game, as well as Eidos Interactive suffering from a $2.6 million dollar loss the previous year (1995), The game's graphics are very...blocky. All the boulders Lara moves are just big cubes. The textures are pixilated and kinda glitchy from time to time. Lara herself and other moving people/animals are just...blocky and stiff. Lara has a very rectangular butt and very pointy boobs. Sexy, right? Lara's signature braid isn't there in the gameplay, it's just a hairtie and no braid. But her braid is in the FMV's.
Speaking of the FMV's, they're a little bit better looking than the gameplay graphics. Granted, Lara's joints look absolutely painful and her boobs are just way too big for a skinny girl like her. But hey, it was 1996.




The Iconic Sounds...
Music: The only music I can think of in this game is the iconic theme song that plays in the game's menu and some music that plays during the game. Other than that, it's silent. Which gives off a chilling and creepy feeling when exploring caves and tombs.
Music is composed by Martin Iveson and Nathan McCree.




The First Tomb to Explore
Overall: Tomb Raider became a smash hit, selling over 7 million copies worldwide. As well as Lara becoming a recognizable video game character and as a famous video game female. As well as becoming one of the first sex icons in the gaming industry.
But the first game hasn't aged well. The controls are a tad bit stiff, and the saving system can be a troll to you.
None the less, let's rejoice and phrase Lara for her fame.




Score: 3/5
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