Tomb Raider

THE BAD:
Nothing, absolutely nothing!

SUMMARY:
For anyone living in a cave or under a rock for the past 5-6 years, do yourselves a favor and buy this game. You should be able to get it used for around $10, and it will be the best ten dollars you have ever spent. This is the original game that started it all. Every third person action game since has borrowed from this one, and in this reviewers opinion, none have lived up to this original challenge of a game.
The controls are amazing. Lara is fluid and fantastic, leaping, running, jumping, and hauling her curvy butt up ledges. After a short while playing this game, the controls become second-nature, and you can sing "I'm Lara Croft!" while wearing your sisters panties - that is if you are into that sort of thing. I, however prefer playing with Lara, uncovering secrets, beating baddies, and I won't spoil any surprises.
The environments in the game are highly detailed, and there are some very hard to get secrets. You explore a prehistoric cavern, an Egyptian underground, an Incan/Aztec hidden city, and Atlantis. The story is gripping, and the cutscenes are dazzling. It is very fun to watch Lara run and jump, plus her kick-ass ferocity is unmatched in any game.
The challenge of the puzzles you have to unlock to advance in the game is what really makes this game an innovator, and they have not lost their luster in the six years since I purchased this game. In fact, every year, I play through all of the Tomb raider games, just to make sure I still have the moves, and I remeber with relish the first time I beat them and figured out all of the intricacies of the game.
You can explore almost anywhere in the game, and it is fun and rewarding to do so, the secrets consist of weapons, bullets and health packs. Everything about this game rocks, and it is still fun and challenging after all these years. It may look a little dated to those of us used to PS2 capabilities, but try to imagine yourself in a world with no Resident Evil, and when your favorite third person games were only a gleam in Eidos' eye. Take a look at the back of your games and see how many of your favorites were made before 1996 - then take a look at Tomb Raider. It blew the doors off the competition. We have Lara to thank for all of the great games out now, and the game would still be worth plunking down almost $50 for. It will take you a good while to solve, and you will love it through and through.