Tomb Raider Review - An Icon Reborn

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Now Lara was never as likable as Indy, but her main purpose was to be a simple badass action chick, and in that regard she did a good job. I don't see why they couldn't simply expand on that, and give her more of a personality, instead of going with this "Look how so not Lara Croft she is; Isn't she relatable now!?"

More than that though I'm sad the grand trapeze style puzzle rooms have been replaced with Uncharted styled "epic vista" corridor levels.

Personally, I never bothered with the series because I couldn't take her seriously. She was a person with a shit load money that went treasure hunting for funsies, so I never cared for her to begin with. Also, I think it would be cool to see how she got to be the way she is now because I think she'd have to go through something to get the massive amount of balls that she acquired. I think they probably didn't know where to take her character next with the way the series went without either retconning something or the audience not taking her seriously anymore.

But then again, I've never played the games and I'm just going off of some complaints I've heard friends say about her, so make of that what you will.

Also...

It looks nice but the bit about Tombs being linear really disappoints me, was hoping for some hardcore puzzle action. This really looks like Tomb Raider lite, also it looks a lot like Far Cry 3 as far as the upgrades go, even the XP bar was identical

Its worse than far cry in every respect aside from the shitty qte riddled bossfights. Even the tombs in Far Cry were more complex than the ones lara visits in this game.

This is a biased review that glosses over the shitty side characters, and the poor gameplay mechanics when brought up against the plot running the game and say's its fine: 10/10 / 5 stars whatever. The escapist was never any good at reviewing games anyhow. Just look at their Dragonage 2 review.

Oh, so you've played the game?

 

[m19]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Now Lara was never as likable as Indy, but her main purpose was to be a simple badass action chick, and in that regard she did a good job. I don't see why they couldn't simply expand on that, and give her more of a personality, instead of going with this "Look how so not Lara Croft she is; Isn't she relatable now!?"

More than that though I'm sad the grand trapeze style puzzle rooms have been replaced with Uncharted styled "epic vista" corridor levels.

The point is the transformation of an ordinary person, "a frightened little girl", into a fighter is an expression of actual badassary. The other option is a nice fantasy but ultimately has little meaningful to say on the subject.

 

[Sushewakka]

I have a very important question about this game.

Can this

be done?

 

[jcfrommars9]

In the 2013 edition, it's much more graphic and detailed when Lara goes splat. Like Apocalypto graphic.

 

[Madkipz]

It looks nice but the bit about Tombs being linear really disappoints me, was hoping for some hardcore puzzle action. This really looks like Tomb Raider lite, also it looks a lot like Far Cry 3 as far as the upgrades go, even the XP bar was identical

Its worse than far cry in every respect aside from the shitty qte riddled bossfights. Even the tombs in Far Cry were more complex than the ones lara visits in this game.

This is a biased review that glosses over the shitty side characters, and the poor gameplay mechanics when brought up against the plot running the game and say's its fine: 10/10 / 5 stars whatever. The escapist was never any good at reviewing games anyhow. Just look at their Dragonage 2 review.

Oh, so you've played the game?

No, but giantbomb has: http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/tomb-raider-review/1900-561/

Rev3games has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bASdmh4URg

IGN has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91g_a9JjQYg

and a lot of other reviewers have, and I was sure to read and listen to them all to make an informed post. From the linear progression, the qte riddled first hour of button mashing, and the fast travel setpieces. This game is linear to the point of making deus ex HR seem like free roam. You think just because you don't mention the characters much that others would pass them by?

Anyhow you have a good day while I wait for the impending horde of gullible consumers venting their anger on another 60 bucks down the drain. Though I suppose at least one could support a purchase just to improve the sales of games with a female main protagonist.

 

[jcfrommars9]

It looks nice but the bit about Tombs being linear really disappoints me, was hoping for some hardcore puzzle action. This really looks like Tomb Raider lite, also it looks a lot like Far Cry 3 as far as the upgrades go, even the XP bar was identical

Its worse than far cry in every respect aside from the shitty qte riddled bossfights. Even the tombs in Far Cry were more complex than the ones lara visits in this game.

