Tomb Raider: Legends

The Basics:
Platform: PC
Developer: Eidos
Price: $39.99 (April 2006)
ESRB rating: T (Teen)

Summary: Action, strategy and beauty in this sequel.

Note: Parents need to know that plenty of Lara's outfits emphasis her physical attributes, but her portrayal swings widely between a gun-toting femme fetal to brainy archeologist. The combat sequences can get a bit intense, but lack close up blood and gore, with defeated enemies fading quickly away. The various puzzles in the game have little to do with actual archaeology, but they do present a challenge and a welcome break from the reflex-heavy action sequences.

Families who play this game may want to discuss Lara as the protagonist. How do you feel the game portrays her? Do you feel the way she is portrayed common or different than other video games? Is she a role model you would like to imitate? Why, and what characteristics do you admire most?

Further Breakdown:

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Best for ages: 13+
Playability: Medium. Balky camera angles and controls mar the experience.
Graphics: High. Lara and the environment look stunning.
Reading Level: None
KidScore Rating

Ages 3-7: Red
Ages 8-12: Yellow
Ages 13-17: Green
Violence Amount: Yellow
Fear: Yellow
Illegal/harmful: Green
Language: Yellow
Nudity: Green
Sex: Green

Review:
Lara Croft is back, and she has never looked better. She's been the queen of action/adventure games since the first Tomb Raider was released in 1996. Since then, a slew of good and not so good sequels have been released. TOMB RAIDER: LEGENDS is better then most because it sticks closer to the allure of the original game-challenging puzzles, great graphics and good storyline to carry the action.

Opening sequences show a young Lara and her mother exploring the runes of an ancient civilization and discovering a sword embedded in a stone. When her mother pulls the sword from the stone, she is engulfed in an explosion and appears to be killed. Left with this memory, Lara is left to piece together what has happened. Soon, Lara discovers that much of the secret revolves around the broken shards of a powerful sword, which have been scattered around the world. It isn't easy for her to gather the pieces, however. Former friend Amanda and her right-hand man Rutland are ruthlessly attempting to gather the pieces of the sword as well, so they can use the sword's power for their own devices.

Packing two handguns to start, with options for grenades, machine guns and shotguns later, Lara is ready for Amanda and Rutland's mercenary troops. Some levels contain intense firefights, with exploding tanks of propane, mounted machine guns and vicious guard dogs. Overall though, shooting sequences tend to be limited to one or two major incidents per level, and the environment tends to be a more challenging foe.

Each location has its unique challenges. Some areas require simple timing, such as dodging through spiked traps, or jumping from safe point to safe point on mountain cliffs before they crumble. Other challenges are truly puzzles, requiring some brainpower to figure out. In one example, Lara needs to move boxes from one side to the other of a giant balance, eventually letting her get a golden box to the top of a platform to hold down a pressure switch, opening a door below.

The graphics are spectacular, rendering eye-popping environments for Lara to swim, run, swing and explore in. However, the developers made sure that the environment doesn't outshine one of the original success factors of the game-Lara's sex appeal. After swimming she looks wet. Detailed facial expressions reveal every emotion. And, every inch of a perfectly toned body is highlighted by some not so practical outfits.

To conclude, a good mix of action, challenging puzzles and storyline sequences make Legends as solid entry in the Tomb Raider series.