Tomb Raider

Lara Croft - Optional Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider is an interesting little gem. You see, like most people around the PS1 era, I grew up with Tomb Raider. I loved those games, with their interesting stories about Mythological Artifacts and Raptors, their fun, fluid combat system. And I also loved the character of Lara Croft who was a wise-cracking English treasure hunter with (in the original PS1 game) triangular breasts. This new instalment in the Tomb Raider franchise is a far cry from what the original games were and is almost in no way connected apart from by it's name. And whilst I have my problems with that and other issues, I generally think this is a solid game.

First of all, this is a Prequel to the original Tomb Raider and shows her origins of how she 'because a treasure hunter'. However, it doesn't really feel like that. Because of the very strong willed but generally well humoured Lara Croft I grew up with all the gritty stabbing, shooting by tough grizzly men and the stabbing and shooting from Mother Nature who is your worst enemy in this game, it really makes this game feel incredibly out of place in the rest of the franchise. And yes, whilst I realise this is a REBOOT, it still should have some feel of the originals. The puzzles are gone, and the platforming is really stripped down to scaling pre determined walls and traversing via rope one anchor point to another. And before I move on I must go back to Mother Nature. In this game, the entire freaking island is trying to kill you, whether it be from conveniently placed sticks and spikes or the ground beneath you collapsing, Mother Nature is out to get you. And never in any video game ever I seen the main character been abused as much as in this game. Whether it be from being stabbed through the side with a stake, stabbing yourself with a burning arrow, being crushed by a rock or getting a wooden spike driven through your neck, you are going to have a lot of moments in this game where you cringe from the sheer brutality.

And with all that it makes the game seem rather realistic, however this vision of Realism is shattered by two major things. Firstly you have the RIDICULOUS amount of people that Lara kills during this game. She has slaughtered THOUSANDS of people by the end of the game and she crys about killing a deer and goes "Oh God" when she shoots another human being and that is about it. At least in Far Cry 3 at the end Jason Brody acknowledges the copious amount of blood he has spilt and has vowed to never do it again. In her she says nothing and continues on with her life, leading me to believe that she is a Psychopath and a Masochist. And the second thing that breaks the tone of realism is the fact that they decide to KEEP the mythological side of the Tomb Raider series and add in the Island from Lost and ghostly Samurai, because why not?

However, as much as I've been complaining about this game it is genuinely a fantastic experience. The combat is fun and satisfying and following the current trend of Bow and Arrow wielding heroes you get to use one. Several in fact, and they are very satisfying and later have multiple uses. The story is interesting and really puts you in the shoes of Lara and makes you care for her. You feel every blow she takes, every hit she deals and it is rather exciting. It's interesting to see her struggle play out and to help her through these horrendous situations. The sound design is brilliant, whether it is the whistle of the wind or the loud bang of firing a shotgun. The visuals are stunning and has many varied areas to explore, including the Tombs. And here is the thing about this game. It is CALLED Tomb Raider. You'd expect to raid some tombs in it. And you can, and they are all rather unique and contain interesting puzzles. But they are ALL optional. They should have just called this game "Lara Croft presents - Optional Tomb Raiding".

There is also a Multiplayer mode which is interesting at first glance, with it's Versatile maps with Ziplines and Climbing points, but when you get down to it, it is rather generic and won't keep you playing for very much longer. It feels very tagged on and would have been better left out entirely.

In all seriousness however, this game is fantastic. Yes, it has it's problems, some can be overlooked, others cannot, like it's disgusting use of QTE's, but it is a very unique journey with an unfortunately lack lustre and sequel bait ending. However, this is one of those games that really shouldn't be overlooked.

Oh. My. God.

This game.........is..........amazing.

I've been saying that since I beat it. It was truly one of the greatest games I have ever played, and deserves, in my opinion, perfect 10s across the board.

But what makes this game stand out from the rest? Let's take a look.

