Tomb Raider Chronicles Totally Explained

Everything about Tomb Raider Chronicles totally explained

Tomb Raider Chronicles is the fifth game in the Tomb Raider series and the sequel to . It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. The game was originally released in 2000 for PC, Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation.

Storyline

Tomb Raider Chronicles opens just days after the events of The Last Revelation. Lara is still missing and presumed dead. A memorial service at Croft Manor brings together three old friends of Lara: Winston, Charles Kane and Father Patrick Dunstan. While the rain outside is pouring, the three reminisce about Lara's earlier adventures. Meanwhile, hundred of miles away Werner Von Croy coordinates the frantic dig searching for answers buried deep beneath the Egyptian desert.

Gameplay

Features

The gameplay of Tomb Raider Chronicles is closely tied to that of The Last Revelation. In terms of movement, the only new additions to Lara's skills are the ability to walk on a tightrope, the ability to grab and swing on horizontal bars and the ability to drop from a ledge forwards while crouching. Several weapons from have disappeared but the MP5 submachine gun from Tomb Raider III and the revolver from have returned. A new tool takes the form of the grappling hook, which is used to latch on certain areas of the ceiling and swing across vaults. Only one vehicle (of sorts) appears: a high tech diving suit designed to penetrate deep waters.
The game consists of four sub-adventures and takes Lara to Rome, a Russian submarine base, a haunted island called the Black Isle in Ireland, and a high-tech building in New York. Secrets in Tomb Raider Chronicles are represented by a golden rose (much like the dragons in Tomb Raider II). In total there are 36 scattered throughout the game and when the player has found every one of them, a new special features menu is unlocked from the Options screen.

Characters

Lara Croft: Although missing and presumed dead, the player relives Lara's past adventures through the memories of her friends.
Werner Von Croy: At the end of The Last Revelation, Lara saved the life of her one-time mentor and rival Werner Von Croy at the expense of her own. Tomb Raider Chronicles delves deeper into the reasons of their animosity, which involves the quest for an artifact called "The Iris."
Winston: Lara's loyal butler Winston is hosting a memorial service at Croft Manor, where he and her friends reminisce about her early adventures.
Father Patrick Dunstan: One of the three friends gathered at Croft Manor, Father Dunstan has known Lara since she was a teenager. At that time, he was involved in a dangerous exorcism on the Black Isle.
Charles Kane: Charles was a teacher at Gordonstoun Boarding school, where he taught Lara the subject of history for two years. He has a personal interest in the old Iron Curtain countries and with the advent of glasnost seized his opportunity to visit the Eastern bloc whenever he could afford the time. He also helped Lara out in her mission in Russia in 1995.
Zip: This whiz-kid hacker assists Lara in her attempt to infiltrate the main office of Von Croy Industries in 1999. He guides her through the building's ventilation system from a bus parked outside.
Pierre Dupont: The French relic hunter Pierre Dupont is an old acquaintance of Lara. This time he's out on the streets of Rome looking for the Philosopher's Stone, but he intends to let Lara do the dirty work for him. Players of the original Tomb Raider will remember him for his appearances in the Graeco-Roman levels.
Larson: Wherever Pierre is, Larson follows. Together with his companion they stalk Lara through the catacombs of Rome. Players of the original Tomb Raider will remember him for his appearance in the two levels, Sanctuary of the Scion and Tomb of Qualopec.
Sergei Mikhailov: Sergei Mikhailov is a Russian crime boss hunting for the lost Spear of Destiny. He has corrupted Captain Yarofev in order to use his submarine.
Yarofev: The proud captain of a first class nuclear submarine, hard times have forced Yarofev to accept bribes and missions he'd rather not be involved with.
Vladimir Kaleta: Vladimir Kaleta is a 500 year old demon who goes under the name of Verdilet. Father Dunstan and Lara meet him at the Black Isle.

Reception

Although graphically praised as one of the best instalments in the series, the game was subject to numerous criticisms, primarily due to its lack of originality. Many felt that with The Last Revelation, the Tomb Raider formula had been stretched to its limits, and that a sequel would offer nothing new. In addition, the game still used the engine from the original Tomb Raider, which despite improved tweaking began to show its age with each subsequent game. Reviewers complained that the series were out of touch with contemporary game development.
   The PC version of the game is notoriously problematic with level bugs. In the last stage "Red Alert" loading certain save points may cause key items to disappear. Sometimes specific events won't be triggered at all.
   Some of the puzzles were also criticised, although trying to have a more modern approach than the typical Tomb Raider puzzles including things such as pushing blocks, some of them were extremely hard due to how well Lara can interact with the environment not being made clear at all, Lara could perform new moves but they varied and players of the game were not told and they'd to somewhat figure them out while stuck on a puzzle. Items you'd to find were also a lot more well hidden, blending in with the environment, and due to some of their small sizes made them extremely hard to find. An example of this is the level "Old Mill", where a coin that has to be picked up from a spot with a yellow background, it blends in almost completely and the player can't progress until it's picked up, but if the player goes forward a short distance away from the coin a cutscene occurs (that can't be skipped), and Lara is spawned in a different location, confusing players and due to such problems some parts of the game are extremely difficult without a walk-through or a player with a good sense of locating items. On the same level, a stick to light a fire with is in a dark room and the stick is of a brown colour, it makes it almost completely impossible to see and is very well hidden.
   The return of Larson and Pierre was also subject to scorn as gamers decried their use as "comic relief" characters, while creating plot inconsistencies with that of the original Tomb Raider (theoretically Lara could have known Pierre Dupont, but she hadn't previously met with Larson).
   However, the game didn't receive completely bad press. The Official PlayStation Magazine gave it 10/10, and its lower difficulty level compared to other games in the series managed to attract people who thought the series to be too challenging.
Although Core Design admitted that Chronicles wasn't intended to revolutionise the series, they felt it was necessary to wrap up the plot of The Last Revelation before moving on to a more ambitious project involving Lara Croft. That game would become .

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