Is it just me? Or is Tomb Raider more exciting than ever before?

[LilithSlave]

This isn't me being a Square Enix fanboy at all. I don't care about Dues Ex: Human Revolution, like everyone else here. So don't say that just because it's published by Square now and I happen to be a jRPG "fanboy" or whatever term out there for someone who likes something a whole lot.

But yeah, I was never a fan of Tomb Raider, I loved games starring females but Tomb Raider just never sat well with me. Sat better with me than crap like Nuke Nukem, for sure. But I was never too enthusiastic about the franchise. Of course, I only played one or two of them on the PlayStation several years back, but it left an impression that I didn't want to come back for more. The controls were frustrating. Her face looked freaky in whatever psuedo-cartoon way you would describe it. And coupled with that they were trying to set her as a sex symbol and it just didn't work. I was a teenager and I was like "... people find this attractive?". Seriously, it was baffling and uncanny, and I just did not like the whole Tomb Raider thing. In the new game, her face actually looks remotely relatable instead of that weird, whatever they had it before. It looks human instead of cartoony in all of the wrong ways. They're not trying to make her a sex symbol anymore which is refreshing. She's actually wear, believe or not, pants! Oh my God, PANTS! Definitely an upgrade in character design for her. Also, the gameplay seems like an interesting diversion from the old games. The premise is about survival, not hunting treasure or anything like that. Not too many games have gone after the theme of island survival that I'm aware. Most video games keep to the same old boring and overdone violent scenarios where game mechanics revolve around fighting something. Gameplay that actually gets into and full develops on the ideas of "desolate survival" is a unique and groundbreaking idea within the world of gaming. If they truly did a lot with the refreshingly unusual non-horror survival theme, it would truly be a groundbreaking and amazing game. I really hope they do go all of way and have food rationing and the like. All of the survival skills one would need and use.

No matter what, it's looking to be the best of Tomb Raider. Don't you agree? I think that this is going to be the first Tomb Raider game I'll ever buy. Because it's finally worth my money now.

 

[Matt Dellar]

I'm with you. I never liked the older Tomb Raider games; no offense to those who do. I'm just not a big fan of the elements that made it up. Lara wasn't too great a character--not too great to the point where I actually enjoyed getting her killed on my obligatory play-through of Anniversary (T-Rex battle FTW). It felt like the devs were using Lara's sex appeal as a way to wiggle out of that dreaded *gasp* character development. Also, I've never liked puzzle platforming or games where it takes a million bullets to kill a simple wolf. And I don't think I need to mention quick-time events.

New Tomb Raider, on the other hand. Yes. I do believe I'll like it if my perception from the previews holds true.

 

[Zhukov]

Are you talking about the recent TR games or the upcoming prequel/reboot thing?

I have no interest in the former, but the latter is looking vaguely interesting.

Although I saw about ten minutes of gameplay footage during E3 and wasn't terribly impressed. It was riddled with quicktime events. They even had a bloody QTE for running up a section of corridor. "Oh no! Quick, tap R1 and L1 to run in a straight line! Intensity!"

However, I remain cautiously optimistic. I would dearly like to see a game that revolves around survival. That said, I doubt they will deliver on that particular premise. To a game developer, "survival" tends to mean "kill shit".

 

[LilithSlave]

The upcoming reboot.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Come one people add links to your bloody threads, I presume this is what we are talking about:

Sure the game looks very nice, but the gameplay is quick time event ridden horse shit or "accessible" as they now call that.

Tomb Raider always had that smell of an underdeveloped 3D platformer, they did something new but it was all shoddy, sure I liked it as a kid because these games were so rare and those triangular tits were all I got to see.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

They're not trying to make her a sex symbol anymore which is refreshing.

Oh heavens no. Not a sex symbol at all.

I mean, look at her! She's positively HOMELY.

Don't get me wrong, I like the look of the reboot too, but just throwing some pants on her doesn't mean they've abandoned "Lara Croft the sex symbol". She's a little more humanized, but she's still a runway model in spelunking gear.

