Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is a Action-Adventure game was released in 2024 for PS5, PS4, XBONE, XSX/S, Switch, and PC.
It was both developed and published by Aspyr in partnership with current series developer Crystal Dynamics and Saber Interactive, and it is a fully remastered compilation of first three games in the series originally developed by Core Design.
I remember the time when the 5th-gen system like the PS1, N64, and Saturn became the thing in mid-90s where these system's hardware power demonstrating the new technology that was designed to run on the 3D polygonal engine which was quite a ground-breaking at the time.
I considered Super Mario 64 as the most revolutionary N64 title that not only it defines the 3D platforming genres but also changes the gaming industry, Metal Gear Solid was hailed as the greatest stealth action game was praised for its cinematic story presentation and innovative stealth combat, Final Fantasy VII was critically and commercially successful at the release became one of the PS1's system-selling RPGs title in 1997, and of course The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the N64's universally acclaimed title of all-time and also the biggest landmark of open-world adventure games in history.
There's one of the franchise that had people talk so much about it especially in my old times whether its my friends, classmates, families, etc. had been obsessed with the thing that I know the reason why they had a PS1 console or PC for a one particular game they been spend playing in their home, so that is Tomb Raider.
It is a 1996's Action-Adventure game made its first debut of the series for PS1, Saturn, and PCs created by Core Design where you take control of Lara Croft, an female British archaeologist who travels around the world, went on searching for lost artefacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins.
The first original game was critically praised for its innovative 3D graphics, controls scheme, and gameplay design, and it was commercially successful at release in 1996 became PS1's best-selling title with 7 million units sold worldwide.
It is also went on to win several awards and is considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made.
Many gamers had recognising Lara Croft as the biggest cultural icon and becoming one of the best and most beloved video game female protagonist of all-times is the reason why she appears on not just video games itself, but also appeared on numerous of things such as gaming magazines, TV commercials, promotional advert poster, and you name it.
She's everywhere that had attracts the audience that made them buy a copy of Tomb Raider off from the gaming stores is the reason why she is so popular back in the days of 90s.
After the success of the first game, it spawns numerous of sequels such as TR2, TR3, and TR: The Last Revolution are also just as well received as the first game, and then sadly it goes wrong with the later twos such as TR: Chronicles are the last title on the PS1 era are critically and commercially flopped at the release and then when the PS2 came around in 2000 they bought TR: Angel of Darkness in 2003 makes it the last developed game by Core Design which unfortunately it became universally panned by gaming medias that killed off not only just the whole franchise but also destroyed the whole career of Core Design had declared bankruptcy making the 5th and 6th title as twos of the worst in the series, as the franchise IPs been quickly handed over to Crystal Dynamics to take over the development of next Tomb Raider game with the TR: Legend in 2006 had sparked as the massive improvement over the previous titles thanks to redesigned control schemes for better camera system and interaction as well as combat and movement are so much easier to pull-off jumping, climbing, and shooting just made the game better to play is the reason why this game just saves the whole franchise and it receives mostly positive from the gaming medias labelled the game as the return to form for the franchise and had improved upon the sales which sold 2.9 million units at release.
Then we also had a full remake of the 1996's original game titled as TR: Anniversary was released in 2007 and TR: Underworld was released in 2008 are also received just as good as the TR: Legend.
In around 2013, Crystal Dynamics had bought the full reboot to the franchise titled as Tomb Raider acting as the first installiment in the reboot trilogy that reconstructs the Lara Croft origins making it a completely going on a different direction as survival action rather than the adventurous approach like from the previous titles.
The game was critically acclaimed at the release in 2013 praised by gaming medias for its campaign, story, visuals, and gameplay, as well as the 2015 sequel such as Rise of Tomb Raider are also received a same praise as the 2013's game, and then lastly with the 2018's final entry titled as Shadow of Tomb Raider which are also positive but not nearly had the same level as the previous twos for its lack of innovation and repetitive playthroughs and it also suffers the slow start in sales at the release.
