MrCunningham
Member
I was a teen when that episode aired, and to be honest. I would have agreed with that review, as I liked Tomb Raider 1 more than Mario 64. Mario 64 seemed more expansive, but felt like a bunch of mini quests to get stars. Tomb Raider felt more like a single goal narrative game, with a bunch of fetch-y-item-to-open-next-area type of puzzles. I played the game on the Saturn originally. Which has always been deemed as one of the worst versions from that time, and the PS1 port being the best. I even loved that version, could make it to the end.I would have given it a negative score on principle. He was generous. It is sickening that the fanbase it spawned is littered with hygiene-averse, pedophile man-children. Some people even think it is a fighting game.
The original Crash Bandicoot is better than Mario 64. It has a better presentation as well as non-floaty and challenging platforming. Tomb Raider was the new hotness so a high score is understandable.
Tomb Raider was probably the biggest surprise hit of 1996. because Mario 64 was expected to be big. Quake was expected to be big. Resident Evil was also a big surprise of 1996.
I think most of the gaming press was a bit cautious about hyping Tomb Raider, because of the 3D 3rd person gameplay being a unproven. But the game did come out to a lot of 'GOTY' tier reviews... and Lara Croft became one of the most popular characters of 1997-2000-ish, hands down. Most reviewers figured out that it plays like a 3D Prince of Persia.
I never really got to see EP on TV here in Canada. I don;t think I have ever seen an episode. But, Reviews on the Run did air on Canadian TV and was not hard to find. It was filmed in Vancouver, and was the substitute that would show the Victor and Tallarico reviews, as well as the EP recorded segments.
Reviews on the Run actually lasted up til 2014, it did become more of its' own thing with the different hosts. ]
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