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Tomb Raider - Unfinished Business is an expansion of Tomb Raider, consisting of four bonus levels. The first three Tomb Raider games included add-on adventures which were released at a later date as an expansion of the Tomb Raider game it complemented.
Shadow of the Cat: After recent floods in Khamoon, Lara returns to the local tomb to make further studies of the mysterious cat statue. When she returned, she saw that the main chamber was completely flooded - making more areas accesible and opening new opportunities for exploration. Lara explores new areas of the city and eventually uncovers the existence of a temple dedicated to the cat-goddess Bast, which houses a huge golden cat statue.
Unfinished Business: Once satisfied with her raiding, Lara heads back to the remains of Atlantis. Her goal is to finish off the last survivors of the Atlantean army and destroy a well-defended mutant hatchery, so that they may never trouble mankind again. After accomplishing this, she leaves Atlantis through an underwater tunnel. She hasn't returned to Atlantis since.
The gameplay is identical to Tomb Raider except you can walk through spikes if you hold the walk button. The weapons and moves Lara uses are the same. Unfinished Business is not a separate adventure like The Golden Mask, but rather a complementary adventure to Tomb Raider since it has more links to the game. The levels and the purpose of the adventure itself is linked to the story of Tomb Raider.
The level designers recommend that players cheat-skip the first two levels and play the next two starting only with the pistols and no ammo (so that they can be a real challenge even for seasoned players).
Platforms: Originally Windows and Macintosh only. Also included in the TR1 iOS and Android apps. Included in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series XS, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games.
Spoiler-free Synopsis: These bonus levels comprise two mini-adventures designed to challenge both novice and expert raiders. In the first two levels, "Shadow of the Cat," Lara returns to the city of Khamoon in search of an undiscovered tomb dedicated to the Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet. In "Unfinished Business," having learned of the existence of a hive of surviving creatures guarding an alien hatchery, Lara returns to Atlantis to destroy the mutants before they invade again.
Secrets: As in the original game, the number of secrets in each level varies. They consist of ammunition, medipaks, and the occasional weapon. A chime sounds when you locate a secret, and the statistics screen at the end of each level tells how many secrets were available in that level, along with how many you found. There is no bonus for finding all secrets. And, as always, my walkthrough includes the location of all secrets.
Controls are the same as in Tomb Raider. If you need a refresher, check out my TR1 Controls and Gameplay Tips & Strategy pages. They include pointers on moving Lara through her environment, conserving health and ammo, using the menu and inventory systems, and much more.
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Tomb Raider is a 1996 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive as the debut entry in the Tomb Raider media franchise. It was first released on the Sega Saturn, followed shortly by versions for MS-DOS and the PlayStation. Later releases came for Mac OS (1999), Pocket PC (2002), N-Gage (2003), iOS (2013) and Android (2015). The game follows archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft, who is hired by businesswoman Jacqueline Natla to find an artefact called the Scion of Atlantis. Gameplay features Lara navigating levels split into multiple areas and room complexes while fighting enemies and solving puzzles to progress. An expansion pack subtitled Unfinished Business was released in 1997, containing new standalone levels.
The initial concept was created by Toby Gard, who is credited as Lara's creator and worked as lead artist on the project. Production began in 1994 and took 18 months, with a budget of 440,000. The character of Lara was based on several influences, including Tank Girl, Indiana Jones, and Hard Boiled. The 3D grid-based level design, innovative for its time, was inspired by the structure of Egyptian tombs. The music was composed by Nathan McCree, who took inspiration from English classical music. Originally announced in 1995, the title went on to receive extensive press attention and heavy promotion from Eidos Interactive.
