The Importance of Being Idle

Welcome To The Suck

Wow, today has sucked for some reason. I got up (reasonably) bright and early, expecting to have a fun day and... just didn't. For some reason I just couldn't work up the enthusiasm for anything. I kinda wanted to go out, but it was pissing with rain and I didn't know where I wanted to go anyway, so I stayed in and watched a couple movies (the excellent Jarhead and the excerable Batman & Robin - just cos it was on TV) and then finished the new Tomb Raider...
Ah yes, Tomb Raider Legend. Where do we start with you? Is it the best TR of the past decade? I'd say undoubtedly, yes it is. Is that saying very much? Er... no, no it isn't. Even the very first TR game was a good idea trapped in shite execution, and they pretty much got worse from there on in, so saying its the best Tomb Raider since whichever is a bit like choosing your favourite terminal disease: they're all shite, it's just a question of which one is the tastiest. So, what can I say about Legend? Well, it looks really pretty, and for the first time EVER you actually feel like Lara has the athletic ability she's supposed to have, the story is compelling enough to keep you playing (well, something had to) long after you've seen all the things you are gonna be able to climb on, jump off, swing round or shoot and Rachel Weisz is so perfect as Lara you wonder why nobody thought of her before. On the other side, the game is short, really short, I finished it in 7hrs, 6minutes and six seconds (it keeps time for you, not a good idea when your game doesn't even last a full weekends play), the last two levels are rubbish (the last tomb took all of 25 minutes on first run through, and the final level is a boss fight which has all the fun viciously stripped off it with the coarse sandpaper of ineptness leaving you just wanting to beat the damn thing so it will BE OVER), the bike riding bits are also rubbish and you'll be glad to see the back of them, and they've knicked the interactive cut-scene idea from Resi 4 and somehow made it less cool. This all sounds very negative, and I suppose it is, 'cos whilst Tomb Raider Legend is an okay game, it falls a long way short of greatness, in fact I'm starting to wonder if it's soul sucking averageness is what's contributed to my less than stellar mood today. Oh yeah, and if you've played the demo and thought that you were gonna see some interesting puzzles using the new physics system, trust me, you aren't: that is actually the most sophisticated puzzle in the whole game, and all you have to do is put some boxes on a seesaw...
Blimey, I guess I had something to get off my chest there eh?

posted by BadMonkey @ 9:18 PM