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[Die Squirrel Die]

Thailand in Underworld is a pretty level, but damn these lizards are a pain in the butt.

I'm kinda 50/50 on the controls in TRU. I appreciate that they were probably trying to do a bit more with them and make them less restrictive, but everything feels a little less polished as well. There seems to be more jankiness with how the interactions with the enviroment are presented, Lara feels less certain in her movements and the combat lacks punchiness.

 

[TripOpt55]

I just finished the first level of Egypt. Greece was pretty great overall. From what I remember that is probably the best boss fight in this game at the end of Greece.

 

[Curufinwe]

Greece is probably the best area in any TR.

[EDIT] ...wtf, I'm now back to being a junior member after two years and 3,000 posts. How odd.

 

[Kyleripman]

Regarding TRA:

Spoiler

I was surprised by the cutscenes toward the end of Anniversary where Lara says "I'm not the person you think I am" and kills the three henchmen. I'm not at the end yet, so I'll have to see what happens, but...damn, that's cold, babe.

I was also surprised by this sudden character development...

Spoiler

but it never really goes anywhere.

 

[Darth Kupi]

The last level in Egypt is amazing! Even the relic is so brilliantly hidden. Anniversary has set the bar really high.Maybe too high...

Agreed.

Egypt was my fave from TR:A. It just looked sooooo gooood.

Dat atmosphere. Dat egyptian aesthetic.

Level design wise St. Francis' Folly wins, but I always feel like going back and running through Egypt again.

T'was just so gorgeous.



....Ungh, must......resist............temptation to replay PS2 TR:A....

 

[Zoibie]

Thailand in Underworld is a pretty level, but damn these lizards are a pain in the butt.

I'm kinda 50/50 on the controls in TRU. I appreciate that they were probably trying to do a bit more with them and make them less restrictive, but everything feels a little less polished as well. There seems to be more jankiness with how the interactions with the enviroment are presented, Lara feels less certain in her movements and the combat lacks punchiness.

Yeah, that's especially prevalent in the free-climbing sections. It feels like much more of a chore than it should to get her to just move to certain handholds.

 

[protonion]

Finished all of them. About 26 hours. No teaser trailer for the new game

 

[Grisby]

Finished all of them. About 26 hours. No teaser trailer for the new game

Any exclusive extras or anything?

 

[protonion]

Any exclusive extras or anything?

There are a bunch of making of videos for each game, but I don't know if they are exclusive...

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Finished all of them. About 26 hours. No teaser trailer for the new game

It's odd how long ago they announced this and still no video. Knowing the way these things work they'll probably put out a CG trailer and then make us wait months again for actual gameplay footage.

 

[Totobeni]

That's why they gave you a tranqulizer in Underworld .

Would it be ok if they let us shoot some cute lil baby girls by tranquilizers in games?

From some of the info we have, you'll be killing the fuck out of animals in the new Tomb Raider.

Hope Crystal Dynamics change that at least put fantasy evil creatures like the RPGs and even better don't let us hurt animals at all, make us able to avoid killing or hurting them completely in the reboot (no stupid forced fights).

What the ? Are you kidding me? What about games like Uncharted where you kill literally 1,000 people over the course of the game? So people are ok but animals aren't? Shit, at the end of the game, the game even mocks itself. You're fighting the last boss and the guy says to you "How many people have you killed Drake? JUST TODAY!" But you kill like 10 tigers in an entire game and all of a sudden it's messed up?

I guess a better question is, do you even like any video games at all?

This is nothing similar here,guys in other games are supposed to be criminals, with guns attacking you and stuff, In Tomb Raider you are killing innocent animals and even rare species roaming in their places, and they even let you kick them in the face like in Underworld.

It's just absolutely disgusting and wrong( to me at least).

 

[Kyleripman]

Huge conservationist here, but you're exploring remote and uncharted (heh) locales...animals are the most realistic enemies you'd see. I've never been bothered by this. And there are some more fantastic ones, like dinosaurs in Anni and a bunch of enemies in Underworld. I don't think this is TR's problem at all.

