(TRL Part 1) Ah, Lara, my first love. I generally play through a game before recording to see if there are any problems first before I start a series. I'm not doing that this time, it'll be fine. I'm playing Tomb Raider: Anniversary off-screen because while it is good, it's not going to be that fun to watch or record, but it is good, I recommend Anniversary. This is about Legend though, so, enjoy. {Editors' Note: This is that series I was talking about that I will play on the weekends.}

(TRL Part 2) Lara Croft is sorta like a female Indiana Jones. It's easy to think of her that way, except she gets into fights with other rich assholes instead of Nazis. Lara would totally fight Nazis if given half a chance.

(TRL Part 3) Don't let anyone fool you, this is a puzzle game with a little bit of action in it. Lara is a badass, however her passion is in history, archeology, and treasure hunting, so that's what she will spend her time, money, and efforts on.

(TRL Part 4) That was an embarrassingly terrible display. This is one of those game you ought to use a controller for because the keyboard and mouse controls like ass.

(TRL Part 5) So, that's what I was supposed to do? That's kind of odd. {Editors' Note: This gameplay might not look all that different, if feels way better using a controller. Also, bit of an important update: I'm using a graphics enhancing software program on many of my games, now that I know about it. Legend looks better, Mass Effect is gonna look "better," and Fallout is gonna look better. Maybe "more stylized" a better descriptor. I couldn't get the program to work on Kurohyou, but that game already looks way better than it has any right to look.}

(TRL Part 6) I know this is a flashback sequence that happened in the past (I actually know who Amanda is), and the film grain effect is typically used during flashback sequences. This is a lot of fucking film grain. I almost had to go into the new video re-shader I'm using on all my games and calm all that grain down, but I didn't. Also, I hate quick-time events. {Editors' Note: I'm using a new re-shading program to make my games look better. I paid $750 dollars for my graphics card and I want some color out of it besides browns and greys, goddammit. Mostly it is for the "vibrance" setting (sometimes called "vivid") which literally just brightens most non-neutral colors. A free program that makes all my games look better is pretty freaking awesome if you ask me.}

(TRL Part 7) Yeah, I figured out this puzzle. I keep forgetting that I have that grappling hook and it comes in very handy sometimes.

(TRL Part 8) Nishimura is so sweet inviting me over even though he knows I'm going to wreck the joint as soon as Takamoto shows up. What are friends for, I suppose.

(TRL Part 9) Lara is the good kind of stubborn, she'll get what she wants. Takamoto using that sword fragment he has as the tip of his spear is brilliant, I must say. Also, y'all, the music on this soundtrack is so fucking good oh my god, I had no idea. {Editors' Note: I didn't see the poles at first, very important... Did I mention that I hate quick-time events yet?}

(TRL Part 10) These locations are beautiful, it's a shame I have to get the blood of the unworthy all over the priceless antiques.

(TRL Part 11) I really hope no one watching is yelling at the screen because they figured out the puzzle way before me. Puzzles are not in any way my thing, I just like how these games are put together. There is obvious quality and skill here.

(TRL Part 12) This game wants the player to defeat each boss in a very specific way, otherwise it's like chipping away at a mountain with a sewing needle. That can be a little frustrating because if you don't know exactly what that way is to defeat each boss, it ends up just shooting a lot and hoping for the best. Which is not a great strategy. Spray and pray should be the last resort, not Plan A.

(TRL Part 13) Those sword fragments are way too dangerous and grant the wielder far too much power to let them fall into the hands of a psycho, like Rutland or Takamoto or Amanda. Best to collect as many pieces of the sword as possible and lock them away, just in case. {Editors' Note: I didn't plan on leaving so suddenly and leaving the bike section incomplete, but I had some family stuff to do that came up at the last minute.}

(TRL Part 14) Warriors of the olden times would ride a warhorse into battle. A motorbike is pretty similar, I dare say. {Editors' Note: A motorbike, a motorbike! My kingdom for a motorbike!}

(TRL Part 15) Takamoto wanted the sword for the power that it grants, Rutland wanted the sword for the power it grants, can Amanda really be so shallow as to want the sword simply for the power after having cheated death the way she did? I've heard you see the whole world in a different way after something like that, but I've been wrong before.

