http://cube.ign.com/articles/700/700713p1.html

What's next, an award for Final Fantasy XII called "First video game to have the roman numeral "XII" in its title?"  Sheesh.

That title is a bit misleading. Certainly, she's one of the most marketable female characters in gaming today, but the thing is, most of the Tomb Raider games have been below average, in my opinion. "Successful" isn't the word I'd use.

I swear to God, you could NOT make that bitch jump properly in the earlier titles. And she handled like a goddamn tank.

I wanna try Tomb Raider Legend, though. I hear it's really great.

That article makes me wonder, what is Mario if not human?

With Legend they've finally fixed the control system at least: She now controls like a proper 3D character as opposed to controlling like a bus. Only - what - 10 years too late of course. I played about 10 minutes of the first Tomb Raider game and found it agonizing, especially after having just come from Super Mario 64. I've never bothered with one since.

Is Legend really as good as people are saying it is?  If so, I might be tempted to pick up the Cube version, seeing as there is one - nothing makes me froth with frustration like playing 3D action games with a dualshock. 

What's wrong with the Dual Shock? Is it the ergonomics of the controller, or the button layout? I personally think that Sony really struck a nerve with the design. I haven't felt a controller that fits so naturally as the Dual Shock does.

While I do like the 'Cube controller, I have to admit that the lack of pressure sensitive buttons is a major turn-off, which is why I found Twin Snakes to be so difficult to play.

My problem with the dual shock is that it's a controller design that is pretty effective for 2D games.  Then Nintendo and Sega came up with the analog stick thing and Sony, in typical "me too!" fashion slapped it into their design haphazardly.  I expected the PS2 to redesign the controller so that the analog sticks were:

1. placed in a more natural place
2. tighter
3. more precise

None of these things happened.  It's really the placement and the precision that bother me, though.  I find EVERY controller with an analog stick to be better than the dual shock for 3D gaming.  The fact that analog control got even worse with the PSP does not leave me with much confidence for the eventual PS3 pad.

Edit - and about the analog buttons, I find them far too small to be worth even having.  Being as small as they are, I always ended up shooting things I didn't want to in MGS.  I liked Twin Snakes' control scheme better, actually.  Is there any game other than the MGS titles on PS2 that actually used that silly feature?

I see your point. Now that you mention it, the stick on the 'Cube controller was in a more natural position. Since most games nowadays don't even use the D-pad anymore, it doesn't really make sense to have the thumb space dedicated to it.

I agree with what Qui Gon said, but let me especially reaffirm his comment about the stick sensitivity.  Both the PSX and PS2 Dual Shock controllers have the most piss poor sensitivity of any standard analog controller.  I can understand why it happened on PSX since digital was the standard for that system, but there's just no excuse for PS2.  The PS2 came out in 2000 yet the N64, Saturn, and Dreamcast all have far superior sticks.  I have no reason to believe Sony will fix this problem for PS3, but I sure wish it would.

I also agree with whoever said the pressure sensitive buttons are silly.  It's one of those things that sounds good on paper, but is practically useless in gameplay.  I had such a hard time playing Substance on Xbox because it was nearly impossible to draw your weapon without shooting it.

That reminds me, does anyone know for certain if the X360 has pressure sensitive face buttons?  I never read any specs that said one way or the other, but I would assume it would for backward compatibility, though you never know.

Yeah the stick on the Cube controller is fine. And the 'A' button. But everything else is a disaster.

I agree that the sticks on the PS2 controller aren't great but I think for all-round performance, including buttons, triggers etc it hasn't been beaten. Every other pad seems to have some games they are great for and others they are rubbish for whereas I find the PS2 pad stays about the 'pretty good' mark for just about every game.

Gotta agree with Jay here.  Of the recent generation of console controllers, the PS2 can't be beat for all-around excellent ergonomics and varied button-oriented features.  True, the analog sticks may not be as accurate as the Cube's (I found that out quite readily when comparing the two versions of Resident Evil 4), I think proper implementation has made certain PS2 games work well enough.

And XLord, as for having a hard time with Substance, you must've had one hell of a time with Snake Eater, then?  Didja keep cutting those poor fuckers' throats? &_&

Woah!  That's not lady-like talk!!  (Ain't gentlemanly either)!  Now, I'm NOT telling anybody what to say or how to talk... but damn girl, that was unexpected...

cheers,

-avatar!

I only had that problem on Xbox.  The pressure sensitive stuff worked reasonably well for me on the PS2 versions of MGS2 and 3, though I still slipped from time to time.  It's a feature I could definitely do without.

As for my preferred takedown method, since MGS1, I have always preferred the sneak up behind --> grab and choke method.  In MGS3, I choked them into unconsciousness, collected my items, and then stabbed the sleeping body. :-)

My technique was more hapless. I'd try to sneak by them all the time, but when it failed, I'd whip out my boomstick and spray them with it.

Er, by which I mean the shotgun.

Surprises are the spice in life, don't you think?  I guess Metal Gear brings out the worst in me. (Or is it the best?)

As for my own MGS3 play method, I prefer the "you're a ghost, in every sense of the word" motto; the game encourages me to strive for perfect stealth runs, and gives a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I do.   I don't even try using the tranq weapons, but if I do, they're used only for distraction purposes.  In the case where I absolutely need to do a takedown, I use the sneak up from behind, CQC grab, throwdown to the floor, hold-up, and tranq routine; that way, if a body is discovered, an alert still won't be sounded.

To that end, I do appreciate both MGS3 and Resident Evil 4 most for one thing; the ability to start over a certain area on-the-fly.  RE4 has the handy retry/load option from the pause menu, while MGS3 has the Fake Death Pill, and then Continue feature.

Personally, I'm surprised that someone else was surprised. I mean, Angela's a Metal Gear fanatic, in which stealth kills are imperative, and you're SURPRISED that she uses that kind of language? ^_~

Just played the demo today, and it was surprisingly... not bad. I actually rather liked Tomb Raider's grid movement system (well, not so much "liked" as "got used to"), but the new controls certainly make movement much less frustrating. There are some issues with jumping to vines and ropes, but jumping to ledges is happily no longer a problem.

Combat seems to be a bit bland, mostly because the AI is unbelievably stupid. The puzzle in the demo isn't too hard to figure out either, but I hear the later puzzles will be more interesting. I think I actually had the most fun with the platform aspects of the game, though (did I really just say that about a Tomb Raider game??). The climbing, jumping, swinging, and whatnot are very much reminiscent of Prince of Persia, actually.

I have too many games in my backlog to get Legend now, but I'll definitely get it when it goes down to 20 bucks.

All this talk about PS2 controllers and no one has mentioned the horrific D-Pad? I only wish Capcom had made their "Support Pad" available for PS2: http://psp.ign.com/articles/673/673821p1.html

Mario isnt female last time I played - Now if Peach had been in every game and a main character she would by right have the title

Ah, skipped the Heroine part. How about Samus Aran then?