First up, story. This game is another reboot of the "Tomb Raider" franchise, once again changing the back story of the main character, Lara Croft. But this time, you get to actually experience the journey that morphs Lara from the nerdy brains girl into the nerdy brains+hardened warrior that the rest of the series builds on. Lara is on an expedition to the Dragon's Triangle when a storm destroys the boat and she is stranded on an island with the rest of the crew. She must survive against rabid animals, insane and violent natives, and the supernatural. I won't spoil everything, but I will say that the game makes you care about every character (with the exception of Reyes) and you somewhat understand where the villains are coming from (doesn't make you feel sorry for killing them, thought).

Next, sound. The music sounds like it was scored by John Williams. Every song feels like danger and suspense, or survival and hope. Each song also fits the situation it's in. For example, Lara finds herself trapped in a burning palace, and has to escape. The music is fast paced, and speeds up whenever Lara encounters a savage. The sound effects also sound real, like the weapons firing, explosions, or structures falling.

Up next, graphics. This game looks completely realistic, and more importantly, Lara looks like a real person instead of her Barbie-doll figure. The fire looks like real fire, the rusted buildings look like real rusted buildings, the blood looks like real blood, and the list goes on and on.

Finally, game play. I haven't played "Uncharted", so I don't know too much about that game, but a lot of people I know have compared this to game to "Uncharted". However, since I haven't played "Uncharted" I will not be comparing to that game. But, regardless, the game play has a very cinematic feel to it. Almost no HUD icons appear, and when they do, it's something you need, like an ammo counter. The puzzles were fairly challenging to me, and I needed my brother's help to solve a few. Combat feels flawless, as the controls allow for smooth aiming and precision head shots. There were a few firefights that felt like they were never going to end, but they are far and few between. The controls respond 100% of the time, so if you die, it's your fault.

The only real cautionary thing about this game is the rating. This is the first "Tomb Raider" game rated M for Mature, and it deserves it. There is violent combat, as every single gunshot causes blood spray, and the Solarii (the natives) groan (sometimes scream) in pain as they die. Lara can die by implosion, gunfire, being crushed, falling, any real violent way to die is included in this game. Probably the most memorable moment of gore in this game is a little more than halfway through, where Lara knocks out two guards, takes her bow back (all her weapons were taken), and she jumps off the rock bridge into the chasm below. She lands in a river of blood, surrounded by skulls and and tied-up corpses. As someone who can handle "Left 4 Dead"-level gore, that caused me to jerk my head back in shock. I still remember that few minutes more than any other part of the game. If bloody violence bothers you or unsettles you, be wary when you pick this game up.

To sum it all up, the story is great, the sound is fitting, the graphics are realistic, and the game play is near perfect. Just make sure you can handle the gore. I need to have my mind wiped, just so I can play it again, and feel it again.

You're still here? Why? Go get it!

When I had read about the character development for Lara Croft before playing this game, I was concerned that they used this reboot/prequel as an excuse to turn Lara Croft into some cliché damsel-in-distress in a horror-survival situation. It is technically like that, but it feels more gritty and raw and violent, and Croft kicks way too much ass to be that cliché. It draws you into her role, and makes you think: "if I were in that situation, what would I do? How would I cope?" The director of the game successfully creates an experience where you go from normal relatable everyday life to living in a Jerry Bruckheimer-action movie, (and at some points a horror movie). The game successfully conveys Lara Croft as a normal young person who triumphs through adversity to be strong, brave, even a bit ruthless.

In recent popular culture, the bow-and-arrow seems to have become a symbol of the strong independent woman in a fantasy setting. Perhaps they are channeling the ol' goddess archetypes like Artemis, the Greek, bow- wielding moon goddess. But often these depictions fall flat because the writer/director doesn't know how/is afraid to really run with it, and the bow-and-arrow just becomes a prop or a fashion accessory. (The movie "Brave" comes to mind.) But Lara Croft is different: she has a bow and arrow, and she actually USES it. To KILL people (and animals).

