KickStarter Poll - Best Tomb Raider

[Ash]

Tomb Raider 3 is underrated. It's got everything that TR2 does but it does those better - It has globetrotting, better music and graphics that improve the atmosphere, and better level design since many of the levels are non-linear. All "continents" are interesting but Antarctica avoids the typical 3rd act boredom by adding an
eerie "The Thing" vibe to its first two levels. The only downside to the game is the unrealistic situation Lara gets into - she single-handedly slaughters the on-site security staff of area 51.

I have such nostalgia for the first game that it will always have the first place, but

TR1 > TR3 > TR2 > TR4 > TR5

TR3 has the most retarded design decision ever: it takes away your inventory and doesn't give it back half way through the game. All that exploration, thorough secret hunting, strategic inventory management prior, all for nothing. Yes other games have done this but TR lives on its exploration so it's extra important to not do it. And it also forces you to go to Nevada first rather than the other two locations. It's completely retarded. Other than this it's a good game. Could possibly be my favourite of the original and best trilogy if it weren't for this stupidity.

 

[Semiurge]

Tomb Raider 3 is underrated. It's got everything that TR2 does but it does those better - It has globetrotting, better music and graphics that improve the atmosphere, and better level design since many of the levels are non-linear. All "continents" are interesting but Antarctica avoids the typical 3rd act boredom by adding an
eerie "The Thing" vibe to its first two levels. The only downside to the game is the unrealistic situation Lara gets into - she single-handedly slaughters the on-site security staff of area 51.

I have such nostalgia for the first game that it will always have the first place, but

TR1 > TR3 > TR2 > TR4 > TR5

TR3 has the most retarded design decision ever: it takes away your inventory and doesn't give it back half way through the game. All that exploration, thorough secret hunting, strategic inventory management prior, all for nothing. Yes other games have done this but TR lives on its exploration so it's extra important to not do it. And it also forces you to go to Nevada first rather than the other two locations. It's completely retarded. Other than this it's a good game. Could possibly be my favourite of the original and best trilogy if it weren't for this stupidity.

Assuming that the ammo, weapons and health packs that you've collected prior to losing them have nothing to to with what you get back, and I don't think they did, the combat difficulty is still so low that none of them will be desperately needed in the second Nevada level, and they are quickly recovered afterwards during it and in the subsequent levels. So
I don't think it's a big issue to do the middle continents in the order you choose. Most of the perishable ammo is needed for the endgame boss only because it would take much longer to finish him off with pistols, but even if you do Nevada last there will still be special ammo to lob at mooks for fun, just less, leading to a slightly higher difficulty for the inexperienced raiders.

 

[Ash]

I understand the challenge level doesn't demand extensive strategics, however if anything good play allows you to spam things like uzis and grenade launchers just for variety's sake. If I've collected 20 shotgun shells up to nevada, I want to damn well use them and not have my hard work taken from me. Especially cause TR3's shotgun is really quite nice.

Oh good there's a mod for it: https://core-design.com/community_tr3noammoloss.html

 

[JarlFrank]

TR4 is the most underrated one. People keep complaining that it's blander due to no globetrotting, but every area has its own atmosphere and visual style. It also has some of the best puzzles and most interconnected levels of the series.

TR1>TR4>TR2>TR3>TR5 for me.

 

[kangaxx]

TR4 is the most underrated one. People keep complaining that it's blander due to no globetrotting, but every area has its own atmosphere and visual style. It also has some of the best puzzles and most interconnected levels of the series.

TR1>TR4>TR2>TR3>TR5 for me.

Completely agree with everything except I'd reverse TR2 and 3, and maybe add a few >>> before TR5.

TR4 was definitely underrated, and some of the areas were downright creepy. I always found that automated game of Senet unnerving for some reason.

 

[Biscotti]

I remember getting TR4 on a PS1 demo disc as a wee lad. The level featured in the demo was some Hellenistic looking palace, I remember it very well because there was a certain part where you're chased around by skeletons as you try to flip switches before they catch up to you. Scared me shitless as a kid. I never ended up being able to finish the demo out of sheer terror, and at this point it's the only TR I haven't played. Should probably give it a go.

 

[Semiurge]

I remember getting TR4 on a PS1 demo disc as a wee lad. The level featured in the demo was some Hellenistic looking palace, I remember it very well because there was a certain part where you're chased around by skeletons as you try to flip switches before they catch up to you. Scared me shitless as a kid. I never ended up being able to finish the demo out of sheer terror, and at this point it's the only TR I haven't played. Should probably give it a go.

