Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider was one of the most exciting video games I had the pleasure of playing for my original PlayStation. I remember being enthralled by the mix of action, adventure, and puzzle solving. And who doesn't like running around shooting wolves with a pair of semi-automatic pistols? Sadly, my infatuation with Tomb Raider didn't last. After an amazing sequel, the games quickly started to nosedive, finally crashing into a flaming wreck with the PS2's Angel of Darkness. Years later, when the franchise was revived with Tomb Raider Legend, I wasn't sure that I wanted to go back. But I did, and the game actually exceeded my expectations.

Now that Tomb Raider has come to the PlayStation 3 with Tomb Raider Underworld (and, soon, the Tomb Raider reboot), the last two Lara Croft games (Legend and Anniversary) from developer Crystal Dynamics have been upgraded to HD resolution and packaged together with Underworld for fans to enjoy all over again. Legend is a brand new (or, was a brand new) adventure for Lara Croft after the went-horribly-awry Angel of Darkness and it finds her getting back to her jungle-exploring, tomb-raider roots. Anniversary goes back and retells the story of the original game. It's not a reboot, but more of a retelling of that original game, with upgrades focusing on more impressive level design, more dynamic effects, and smoother controls.

One of the coolest things about this collection is that, aside from the fact that these are all Tomb Raider games, the three included titles work as a trilogy, with elements brought up in Legend and Anniversary that come to bear on Underworld. Not only are these three games really a blast to play, but they work almost as a cohesive story, providing a much longer narrative thread than a lot of games would be able to do well by themselves.

In several instances of PlayStation 2 games undergoing the HD-upgrade process, what you get on the other side is like what happens when I try to make a casserole: it sounds good, but when it comes out of the oven, ain't nobody hungry anymore. Here, though, the visuals are quite good. While you can still tell that the first two aren't native PS3 games, going back and forth between them and Underworld wasn't at all distracting. That speaks not only to the excellent job of reworking the visuals, but, I think, to the story and the gameplay elements as well.

It's hard to find a moment where the collection stumbles. If I had to pick one that was my least favorite, however, it would have to be Underworld. Sometimes the controls can be a little wonky, but then again that's nothing all that new to the Tomb Raider games. Legend and Anniversary, however, are shining examples of what exceptional games can be. And this collection makes the case that these increasingly popular HD collections don't all have to be poor quality. Instead, they can open up a world of outstanding games for a new generation of people wanting to get down in the dirt and explore the dark tombs. The Tomb Raider HD Trilogy is available at your local Slackers.

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