In around 2023, Aspyr had finally bought the video game compilation of the classic threes Tomb Raider games to the modern platforms such as PCs and consoles completely packed with 3 games to introduced newcomers to get into with the TR franchise featuring additional content as well as enhanced visuals and controls.
So what do I think about Tomb Raider series as the whole? well initially at the start in my mid-90s as a child where my brother had rented the copy of the first TR game on SEGA Saturn, I wasn't really good at it when I had a first go is due to wonky tank controls which requires a skill to learn the control by making the jump and grab on ledge in perfect timing without having to fall off the platforming stage which is why I never get passed to through the first level which made me avoid the series for long time till I've decided to give it a second chance with the TR: HD collection for PS3 packs with threes such as Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld which plays better then I've expected, and then I get to enjoy with the two reboots such as TR: 2013 and Rise of Tomb Raider is incredibly outstanding because it's plays and feels different from original TR series.
That being said, it's a really interesting video game franchise that shares with solid storyline, likable protagonist, atmospheric presentation, and campaign filled with challenges and puzzles just keeps you busy playing the game.
So where can I enjoy the original TR games without having to go through with the tank controls? well I've just bought the physical boxed deluxe edition of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered off from online store just for curiosity to see if this anything plays better than I remember back then, so the answer is yes it maybe plays better but it still has flaws in some parts which is why I am here to review the game to point out some of good stuffs and some bads.
So without go further do, lets start the review.
Presentation
This compilation packs with 3 games to select on the menu such as TR 1, TR 2, and TR 3.
The first TR game follows archaeologist-adventurer named Lara Croft who is hired by businesswoman Jacquelline Natla to find an artefact called the Scion of Atlantis, where as the second TR game focusing on Lara went for hunting the Dagger of Xian, a magical weapon once used by an ancient Chinese emperor, in competition with an Italian cult, and then lastly the third TR game focusing on Lara's quest to recover four pieces of a meteorite that are scattered across the world.
I got to say that despite the three original games that was made back in the mid-90s, I actually enjoyed the storyline of the first game which is a great introduction to the iconic character went for her adventure to find an artefact that keeps me so interested in the original trilogy, where as the second game does share with the decent opening scene and some plot aspects throughout the game that tells the whole history of magical dagger that was made back in the ancient China times, and lastly I got to be honest with the third game which I do finding it okay at best but not quite fully detailed as the previous twos in my opinion.
Aside with the storylines in each games, you all had to admit Lara Croft is still an smokin hot lady especially back in the 90s and 2000s filled with poster ad, commercials, and magazines is the major reason why it gained her popularity as the biggest gaming icon.
She goes out doing her adventurous stuffs by jumping and climbing around the platforms, evading many traps and pits throughout the rooms, shooting the f**k out of dinosaurs, lizards, tigers, and bats, does acrobatic stunts moves, swimming under the pool, and of course kicking everyone asses is what I liked about her, so the best part in the TR game that made everyone liked her the most is got to be none other than staring at her ass...oh yeah try it with the photo mode or go under the small gap with crouching mode I double dare you guys.
Her in-game appearance looked way better on the remastered version than the classic original because it feels like it makes her face and body design look more like Lara you see on the game's front cover especially on both the PS1 and PC jewel case back in the old days.
The presentation in these games are fantastic because Tomb Raider franchise was best known for its atmospheric settings of the ancient tombs and ruins just looks incredibly amazing back in the days of 90s, so as the fully remastered version of these games just looks so much better with the enhancements details in each locations.
Stuff like in Peru has dark caves filled with mazes and big waterfall of valley in Peru, the huge colosseum arena and legendary palace with garden in Greece, the ancient tombs and objects in Egypt, the creepy flesh and red skins environments in Atlantis, the great wall and temple in China, the large opera house in Italy, the mysterious underground catacombs in Tibet, the jungle and temple ruins in India, and of course the village and temple of Puna in South Pacific is so much beautiful to explore around the area is what made the series so special because it gives me sort of Indiana Jones vibes to these kind of games just fits the style of presentation.
