Tomb Raider III
| Tomb Raider III | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Adventures of Lara Croft | ||
| Release Date | Autumn 1998 | |
| Platforms | PC, Mac, PlayStation | |
| Levels | 20 | |
| Secrets | 59+1 | |
| Developer | Core Design | |
| Publisher | Eidos Interactive | |
| Rating | ESRB: Teen | |
| Add-On: | ||
| The Lost Artifact | ||
| Game Chronology: | ||
| The Golden Mask | Tomb Raider III | The Last Revelation |
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft was the first turning point for the Tomb Raider game series. With improved smoke and fire graphics, more realistic water effects, rain and snow, colored lighting, and many more expansions concerning gameplay, Tomb Raider started to become advanced. The game was re-released in 2000 with a complementary 6-level adventure attached. This expansion was known as Tomb Raider III The Lost Artefact.
Contents
Release Dates in Detail
U.K. - 21st November 1998
Levels
India
- 1 - Jungle
- 2 - Temple Ruins
- 3 - River Ganges
- 4 - Caves of Kaliya
- 1 - Coastal Village
- 2 - Crash Site
- 3 - Madubu Gorge
- 4 - Temple of Puna
- 1 - Nevada Desert
- 2 - High Security Compound
- 3 - Area 51
- 1 - Thames Wharf
- 2 - Aldwych
- 3 - Lud's Gate
- 4 - City
- 1 - Antarctica
- 2 - RX-Tech Mines
- 3 - Lost City of Tinnos
- 4 - Meteorite Cavern
- Bonus - All Hallows
Summary
Join Lara in her biggest adventure to date in the phenomenal Tomb Raider series. Play through five huge worlds, in any order, on the quest for an ancient meteor rumoured to have life-giving powers. New puzzles, environments, and even a few old enemies, like the infamous T-Rex await you. From the jungles of India to the icy wastes of Antarctica, across the rooftops of London and into the depths of Nevada's mysterious Area 51, Lara is ready for anything. Prepare to be amazed!
Features
- Incredible new graphic enhancements include multi-coloured lighting, rippling water, reflections, fog and changing weather effects!
- Play in any order as you follow Lara through the South Pacific, Antarctica, Area 51, London and India.
- New moves and vehicles include speed dash, monkey swing, kayak and quad bike help Lara out of tricky situations.
- Defend against hyenas, monkeys, piranhas, and the infamous T-Rex with new weapons such as Grenade Launcher, Desert Eagle and Rocket Launcher!
- Greater number of enemies than Tomb Raider 1 & 2!
- New save-game system allows 'easy' and 'difficult' option.
Story
- Main article: Tomb Raider III Story
Introduction
Millions of years ago, a meteor survived the plunge through the Earth's atmosphere, impacting in the then warm climes of Antarctica...
The first people to discover this land were a tribe of Polynesians. Despite the now freezing conditions, there was an abnormal abundance of life and the tribe settles, worshipping the metorite crater for the powers it appeared to hold. Generations later though, catastrophic events forced them to flee in terror...
Today, the same area is being excavated by the research company; RX Tech, who are picking up unusual readings from the meteorite's impact zone. It is in this zone that they uncover the body of a sailor from Charles Darwin's voyage on The Beagle. A few of the sailors had it seems, briefly explored the crater's interior...
Following the story from one of the sailor's journal, the research company have started to take particular interest in, not only the crater area, but other parts of the globe where the sailors subsequently travelled to...and died in...
One of these places is India - where Lara is currently searching for the legendary Infada artefact. Unaware of its true history, she only knows that in local beliefs it was supposed to hold great powers and hs been revered by tribes there throughout the years...
Game Elements
As well as performing all the moves in Tomb Raider II, Lara can now crawl, sprint, monkey swing and roll while sprinting. New weapons come into play as well as new vehicles. The game still uses the original engine used to create the previous two games. The graphics have improved since the portrayal of fire and smoke has been advanced, with real effects rather than showing a 2-D moving image as done in the previous two games. The graphics concerning flares makes use of this advancement. Secrets in the game are back to the original form of medipacks, ammunition and weapons. A bonus level can also be unlocked when 60 secrets have been collected.
With new weapons comes the Rocket Launcher, which only makes its appearance in this game. Lara also has new outfits including a sleek catsuit in London, to desert combats in Nevada. This game also introduces more screenplay to the plot, with short cutscenes appearing at the end of nearly every level. Tomb Raider III also introduces Lara to a more urban and modern environment, with the city of London, and the eerie Area 51.
Croft Mansion has also changed. The hedge maze has been replaced with a fantastic quad bike course which must be unlocked. The house has been given new décor with new secret passages. The assault course has been modified with the introduction of monkey bars and a shooting range. Lara may also use Winston as target practice. A secret treasure room is also up for exploring. The mansion serves as the game's training level. The assault course is timed like in the last game.
Characters
- Dr. Willard - The main villain of the game. He hires Lara to find the rest of the Meteorite Artefacts upon meeting her in India. His intentions are evil and twisted.
- Tony - A villain in India. He found the Infada Stone before Lara and tried to kill her, using the stone.
- Sophia Leigh - A villain in London. She found the Eye of Isis many years ago and has used it in experiments, with undesirable effects.
- The Leader - He leads a group called The Damned. They were the results of Leigh's experiments that went wrong. The Leader has no face as a result. He hires Lara to retrieve embalming fluid.
Weapons
- Pistols (with unlimited Ammunition)
- Shotgun
- Uzis
- Desert Eagle
- Harpoon Gun
- Grenade Launcher
- MP5
- Rocket Launcher
Enemies
- Dragonflies
- Flamethrower Guys (harmless if left alone)
- Flock of Bats (harmless)
- Green Lizards
- Museum Guards
- Military Police
- Sophia Leigh
- Tigers
- Tinnos Monsters
- Tribesman
- Tribesmen (Poison Darts)
- Tribesmen (Spiked Axe)
- Vultures
- Willard / Willard Mutant
- Workers
Vehicles
Traps
- Rolling Boulder
- Swamp
- Current
- Fire-breathing Statues
- Dart Shooters (poisonous)
- Collapsing Ceiling
- Wall-mounted Knife Blades
- Quicksand (similar to swamp)
- Barbed Wire (similar to floor spikes)
- Electric Fence
- Fire Trap (stove)
- Fans
- Sentry Gun
- Deadly Laser
- Barrel
- detachable Stalactites
- Electric Generator (Thames Wharf)
- Slamming Door
- Swinging Brazier (Tinnos)
- Underwater Rotating Knifes (Tinnos)
Ratings
- Lara's back and looking better than ever. (PC Zone)
- Bigger, faster and more challenging than either of the previous games... the new Tomb Raider is the best of the lot. (Ultimate PC)
- Tomb Raider III will be absolutely brilliant... might just be the best Raider yet. (Official PlayStation Magazine)
- Lara Croft shoots for a Hat Trick an scores (Play)
- Tomb Raider III more than matches up to the previous efforts and could even turn out to be THE Tomb Raider. (PlayStation Power)
Development
Development Team
- Designers: Chris Coupe and Martin Gibbins (programming), Tom Scutt (AI), Phil Chapman, Jer O'Carroll and Darren Wakerman (animation), Nathan McCree (music), Vicky Arnold (script).
Links
- Detailed Walkthrough
- Report from the Tomb Raider III release party at the Natural History Museum, London, 15th October, 1998.
