Tomb Raider: Legend (PlayStation 2, 2006)

Having played EVERY Tomb Raider game on the PlayStation, I was really looking forward to the series coming back from a disappointing PS2 debut in "Angel of Darkness". "Legend" did just that...like it or not, the grid layout of the PS1 games is replaced with a more detailed environment that just feels less like it was built from Lego blocks. It does take awhile to get the jump timing down, but when you do it's pretty smooth and movement overall is quite fluid. Lara has some great moves, but one that I miss is sprinting. The auto-grab on ledges also takes awhile to get used to, but again is well done when you work it into your mind to use it.

What I did not like about "Legend", though, was the lack of challenge and short length of the game. Now maybe I'm a little hard-core on gaming, but it just did not challenge me that often, and when completed, I was left asking where's the rest.

Standing alone it was a fine effort by the publishers to right the ship after "AOD" but fell short on value, since it is a very linear adventure game it has no real replay potential. That's where the short length hurts the game. Look for this one to pop up for rather cheap used prices soon.