Apr 11, 6:05 pm
It’s hard for me to convey to you how seriously I take Tomb Raider. Those who visit our forum may have noticed that I haven’t contributed to the discussions that have cropped up about Tomb Raider Legend. This is not because I had nothing to say on the subject, far from it. The truth is that Tomb Raider Legend living up to my expectations was so important and so unlikely that I just couldn’t bring myself to discuss it. It made me emotional.
I think it’s important for me to at least try to give you an idea of what this game means to me. The very first Tomb Raider game marked the moment that my interest in gaming went from a consuming hobby to an unshakable foaming at the mouth passion. I’ve played every Tomb Raider game several times, picked up every secret, explored every glitch. I could play through any Tomb Raider, right now if you handed me a controller, blindfolded me and broke all the fingers on one of my hands ... without dying once. It’s not just me. It’s a family obsession. My Mum stabbed a river of black blood out of a half dozen Colossi in a few hours so she could trade in Shadow of the Colossus for Legend on release day. I was with my sister, Tina when she bought the game. Ross our friendly indy game seller held her the bag. She took it, said “Excuse me a moment” and with great dignity but faltering footsteps went outside for a moment to compose herself. She returned a few minutes later smiling but ... different.
I, of course performed my usual ritual, although it hurt like hell. I held the case and read everything on it. I took the cellophane off like I was saving it for something but then crushed it into a ball and threw it away. I read the booklet from cover to cover with my heart racing and then took the disk out. I put it in the machine, smiled at the main menu screen and pressed New Game. New Game ... the greatest words known to man.
Nice opening cutscene but I couldn’t really concentrate. All I could think about was the controls. What were they going to feel like? Would I get to be Lara again? I was on a rocky mountain path. I ran forward jumped over a rock, rolled forward, swam around some water, climbed a rock, jumped across a ledge grabbing with my hands and pulling up and over in a slow and sexy forward somersault all in 30 seconds or so and without thinking about it at all. I carefully placed my controller on the table in front of me and picked up my mug of coffee. I took a gulp and, as I swallowed it, my eyes filled up just for a second. I blinked, put the mug down and picked the controller back up. That gulp was one of the happiest gaming moments of my life.
Thinking about it now I realise that all gamers must have had a moment like this at some point, a moment of complete gaming bliss. This was mine. What’s yours?