 

[Ellis Kim]

I just got back from visiting Crystal Dynamics for a focus group thing that I'm NDA'd on :I

They had giant Tomb Raider reboot posters plastered everywhere. Didn't get to see anything related to it, sadly, but I sure wish I did

Exciting!

 

[ban25]

Finished all of them. About 26 hours. No teaser trailer for the new game

It took me that long just to get through TRA, counting restarts...

 

[Y2Kev]

I'm toward the end of St. Francis' Folly (I think). The platforming puzzles are definitely more difficult in Anniversary than they were in Legend. Really enjoyed the short levels in Legend. It made it easier, I think, to burn through the game from one location to the next.

I had to take a break last night after getting stuck with how to get out of a room. Would have rather finished it before calling it a night but there is only so many times in a row I can replay a level before getting a little fed up. (....done venting...thx)

Anniversary is very clearly the best of the three. It's a combination of iterative design on both the Legend and classic Tomb Raider frameworks. Underworld unfortunately never puts all the pieces together in the same way.

Tomb Raider 1's non-control pieces still hold up really well. Anniversary iterates on Legend's great mechanics and blends it with the greatness of TR1.

Needless to say, neither the prequel or sequel are as good.

 

[Kyleripman]

I played Underworld first and found it to be more fun than Anniversary. To each his own though, I know I'm probably in the minority.

 

[ban25]

I finished Anniversary. Missed the QTE on the final boss fight, so I'll have to go back for the trophy later, but now I'm on to Underworld!

 

[Totobeni]

Ok they need to patch this, I have Underworld before ( US version just like the collection) and my Underworld saves don't work with this version of Underworld here , This is just stupid, is Buzz Monkey studio full of real monkeys.

 

[gdt]

Can someone help me out in Egypt?

Pretty much right at the end.

Spoiler

I was able to insert the Scion on the right notch on the wall, but I have no idea how to get over to the left one. I see the hoop in the ceiling for me to swing from, but where do I just from so I can get that hoop?

 

[TripOpt55]

Can someone help me out in Egypt?

Pretty much right at the end.

Spoiler

I was able to insert the Scion on the right notch on the wall, but I have no idea how to get over to the left one. I see the hoop in the ceiling for me to swing from, but where do I just from so I can get that hoop?

Spoiler

I think you start on the same pillar you started on to get to the first notch towards the other end of the room from the notches. Then you jump to the one next to it (well in front of it towards the notches I guess). You'll want to get to the highest crevasse on it and push the stick towards the ring. And I think the ring sort of comes into the frame. Then jump and hit square. I am doing this off memory. Hopefully, I didn't botch it.

 

[ExMachina]

Adding to what TripOpt55 said... hopefully it helps make it a bit more clear.

Spoiler

You definitely do start from the same set of columns that you used to get to the right lock. Instead of jumping to the blue columns from the red ones, just climb as far toward the center of the room on the last red one with cracks, and you should be close enough to lean to the side, then jump and grapple the ring...

 

[DonMigs85]

I just got back from visiting Crystal Dynamics for a focus group thing that I'm NDA'd on :I

They had giant Tomb Raider reboot posters plastered everywhere. Didn't get to see anything related to it, sadly, but I sure wish I did

Exciting!

Ooh... A new Gex maybe?

 

[gdt]

Thanks guys, got it.

 

[Kyleripman]

Anyone confirm if this version avoids the game-breaking bug in Mexico in TRU?

 

[Totobeni]

Ooh... A new Gex maybe?

No, please No.

 

[Darth Kupi]

No, please No.

Why not?

I'd be up for it.

And playing as a Gecko again would be a nice respite from dudebro shooters.

 

[Ellis Kim]

Ooh... A new Gex maybe?

lol

 

[Tylahedras]

Just shot some Guerrillas in the face. God I love this game.

Wait, what unholy alliance is this? Why would Guerrillas and Lions work together?

 

[ban25]

Just got to Thailand in TRU. It took some time getting used to the controls and the camera, especially the change to leaping to ledges (can't press forward anymore), but now I'm getting into it.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Wait, what unholy alliance is this? Why would Guerrillas and Lions work together?

I wish there were rings on fire, and I had a chair and a whip during that brief encounter. So badass.

 

[ULTROS!]