The remastered version of these 3 games still has an old-school FMVs cutscenes from the original which is quite acceptable back in the 90s, so no complaint to these whatsoever because it's part of the nostalgia things that made Tomb Raider series quite special back then.
Overall, it has enjoyable storyline, memorable protagonist, and fantastic presentation settings.
Gameplay
You take control of Lara Croft in 3rd-person perspective as your main goal is to find and obtain the artefact, so in order to do that you must complete several of things to get through to the new area such as solving the puzzles, evading many traps and pits, jumping and climbing the walls and gaps, and of course find the key or object to unlock stuff.
Full disclosure: I'm using the modern controls as opposed to tank controls, so that will be different ways of playing the game.
Pushing the left stick control or pressing the d-pad button is to move Lara, and pushing the right stick control is to rotate the camera around.
Press the cross button is to jump which allows Lara to jump across the platforms, holding the square button is to make Lara walk instead of running so that will help you to prevent you from falling off the gap, press the circle button to make Lara roll used as evade to dodge the projectile, press the triangle button to interact things like activating the switch, pick up items, and of course pulling and pushing the objects by holding the triangle button then press forward or backward with the left stick control or d-pad button when the interaction icon appears on screen, holding the left trigger button will equip the weapon can be automatically lock-on enemies then press or hold the right trigger button to shoot them.
You will have the secondary button on your right trigger which allowing Lara to do stuffs like grabbing on the ledge or gap while in mid-air or ground or make Lara climb down slowly and holding the gap by holding the right trigger then move forward to the gap.
While holding onto the gap, you can move across the gap by pressing the left stick control or d-pad left and right button then climb up the gap by holding the right trigger then push left stick up or press the d-pad up button or drop down from the gap by pressing the circle button.
You can climb on walls and ladders by holding the right trigger then push left stick or d-pad forward to grab on wall or ladder then climb with the left stick control or d-pad button.
The third game introduces the two action control button that the first and second game had missed out such as the crouch mode with the left shoulder button allowing Lara to duck down the ground then crawl through with the left stick control or d-pad button which works mostly for small under hole and she can also do hard sprinting by pressing the left thumbstick button allowing her to run faster till the sprint meter appears on the screen depleted which can be refilled automatically itself.
Lara has ability to do acrobatic moves such as jumping sideways, backflip, and of course doing her gymnastics pose while holding on the gap, but to keep you in mind that the modern controls are not perfect to use her acrobatic moves in comparison with the tank controls, so it only works when equipping with the weapon by holding the left trigger button then press the cross button before you push the left stick control or d-pad button to do acrobatic moves.
She can also swim under the water by jumping on the pool then press cross button to start swimming under and you can ascend and descend with the right stick control as well as swim forward or backwards with the left stick control, but pay close attention to oxygen level bar at the top-right screen which displays how long can you breath under the water, so if the oxygen level goes down lower then you might hurry back up to catch the breath before you starting to drown.
You can access to item inventory by pressing the touchpad button to display the weapon and health item you carry, the key or object you've obtained, and you can also load or save game to keep track with your progress allowing you to continue the game where you're left off.
So far, the modern controls does play slightly bit better for its movement because you could able to move around in 360 degrees makes it easier to play which is good addition for the newcomers, so that I can able to jump on platforms, grab and hold onto the gap, and of course having a rotating 360 degree camera system makes it an easier to navigate around the level.
Sadly like I did mentioned on above about the acrobatic moves may not play well on the modern controls in comparison with the tank controls, so you might missed out some moves like side-stepping, back-stepping, backflip, and jumping sideways.
I wish that they should've have added one more additional control to make it flexible to play like for example: we had two options such as classic control method plays like the original PS1 games, the modern control method are completely new ones act as an default, so we need one more control option to add it to these games that will allow us to use both the tank and modern control layout such as the d-pad for tank control and left stick for modern control just makes it sounds more convenient for those who doesn't want to keep going on the pause menu to change the control configuration.
