Tomb Raider: Legend PSP review

It was something of a surprise wasn’t it? Tomb Raider: Legend turned out to be pretty great on PC and consoles. Okay Eidos/Crystal Dynamics still don’t have a clue what made the original game great – it’s exploring vast empty tombs guys not gunfights – but TRL was much better than we could have hoped for.

For those in search of another fix of Lara Croft you could do a lot worse that try the PSP version. Yes the game is flawed technically, but it’s a fun adventure that is worth some of your time. So let’s dive in and take a look at this new version.

Bolivia

After a familiar cutscene the game begins just as the other versions have, with Lara stood on a cliff in Bolivia. What becomes immediately apparent is how bad the controls are. Yes it’s the PSP analogue nubbin to blame once again – but we can also blame the developer of TRL for not trying to work round its problems rather than letting it have crazy full reign over the control of Lara.

What’s the problem? Two things, control acceleration and lag. It takes a moment for Lara to get moving and once she’s moving she really could go anywhere rather quickly. It makes even the simplest parts of the game fraught with danger. I managed to fall off the very first cliff in the game due to the rather difficult control scheme.

In Camera

We’ve become very used to the two-stick approach in third person shooters. One stick moves the avatar, the other stick moves the camera. No such luck with the PSP though which means some very fiddly camera moments in the thick of action. Instead of fluid movement through the levels I tended to move…move camera…move a little…move camera etc. Tapping L centres the view which aids lining up jumps, but doesn't make it any easier to look around.

Holding the square button down in combination with the nubbin is not the ideal way of moving the camera around. That square button is also used for interacting with objects such as pushing blocks but feels very unresponsive. At times I would want to push a block and the game didn’t want to recognise my efforts on the square button. No my PSP isn’t faulty, it’s the same for anyone.

Once you’ve spent some time with the controls you will get used to them, ironically the control lag is reminiscent of the original 1996 game. But really Eidos, some better PSP controls for the next one please.

Feature Complete

One certainly can’t criticise the developer for the content of the game. It’s all pretty much in there from the big console versions. A little blockier perhaps, but it is all in there. My favourite part of the Xbox 360 game was climbing around Croft Manner, which seemed closer to classic Tomb Raider gameplay than the rest of the adventure. So I was delighted that it has been included here in the PSP version.

The PSP gets some bonus content too. So here on the PSP we’ve actually got the largest version of Tomb Raider Legend. The various competitive and single player modes that pit you against the clock are lots of fun and are only marred by that unforgiving control method. These bonus sections are ideal showcases for the Lara’s excellently animated acrobatics but unless you’ve Jedi reflexes the controls will render your efforts closer to what you’d see if I tried to climb an Inca temple.

Looking Good

Obviously we’ve been spoilt with the visuals of the Xbox 360 version but the PSP game does hold up rather well. The levels can look a little blocky at times yet it doesn’t ever become a mushy mess like so many PSP adventures, making it hard to see what’s going on. The Lara model is the best looking part of the game, but overall it’s a good looking game for the PSP.

The animation is great too and the cutscenes are all present in widescreen format. The only downside is the nature of the game itself. Much of the game is played in dark tombs, so if you try to play the game anywhere near sunlight it’s a struggle to see anything at all.

Missed Chance?

Tomb Raider: Legend is one of the most feature-packed, attractive and detailed games available on PSP right now. By rites it should be given a very high score and all of you encouraged to get out there and buy it as soon as possible. But the control problems do really drag the game down and it’s such a shame. There’s clearly a great game in there and if you persevere with the controls it does start to come together for your poor fingers eventually.

However there’s never a point where you can leap and swing through the levels in the fluid manner you expect from a Tomb Raider game. The controls just make that impossible. If you’re a Tomb Raider completist or reckon you’ve great dexterity then you will find a very pleasing game here. I enjoyed my time with the PSP version of Tomb Raider Legend yet I knew it could have been a hell of a lot better.