14 DAY TRIAL // Lara Croft looked great on PC screens everywhere. Two guns in her hands, tight shorts and revealing top, that looked like the ultimate tough chick, the one you'd follow everywhere and just love to help her run, swing, jump and fight.
Turning all this action into a mobile game might sound at first as ruining all the fun out of Lara. Surprise! It's not. Tomb Raider: Legends looks on cellulars just as good as it always has on the screens of desktop computers. You get all the action that you used to, only with a great deal of more freedom. Lara Croft can fight her way through solving mysteries just about any place and any time.
It looks as Eido Interactive has hit the big jackpot with their success of turning Tomb Raider: Legends into a mobile game. It looks splendid and, at some point, there even is a matter of doubt whether you are playing it on your handset or on a PC.
The graphics are excellent and the fact that we are actually talking about a 3D game makes it stand out even more. These prove to be very rare occasions when 3D mobile games come with such evolved graphics. And it puts its toll on the handset too, as Tomb Raider: Legends can be played only on high-end mobile phones and requires a considerable amount of memory space for installing.
The game shows Lara Croft on a quest to find the legendary sword of King Arthur, Excalibur. The magic object has been broken into three pieces, which makes the journey even longer. At the end of the journey, she realizes that the disappearance of her mother several years ago is actually related to these swords. It is not explained what exactly that means, but a sequel might be the solution for that.
The game features two playing modes: Adventure and Missions. They basically enclose the same sceneries, just that in the Missions mode you can play the same fight as many times as you like. There's a high chance you'll want to do so, as clinging on the edge of cliffs and buildings as well as shooting masked enemies proves to be highly addictive at some point.
There are three different fighting scenes. The first leaves Lara Croft walking on the scaffoldings of a Tokio building jumping and hanging on the outside of it, until she manages to get into it and starts shooting and fighting some bad guys. The second is in the forest of Ghana, while the third takes place at King Arthur's tomb, in Cornwall.
It turns out to be a bit tedious to split the action of this game in two parts: platform and shooter. Moreover, it is quite disappointing not to have these combined for more challenging gameplay. Each section is split into three parts. At first you have to jump and cling to buildings and cliffs, then you must defeat the smaller enemies and in the end get the big fish, a guy who comes with great superpowers.
With these 3D graphics, Tomb Raider: Legend looks just like the PC version. This is highly entertaining and makes it look as one of the best games ever made for mobile phones in this mode. Unfortunately, at some point, you might get the impression that you know the place and that you have actually been there just minutes before. No, you're not mistaking, that is because you have indeed been there before just minutes before. This probably happens just to make gameplay a bit longer without having to increase even more the already large memory space that the game requires.
Lara is incredibly easy to lead during the game. Actually, all you have to do is to keep the forward button pressed and be careful to avoid obstacles. Whenever she has to turn right or left, she does it automatically. Moreover, she swings on walls and building edges beautifully. With a bit of exercise, it becomes extremely easy and enjoyable to help her cling, jump and run.
This comes as a result of the successful efforts of Eidos Interactive of making her look as real and appealing as possible. Lara Croft looks just as good as it has until now. Let's face it: the simple opportunity of following this character is enough for some players to love the game. She looks great and has very natural moves, whether she is kicking bad guys or jumping edges.
The biggest disadvantage that Tomb Raider: Legends brings is the fact that it is too short. We want more and more, as much as possible of Lara Croft. Tomb Raider: Legend, even in its mobile version, is so captivating that it leaves you striving for more levels to play.