I also wanted to point out the auto-lock aiming system is not quite easy to pull-off because you really need to precisely aim directly to the enemies by facing at them while holding the left trigger button then shoot them properly, so it can be headache at sometimes when fighting with the enemies and bosses, but taking more sometime to practice the better you able to play will likely to make you get used with the auto-aiming control.
While the controls plays fine for most part but still has flaws that may put you off, I did manage to enjoy most of the puzzles and platforming aspects in the game is because I really liked going on the exploration to finding the way of entering the new area like jumping on the gaps in higher platforms that leads me to the next room, collecting keys or activating switches to unlock doors, and of course obtaining the objects that are used for puzzle elements to open the path is what keeps me going.
I also had fun evading several of deadly environmental hazards like spiky pits, shredding blades, swinging axes, bursting flames, shooting arrows, lava pits, crocodiles and sharks bites you under the water, guy with harpoon swimming around, and of course the rolling boulder came tumbling down is all to do with game's overall challenge makes it very intense but also fun to play at the same time.
Sometime you can also get lost in the game too because Tomb Raider is all to do with exploring around the levels to search for clues which is fine, but the issue is that you don't want to keep backtracking in the same level as you visited before if you can't able to find the way of getting to the new or finishing area, so it would have been nice if they added an option to include the map inventory screen that the original game had lacked the feature, so you don't have to go through exploring around the area until you found one which took an hour to figure out.
These games did have really great action segments going on like riding on the snowmobile and quad-biking which I really liked pulling the stunts in some levels, shooting the f**k out of that mother f***ing T-Rex in Peru, encountering with a crazy blonde woman Sophia Leigh welds with magical stick shooting at you while you had to find the way of defeating her, doing a stealth in the Area 51 military bases to find the escape in Nevada, and of course swimming around the ocean filled with dangerous sea animals in underwater facility is what makes 3 of these game so special.
The levels does have some hidden secrets in which you'll be exploring around the area to find an undiscovered place that rewards you with the items like health pack and ammunition, as well as collecting a blue crystal which are just collectables rather than act as the save point objects like from the original game because you could save your progress by going on the pause menu does seem to be much easier to save the progress and just simply continue on with the game.
The game also has three bonus campaign such as Unfinished Business, Golden Mask, and Lost Artefacts which is basically an extra single-player game with additional levels to play is just a great addition to this content.
I also liked the Lara's Minor where you could do stuff in these 3 games such as gameplay tutorial, training course, and of course do wondering around in hallways, kitchen, bedroom, swimming area, and garden which I finding it quite interesting to explore and touring around Lara's own home, so don't forget to trap the old butler inside the frozen room...he he.
Overall, it has fine modern control, fun puzzles and platforming, great action segments, and has 3 decent games to play.
Graphics
The graphics in these remastered games are looking quite decent thanks to revamped graphical design to make it look more up-to-date classic title with better overhaul environments with hi-quality textures, clean surfaces detail, some good amounts of lighting and shadow effects in some areas, and good use of colours.
I also wanted to praise the additional backgrounds layouts and upgraded details on these remastered games that was completely missing in the originals, so it is really nice to add stuff to this because it makes these games look and feel more like a proper remastered titles for modern platforms.
The character's model is looking quite amazing in these remastered games especially Lara is looking so much better than the ones in the original 1996's game.
These games does give you an option to switch between the classic and modern visuals with the option button on your controller to choose any of two graphical option that suits you the best, so the classic ones that made back in mid-90s are for those who grew up with their nostalgic times of PS1 era, where as the modern ones are fully remastered with enhance visuals makes these games suitable recommendation for those who are a new to the franchise.
In case you guys been wondering how are these games had performed well on the platforms? I say both of these PCs and consoles worked really good as the PS5, XSX/S (X Model), and PCs ran on full 4k resolution with 60fps where as the XSX/S (S model) locked on 1440p resolution but also ran on 60fps just works very smoothly without any of frame-drops, so same goes with Switch which ran on 1080p docked mode and 720p undocked mode with 60fps, and then of course PS4 and XBONE are likely also ran with the 60fps mode so the resolution of the base system goes up to 1080p and then the pro system goes up to 4k.
