lara croft: tomb raider legend

PLATFORM: PSP

RELEASE DATE: 06/2006
PUBLISHER: Eidos
ESRB RATING: T for Teen
Progress: Halfway

Very few travel companions are quite as pretty as the legendary Lara Croft. I've been glued to my PSP the past few weeks during my morning and afternoon commutes. I've seem to have developed a good working relationship with Miss Croft, solving puzzles and discovering new uses for motorcycles. She was nice enough to join me in person this morning for a chat, let's see how it went:

LARA CROFT: Does it always smell this much down here?

ME: Well, yea, NYC subways are about as dirty as it comes but I'm sure you've seen much worse in your travels.

LARA: Interesting you should say, why, in the game Tomb Raider Legend I traveled to the Himalayas, the cliffs of Bolivia, Japan, Ghana, I even parachuted into Kazakhstan.

ME: Lets talk about that first location. This story has a flashback into your past we haven't seen before. How do you feel about that?

LARA: I think it gives people a look into how I was brought up but also valuable clues about my childhood "friend" Amanda.

ME: Wasn't she dead?

LARA: That is, what I thought...

The train then arrives with a gust of wind that catches Lara's hair, blowing it up behind her making her look more majestic than ever. With the ring of the train horn, the doors close behind us and we enter the crowded, rush hour train. Even with all the morning congestion we manage to find two seats adjacent to one another.

LARA: Must they stand in the doorway? It doesn't seem an efficient way to fill the train with the most passengers.

ME: Yea, that happens.

LARA: It's as if they are trying to aggravate me, do you think they would like to learn a lesson I first learned studying with the Royal Marines?

ME: Woah, woah.. lets get back to the game. Speaking of aggravating, can you tell us more about the wonky camera controls?

LARA: They hardly do me justice. I can complete some complex puzzles and amazing climbs but my games have yet to grasp the camera work just right.

ME: For veterans of the Tomb Raider franchise this isn't anything new. With games like Uncharted 3 to compare controls, it is hard to measure up. That said, this is some of the best controls I've seen on the PSP. I rarely find myself button mashing and climbing feels natural with a movement of your thumb.

LARA: (Looking over my PSP) It is cute.

ME: I was happy to see the inclusion of the motorcycle chase and swimming sections. Those levels, while quick, are a great way to break up the gameplay in the story.

LARA: I am skilled at many motor vehicles its only natural that content was included.

ME: (Bites lip at a sudden "woman driver" comment that would probably get me killed) What about your R&D team? I see they are back helping you navigate through your comm link. Didn't Zip die?

LARA: That was Bryce and it was just a movie, darling. My games are more accurate to the actual events.

ME: About movies, your sure to have heard comparisons to Nathan Drake before. Any advice for the soon-to-be movie star?

LARA: Yea, well, we'll see how his movie does.

The train is reaching my midtown stop. I fiddle with the handle of my bag while getting ready to get off the train. I start to wonder where the day will take Miss Croft.

ME: This is me, where you heading today anyway

LARA: The Museum of Natural History, darling. They seem to have found something they would like me to take a look at.

Of course.

C+

I never get tired of watching this girl climb