Tomb Raider Legend

Everything about this game pushes you towards the conclusion of Lara's ever-expanding quest. Each puzzle room has a little hint-movie that pans the camera around, showing off some of the room's points of interest (usually the path you'll need to follow to get out). Ropes, grappling hook attachment points and interactable objects get a shiny sheen to highlight them as possible solution options. Legend wants you to beat it - it wants you to restore Lara Croft to her position at the top of the tomb raiding heap.

Tomb Raider: Legend might not be an epic or set new standards like the original game did ten years ago, but it's thoroughly entertaining for its duration and is an impressive package on every system. Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC owners certainly get better value for money, but the Xbox 360 version signals a strong next-gen future for Lara. It's certainly not 'game of the year' material, but as far as entertaining diversions go, there'll be few that better it this year.

Graphically the series has never looked better. There are some jaggies and some framerate farts but nothing that will detract from the gameplay. The water effects are really nice, and we all know how difficult it is to make water look fluid. The character models move very smoothly and the difference between the in-game characters and the cutscenes are less pronounced. The music is symphonic and highlights the situations and mood of the game.

Tomb Raider: Legend is a good return to the roots of the series. It doesn't do anything new or different, but it has a great blend of action and adventure that will always keep you moving and interested. The problem is that it moves a bit too fast, and it's all over way too soon.

All in all, not a bad game, but it generally feels more like a decent reboot of the franchise than a really good Tomb Raider title… like, the next in line, Tomb Raider: Anniversary.

Tomb Raider Legend is not the stunning return to form we were hoping for, but is certainly a leap in the right direction that clings on by its finger tips to being generally solid, and mostly very entertaining addition to the series. Legend bodes well for future releases, and the Welcome mat may be out for Lara this time, but there's only so long Eidos can trade on past glories.