Tomb Raider I - III remaster

Fubsy · 15 Feb 2024 at 17:37

niggyg said:
I'd be interested to hear from anyone who never played these and are giving them a go for the first time. I suspect that won't be many.

Without the nostalgia, I hope it's not many. People new to these, judging them on modern standards will most likely hate them.

I'd even go as far as NOT recommending any new players get this unless going into it with an open mind and capability of giving them the respect they deserve.

BananaDunka · 15 Feb 2024 at 17:41

I don't remember much of the original releases, I played them, I think I completed them, but I don't remember them, so it's essentially a fresh start for me. My TR memories begin with the reboot games from a few years back once ray tracing and all the modern jazz hit the scene really.

I played the OG games on PS1 and PC back on my P133 MMx in the early 2000s but never really played them again until now.

silvagti · 15 Feb 2024 at 17:43

I'm not convinced the gameplay will hold up at all. I remember playing it back in the 90s on release (PS1) and even back then feeling that the controls were janky, clunky and broken. Plus I remeber the combat being fairly mind numbing. Even back then comparing it to something like Mario 64, Zelda 64 (or even Crash Bandicoot )it's nowhere near the quality of some of it's comtemporary 3D platform games.

Clearly it had it's fans though!

Fubsy · 15 Feb 2024 at 17:53

The combat in TR classic is crap. I don't think anyone has ever said it was good.

The controls are clunky, but they are consistent when you learn the rules.

The story is LOL.

The camera is awful.

Watching that development hell video someone posted earlier though goes some way to explain some of the decline in quality as the series went on.

Still, they have a charm to them. Lara is at the centre of that, and while I like the modern games, she's not the same.

Blackjack Davy · 15 Feb 2024 at 18:01

Completely disagree the controls were straightforward you just needed to get used to them. Combat was pretty easy as it was auto-aim just whip out the guns and hit fire the game would take care of the rest. CoD it is not. Tight spaces were always a challenge you had to flip and jump and whatnot to avoid taking too much damage. But its about the exploration and the atmosphere and the puzzles combat was always a short interlude before you got back to the interesting stuff, solving puzzles. If you're looking for a shooter you're in the wrong game.

"Mysterious, intricate game" is how one contemporary source put it. The modern games completely miss the point on that I've no interest in them. This is for those who remember the classics and want a more modern look without changing too much and they've succeeded pretty well you can even switch ingame between the original game and modern one. Nice touch. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the camera originally it auto-centered on the PC the new version its independent and won't return to centre I wonder if theres a way to change it because its making me feel nauseous.
edit: ok the camera returns eventually but its too slow

stooeh · 15 Feb 2024 at 18:12

Yeah I played them on PS1 mostly and a bit of PC for the first one. Not sure I should admit to this but I also had the game on the err Nokia N-Gage at one point :cry:

Blackjack Davy · 15 Feb 2024 at 18:21

Grim5 said:
Up to level 6 in the first game now

I recommend playing with mouse and keyboard, the controls work better than a controller

DualSense works fine and its exactly the same as the original PSX controls were at least if you're using Tank even the dive works

Bought it on PC later mainly for the Unfinished Business extra levels and it looked a lot better on a dedicated monitor than plugged into the aerial socket on a 20" analogue TV

OpenToSuggestions · 15 Feb 2024 at 19:03

mrk said:

240p still looks OK on my 25" CRT....just about!
I just love the nostalgia side of gaming, but I appreciate PC always was and always will be King.

BananaDunka · 15 Feb 2024 at 20:31

Figured out handstands... I have become a professional at raiding tombs now, fear me :eek:

ANDARIAL · 15 Feb 2024 at 20:45

Wonder if I can use the 'nude raider'patch like you could back in the day

ColdAsIce · 15 Feb 2024 at 21:08

mrk said:
Figured out handstands... I have become a professional at raiding tombs now, fear me

Glad you cracked it. The other upload was like watching that gaming journalist play the cuphead tutorial xd

BananaDunka · 15 Feb 2024 at 21:22

I'm preferring modern control btw, even though I'm old skool, there's no beating mouse camera look when playing 3rd person

The only downside is that backstep is only available on modern when you have your guns drawn. This seems an oversight by the devs, but it's easy enough to work around.

Edit*

Someone released an anti-woke mod :cry:

AWPC · 15 Feb 2024 at 21:42

Controls are awful clearly this is ported & translated from the original code glitches and all!

They literally threw a few filters over it did the absolute minimum! Cost me £17 from cdkeys...not sure its worth more than a fiver its not really had much more than a bunch of talented modders could do for free LOL!

BananaDunka · 15 Feb 2024 at 21:47

It was actually the work by the OpenLara modder who has had CD's blessing.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1757892574092636206

niggyg · 15 Feb 2024 at 22:29

mrk said:
It was actually the work by the OpenLara modder who has had CD's blessing.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1757892574092636206

Some other fan/modders were onboard too, the chap who had done a TR3 HD project is one.

I saw that at the end of the first TRII level there is a easter egg nod to a fan modder on the laptop screen in the top right. It reads something like 'Toya OS'.

GBRusty · 15 Feb 2024 at 23:44

Ah, tomb raider. The first game I tried on my very first GPU. A matrox mystique I think it was called.
I'm off to watch a few videos of someone playing this remake before I dive in

malachi · 16 Feb 2024 at 06:07

stooeh said:
Yeah I played them on PS1 mostly and a bit of PC for the first one. Not sure I should admit to this but I also had the game on the err Nokia N-Gage at one point

The N-Gage version ran rough! The bad FPS made it barely playable.

Mak3R · 16 Feb 2024 at 10:34

Started TR1 remaster last night. Had to switch to tank controls on my PS4 controller (playing on PC) as the lack of hop back and jump back was annoying. The switch to classic graphics is nice touch to see, however it becomes a shuddery mess for me when i do for some reason.

Its crazy how i remember where to go and where so many things are as well, probably last played it when I was 7 or 8 years old (played to death I'm sure).
Also did what someone else posted back a page and hit load game instead of save and lost loads of progress. The menus look too similar. Glad I'm not alone in that pain at least -_-

SpudMaster · 16 Feb 2024 at 10:54

Mak3R said:
Started TR1 remaster last night. Had to switch to tank controls on my PS4 controller (playing on PC) as the lack of hop back and jump back was annoying. The switch to classic graphics is nice touch to see, however it becomes a shuddery mess for me when i do for some reason.

Its crazy how i remember where to go and where so many things are as well, probably last played it when I was 7 or 8 years old (played to death I'm sure).
Also did what someone else posted back a page and hit load game instead of save and lost loads of progress. The menus look too similar. Glad I'm not alone in that pain at least -_-

Classic graphics are locked at 30fps just like the original so that'll be your shuddery mess

Fubsy · 16 Feb 2024 at 10:58

I saw a review on Steam that mentioned this.

Modern controls are more relaxing to use and more what we expect from games nowadays, but central to TR is the grid layout for jumping distance. If there was a way to combine modern controls on to the analogue stick and tank controls onto the d-pad that could be a perfect compromise.