Tomb Raider Chronicles (V)

Every era eventually ends, and Tomb Raider Chronicles from 2000 was just such a full stop — the last installment of the classic series built on Core Design's original engine. Following the dramatic conclusion of the previous adventure, Chronicles took the form of a memorial anthology, a look back at Lara Croft's career through four separate stories.

The concept is unconventional: after Lara's disappearance, her friends gather and reminisce about her earlier adventures, which the player gradually experiences. These four episodes take Lara to Rome, to a submarine in the Black Sea, to a haunted Irish island from her childhood and into a modern skyscraper full of high-tech security systems. Each chapter has its own flavor — from adventurous classic through horror tones to a stealthier modern interlude — which gives the game a pleasant variety.

In terms of gameplay, Chronicles builds on the series' proven foundation: jumping navigation, puzzles, exploration and combat. It adds a few new moves and situations, including sneaking past guards and using hardware gadgets in the final episode. The individual stories are shorter and more contained, which gives the game more the character of a collection of short stories than a single grand adventure. After six years, however, the original engine and fixed camera were beginning to show their age, and this was one of the criticisms that accompanied the installment.

Chronicles closed the first chapter of the series on the PlayStation and became the last classically conceived installment before the brand set off in new directions. As an epilogue and tribute to the whole era, it has its charm, especially for players who accompanied Lara from the beginning.

Today Chronicles is more for devoted fans — an anthology that offers a dignified farewell to the classic form of one of gaming's most influential heroines.

Why play it: An anthological farewell to Lara Croft's classic era, diverse short stories and a nostalgic full stop to the original series.