Oh yes, we’re only in game one and Atlantis is already in play, get strapped in, motherfuckers. The original game sees Lara travelling across the globe to find pieces of an ancient Atlantean artefact. Where it’s not lacking, though, is in the scope and variety of levels. Although basically all the games in this initial series run would follow the same basic gameplay template, the original entry is perhaps the most lacking in features…understandably so given it was essentially creating the blueprint for the 3D action platformer. It’s easy to look at the original ‘Tomb Raider’ now and scoff at its dodgy graphics, and Lara’s iconic triangular honkers, but at the time? The game looked pretty great, and those CG cinematics? The ones that look like utter ass now? Looked amazing back in the day…which makes me feel old, and sad. Dinos, giant swords, Atlantis, OH MY.ĭefining Moment: ‘The Lost Valley’ and its big T-Rex encounter. Regardless of reasoning, my true adventure with the franchise had begun, and it began, appropriately enough, at the beginning. Maybe I was considered mature enough to play it, but more likely it was because, at this point, I’d already bared witness to all the violence on display through watching it being played. Eventually though, and perhaps a sign of how quickly the 3D graphics of the time dated, I was allowed to play it myself, despite being far under the, at that point ‘advised’ age rating for the games. Given my age (I must have been 5 or 6 years old), I was not allowed to play the main adventures myself, but was permitted to run about Lara’s Mansion, an area without combat and, for the most part, without weapons, which did me fine and allowed me the opportunity to imprison Lara’s butler in the fridge, as many have done over the years. My initial experience with these games amounted to huddling around an old boxy computer monitor and watching her play the games, usually armed with a Prima strategy guide to navigate the many (At least at the time) obtuse puzzles and obstacles these games threw at you. Interestingly though, it was my mum who really got into the franchise, and ultimately it was her who purchased the following three sequels afterwards. My dad received the ‘Tomb Raider Trilogy’ boxset for a Father’s Day gift, presumably chosen because, by that point, Lara Croft had become something of an icon and was seen as a good gaming character to stick the ‘blokes’ in front of, back in the 90s/2000s where gaming culture was generally perceived as a male dominated thing. Mostly known for their PS1 releases, which, at least for the initial trilogy proved hugely successful both financially and critically, my own experience with the ‘Tomb Raider’ franchise actually began on the PC, and it indeed began three games into the run rather than at its humble 96′ beginnings. The games that started it all, as they say. IN TWO CHUNKY ASS PARTS, PART 2 OUT NEXT WEEK. There are few pieces of media more in-tuned with the vast bulk of my life than the Tomb Raider series…so get set for some NOSTALGIC REMINISCING, FOLKS. But this is less some objective history lesson about it (There are plenty of sources for that online and in print), as it is a personal recollection of the series and its place across my life to date…and also my opinions on the various games and products in question. So this blog, as the title states, is the first part of a retrospective of the franchises history, focusing on the core games but dipping out frequently in order to look at the spin-offs, movies and…general stuff related to this long-running and prolific series. This was long before my first home console, and long before I developed a love for the likes of Metroid, Zelda, Mario and many other franchises…de Blob? ‘Tomb Raider’ was the first, and I’ve remained deeply attached to the series ever since, it being one of the few franchises I’ve (To some capacity) played every mainline title of, and possibly the only one where I’ve first played them in order of their release. Although I’d played a game or two beforehand, mostly of the young child “edutainment”/LEGO variety, ‘Tomb Raider’ was the first proper game I ever played, having watched my parents play it for some time prior, before finally getting my hands on it myself. 2021 marks the franchises 25th Anniversary, which seems like the perfect opportunity to devote some attention to a series that I hold very near and dear to me. These days the ‘Tomb Raider’ franchise, which arguably peaked in popularity during the PS1 era, may not be the most talked about, most ‘high blog viewership’ friendly topic, but it’s safe to say that it remains one of the most important series’ in gaming history for various reasons, and maintains a rabid, ever-expanding fanbase to this day. Howdy one and all, and welcome to a very special addition of BLOG.
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