(TRL Part 16) I don't know a whole lot about King Authur or any of that story. I'm glad Alister and Lara seem to know what they are talking about. I like that outfit by the way.

(TRL Part 17) I bet ye olde trap designers weren't expecting a forklift to show up and start barreling through the joint. If the treasure hunting thing doesn't work out, Lara could pick up a job somewhere as a material handler / heavy machinery operator. It's good to keep the options open.

(TRL Part 18) I'm genuinely not sure what I'm doing wrong here. The iron maiden things make noise, I noticed that earlier, so that must have something to do with this. What am I doing incorrectly here?

(TRL Part 19) I figured it out. I was on the right track to begin with, I dunno why that didn't work the first time. {Editors' Note: I'm an idiot lol}

(TRL Part 20) Deja Vu all over again?... I hate the cold.

(Part 21) The interior of this place is gorgeous. The Buddhist statue just adds to the mystique I think.

(TRL Part 23) Off with their heads. Dance. Dance 'til you're dead. {Editors' Note: Heads'll roll. Heads'll roll. Heads'll roll, on the floor.}

Let's get into it, straight away. Similar to every review of mine, my "Big 4" points of interest of video games quality checking are going to be here, as well (Gameplay, Story/Writing, Graphics/Art Style, Audio Design). Gameplay in Tomb Raider: Legend is fluid, smooth, and graceful. Lara is much, much more of an acrobatic character to play than I'm used to, because I mostly play as the brick shithouse, tank characters. But, Lara's ability to float around her opponents and out-maneuver them for a victory on a near constant basis is nothing short of stupendous. So fun to play. The story of TR:L is pretty good as far as a video game standard goes. Keep in mind, video games don't have "Star Wars" or "Raiders of the Lost Arc" or even "Citizen Kane" yet, so even the best games' stories would realistically be considered B-movie levels of quality. If you go in knowing that, and just enjoy what is right in front of you, this story here is not bad at all. The writing is dialogue heavy, which is the toughest thing to write in my opinion, and is realistic provided you can accept the idea that all these old stories of Camelot and whatnot are not only factual, but incomplete. There is more to these old stories than we even thought. That part of this story is cool and I dig it. I'm also into history, so if you are into history too, it'll be right up your alley. The art style is half-way between "cell-shaded" and realistic. I really think that was a bold and ingenious idea that was implemented perfectly. Full cell-shading in games can be cool, but the luster wears off quite quickly in my opinion (look at the Borderlands for an example), and full photorealism is great but if most of the game's budget goes there, the story and everything else in the game will suffer. This blend of the two styles with the expressive faces of all the characters really make an interesting range of visuals to enjoy. The graphics are above average in terms of photorealism for games of this time, but the "next-gen" (better) graphical settings will start breaking the game and cause crashing on PC after Ghanna. Nearly every bit of music in this title is phenomenal. The audio design is way above average, reaching into superb at times. I never heard about this particular Tomb Raider game until kinda recently, so I had no idea I was missing out on such a great soundtrack. Every song here is upbeat, heart-pounding, and high-energy, while at the same time being rhythmic, warm, and soothing. I can tell ya, that takes time and effort to get that to mix right. Well done. The weapons sound impactful without being needlessly scary, the grenades and explosions are satisfyingly thumpy, and melee attacks are meaty. Everything you want, nothing you don't. To conclude, I liked nearly everything here except for a few of the puzzles didn't want to cooperate with me, the bosses had far too much health and became a marathon of attention for no reason, and some of the basic features like locking on to fire guns was lacking. Many times (especially the last boss) there were times where the game just refused to lock on. And with no dedicated lock-on button like in Kurohyou or Dark Souls or something like that, it became mighty frustrating. Other than that, the puzzles were fairly challenging and still fun to complete, the graphics/art style are far above average, nearly every song on the soundtrack is a fucking banger, the gameplay is killer, and story is pretty damn good. Well worth your time.