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Tomb Raider III

Tomb Raider III Game Cover
84%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
stability, grinding
84% User Score Based on 671 reviews

Platforms

Playstation 3PCMac OSWindowsPlayStationPlaystation VitaPSP
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Tomb Raider III Game Cover

About

Tomb Raider III is a single player shooter game. It was developed by Core Design and was released on November 27, 2012. It received positive reviews from players.

In Tomb Raider III, embark on a global adventure as Lara Croft, visiting various locations from London to India and uncovering mysterious artifacts. Solve puzzles, explore ancient ruins, and engage in intense combat with a wide range of enemies. With improved graphics and new moves, this installment offers a more immersive and challenging experience for fans of the series.

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Tomb Raider III screenshot
Tomb Raider III screenshot
Tomb Raider III screenshot
Tomb Raider III screenshot
Tomb Raider III screenshot
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84%
Audience ScoreBased on 671 reviews
story33 positive mentions
stability15 negative mentions
  • Tomb Raider III features improved graphics and level design, showcasing a variety of environments and enhanced atmospheric effects.
  • The game introduces new mechanics such as sprinting, crawling, and monkey swinging, adding depth to exploration and puzzle-solving.
  • The non-linear level progression allows players to choose the order of their adventures, providing a sense of freedom and replayability.
  • The game is notoriously difficult, with many players finding the puzzles and traps frustratingly obscure and unfair.
  • Controls can feel clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially during precise platforming sections.
  • The story is thin and lacks coherence, often feeling like a loose collection of events rather than a cohesive narrative.
  • story
    135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of Tomb Raider III follows Lara Croft on a quest to uncover four meteorite artifacts scattered across the globe, but it is often criticized for its lack of originality and coherence, with many players finding it difficult to follow. While some appreciate the environmental storytelling and improved cutscenes, others feel the narrative serves merely as a backdrop for gameplay, lacking depth and character development. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, with some improvements over previous entries but still falling short of engaging storytelling.

    • “The story follows Lara Croft as she embarks on a globe-spanning quest to uncover four mysterious meteorite artifacts scattered across the world.”
    • “The game's expansion 'Lost Artefact' is not included in this release but features large and detailed levels that are some of the most fun in the entire series; it also directly continues the story of Tomb Raider 3.”
    • “The story is probably the best in Lara's adventures; it's her at the height of her career, top of her game, and her arrogance is at an all-time high.”
    • “The story isn't great, but puzzles are still fun.”
    • “I didn't feel any attachment to any of the characters, and the story was just something I was barely following.”
    • “The story is almost non-existent, and Lara's personality doesn't get that much of a chance to shine in them.”
  • gameplay
    128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Tomb Raider III is a blend of familiar mechanics from its predecessors, enhanced with new features like crawling, sprinting, and monkey-swinging, which add complexity to the exploration and puzzle-solving elements. While the level design is praised for its variety and ambition, many players find the controls and movement sluggish, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences due to outdated mechanics and a punishing difficulty level. Overall, despite its dated graphics and some clunky elements, the game retains a sense of charm and challenge that appeals to fans of the series.

    • “The gameplay loop remains faithful to the established Tomb Raider formula—explore, solve puzzles, survive traps, and fight enemies—but Tomb Raider III is notably more complex and difficult than its predecessors.”
    • “The introduction of improved mechanics, harder puzzles, and an incredibly varied setting made Tomb Raider III an absolutely entertaining game.”
    • “As you get a grip on the controls and understand the gameplay's mechanics, it becomes a rewarding and satisfying experience to reach the end of every level, as well as trying to collect every secret.”
    • “By 1998, the market was beginning to shift toward more fluid and accessible forms of 3D gameplay, and Lara’s rigid movement grid—once revolutionary—was starting to feel outdated.”
    • “My biggest pet peeve is how sluggish Lara still feels, especially with some of the animations being so slow—it makes it unappealing to use most movement mechanics in combat.”
    • “Compared to the previous games, this one hasn't changed all that much when it comes to gameplay, but sadly most of the changes aren't for the better; instead, they make the game feel sluggish and confusing.”
  • graphics
    108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in Tomb Raider III show a slight improvement over its predecessors, with enhanced textures, lighting, and environmental detail, though they remain dated by modern standards. While some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and atmospheric design, others criticize the low draw distance and occasional graphical glitches that hinder immersion. Overall, the visuals are considered a step up from Tomb Raider II, but still reflect the limitations of late 90s technology.