Speaking of violence, this game has just the right amount. The temples full of bloody bodies is a bit unrealistic, I mean, how could they have that many bodies on a little island that are so fresh and bloody? But the action sequences are gritty and real and drawn out, and they draw you in in that way a movie can't. To get through the game you have have shoot and stab and blow people up and that's that. It is what it is.

The plot is nothing original but it is enjoyable and suspenseful. I am halfway through the game and there are still big mysteries about what is going on. The overarching plot reminds me of the show "Lost" (except it makes sense and isn't full of random crap that goes nowhere). When the player gets into the action it reminds me of action movies from 10 or 15 years ago, especially with some of the background music they chose. The dialogue of the various enemies and henchmen wandering around can be pretty amusing too.

The gameplay is good ol' Tomb-Raidery goodness with some modern touches thrown in. There's the classic climbing and 3D-platform jumping that Tomb Raider games invented, plus elements reminiscent of newer series' like Assassins Creed, Prince of Persia, or God of War such as elements of stealth, first-person-shooter, scripted action sequences that require the player to press the right buttons, or mash the buttons quickly. At some points the game seems too easy though, and it holds the player's hand too much. It gives you too many hints without the option to turn it off. Often in the beginning of a puzzle Croft thinks something out loud, or an NPC makes some comment that steals the opportunity for the player to figure it out by themself. But I like it better than how impossible the old original games were, where the reading walkthroughs was pretty much a requirement. (Everyone I know always got stuck because they didn't notice that one tiny ledge of in a corner they're supposed to jump to, etc.) The combat sequences in the game has adjustable difficulty though.

The gameplay has elements of collecting random things. Usually that turns me off but in this game it's done right. Croft finds many artifacts throughout the game but they are realistic and rendered and described in detail. She finds old writing and journals that game reads aloud to you. Unlike many video games, the voice acting is good, and it is engaging enough that I want to read them, unlike most games where I don't even bother.

Overall this is a very well-done, professional, polished game, where the game designers did their homework in including time-tested fun and balanced game elements. A couple of times I did come across bugs though: At one point I was trapped because a cutscene wouldn't trigger when it was supposed to. I reloaded from the last save point and it worked OK after that though. Also there was a curious door that swung open. The door opened fine, but the graphic for the bullet-hole in the window of the door remained in the doorway floating in mid-air.

My only complaint is the over-done menu system. Every time you go a submenu or do something there has to be swooshing sound effects and text flying around and turning upside-down and exploding. (I'm exaggerating, but not *that* much.) It's just a minor quibble, it doesn't truly detract from the game, but I would have preferred a more clean and simple menu system.

Graphics: The graphics are beautiful, especially on the PS4 and Xbox One. Sometimes, you will just stop and look around.

Story: The story is somewhat cliché, but the way it is told is so confident and emotional, you won't even notice.

Gameplay: The game-play, from climbing and exploring, to intense combat, is all very solid. The excellent cover system works perfectly, with a nice "leaning" feature that lets you peak out and fire with any weapon, and then quickly take cover again.

Weapon upgrades: Did you just die for the tenth time at the same place? Just go back to a base camp and increase your rifle damage. They'll never know what hit them. The Weapon upgrades are very well done. There's about ten to fifteen for each weapon.

Skill points: When you gain enough experience points, you'll get a skill point. There's three skill branches, and many skills to make the game-play easier and more interesting.

Quick time events: normally, I like quick time events, but there's a point where it becomes ridiculous. Tomb Raider just needs to dial it back a little.

Verdict: Tomb Raider is a fantastic game, one of the best ever made.

Storywise it's an exciting journey that takes you from innocent little Lara to Bad-ass Lara in a natural way. Cliches and scripted scenes are abundant, but the production value is through the roof and doesn't hurt the experience imho.

Gameplaywise the pacing (action - exploring) is excellent and the new abilities and weapon upgrades keep the game interesting throughout. Tombs offer some excellent puzzles and the randomly scattered and fully voiced diary entries add to the experience.

I've finished the game twice already.

I feel ashamed that i got this on a sale for only 5 bucks...