Lara's back

'Tomb Raider: Legend' is out, and has exceeded my expectations. There are so many things right about this game, that it is easy to forget about the issues. Beta testing, for example. I run about as vanilla as it gets: Pentium 3.0, NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500. There are two instances where Lara's feet disappear into solid rock. And when I tried to manually lock onto a target, the computer froze solid.

The culprit may be the latest NVIDIA driver. One of my games compelled me to download it, and my system has been buggy since. It mostly just crashes to the desktop or reboots my cpu while I am playing BF 1942. So we'll defer judgement on the bugs until version 1.1. Publishers are so driven to get their high-margin ware on the shelves, that it is routine to release unfinished code, then issues patches.

'Legend' on the whole is a well-behaved, technically dazzling achievement. The time it takes to resume an existing game from the Windows desktop is less than fourteen seconds. Somebody at Eidos is very proud of that.

The camera angles are more than acceptable. Moving the mouse around one way allows the player a close-up of her eyes. Moving the mouse slightly again, and the player can see Lara from the back, in true third person, from above, below, and the sides.

My beloved and I spent two hours this morning together, playing 'Legend.' The game is an excellent way to bring people together, to solve the puzzles.

If they had a menu option to take out the violence, this would be a game for the whole family. Somebody tell the designers that having Lara shoot spotted leopard after leopard is sickening. I would rather be at the controls of a Messerschmidt BF-109, strafing hapless limey bastards.

In that light, I believe that EA games could easily publish a platinum seller based on the flying physics in BF 1942. They could use current mapping databases to create a system of regional airports. They could call it 'Airline Tycoon,' and it would feature all the nuts and bolts of operating airplanes. 'Airline Tycoon' could start with a novice pilot building up points for each airport flown into and out of. When the pilot has enough points or flight hours, he can purchase or lease his own equipment. Then he can ferry passengers and grow his operation. The emphasis will always be on flying: Arctic flying, VFR, weather, navigation, learning charts and instrumentation, and all types of interesting aircraft.

To beat the game, you must be able to grow your airline to the point where you are only flying because you want to. Then you can pass on the joy of running your airline, to your wife's brother. A final FMV shows you handing him the keys to the executive suite. While he gets to handle operations: shareholders, lost baggage, strikes, fuel prices, etc. You get to go restore and fly vintage aircraft.

The other day, I wanted to fly, but only fly. I loaded Battlefield 1942 to play the Battle of Britain level. I found incredible peace and joy, just skimming above the countryside. The game sports five different camera angles for the BF-109, also known as the ME-109. The default camera is like flying with a hockey mask on. Camera two is like sitting right behind the windscreeen. I can see people, sitting in their vehicles, as I rush overhead. I wheel up into the atmosphere, then bank, and the sky is underfoot and falling away. It is a rollercoaster ride on an unrestricted X-Y-Z plane.