I got the collection over Sora no Kiseki.

It's a fun game though (though I'm not sure if I'll like Underworld). Just wondering what game in the trilogy is the easiest to plat?

 

[Cels]

I got the collection over Sora no Kiseki.

It's a fun game though (though I'm not sure if I'll like Underworld). Just wondering what game in the trilogy is the easiest to plat?

i don't have the collection so i don't know what it's like to try and 100% TRA or TRL but i got the plat for TRU and it was damn easy. there are a few hundred little treasures lying everywhere though, so you probably need a guide to find them all.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

I got the collection over Sora no Kiseki.

It's a fun game though (though I'm not sure if I'll like Underworld). Just wondering what game in the trilogy is the easiest to plat?

Probably Underworld, due to a lack of time trial trophies.

I'm almost at the end and I'm over 70%, whereas when I beat Legend I was at 37%.

 

[Stallion Free]

Legend is fairly easy to 100% other than the Time Trials which can be frustrating. I managed them fine once I looked at a couple guides. The last level is by far the hardest though.

 

[TripOpt55]

I just beat Anniversary today. I really don't like the last world/area as much as the first three. I had played it before so I kind of felt that way already, but this run kind of reinforced that idea. It's not bad I guess, just not as good as the other areas.

For some reason I didn't get the hard trophy. I could have sworn I set it to hard. Maybe replaying a level for a time trial during my playthrough messed with the difficulty? Otherwise, not sure why I didn't get it. I am going to go back and try and get some of the trophies, I don't know about those time trial ones. Some of them seem like they will be really long which will make replaying them kind of annoying.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

I beat Underworld. It's a real shame that Eidos' then financial troubles meant this had to be pushed out the door. It definitely felt like the least polished of the three, with Legend probably the most polished. Definitely the best adreline shot mechanic, even if I found the rest of the combat a little neutered, just with they'd had a way to chain them together.

Just a few trophies to mop up now for the platinum. The 2nd and 3rd dives, 3 enemies 1 grenade and the highest difficulty. Oh and props to CD for making relics and artifacts attach to a profile save so I don't have to collect them all again.

Spoiler

And after the way the game ended I can see why narratively they'd want to reboot the next game. They pretty much tied up all the loose ends of their trilogy. I don't think there'd be much more they could do with this version of Lara that wouldn't be flogging a dead horse.

 

[cpp_is_king]

I am going to go back and try and get some of the trophies, I don't know about those time trial ones. Some of them seem like they will be really long which will make replaying them kind of annoying.

I'm working on time trials right now. Youtube is your friend, user named gunj17 has the best videos IMO. SilverRagout's are sometimes faster giving you more room for error, but the quality is terrible. Some of these would take hours to perfect the techniques just for each level without a youtube guide, if you were just trying to figure out how to do the time trial yourself. The time is really quite tight on most levels, to the point that if you die even once on a boss you need to reset. There's room for error, but not on bosses when you lose a couple minutes per attempt. Also, you can't save at all mid-level and when you die and restart from checkpoint, it doesn't reset your time back to the time when you first got to the checkpoint. That's no fun when the level is like 20+ minutes long.

Using youtube walkthroughs it's manageable. I've finished Peru, Greece, Lost Island, and the first level of Egypt, in that order.

Ironically, after the first 2 time trials when I was on the level with the T-Rex I almost gave up and quit the time trials all together. Stick it through that one and get your adrenaline shot technique down and the rest won't be nearly as bad.

The hardest one is probably St. Francis Folly. You get 34 minutes for that one, and I finished with 45 seconds to spare.

 

[TripOpt55]

I'm working on time trials right now. Youtube is your friend, user named gunj17 has the best videos IMO. SilverRagout's are sometimes faster giving you more room for error, but the quality is terrible. Some of these would take hours to perfect the techniques just for each level without a youtube guide, if you were just trying to figure out how to do the time trial yourself. The time is really quite tight on most levels, to the point that if you die even once on a boss you need to reset. There's room for error, but not on bosses when you lose a couple minutes per attempt. Also, you can't save at all mid-level and when you die and restart from checkpoint, it doesn't reset your time back to the time when you first got to the checkpoint. That's no fun when the level is like 20+ minutes long.

