Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3967 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sold Out Software
• Released on: 2006-03-03
• Platform: Windows XP

Customer Reviews

Puts the tomb back in Tomb Raider
I assume this is the relaunched 'Sold Out' version, with most of the bugs now cured? Whatever, it works absolutely fine on my new Vista PC and, having spent a couple of months on and off to compete this massive game, I have to say that I'm pretty impressed.

Graphically, TRTAOD is well ahead of its predecessors - even down to the texture on Lara's cut-off jeans! There are some real WOW moments - like the first time you enter the gorgeous biodome. A few minor graphical glitches persist - I had to reload a save a few times, because Lara's surroundings went all black, but nothing that would ruin your enjoyment of the game.

The difficulty level seems, for the most part, somewhat easier than Lara's previous incarnations and you should rattle through the first 10 or so levels fairly quickly. There are, however, two or three later scenarios that you may feel are verging on the impossible! Lara's climb to the top of the Hall of Seasons, the infamous red ghost stopping you from plundering a painting, and Kurtis' battle with the mutant spider spring to mind! Well I guess that's what the save button and loads of persistence are for!

The plot is certainly gripping, but the creepy occult scenario is far darker than Lara's other outings and may not appeal to everyone. Cemetaries, lots of undead creatures and some truly hideous apparitions in the Sanitarium level maybe gives you some insight into the warped minds of the game's creators.

At under a fiver now, this huge adventure is well worth adding to your PC games collection, if you missed it first time around.

Good game, wrongly underrated
Though it does suffer a few minor glitches and annoyances, this is a very worthwhile addition to the Tomb Raider legacy. The story is involving and the puzzles are just hard enough, without being ridiculous. As always, there are a few which will have you googling for help! Excellent value at the price.

Ignore the bad-mouthing!
Many found this game to be awful, a waste of time, the end of Lara, etc, etc... Ignore all that: this game is highly enjoyable and a worthy addition to the canon.

So want is all the fuss? For one thing, you must play as a new (male) character in three levels, not as Lara. This is odd, admittedly, as the game is billed as "The Adventures of Lara Croft" not "...plus Kurtis Trent". His character has odd disabilities, too as you'll find out! (He also has very weird abilities...)

Other "problems" are the new system of in-game icons, the dialogue sequences, and the ability upgrades (effectively replacing the old Secrets). I found these odd to start with, but soon got used to them and found them acceptable enough. The icons actually come in handy, The upgrades, however are rather random: open a door to get stronger legs... huh? Further, given the number of upgrades, either Lara starts as a weakling hardly able to drag herself out of bed or ends as a Demigoddess with superhuman strength: You decide!

Many found the twist in the plot line rather sinister and took issue, but to be quite frank the twist was no more sinister than in previous games, IMHO. The Irish Adventure in Chronicles and the Man-Spider in TR3 were pretty sinister! The Kurtis Trent twist is perhaps the only real issue, but that is just nitpicking, really.

The only major issue I have is with the final battles: they are far too easy once you know how to win them. I cannot figure out the point of Lara's final gaming action, either, yet.

Overall, the game is more realistic, though, (despite the oddities already mentioned): Lara moves and acts in a more humanlike way. You will need to retrain yourself a little since Drop-Grab on ladders and Run-Jump-Grab, among other things, function differently: RTFM! ;)