Tomb Raider: Legend is a single-player action-adventure game in which the player controls Lara Croft, from a third-person perspective, through eight levels set across seven locations around the world. As Lara Croft, the player can jump, climb and shimmy along ledges and vertical poles or ladders, crawl through small spaces, swing on ropes and horizontal poles, interact with objects and switches, use a grappling line to swing across gaps and pull objects towards her, and swim and dive underwater for a limited time. Different button combinations can create more moves such as a roll and swan dive.:10–11 Some levels have Lara on a motorbike racing through that part of the level while fighting enemies.
Puzzles can block progress in the level until Lara solves them by activating switches within the area. These and other objectives such as avoiding or jamming traps can involve pushing large blocks around the environment. In some sections, the player must pass quick time events by reacting to control prompts that appear on screen. While exploring, Lara can use her grapple to move and destroy certain objects, use a small torch to illuminate dark areas, identify different environmental characteristics using her binoculars, and pick up a maximum of three Health Packs which can heal damage suffered during gameplay.:14–15 Collectable Artefacts hidden in each level can be found and unlock extra features, while Time Trials challenge players to complete any level within a time limit.:14–15
During combat, Lara automatically locks on to enemies, with the player able to switch to another target within range. She can move around freely to avoid enemy attacks and trigger environmental hazards to aid her in combat. Lara can access up to two weapon types; her default twin pistols with infinite ammunition, and a secondary weapon, which is picked up during a level and has limited ammunition which can be replenished from defeated enemies carrying the same weapon type. Lara can also carry grenades to throw at enemies, perform melee attacks when she is close enough, and use her grapple to briefly stun them. When close to a targeted enemy, Lara can perform a jump attack which slows down time while she is airborne, allowing her more time to dispatch her enemies.:12–13 If Lara's health is depleted she dies and restarts at a previous checkpoint.
The home console, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Portable (PSP) versions share content and level design. The PSP version includes exclusive "Tomb Trials". These missions have players either navigating a series of obstacles within a time limit or hunting treasures within one of the game's levels. Tomb Trials can be completed both in single-playing and multiplayer mode, where two players can compete in one on a local network. The Nintendo DS (DS) version uses a hybrid of 3D environments and 2D sprites. Lara moves through levels as in the main versions and players use the DS's touchscreen and mike functions in gameplay. The Game Boy Advance (GBA) version is a 2D side-scroller. The mobile version uses three of the locations and splits its gameplay into two types per location. In platforming sections players must guide Lara through environmental hazards. In combat sections Lara must dodge enemy fire and kill all enemies to move forward. The gameplay in each stage plays out on rails with limited movement and input from the player.
Synopsis
Characters
Tomb Raider: Legend retells the story of British archaeologist/adventurer Lara Croft. As a young girl, she and her mother Amelia are the only survivors of a plane crash in the Himalayas. Publicly, Lara was the only survivor of the crash, as her mother was apparently killed upon interacting with a magical artifact in a Nepalese temple where they took shelter. After her ordeal, Lara goes on archaeological expeditions with her father Richard before his disappearance and presumed death in Cambodia when she is sixteen. In the years since, she has become both famous and infamous for her work as an archaeologist and explorer, privately driven by the need to understand her mother's fate.
American tech expert Zip and English research assistant Alistair support her on missions from her manor house in England, where they live with her butler Winston. During the events of Legend, Lara interacts with multiple supporting characters. These include Anaya Imanu, an old friend who has often helped Lara during her exploits, media tycoon and investigative journalist/reporter Toru Nishimura, who also experienced risks similar to Lara's, and Shogo Takamoto, businessman-turned-yakuza boss whom Lara once confronted over forged antiquities. The main antagonists are Amanda Evert, an old friend of Lara's presumed dead after a catastrophic incident in Peru, and her associate, American playboy James Rutland.
Plot
Lara heads into Bolivia on a tip from Anaya to find a stone dais in the ruined city of Tiwanaku. Lara believes the stone is connected to her mother's disappearance following the plane crash. A flashback shows young Lara activating a similar dais in a Nepalese monastery, creating a magical portal; Amelia vanishes upon drawing an ornate sword from the dais after hearing voices from the portal. Fighting through mercenaries exploring Tiwanaku, Lara confronts their employer, James Rutland, who has a fragment of a sword identical to the one from Nepal. Before leaving, he mentions Amanda as if she were still alive. Lara meets with Anaya in Peru near the site where Amanda died. In a flashback, Lara and Amanda are seen as part of an archeological team investigating a buried tomb. A powerful "Entity" guarding the tomb killed everyone but them before vanishing when Amanda pulled a stone from a door to open it. The tomb flooded, and Lara was forced to abandon Amanda after she was seemingly crushed by falling debris.
