Anyone play the original Tomb Raider anymore?

[mako72]

I know the game has had its ups and downs over the years but the first Tomb Raider is still one of my all time favorite games. I remember when it first came out my brothers and I played it all night long cause we had never seen anything like it before. The first time I saw the raptors in the begining of the Lost Valley level was the most amazing gaming experience I had ever had. We were all freaking out. Pretty much the whole lost valley level was the most amazing thing we had ever played. I still play through random levels of that game on a regular basis. I remember it took us over an hour to beat the Lost Valley level the first time but now I can run through it in about 7 minutes. It was the first game that I got immersed in and felt like I was all alone in an underground world.
I have played all in the series except for the Angel of Darkness. I bought the game but after about 10 minutes I turned it off and never returned. Kinda reminds me of the time I rented the game Overblood for the ps1. That game was so bad it made me sick.

[ott0bot]

I agree that the first time I played Tomb Radier I was blown away. My friends and I would just run around the levels and explore. Seeing the centuar guy for the first time was awesome as was jumping in the water the first time and then seeing the crocs!!! There was an awesome element of suspense that really made it more of and experience. I think it really started a style of games that has become the standard in action adventure titles that dominate the market next to FPS's, sports, and racing games.

But when I played I recently I was pretty bored. The contol is horrid on the game. I hate the jumping and the bad camera angles. The puzzles seemed easy this time around and I just didn't have fun. I don't think it holds up to the test of time. Good nostagia, but its in that "state of the art" era of bad polygons that I don't really enjoy in gaming.

[Metalcrack]

I haven't played the original in maybe 7 years, but I'm almost done with Anniversary, which is a pretty faithful remake of the original. They even have comparison screen shots of the original versus Anniversary... Wow, graphics have come along way, but the Original is defiantly a defining moment is gaming.

[andymol21]

Well thats handy, I just started playing it for the 1st time now. I'm amazed by how far Saturn emulation has come since I last tried it and one of the games that works really well so SSF is the original Tomb Raider. The controls are shockingly bad when you compare them to modern 3rd person action games (or Mario 64!) but it does have a unique sense of adventure, something I think the later games are missing somehow... I remember the 1st time I saw it, on a friends Playstation, amazed me with the graphics. Now though... especially on a Saturn emulator that doesn't do full screen, looks awful. Still, it's good fun. Bit too popular for Together Retro, but something like it may be fun, don't know if there are any decent clones?

[NebachadnezzaR]

I basically share ott0bot's opinion. Back in the day it was just awesome, it's considered one of the ground breaking 3D titles (along with Mario 64) for a reason, but action/adventure games have come a long way since then, and when I played it again some months ago the controls felt awkward and overall it wasn't that fun to play. Awesome for its time, but it aged terribly.

[Gamerforlife]

I basically share ott0bot's opinion. Back in the day it was just awesome, it's considered one of the ground breaking 3D titles (along with Mario 64) for a reason, but action/adventure games have come a long way since then, and when I played it again some months ago the controls felt awkward and overall it wasn't that fun to play. Awesome for its time, but it aged terribly.

I still think the original Tomb Raider controls just fine as do all of the older Resident Evil titles. Tomb Raider is a real favorite of mine. It's the first 3d title that truly impressed me. I never was that impressed by Mario 64. It simply didn't have the sense of wonder and awe that Tomb Raider provided me with. I'm not like a lot of other people here, I can still go back and play that game and enjoy it because graphics just don't matter so much to me. When I play an older game, my mind pretty much returns to that era and I remember what games looked like at the time. It's why I can go back and play a game like Starfox on the S-NES and still be impressed by how it looks.

[Ack]

I didn't get into Tomb Raider until it had been out for a few years, so I wasn't that impressed with the graphics or the controls. But then again, at the time I was more into RPGs than anything else, so it's a game I probably didn't give a fair chance to. I should go back and retry it.

On a side note, it was better than Deathtrap Dungeon.

[mako72]

Granted the controls are not that great but I still like them. The design of the controls are actually to you advantage if you know how to use them. Now-a-days games just require you to run an jump at things and its easy. Tomb Raiders controls added and extra element with the square layout of everything. I remember arguing with my brothers, "I think this is a running jump' "No! its a standing jump" "No way look at how far away that ledge is!. It was actually really exciting planing out every jump before it was made. Take a look at some of Mthe speed runs by MMAN on youtube and you can see how he takes full advantage of the grid design.

[Scooter]

I've played through the game numerous times and occassionally return when I'm bored with everything else. I must have a better system or a better copy of the game than everyone else because I actually like the camera and the controls. A lot of other games, old and new, could stand to have cameras and controls at least as good as Tomb Raider has.

Anniversary is fun, but I haven't finished it yet. A little of the magic is gone, I hope it gets better in the latest levels (I just finished the Lost Vally).

If you abaondoned Overblood due to the slow start, I suggest you go back and try it again and get a little deeper into the game. It isn't the greatest game ever made, but it has a good story and the controls aren't that bad once you get used to them a little. The game certainly has a "feel" to it much in the same way Tomb Raider and Resident Evil games deliver a "feel".

[marurun]

Wrong part of the forum, yo. I'm moving it.