Using youtube walkthroughs it's manageable. I've finished Peru, Greece, Lost Island, and the first level of Egypt, in that order.

Ironically, after the first 2 time trials when I was on the level with the T-Rex I almost gave up and quit the time trials all together. Stick it through that one and get your adrenaline shot technique down and the rest won't be nearly as bad.

The hardest one is probably St. Francis Folly. You get 34 minutes for that one, and I finished with 45 seconds to spare.

I did the Peru time trials and they weren't too bad. I will be trying it without a walkthrough though and it may drive me insane... haha. I'm just going to chip away at them here and there. 34 minute time trials with little room for error are kind of frightening though. I'll see how it goes.

 

[ban25]

I made it through Mexico in TRU. The relic was a bitch! So far I'm on track to get most trophies, I've got the first Speed Run completed, the combat ones, and the treasures and relics. I missed Swan Diver II, though, so I'll have to go back for that.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Yeah, Underworld platinumed. Hard more really wasn't all that hard knowing the ins and outs of the game and it's amazing how quickly you could get through it not needing to search out treasures and skipping cutscenes (although I only figured out the latter a the beginning of Mexico).

 

[gdt]

God, Tomb Raider Underworld's camera FUCKING SUCKS. Dear lord.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

God, Tomb Raider Underworld's camera FUCKING SUCKS. Dear lord.

It really does, going from TRU back to TRL/A only highlights how much of a step back it was. It really is a shame that they couldn't get that extra layer of polish on to the camera and some of the contextual platforming stuff, because so much of what Underworld does is really great.

Saying that, I'm now up in the middle of Egypt in Anniversary and I think I can safely that my holding this to be the best TR game was not just nostalgia, it really does stand up to the scrutiny. The platforming and puzzles are just so much more involved than anything in Legend or Underworld and there's just the right amount of combat to make you wary of rushing straight into a room, but not so much that it feels unrelenting.

 

[ULTROS!]

Maybe it's just me but TR:A seems quite... Buggy.

Although it's better looking than TR:L

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Maybe it's just me but TR:A seems quite... Buggy.

Although it's better looking than TR:L

Anniversary was definitely buggier than Legend, but I think Underworld is the buggiest and glitchiest of them all. I take it that Legend just got more time to be optimised and polished. Anniversary was turned around pretty quickly from what I remember, probably to capitalise on the Legends positive reception, and Underworld wasn't that long after and released amid Eidos' financial troubles.

Hopefully with at least 3 years of development time, if its out by the end of the year, the reboot won't suffer the same fate.

 

[Curufinwe]

Was the PS2 the lead version for Anniversary? I don't remember it having many bugs.

 

[ban25]

Yeah, Underworld platinumed. Hard more really wasn't all that hard knowing the ins and outs of the game and it's amazing how quickly you could get through it not needing to search out treasures and skipping cutscenes (although I only figured out the latter a the beginning of Mexico).

I'm on the last level. Should be able to beat it with all trophies tonight.

 

[ban25]

God, Tomb Raider Underworld's camera FUCKING SUCKS. Dear lord.

The camera is completely spastic. Getting the relic in Mexico was a pain mostly because of the damn camera!

 

[Totobeni]

Was the PS2 the lead version for Anniversary? I don't remember it having many bugs.

It was, Anniversary PS2 version made by Crystal Dynamics and got released in 5 June 2007, the PC version of Anniversary got released in the same day but was by Nixxes Software( Xbox 360 was released in October 2007) so yeah PS2 was the lead sku.

 

[ban25]

Just got Platinum on Underworld. On to Legend!

 

[TripOpt55]

I have been working on the time trials for Anniversary and they haven't been too bad. I did all of the Peru ones. All of the Lost Island ones. And two of the Greece ones (Colisseum and Midas). Most only took one or two tries. I still need to grab a few artifacts in Egypt and Greece too, but I think I should be able to get it all. I'm still a little worried about that St. Francis' Folly time trial, but I think I will just need to figure out the order of how to do things and then I will be good... I hope. Going to need to get the Hard trophy as well. For some reason I didn't get that when I played through the first time.