Genre	Third person adventure
System	P60 (Last Revelation PII 233)
Year	1996
Developer

The first of what has so far turned out to be a four part series, Tomb Raider was a significant step in the development of computer games. The sheer size of the playing area was enough to impress us back in 1996, while the detailed graphics and smooth animation of the characters marked a new level of sophistication. These largely technical considerations aside, the gameplay was second to none. I completed the first instalment using an unaccelerated P133 and a P150 laptop, with correspondingly low res’ graphics, but the quality of the level design kept me involved all the way through.

HISTORY

The first game came out in 1996 to universal acclaim. The first sequel, with a few new moves and updated graphics, appeared a year later. The howls of encouragement were a little less than first time round, but everyone seemed to enjoy Lara’s second outing, notwithstanding the greater emphasis on action over puzzling. The third episode drew some wolf-whistles from the crowd, but the graphical improvements and varied locations kept the majority happy. The fourth (and final?) game sold plenty, but received a very cool reception from the press, who complained that Eidos were milking the original game to death. A couple of new moves and state-of-the-art graphics didn’t make up for the game’s failure to take the genre further. In particular, the lack of interaction with NPCs (as per Half-life, Kingpin etc.) was a disappointment.

THE GAME

There can’t be many people in PC game land who haven’t played at least some of the Tomb Raider games, but here’s the gist, nonetheless. You play Lara Croft, an impossibly pneumatic female version of Indiana Jones, of the eponymous films. The action is seen from a third person perspective, with a floating camera giving you the best view of proceedings, as well as the occasional glamour shot of our heroine. (Very nice marketing, that.) An opening cut-scene sets up the story, with Lara being employed to find an ancient Inca amulet, unintentionally "excavated" by a nuclear weapon test. A further cut-scene ensues, leaving Lara, alone, in a cave and not much idea what to do next. In fact, what she (you) has to do is to get to the other end of the level by killing anything that gets in the way and by solving various puzzles. In addition, there are secrets to be uncovered, which furnish you with better weapons, health packs and ammunition.

You achieve all this by controlling Lara’s every movement (remembering that this is a family game!) She can run or walk, turn left and right, jump and vault, backflip and twist, draw and fire weapons and swim both on and under the water. She can’t survive falls of much more than 20 feet, or stay submerged for more than a couple of minutes. Fire and gunshots will quickly drain her health and some of the nasties she will meet on her travels will make short work or her, so she needs looking after, and here is where the first complaints were heard. In some particularly difficult passages, you may well find yourself having to replay dozens of times, which can be very frustrating, but you are going to find this in many games. It is just a question of level design, and the guys who write these games aren’t gods!

Using just a few keys, you guide Lara from adventure to adventure, gradually picking up bits of the amulet until it is complete. There are still a couple of twists to go, however, before Miss Croft can sign off. Cut scenes are injected every now and again to keep the story going, but the objective of many levels remains unclear right up to the end, when you may chance upon some artefact that will be needed in the next level, or simply find a well disguised exit.

LEVELS

Each level appears at first glance to be massive, with multitudes of directions to choose from and a whole host of alternative approaches to take. Much of this is illusion, created by clever level design. However, compared with its contemporaneous games, Tomb Raiders levels really are an order of magnitude larger. Some are simply mazes that must be traversed, others have numerous locked doors or hidden levers to negotiate, while a few are liberally spiked with bloodthirsty animals who will need avoiding and / or killing if you are to get to the exit. A word here about balance. Lara is always short of ammunition, especially for the more powerful weapons that come to hand as the game goes on. With the exception of the unlimited but puny pistols, you will always think twice about spraying bullets around willy-nilly, never knowing whether you are going to need yet more the other side of the doorway you are approaching. The same goes for health. Dotted around the place are health packs. The small ones add 50% health while the large (and rare) ones restore Lara fully. Neither are in abundance and there will come a time when you realise you simply don’t have enough health to survive to the end of the level and have to reload an old save.

THE SEQUELS

The second instalment has you chasing after a magical dagger, pitting you against a sinister and ruthless secret society. Starting at the Great Wall of China, you progress to Venice, journey to the bottom of the sea, visit a Tibetan monastery and even pop across to an alternate universe for a level. You also get to use vehicles. Speedboats in Venice and skidoos in the Himalayas add to the fun. The escape in the former is one of the best sections of the game. Additional moves include the ability to climb up some vertical surfaces, which is very useful and adds significantly to the gameplay. Of particular note is the level set in the Barkhang Monastery, where NPCs appear for the first time. In this case it is the monks, though interaction is very limited, unless you are foolish enough to kill one, in which case his mates will hunt you down remorselessly.

The third episode has you looking for three seals which have something to do with strange goings on in Antarctica, starting you off in a ruined temple somewhere in India. On completion of that, you can choose which of the next three levels you want to take on; namely London, Area 51 or the South Seas. For my money, the London level is easily the best, especially the bit in the underground. Any old farts out there who remember the Doctor Who series with the Yeti in the Tube will immediately get the shivers when they play this level. There are some more moves in this version as well, including crouching and sprinting, both of which come in very handy later on. Indeed, some puzzles can only be cracked by having Lara run full tilt and she doesn’t corner that well! The graphics get a major overhaul in this outing, with some very nice fogging effects and better water (though on my system the tiling is a bit obvious), plus Lara gets to change outfits for each section. You will just love the leather gear in London.

The fourth episode starts with Lara as a 16 year old apprentice to some lecherous European archaeologist. Said continental comes to a sticky end at the finale of the introductory level, but pops up as Lara’s nemesis later on. The story concerns the release of an ancient Egyptian god (surprise, surprise, one of the nasty, evil ones) and Lara’s attempts to put it back in its box. Rope climbing is added to Lara’s abilities and the graphics are as fancy as anything produced in the late ‘90s should be. The gameplay is much more reminiscent of the first instalment, with the emphasis on puzzle solving, though there are some very intense action sections as well.

SUMMARY

Lara Croft will get her own page in the history of PC gaming. Aside from the bold and unexpected decision to have a girl as the heroine in a game designed to appeal primarily to boys (ages 11-105), the quality and breadth of the level design was unlike anything around at the time. That Core Design didn’t take the game on to greater things can be put down to two factors. Firstly, to make lots of money, it had to run on consoles, so couldn’t use all that the PC offered. Secondly, if a thing is raking it in, why change? A bit of tweaking, juiced graphics and a new storyline, a couple of geniuses on the level design and you had another winner. You shouldn’t blame the developers, but perhaps you can cast some stones in the direction of the publishers.

THE FUTURE

I think what everyone would like to see would be a Tomb Raider meets Half-life. Preferably using the Quake 3 engine or better. Half-life succeeded because it made you feel part of something bigger, whereas in Tomb Raider, it tends to be you against the world. A bit of NPC interaction (make that a lot) and a story that impinges on your actions throughout and you would be sitting on a goldmine.