 

[go-10]

I'm really hoping the final product is as good as it looks. I was a fan back in the day played the shit out of 1,2,3 then I stooped playing and started again with Legends, Anniversary, and Underworld
I do agree she was never much of a sex symbol nor is the new one, I just always liked the whole Indiana Jones feeling the games had. The new one looks more Indiana meets Survivor which is downright amazing. I do hope there will be some gun play at some point but that they don't focus on it too much we have Uncharted for that now

 

[LookingGlass]

Their goal with me is to make a game I want to buy at launch.

I actually own:
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider 3
Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (very underrated)

And I've enjoyed them all. I played a fair bit of Tomb Raider 2 and Last Revelation (4) back in their day too.

But not since the original have I actually bought one of them for full price.

Something about the gameplay video puts me off it a bit... it doesn't really seem like a Tomb Raider game. But I'll hold off on judging it before it's closer to release or preferably, until I get to play it.

 

[Erastes]

What is with all the squealing? Seems so out of character. Gameplay looks good though. I can cope with QTE, I suck at it, but it makes it more fun.

 

[Master Kramer]

Ask Yahtzee. He'll know what to say

 

[everythingbeeps]

I never got into the older TR games. I really started with Legend, and was really enjoying it for a while, but I just stopped. I also tried Anniversary briefly, but couldn't get into it.

I expect I'll go back and try Legend again (lost my progress).

 

[lord.jeff]

Looks okay, truthfully gameplay doesn't look much different from the other games, solve random puzzle, jump around a bit.

 

[Fishyash]

I wonder if she will have breast cancer in this one... imagine the drama as she battles her illness during her adventures!

Okay honestly, the tomb raider games were good, despite the sexualization and stuff.

 

[tappajasieni]

I'm already really excited about this game, but oh dear the squealing... I get that she's younger and inexperienced in this one but that's gonna bug the hell out of me.

 

[LilithSlave]

They're not trying to make her a sex symbol anymore which is refreshing.

Oh heavens no. Not a sex symbol at all.

I mean, look at her! She's positively HOMELY.

I hate this logic people try to bring up when saying people are sexualized or not. Pushing certain standards of objectification to prove it's there.

Being a sex symbol means that something is sexualized. There's nothing sexualized about that. It's a part of a standard of beauty. But it's not a sexualized image. They have removed a lot of sexualization from her character.

What is attractive is not objective. She may be a part of a design standard that is common of the media and what it often finds to be "beautiful", but that kind of language supports it all the more.

What is considered homely, is entirely an individual thing and your opinion. And while it would be nice to have a main character be a lady with plenty of wrinkles, you can also make a sex symbol out of a woman that doesn't fit typical standards of beauty. While a person could look like a "supermodel ideal of beauty", and not be a sex symbol or sexualized at all because she is not portrayed in a sexualizing fashion.

Beccabae is a sex symbol, despite being incredibly... plump. Despite the fact she is unfortunately not a part of the "Hollywood ideal" of beauty. Because she presents herself in a sexualized way to be a sex symbol. The new Tomb Raider might still have elements of being a sex symbol, but is much less so than other, previous installments. And has little to nothing to do with "looking like a typical model".

 

[General_Tragg]

It seems very Heavy Rain, and I mean that in the worst possible way.

Fans of the originals are not the target audience this time around.

Also I would agree that Guardian of Light is Crystals best Tomb Raider game.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Being a sex symbol means that something is sexualized. There's nothing sexualized about that. It's a part of a standard of beauty. But it's not a sexualized image. They have removed a lot of sexualization from her character.

You and I are going to have to agree to disagree. I've seen plenty of marketing copy for the new Tomb Raider and her sexuality is still very much front and center. Yes, there is some cosmetic grime and blood, but...http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeautyIsNeverTarnished.

Saying she's "less of a sex symbol than previous installments" is damning her with faint praise, as Lara Croft's presentation in previous Tomb Raider games was frequently hilariously juvenile. So is she an improvement? Yes. Have they stopped sexualizing her? From what I can see, most definitely no.

 

[teqrevisited]

Looks interesting but I'm not a fan of the whole reboot thing. As far as I'm concerned it started in Ireland and ended in the Temple of Horus. I borrowed the one after Chronicles and found it to be obscenely easy, so that's where I cut it off.