Overall, it has enhanced visual design for environments, layouts, and character's model, as well as butter smooth performance with stable frame-rate and high resolution display.
Music and Sounds
I say I really liked the original soundtrack of these 3 games which I really liked the ancient style of orchestrated music really fits the game's presentation especially with the theme song are astoundingly beautiful to listen which is why Tomb Raider franchise had the best overall soundtrack, so it was composed by Nathan McCree, who was Core Design's composer worked between 1996 and 98 is best known for creating the original music for 3 Tomb Raider games, did a outstanding job of delivering the adventurous and mysterious tone of score just fits perfectly on these kind of games.
I also wanted to praise the overall sound design for its atmospheric sound effects, background noises, and some ambience tone just works well on some levels depending on locations.
It still has the original voice acting from the classic 3 games which makes all sense because why not, it's still sounds pretty decent especially back in the mid-90s.
Overall, it has beautiful soundtrack, atmospheric sound design, and decent voice acting.
Special Features
Each of these 3 games has bonus campaign to play such as Unfinished Business, Golden Mask, and Lost Artefects which has extras levels, and it also have unlockable costumes after you beat the game, and then you can also use photo mode to take the picture in the game.
The physical collector's boxset of Deluxe Edition packed with not only just the physical disc game, but also comes with exclusive steelbook case, exploration map book, and official soundtrack with both physical music CD and digital download code.
Overall, an excellent content and bundle.
Advantages
Fantastic story presentation
Memorable protagonist
Modern control is good addition
Challenging puzzles and platforming levels
Great action segments
Decent visuals
Beautiful music and sound design
Packed with 3 games with bonus campaign levels
Disadvantages
Backtracking in some levels
Clunky auto-lock aiming system
Could have an additional control setting (like D-pad for tank and left stick for modern)
Final Verdict
Presentation 8/10 - enjoyable storyline, memorable protagonist, and fantastic presentation settings.
Gameplay 7/10 - fine modern control, fun puzzles and platforming, great action segments, and has 3 decent games to play.
Graphics 8/10 - enhanced visual design for environments, layouts, and character's model, as well as butter smooth performance with stable frame-rate and high resolution display.
Music and Sounds 8.5/10 - beautiful soundtrack, atmospheric sound design, and decent voice acting.
Special Features 9/10 - bonus campaign, unlockable costumes, and physical collector's boxset as Deluxe Edition.
Overall 7.5/10 - As I originally had troubled with the original game back then, but looking back now as a fully remastered games does make a hell of a difference thanks to additional modern control just made these games plays better than I remembered back then, which is why I decided to give the classic Tomb Raider games a second chance.
Having these games as a remastered version delivers a enhanced overall experience with upgraded visuals just made the game look appealing for modern gaming console in terms of environments, layouts, and animation just ran pretty smoothly for most parts.
I did able to enjoy the game for its great story and character, atmospheric presentation, and of course the adventurous gameplay with puzzles, platforming, and action is what makes the original 3 Tomb Raider a worth playing as today.
There are a two physical editions for console releases such as standard edition which cost around over £25 where as the deluxe edition are cost between £40 and £50.
The digital storefront such as PS Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop, and Steam are cost between £25 and £27.
Is it an recommended to buy? I say the remastered version packed with 3 games for £25 standard edition is worth for purchase or if you're a big gaming collector like me would go for a much expensive deluxe edition packed with goodies are also worth to pick up.
I'm looking forward for another remastered trilogy of Tomb Raider IV-VI is coming on this month, so even though I heard many bad things about TR: Chronicles and Angel of Darkness as I'm hoping for Aspyr to resolve the issues that the original games had suffered back then, so be prepared for the upcoming IV-VI remastered this February release and hope it will turned out to be well.
Anyway like I said, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is actually a good trilogy collection and you might want to give these games a worth a try and see what you think, so please check it out.
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