    • “What elevates Tomb Raider III beyond a test of reflexes is the atmosphere it creates through its visuals and sound.”
    • “The graphics were great for the time, and I loved the detailed environments.”
    • “There is a small but noticeable step-up in graphical fidelity from Tomb Raider 2, with a more detailed model, larger and more detailed environments and textures, and also better alpha effects overall.”
    • “The biggest graphical problem is still the low draw distance; this makes exploration hard and limits immersion.”
    • “Graphics are slightly improved but this game is still ugly, don't play for the eye candy.”
    • “While the graphics, sounds, and animations have been improved, the same basic gameplay problems persist, namely the inane fixed camera that tends to show repeated close-ups of Lara's backside rather than the ledge you are trying to jump to.”
  • music
    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in Tomb Raider 3, composed by Nathan McCree, is widely praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the gaming experience, with standout tracks that evoke strong emotions and memories. While the soundtrack is considered one of the best in the series, some players noted that the limited number of tracks can lead to repetitiveness over the course of the game. Overall, the remastered version has resolved previous audio issues, allowing players to fully appreciate the music's contribution to the game's immersive environments and storytelling.

    • “The music by Nathan McCree plays a vital role in shaping the experience.”
    • “The soundtrack is brilliant, adds a lot to the atmosphere.”
    • “Add to this an iconic soundtrack with an incredibly good atmosphere, a better sense of exploration thanks to different level paths, and you're in for a treat.”
    • “It's told entirely in cut-scenes, in which the voice of the characters is completely drowned out by music (which I had turned almost off in the volume control, that doesn't affect cut scenes), or other sound effects going on.”
    • “Sadly, some of the music starts to become a little bit tedious, because with such few tracks and a long game, things are bound to get repetitive.”
    • “I just wish there was more music in general, like the parts where the music kicks in are just so damn atmospheric and enjoyable; it's really a shame they didn't compose a soundtrack for the whole game, but I understand there were obvious space limitations back then.”
  • atmosphere
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in "Tomb Raider III" is widely praised for its immersive environments, dynamic lighting, and weather effects that enhance the exploration experience. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke the spirit of late-1990s adventure gaming through its detailed settings, engaging soundtracks, and a focus on player-driven discovery. While some levels are noted for feeling cramped, the overall atmosphere is considered a standout feature that captures the essence of the classic Tomb Raider series.

    • “The environments are larger and more detailed, the lighting more dynamic, and the weather effects—rain, fog, reflections—add new layers of atmosphere to the experience.”
    • “Its emphasis on exploration, atmosphere, and player-driven discovery embodies what made the early Tomb Raider titles so memorable.”
    • “Tomb Raider III, another classic 3D action-adventure game with great level design, fantastic atmosphere, and lovely low-poly graphics.”
    • “New controls like the monkey bars and sprint make it much more fun than the last one, although that one has a better sense of atmosphere than this one does.”
    • “The atmosphere of the early Tomb Raider games is in many ways unique.”
    • “The level design still holds up extraordinarily well and it's dripping with atmosphere.”
  • stability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the PC port is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players have noted that visual and sound issues, along with frustrating controls, detract from the experience, often requiring fan mods for fixes. While some users experienced smoother performance, the overall consensus is that the game is plagued by technical problems, making it feel unpolished and unreliable.

