Imrahil wrote:Didn't the games fall away in quality a bit afterwards? They didn't seem to review as well.
Depends who you read at the time. If you read the US media or Dreamcast magazines, then yes. If you read PlayStation and multiformat magazines, then no. EDGE gave the 5th one a 4/10 I think it was, but everywhere else was 8s, 9s and 10s, though with a seemingly annual caveat when the titles went Platinum or in Previews that the previous entry wasn't as good. Charlie Brooker reviewed the first 3 for PC Zone and all received 90+. 5/5 from ARCADE for 1, 2 (retroactively), 3 and 4.
Zilnad wrote:Also, was it just me or was it possible to get to the end of Revelations without a specific item that was needed to progress? I really feel like that did happen to me back in the day and I restarted the whole game. But it's completely possible I was just being really dumb.
No, you're right, because that's exactly what happened to OPM's Nick Ellis also (chronicled in issue #95).
OPM #95 wrote:It is a truly huge game. I forget just how long it took to play the thing but it probably ran into months. So there I am at the tail end of the tale, struggling up the side of the Great Pyramid. I find a way in and work my way through the chambers until I find a room with spots to place the Shaft Keys that I've been hoarding in recent levels. Hurrah! Except that there are four spots to place the keys in and I only have three keys. WHAT? Crushed, I poke around the pyramid. I retrace my steps for miles back searching for the final key. I am unsuccessful. After days more playing I decide never to play the frickin' stupid idiot game again.
Although we hate to say it, this is why some people can't stand Tomb Raider. Frustrating, long-winded, repetitive - just a few of the accusations levelled at the game by anti-Laras, and maybe they have a point. It's not a 'pick-up-and-play' game. It requires devotion, patience and dedication like nothing else. But that's what makes it such a rich experience and why I played them all. If you've seen the Southern Shaft Key kicking around anywhere, do tell.
Time to dig out the old Prima strategy guides, methinks.