The way I remember it the official demo featured a unique map that didn't appear in the released version, at least not in the state as in the demo, a Frankenstein's monster built with parts of other levels and unused areas. I think it featured one or more of the areas that are seen in the main menu video, the one with the papyrus boats perhaps. And then there's the Times exclusive demo which is a standalone mission, it's good that they put scrapped assets to use.

 

[Biscotti]

That's a shame, would've loved to experience that level again.

 

[Deflowerer]

Also worth noting that Tomb Raider has a vibrant user created level community much like Thief and Doom: http://www.trle.net/.

 

[Biscotti]

Quality control isn't as good as the aforementioned communities, but overall a lot of good stuff has been made.

 

[Semiurge]

So GOG's TR:Anniversary seems to work, but it has stuttering audio especially in the main menu (which seems to imply that it's CPU/GPU clock related). The high cost of modern hardware I suppose. The cutscenes seem to be capped @ 30fps.

Edit: The audio problem was caused by messing with the intro videos, I can't even begin to guess how. I changed their names to prevent them from running, and as a reminder, when I changed their filenames back the game decided to corrupt its only autosave, which makes all your manual saves unusable. Fortunately I only need to replay five levels.

 

[kangaxx]

I have to say I never had trouble with TR:A on a high end system. There's bound to be a way to fix your problems.

 

[Ash]

Wow, the amount of votes for reboot trilogy, TR: Anniversary, TR: Legend...people love their decline.

 

[kangaxx]

Anniversary was fine. Legend not so much.

 

[A horse of course]

Anniversary is shit SOLELY because of the scythe wall-running shit in Egypt and Atlantis.

 

[kangaxx]

I didn't like those sequences either, but it didn't ruin the game for me.

 

[forumvisitor#451]

It's obviously Dagger of Xian

 

[NoSoup4you]

I just got the first three on Steam for three bucks. Never played any, as I grew up with an N64, but I remember reading about them in old issues of EGM as a kid - "HOLY SHIT, the triangle engine results in photorealistic graphics," next to a screenshot that looks like an undecipherable mess. Also, I've played the Tomb Raider CCG in the past couple years, which hilariously uses PS1 screenshots as art.

There's a pretty good unofficial patch for TR1 that improves resolution, restores the soundtrack, etc. Don't know if it changes anything more subjectively good like the draw distance. I guess I'll be using it for my first playthrough regardless.

 

[NoSoup4you]

 

[Semiurge]

The remade St. Francis Folly in TR:A is magnificent.

 

[ADL]

I wish Angel of Darkness had another six months of development. There's something in that game worth salvaging.

 

[Semiurge]

I wish Angel of Darkness had another six months of development. There's something in that game worth salvaging.

It has a sizable amount of mods and fan patches.

 

[Bad Sector]

but I remember reading about them in old issues of EGM as a kid - "HOLY SHIT, the triangle engine results in photorealistic graphics," next to a screenshot that looks like an undecipherable mess

Was that for Tomb Raider 3? IIRC TR3 added the ability to have individual triangle adjustment on the grid that make up the world map - previous TR games used only quad-based blocks (most likely because the original TR was also made for Sega Saturn which could only render sprites as quads and couldn't do individual triangles). This did improve the map visual design compared to TR1 and TR2 and was used all over the place in TR3.

 

[JarlFrank]

Anniversary was fine. Legend not so much.

I mean I like Anniversary too, but all that shines about it comes from the original TR1 level design, much of which is copied verbatim, with some shitty new features added (like QTE fights and those long corridors meant to mask loading times). It has some good new features, some bad new features, but all the best about it has already been in TR1.

They completely changed Lara's character though, in the original she's a 90s action heroine who jumps around and shoots shit and then moves on. All the big showdowns with human enemies feel like they're taken out of an Indiana Jones movie.
Anniversary changed them into cutscene-like QTE fests where Lara ends up crying over the fact that she just killed a human. What the fuck.

 

[JamesDixon]

I voted TR1 because I always had a blast with it. TR Reboot trilogy is ass due to Lara being an insufferable 4th wave feminist cunt that throws her male best friend under the bus at every opportunity. Combine that with her BPD and daddy issues she is the epitome of a modern feminazi that I just want to punch in the face.