How come Tomb Raider gets away with it?

[Doom972]

Whatever you may think of the balance between combat & puzzles. (IMO: Combat is fine and better paced than some people say, can use more puzzles) There were things about Tomb Raider that even many hardcore fans agreed were outdated:

- Lara's design looked like a caricature once those original polygonal proportions were translated into modern graphics.
- Her characterization was lacking.
- Those lock-on shooting mechanics are simply terrible in this day and age.
- Controls were awkward.
- The story would have to start fresh anyway since the arc of the latest instalments had nowhere else to go.

Except for the control issues, these are all subjective. I (and I'm sure many others) liked the cartoonish look of Lara and I liked the fact that she didn't have some deep emotional burden and was just out there for the sake of adventure and discovery. I like deep and interesting characters, but I have enough games to fill that need. Tomb Raider games are among those games I play when I want the opposite, and it's what the Tomb Raider games represent for me.

 

[Lugbzurg]

So, is it as similar to the X-COM case as I think it is? If so, why didn't it get the same reaction?

Because the X-COM FPS would have been a total change of genre. The new Tomb Raider is still an adventure game where you run around, solve puzzles, explore uncharted lands, and shoot things, just like the old ones. I don't see your point.

 

[Woodsey]

Because the switch from third-person puzzle-platformer with shooting to third-person platformer-shooter with puzzles is far less pronounced than the switch from squad-based strategy game to first-person shooter.

I agree, there's almost no Tomb Raider DNA in there - although Lara is most obviously Lara, only this time an actual person - but the reason the outrage is lesser is obvious.

 

[Souplex]

From my understanding, it's because the old games were awful in Tomb Raider's case, so it was justified.
In XCOM's case the old games were fine.

 

[IronMit]

Developer Crystal Dynamics made 3 Tomb Raider games prior. They were good compared to the the last few the original Tombraider developer made. So it's not like another developer came along and pulled a Ninja Theory.

That and I don't think Tomb raider was loved as much as Hitman Blood money, DMC3-4, XCOM etc. People regarded these as their favourite games of all time. Tomb raider actually started to slowly die out losing some of the die hard fans.

And there is still some criticism of the new Tomb Raider; QTE reliance, jarring narrative to gameplay and a leveling system that does nothing issues that people point out.
Machinima, pcgamer, rock paper shotgun and rev3games rated it from 6 to 7.5/10, which is low for an inflated game score.

Oh and this video was funny

 

[Psylumin]

She is a completely different character, but she also isn't?
Look, its not THAT much of a stretch; its certainly not as much of a stretch as DmC's Dante was, and that game was actually released.
That aside, its still an adventure game, you still solve puzzles, and the mechanics are only better without taking away from the old.

A XCOM first-person shooter defies everything that XCOM stood for, at least in concept. The Devil May Cry reboot was developed on opposite day which is why the new Dante is the opposite of the old Dante. You could argue that that's the same thing that happened with Lara, but I think she was just toned down instead of completely changed.

Trust me, I was the first to complain that badass Lara was gone, but it turned out... Okay. Don't get me wrong though, the Tomb Raider reboot would have been far more pleasant for me if it wasn't a Tomb Raider game at all, and just a different game called The Adventures of Sharon Pare, or something.

Also, even though many of us hate resetting our minds when playing reboots, if a game is as well-done as the new Tomb Raider, you kind of want to accept it.

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

Because as fun as Tomb Raider was, it was trapped in adolescent sex fantasy for far too long. It was about time they did something about that. The result is glorious. New Lara is better than the old one in every single way. And this is coming from someone who's played all Tomb Raider games.

Pardon my lack of knowledge (having not played any of them) but the new game seems to be a continuation of that sex fantasy, albeit perhaps for an older audience. The PR speeches didn't help with that image either. I'm sure the gameplay is solid, but the character aesthetic is.... pointed, it would seem.

 

[gigastar]

I think the new Tomb Raider got away with it because, regardless of reboot or not, it was the first truly good Tomb Raider game people have seen in the last decade.

And like Squeenix's other major publication from last year, Hitman: Absolution, it was completely misrepresented by the dipshits in marketing.

I guess a better question might be, why does "Metal Gear Rising" get away with it?