    • “The game runs smoothly without any crashes or glitches.”
    • “I haven't experienced any stability issues; everything works perfectly.”
    • “The performance is consistent, making for a seamless gaming experience.”
    • “This PC port is buggy, and you have to rely on fan mods to fix most of the bugs.”
    • “Buggy as hell to the point of being unplayable.”
    • “Cutscenes with good graphics were not playing, sound issues, constant trippy glitches in game (some of the weirdest things were happening; it was like an old 70s psychedelic movie at times).”
  • grinding
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many levels described as poorly designed and repetitive. While some new mechanics and beautiful environments offer moments of enjoyment, the slow pace of navigation and frequent backtracking detract from the overall experience, leading to a sense of frustration rather than satisfaction. The lack of modern conveniences, such as auto-save, further exacerbates the tediousness of gameplay.

    • “Instead, this game is deeply tedious: it's player-unfriendly to the point that I'm convinced the point was to get people to buy the strategy guide.”
    • “The game is fun at first, but over time that fun turned into frustration because the level designs are bad and tedious.”
    • “Crawling around, like climbing, seems a bit too slow and tedious, and made me audibly sigh anytime I had to get through another tight tunnel.”
  • replayability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game boasts high replayability due to its varied and well-crafted level designs, which offer multiple pathways and secrets, allowing players to explore different strategies and playstyles. Users appreciate the freedom of choice in tackling levels and the ability to impose personal challenges, enhancing the overall experience and encouraging repeated playthroughs.

    • “Expansive areas that give you a freedom of choice on where to go in what order makes the replayability exceed greatly as you can completely switch up what items you have in what areas.”
    • “Much like previous titles, it also has great replayability due to the various ways it can be played, as you can impose your own restrictions on healing, what weapons you use, or even speed runs.”
    • “This not only improves the level of replayability, but it gives a boost to the feeling of choice and exploration that the series has become iconic for.”
    • “There are definitely some standout examples of really great, fun levels, and you get to choose to tackle them in whichever order you please, adding strategy and replayability to the game.”
    • “The levels are also far less linear and often offer multiple pathways forward, resulting in increased replayability and just all around more believable environments.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game, originally a PC port from 1998, is generally unoptimized for modern systems, leading to occasional graphical glitches and performance issues even on high-end hardware like the RTX 3090. While it runs smoothly overall and performs well on devices like the Steam Deck, players often resort to unofficial patches and keymappers to enhance the experience.

    • “The game didn't crash once and runs smoothly, another ringing endorsement for the Steam Deck!”
    • “Some graphical glitches can get in the way at times, but otherwise it runs smoothly.”
    • “The graphics are definitely PSX graphics, but the game looks and runs smoothly.”
    • “This is a PC port from 1998 and was not optimized for modern systems.”
    • “It's still an unoptimized game for modern systems, and I still had to use a keymapper and unofficial fan-made patches to make it look and play better.”
    • “Not optimized for PC at all.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its engaging environments filled with amusing surprises and clever puzzles that can be both challenging and entertaining. Players found themselves laughing at various comedic elements throughout the gameplay, contributing to an overall lighthearted experience. However, some technical quirks, such as video resolution issues, were noted but did not detract significantly from the humor.

    • “The story is a funny thing.”
    • “Pros: the environments are interesting with many humorous surprises, and the puzzles will sometimes stump you.”
    • “All of his little bits flying everywhere had us laughing for a long time afterward.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is perceived as less impactful for some players, particularly those without nostalgic ties to the series, leading to a lack of substantial emotional connection. However, the soundtrack, especially the uplifting progress music, evokes positive feelings and nostalgia for other titles, enhancing the overall emotional experience for some players.

    • “The soundtrack was good, and the happy progress music you get every now and then made me feel relieved, as it's very similar to the happy music in Amnesia, and it gave me flashbacks.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers express a desire for the more glamorous character design seen in earlier Tomb Raider games, indicating that recent releases have not maintained the same level of visual appeal in character development.

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32h Median play time
27h Average play time
16-37h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Tomb Raider III is a shooter game.

Tomb Raider III is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows, PlayStation 3 and others.

On average players spend around 27 hours playing Tomb Raider III.

Tomb Raider III was released on November 27, 2012.

Tomb Raider III was developed by Core Design.

Tomb Raider III has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Tomb Raider III is a single player game.

Similar games include Tomb Raider III (1998), Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation and others.