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game in which the player assumes the role of archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft, who navigates through a series of ancient ruins and tombs in search of an ancient artefact.[8][9] The game is split into four zones: Peru, Greece, Egypt and the lost continent of Atlantis. A training level set in Lara's home of Croft Manor can be accessed from the start menu.[10] The game is presented in third-person perspective. Lara is always visible, and the camera follows the action by focusing on Lara's shoulders by default, but the player can take manual control of the camera to get a better look at an area.[8] The game automatically switches to a different camera view at key points, either to give the player a wider look at a new area or to add a cinematic effect.[11] In the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions, players save their progress in a level using Save Crystals, while in the PC versions the player can save at any point.[12] If Lara is killed, the player must restart from a previous save.[13]
The object of Tomb Raider is to guide Lara through a series of tombs and other locations in search of treasures and artefacts. On the way, she must kill dangerous animals and creatures while collecting objects and solving puzzles.[8] The emphasis lies on exploring, solving puzzles, and navigating Lara's surroundings to complete each level.[11][14] Movement in the game is varied and allows for complex interactions with the environment. In addition to standard movement using tank controls, Lara can walk, jump over gaps, shimmy along ledges, and swim through bodies of water.[13][12][15] Certain button combinations allow Lara to either perform a handstand from a hanging position or execute a swandive.[10]
Lara has two basic stances: one with weapons drawn and one with her hands-free. When her weapons are drawn, she automatically locks on to any nearby targets. Locking onto nearby targets prevents her from performing other actions which require her hands, such as grabbing onto ledges to prevent falling. By default, she carries two pistols with infinite ammo.[11] Additional weapons include a shotgun, dual magnums, and dual Uzis.[10] A general action button is used to perform a wide range of movements, such as picking up items, pulling switches, firing guns, pushing or pulling blocks, and grabbing onto ledges. Items to pick up include ammo, small and large medi-packs, keys, and artefacts required to complete a stage. Any item that is collected is held onto in Lara's inventory until it is used.[13] Throughout each stage, one or more secrets may be located. Discovering these secrets is optional, and when the player finds one a tune plays. The locations of these secrets vary in difficulty to reach. The player is usually rewarded with extra items.[10]
Archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft is approached by a mercenary named Larson, who is working for businesswoman Jacqueline Natla. Natla hires Lara to acquire the Scion, a mysterious artefact buried in the tomb of Qualopec within the mountains of Peru. After recovering the Scion from Qualopec's tomb, Lara is ambushed by Larson, who reveals after his defeat that she is holding merely a piece of the artefact, and Natla has sent rival treasure hunter Pierre DuPont to retrieve the other pieces. Breaking into Natla's offices to find out Pierre's whereabouts, Lara discovers a medieval monk's diary, and learns that the Scion is a powerful artefact composed of three pieces, which were divided between the three rulers of the ancient continent of Atlantis, and one of these pieces is buried alongside former Atlantean ruler Tihocan, beneath an ancient monastery, St. Francis' Folly, in Greece.
Navigating the monastery, and following several firefights with Pierre, Lara locates the tomb of Tihocan, where she kills Pierre and recovers the second piece of the Scion he had taken. From a mural, she learns that Tihocan unsuccessfully tried to resurrect Atlantis after a catastrophe struck the original continent. After combining both pieces of the Scion, Lara is shown a vision that reveals the third and final piece of the Scion was hidden in Egypt after the third Atlantean ruler, a traitor who used the artefact to create a breed of monsters, was captured and imprisoned by Tihocan and Qualopec. Making her way through Egypt to the lost city of Khamoon, Lara kills Larson and recovers the third Scion piece.
Emerging from the caves, Lara is ambushed by Natla and her three henchmen, who take the Scion. Lara escapes and stows away aboard Natla's yacht, which takes her to a volcanic island holding an Atlantean pyramid filled with monsters. After dispatching Natla's henchmen and making her way through the pyramid, Lara finds the Scion and sees the rest of the vision, revealing Natla to be the betrayer. Lara faces Natla, who reveals that she intends to use her army to push forward humanity's evolution, as she believes both Atlantis and current civilisation are too soft to withstand disaster. Lara decides to destroy the Scion, and Natla's attempt to stop her sends her into a crevasse. After fighting a large legless monster, Lara shoots the Scion, setting off a chain reaction that begins to destroy the pyramid. Lara kills a winged Natla and escapes the exploding island.