The games keep getting better and better and better and...

Just to repeat what has been said about 1000 times on this group already,
BUY THIS GAME.  

I told myself I would buy no more games for a month.  I read the reviews... 
I saw the pictures... I was no longer the master of my body... I watched
from afar as my body went and purchased this game... I'm glad it did!

If you are in any way a fan of action/puzzle type games, this one is a must-
have.  Think Prince of Persia on every chemical substance known to man, and
you'll have a good idea of what this game is like.  You can't imagine how
cool it is to jump over a wolf, turn around, and blow the wolf away with a 
pistol in each hand.

The game is, of course, not without its flaws.  The collision detection is
warped sometimes.  Check out the ability to stand in the middle of a table 
in Lara's home.  Guess what, though... this does not matter because it does
not affect the gameplay at all.  Those who criticize this game for flaws 
like this are being way too nitpicky.

Also, those who say that Super Mario 64 is superior are full of crap.  SM 64
is a terrific game, certainly a pinnacle in video gaming achievement, but 
the more "mature" (I question how mature a video game can really be...) 
atmosphere in Tomb Raider makes up for any gameplay failings it may have in
comparison to SM 64.  Many of us are, quite simply, sick of Mario.  Lara 
Croft is much, much cooler in my opinion.  Tomb Raider is at least on the
same level as SM 64 in terms of game design and engrossing action.
It is, of course, vastly superior in the category of "including cool 
gun-toting heroines."  Mario, of course, takes the cake in the category
of "including dated, insulting Italian-American stereotypes," "including
mushrooms that have eyes," and "including turtles."  But I digress...

There are also some problems with the camera system.  Sometimes, you just
cannot get the point of view you want.  This is usually solved with 
experience, though.  At first, you will think, "where the hell is she
going, and why?"  You will learn the controls and it will get better.

Perhaps my biggest problem so far is the save-game system.  You can only 
save the game at predetermined spots, where you find a rotating blue 
diamond.  I think it saves your health, but I'm not sure.  I'm already
sort of frustrated by this because I spent a good half-hour on level 2
and died right before I could save it.  Drat!  It's not really that 
bad, though.

Tomb Raider has a great feel to it.  I love how there is no music for much
of the game, just the lonely click-click of your footsteps (interrupted, of
course, by the occasional frenetic battle with a pack of wolves!).  When you
enter an area that is important, you will hear a brief, spooky, completely 
engaging musical interlude while you play.  This seems so much cooler than
having music throughout, I'm surprised more games don't do this.  This is 
definitely a page borrowed from Prince of Persia, though.  

There are some other things borrowed from PoP, most obviously the 
well-implemented puzzle-action combination.  Also, the floating platforms
that fall briefly after you touch them are straight from PoP.  The coolest 
thing borrowed from PoP is the fun of jumping off a ledge from an impossible
distance and grabbing onto another platform and just dangling over thin air.
What a thrill!  For true Prince of Persia fans, seeing this in 3D should be
reason enough to seek this game out.

In summary, this game deserves to be hailed as one of the 2 or 3 best 
action/adventure video games of all time.
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Zach Smolinski                                          zsmolins@law.uiuc.edu
Student at the University of Illinois College of Law
"Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year, it's just not really 
widely reported." -David St. Hubbins
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