Bit too short?

Midlight · 07-09-23, 05:27

Does anyone here feel like, a bit too short, as far as how many levels there were?

I just feel the concept of reliving past adventures is a really good idea, and only having four of them, I was so disappointed when this came out and I got to the end. I remember thinking and savouring those last levels knowing they were the last.

I was kind of hoping that there would be more. But at least they were well structured and had relatively good stories. A lot of variety between the experiences of each level, but still. Just missed opportunities. Tsk, tsk.

Masked Goon · 07-09-23, 15:47

Core never wanted to make Chronicles because they were burnt out and there sadly wasn't any time to make more, AFAIK.

**TombHackR** · 07-09-23, 15:54

Chronicles was made as a filler game to please Eidos, so it’s short.

It has excellent storytelling throughout though, and the FMVs are fantastic (I think they outsourced another company to animate the FMVs).

xtimz · 07-09-23, 17:06

Legend is shorter.

Kasumi · 08-09-23, 02:55

Funny thing, it was the last Tomb Raider game I finished, so the last levels for me ARE that creepy high story building with electrical traps. I played later games but Legends disc was scratches and I forgot why I dropped 2013 near the end.

Imma try to actually finish Angel of Darkness since the fan patch made it playable. It's the actual end of that continuity.

Sat42 · 08-09-23, 16:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kasumi

Funny thing, it was the last Tomb Raider game I finished, so the last levels for me ARE that creepy high story building with electrical traps. I played later games but Legends disc was scratches and I forgot why I dropped 2013 near the end.

Imma try to actually finish Angel of Darkness since the fan patch made it playable. It's the actual end of that continuity.

The Angel of Darkness is a partial reboot but yes, as it is not a full reboot you do have a sort of continuation of the original series (just have to accept some serious retcon).

Jathom95 · 08-09-23, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sat42

The Angel of Darkness is a partial reboot but yes, as it is not a full reboot you do have a sort of continuation of the original series (just have to accept some serious retcon).

Yup, that's what's called a soft reboot. The canon continuity is the same as it was, but it may have distinctly different gameplay or story focus, etc.

Kasumi · 09-09-23, 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sat42

The Angel of Darkness is a partial reboot but yes, as it is not a full reboot you do have a sort of continuation of the original series (just have to accept some serious retcon).

Tomb Raider Chronicles, IIRC, ends with a cliffhanger, like they find Lara's backpack on a dig site but it's not known if she survived the fall from TLR's ending. We started Angel of Darkness with parents when I was a kid but we never finished it as it had obscure stuff and PC port was just bad.

The remake mod even tries to patch in continuity by including the what happened between section, so if I find time to marathon the series, I will play AoD in full too, I just never completed any of PC-only expansions before and might go through them first...

...but that makes Chronicles seem even shorter, with 1, 2 and 3 getting mission packs, and 4 having Times Exclusive level. 5 got... playable tutorial for level editor? Let's count:

TR1: Home & 15 levels split into 4 sets. Linear order. Jurassic Peru > Greco-Roman Thor > Egypt sans pyramids > Atlantis (with a pyramid)
Gold: 4 levels adding cut content to shorter sections.

TR2: Home & 18 levels split into 5 sets. China as bookends. Venice, Shipyard, Shipwreck, Tibet in the middle. So much water! No tombs BTW.
Gold: 5 levels. Self-contained story?

TR3: Home & 20 levels split into 5 sets. But some of them tiny boss levels... Bioware style level select in the middle (Pacific, London, Nevada - last with cut boss part), with only India and Antarctica sections set.
Gold: 6 levels. Split into three parts?

TR4: 35 levels split into 6 sets. First two tutorial, 3rd set onwards is backtracking galore. Some levels are tiny and cinematic, or hubs so game isn't double the size. Angor Wat and Egypt, now with PYRAMIDS!!! No guns in first two levels but there's no part where you lose your inventory later, neat!..

TR5: 13 levels split into 4 sets. Small tutorial section inside and a few levels repeat areas too (Rome & Submarine). More insulting is only first half of the game you get normal weapon selection, losing the weapons after each AND in the middle of one. Ireland doesn't have weapons and final sci-fi level you just use one gun.

Honestly because of amount of FMVs and stories much more distinct, Chronicles felt like a big game to me as a kid. But it's smaller than first Tomb Raider! And extremely tiny after 3 & 4. It does serve a purpose of bridging gaps and finally getting a proper Colosseum in Rome and not weird underground Greek one.

Blackmoor · 09-09-23, 14:45

It is too short but I guess that's part of the reason why the TR level editor was sold with the Chronicles PC version.

Clearly they didn't want to make this game but Eidos or Sci (whoever was in charge then) was always on the verge of bankruptcy and it was TR's annual sales that basically kept them afloat during this period.

perryloo · 09-09-23, 21:51

I love Chronicles, as it has individual short stories of the life of Lara Croft.
Each level is different and unique. I enjoy repeat playing of the game over the years.

The trle editor also came in handy as well for modders, like myself, so was well satisfied with the package

07-09-23, 05:27	#1
Midlight Hobbyist Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 12	Bit too short? Does anyone here feel like, a bit too short, as far as how many levels there were? I just feel the concept of reliving past adventures is a really good idea, and only having four of them, I was so disappointed when this came out and I got to the end. I remember thinking and savouring those last levels knowing they were the last. I was kind of hoping that there would be more. But at least they were well structured and had relatively good stories. A lot of variety between the experiences of each level, but still. Just missed opportunities. Tsk, tsk.

09-09-23, 14:45	#9
Blackmoor Tomb Raider Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: In the woods at night (female) Posts: 15,310	It is too short but I guess that's part of the reason why the TR level editor was sold with the Chronicles PC version. Clearly they didn't want to make this game but Eidos or Sci (whoever was in charge then) was always on the verge of bankruptcy and it was TR's annual sales that basically kept them afloat during this period. __________________ The future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed 🞼

07-09-23, 15:47	#2
Masked Goon Student Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Germany Posts: 196	Core never wanted to make Chronicles because they were burnt out and there sadly wasn't any time to make more, AFAIK.

07-09-23, 15:54	#3
TombHackR Golden Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,404	Chronicles was made as a filler game to please Eidos, so it’s short. It has excellent storytelling throughout though, and the FMVs are fantastic (I think they outsourced another company to animate the FMVs).

07-09-23, 17:06	#4
xtimz Explorer Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: People's Republic Of China Posts: 915	Legend is shorter.

08-09-23, 02:55	#5
Kasumi Hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2023 Posts: 36	Funny thing, it was the last Tomb Raider game I finished, so the last levels for me ARE that creepy high story building with electrical traps. I played later games but Legends disc was scratches and I forgot why I dropped 2013 near the end. Imma try to actually finish Angel of Darkness since the fan patch made it playable. It's the actual end of that continuity.

09-09-23, 21:51	#10
perryloo Explorer Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Sunny UK Posts: 943	I love Chronicles, as it has individual short stories of the life of Lara Croft. Each level is different and unique. I enjoy repeat playing of the game over the years. The trle editor also came in handy as well for modders, like myself, so was well satisfied with the package