The T-Rex – Tomb Raider (Original)

Firstly… can I just say, rarely has anybody been so scared of a polygon piece of shit more in their life, than I was of this particular boss. If you can even call it a boss (which I don’t). There’s so much beauty about the introduction of this particular gaming moment, it’s hard to put into words, but I’ll try.

Let me take you back to 1996. A 10 year old Peter sits in his bedroom with his brand new Playstation, which throughout my gaming life was the console that gave the biggest jump in graphics and gameplay I’ve experienced. Seeing Tomb Raider in action was a thing of beauty.
I’ll always remember my uncle watching the intro with me, where Lara completely destroys the wolves with no mercy and saying “Wow they could make a film out of this”. Of course that’s laughable now, but the point I’m making, is this game was revolutionary at the time and it sent shockwaves through the gaming world and turned me into a hardcore gamer, without a doubt.

Back to the gaming moment. It’s still relatively early in the game where you encounter one of the most legendary battle scenes in all of gaming and I still stick to this comment for many reasons. The above points aside, this Trex battle (I’m not going to call it a boss fight) came COMPLETELY out of the blue. At a time where we didn’t even know gaming could be so dynamic with the size of a monster or the scale of terrain it prowls on and perceived freedom this predator had, just waiting for a lonely over-attractive women, wearing very little, to stroll into. In the game so far we’d been restricted to narrow caves and linear surroundings. Not only does this change in an instant where we walk out into a big open grassy/jungle area, but we’re straight away introduced to Velociraptors. After killing a few of them you’re left heart pounding from the realisation it’s not just wolves and bears you’re going to have to contend with any more, you’re going to be up against DINOSAURS as well… brilliant. And to make things worst… the big bit was yet to come…

Casually dragging Lara’s clunky backside up the way, you come across a broken bridge and if you’re really eagle-eyed and paranoid (like me) you’ll see a little clue as what’s the come in the form of giant fucking footprints. Being 10 years old I was too buzzing from the ‘raptor fight to notice this of course and my life was about to change forever. Cue the Trex music…

Within an instant you’re greeted with a phenomenal and iconic piece of Tomb Raider music alongside loud stomping, shaking screen and a giant Trex peering around the corner. I still remember throwing my controller in the air and screeching, having to pause the game to take in what was happening. But if Jurassic Park has taught me anything, it was that I was a young Ian Malcolm and baby I was ready… and then died instantly… the Trex grabbing Lara at a certain angle saw to a horrifying 3 second cut scene of him shaking her aggressively in his jaws before flinging her to the floor. Gruesome!

A few final points on why this moment is so amazing. The aforementioned music, size and scale and revolutionary graphics aside, this was not a boss battle. You don’t need to kill him, there’s no cut scene or ATE (Active Time Event) having you bashing buttons at the right time to avoid attacks and watch Lara flip over the Trex like some deranged monkey (I’m looking at you, terrible remake). It was raw, it was unpolished, it was genuinely terrifying. There’s no room to make a plan, no hint as to how to kill it, if you even need to kill it and why you’re even in the same area as it in the first place? Do I even need to be here, I know I’m looking for cogs or something? When did I last save it? Why is it so fucking big? You have to think on your feet and there’s no hand-holding like modern games, he’s coming for you!

It’s a beautiful moment in gaming and whilst graphically it doesn’t stand the test of time, it made me the gamer I am today, it made me fall in love with a series that has seen its fair share of ups and downs. In many ways this Trex made me loyal to the series. I’ve completed every single Tomb Raider game out there… even Angel of Darkness and that’s saying something. It’s a truly powerful moment and I feel emotion and nostalgia every time I watch it and will always.

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