Because its not Metal Gear Solid.

Because it was still written and directed (in part) by Kojima.

Because its an action game developed my Platinum Games.

And because its fucking awesome. The soundtrack is great too.

And another one is expected soon enough, the game sold fairly well (~900k copies by now i expect) and Kojima himself tweeted that he would like to work with Platinum again.

 

[gigastar]

Because as fun as Tomb Raider was, it was trapped in adolescent sex fantasy for far too long. It was about time they did something about that. The result is glorious. New Lara is better than the old one in every single way. And this is coming from someone who's played all Tomb Raider games.

Pardon my lack of knowledge (having not played any of them) but the new game seems to be a continuation of that sex fantasy, albeit perhaps for an older audience. The PR speeches didn't help with that image either. I'm sure the gameplay is solid, but the character aesthetic is.... pointed, it would seem.

One thing that might as well be accepted is that if theres a female character, someones going to fap over her picture. Might as well be a picture of a young girl with realistic proportions instead of Fluttershy.

Dont search that on google by the way, youll wish you hadnt.

 

[bafrali]

Because there aren't many expectations from the franchise it aside from having a british lass named Lara and being good as far as I know.

That is not the case with neither Xcom nor DMC, as they are known to be better examples of their respective genres and are subjected to specific standarts and higher expectations. They are obliged by their history.

 

[shrekfan246]

But you're right, most people say Mario.

Pfft, Mario. That's so mainstream.

Dig Dug is where it's at.

[sub][sub][sub]I was originally going to just go with Sonic, but that's pretty mainstream too.[/sub][/sub][/sub]

OT: Having just started the new Tomb Raider... Lara looks enough like "Lara Croft" to me.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I've bought the game but haven't started it yet. Seen a few reviews though. The only thing I don't really care for is her new voice. Doesn't sound British/English/whatever-you-want-to-call-it enough. Also lacks the confidence that the old voice actress had. I know that this new Lara is fresh out of the box in terms of adventures and stuff, so I'm hoping she'll have a chance to grow into the old version.

 

[Weaver]

They took a 3rd person game and made a new 3rd person game.
Not sure why people would be mad?

I think it's because, really, X-COM fans were waiting like 17 years for a new X-COM game, and a shooter isn't what they had in mind. Tomb Raider games have still been coming out, even though they weren't that good.

 

[Something Amyss]

For some reason, Tomb Raider doesn't get the same response.

Initially, it did. People whined about the dirty look, the style, the lack of obvious implants.

Then more info came to light and it looked like this might be an improvement.

NOBODY thought that about X-Com.

 

[Altorin]

I think probably because the genre that tomb raider was has evolved into what it is now, and xcom is the exception, not the rule.

 

[Treblaine]

For some reason, Tomb Raider doesn't get the same response.

Several reasons:

For one this is the SECOND time Tomb Raider has been rebooted. Arguably it is even the THIRD time as Angel of Darkness was such a departure as well in character, lore and gameplay. So fans are quite used to the idea. Lara Croft has even been killed off once already and implausibly brought back to life.

For two, XCOM (the first person shooter) was so completable and utterly different from Xcom the RTS, even the biggest Xcom fan would not have the slightest clue it had anything at all to do with Xcom till the "XCOM" logo appeared at the end. While Tomb Raider 2013 is in principal the same kind of game.

For three, Tomb aider (2013) is an "origins story", so it's understandable that Lara is different as 17 year old as opposed to the 30-something Lara seen in the 90's era games. The original Series says little of Lara's origins except in the game manual it's stated she used to be pampered till she was stranded in the wilderness and fought to survive and also where she got her taste for adventure.

For four, Crystal Dynamics HAVE NOT gotten away with it. It's just any fuss over that has been drowned out over shriek cries that the game dared to have a groper in the cast of villains, and repeated bonehead comments that a someone acting like a sexual predator says ANYTHING AT ALL about the victim's character. That was the "response" to Tomb Raider.

Me personally: I really really REALLY miss the original Tomb Raider... they seemed to have such an epic scale and vision, not in cinematic terms as so many games are viewed today, you really needed to apply your grey matter to navigating the environment and it wasn't simply a case of continuously ploughing forward.