Tomb Raider: Legend

Developed by Crystal Dynamics

Available for PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360

For most, it started with ye olde Nintendo—the first games that sucked kids in were those starring Mario, those Contra dudes, or that dickhead dog from Duck Hunt. For me, though—due to my mother’s distaste for all things Simpsons, videogames, and anything fun and/or containing sugar—it wasn’t until I was 16 that I managed to dive into videogames. But it was a good time to do so: 1996 was the heyday of the PlayStation, and Tomb Raider was arguably its most important game.

Along with Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, the first Tomb Raider brought videogames into the third dimension—with vast levels, then-stunning graphics, and infuriating puzzles. Plot-wise, Tomb Raider was just an Indiana Jones rip-off—with Harrison Ford replaced by Lara Croft, a sexpot British adventurer/explorer/archeologist—but in terms of gameplay, its 3D levels were a huge evolution from the sidescrolling and top-down adventures of previous games.

Alas, the inevitable sequels sucked, and so did Angelina Jolie’s two Tomb Raider movies (let’s forget altogether that shitty syn­dicated TV show that lifted from the game—Relic Hunter, starring Tia Carrere). In other words, Tomb Raider was pretty much dead.

Until last week, when Tomb Raider: Legend hit shelves. Developers Crystal Dynamics have taken Tomb Raider back to square one. Players guide Lara through vast caverns and tunnels, from Bolivian ruins to subterranean British castles. Dodging traps and solving puzzles is key here, and Crystal Dynamics’ controls make moving Lara intuitive and fluid. The pretty graphics don’t hurt, and a couple of Lara’s new moves make gameplay solid and engaging. Crystal Dynamics has also added a bunch of new characters to the mix, but in Legend‘s best moments, they’re kept out of the way—and it’s here that Legend captures the best moments of Tomb Raider, whose massive crypts conveyed both danger and loneliness. Looting reliquaries and surviving deathtraps has never been quite this smart or fun. Or, at least, it hasn’t since 1996. ERIK HENRIKSEN

With honor and distinction, Erik Henriksen served as the executive editor of the Portland Mercury from 2004 to 2020. He can now be found at henriksenactual.com.