[This review was written while playing the PC version on Linux in Wine]
Just as Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Legend works near perfect in Linux in
Wine. One additional issue issue is that the "next generation graphics"
option doesn't work and causes plenty of graphical glitches which makes
it unusable, so one has to play with the low graphic settings, which by
the way is the same graphic quality that Anniversary had, which didn't
have a "next gen" option. The water reflexions have to be disabled too.
The game also only support "widescreen", not specific aspect ratio, so
things end up looking a little stretched when you play 16:9 on a 16:10
monitor, but you get used to that quickly.
Unlike Anniversary,
Legend follows a much more linear and story driven level design. Every
now and then you end up in a larger room that requires you to solve a
puzzle or two, but the game doesn't really feature any real branching
of the level structure. This makes the whole gameplay more accessible,
but also makes the puzzles quite a bit easier. The puzzles in Legend
however make much more use of physics and much less use of item
collections which is a welcome change.
One of the really
interesting aspects of Legend is that it features radio communications
throughout the whole game, so you always get background information and
commentary about the locations that you are currently visiting. Legend
also features a wide variety of locations, everything from Japanese
skyscrapers to classic ruins is present. The Croft Manner is present as
well and while not as complex is in Anniversary still fun to solve. In
addition to the classic platforming Legend also features a few
motorcycle levels, these aren't really great, but neither are they bad
enough to really annoy.
Treasure hunting and the time trial mode
are available as well. The time trial is a lot simpler then in
Anniversary, since you don't have to spend much time searching for an
optimal route through the level. The treasure hunting on the other side
is a little tricker, since the treasures are spread out much more
randomly throughout the levels and there are also much more treasures
to hunt. Bonuses are again present in the form of cheats, costumes and
artwork. Costumes are present in much higher numbers then in
Anniversary, many of them are however just color variation of other
costumes.
The main critique about Legend is certainly its
length, the first play through is doable in just 7 hours. However with
all the puzzle hunting and time trial one can easily boost that to 20
hours, so there is still tons of game in there if one just bothers to
search for it.
Overall however Legend is highly enjoyable and
due to its linearity quite a bit easier and accessible then Anniversay.
It also features a much higher varity of locations. So while both games
are a little different, both are in the end equally fun.