This is a biased review that glosses over the shitty side characters, and the poor gameplay mechanics when brought up against the plot running the game and say's its fine: 10/10 / 5 stars whatever. The escapist was never any good at reviewing games anyhow. Just look at their Dragonage 2 review.

Oh, so you've played the game?

No, but giantbomb has: http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/tomb-raider-review/1900-561/

Rev3games has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bASdmh4URg

IGN has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91g_a9JjQYg

and a lot of other reviewers have, and I was sure to read and listen to them all to make an informed post. From the linear progression, the qte riddled first hour of button mashing, and the fast travel setpieces. This game is linear to the point of making deus ex HR seem like free roam. You think just because you don't mention the characters much that others would pass them by?

Anyhow you have a good day while I wait for the impending horde of gullible consumers venting their anger on another 60 bucks down the drain. Though I suppose at least one could support a purchase just to improve the sales of games with a female main protagonist.

The game being linear doesn't hurt it in the slightest. In fact, it works because it keeps the game well paced and free from being bogged down. The QTE's are also well placed as they helped give the sense of desperation in Lara's character in the beginning. Lara's friends on the ship who are trapped on the island with her, yes those characters aren't very interesting outside of Roth and Sam in my opinion. But they don't need to be to understand why Lara cares about them. I have not only read most of the reviews, but I've also played the game firsthand. I disagreed with most criticisms regarding Lara's transition to someone who kills because the kills never felt cold to me as much as desperate and unfortunately, necessary. Even the stealth attacks, I felt more like James Bond during his first kill in Casino Royale (the one he had to feel) than for example Agent 47.

 

[The Wooster]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Except Indie is so likable because the films do humanize him. He's a flawed hero, prone to arrogance, greed and fear. The first film spends a lot of time establishing his fear of snakes. In the third, we learn that most of his flaws stem from his bad relationship with his father.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Except Indie is so likable because the films do humanize him. He's a flawed hero, prone to arrogance, greed and fear. The first film spends a lot of time establishing his fear of snakes. In the third, we learn that most of his flaws stem from his bad relationship with his father.

I foresaw someone calling me on that.

Indy is humanized, but just to a point where we can empathize with the situations he finds himself in. We see him get scared and nervous when he's in actual danger, and become cocky when he has the upper hand. But in the end he remains very much a cartoon character.

Instead of adding something like this to Lara's "personality", they apparently tried to pass her off as a real person. They are really pushing this game as a gritty, realistic reboot of Tomb Raider, and I honestly don't think that was needed.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

When I think of Lara Croft, I think about her plummetting to her death over and over again in what I assume to have been a tutorial sequence, until I eventually gave up and went on to play something else...

 

[Brainwreck]

Interesting.
When fucking Machinima, the unholy, disgusting, corporate shill pilefuck chucklecunts of the industry give a game a bad review while presenting very much valid points about why it is so, you know something is up.
So I'Ll respectfully disagree with the contents of this review.

 

[jcfrommars9]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Except Indie is so likable because the films do humanize him. He's a flawed hero, prone to arrogance, greed and fear. The first film spends a lot of time establishing his fear of snakes. In the third, we learn that most of his flaws stem from his bad relationship with his father.

I foresaw someone calling me on that.

Indy is humanized, but just to a point where we can empathize with the situations he finds himself in. We see him get scared and nervous when he's in actual danger, and become cocky when he has the upper hand. But in the end he remains very much a cartoon character.

Instead of adding something like this to Lara's "personality", they apparently tried to pass her off as a real person. They are really pushing this game as a gritty, realistic reboot of Tomb Raider, and I honestly don't think that was needed.

Not real, grounded. She's still a character, no different than how you described Indiana Jones. They don't need to push the game as gritty, it already is. And I disagree, it was very much needed. After that many years, the franchise needed a change. It needed something different. I think this fulfills that in spades.

 

[m19]

Interesting.
When fucking Machinima, the unholy, disgusting, corporate shill pilefuck chucklecunts of the industry give a game a bad review while presenting very much valid points about why it is so, you know something is up.
So I'Ll respectfully disagree with the contents of this review.

Because the one worst review must be correct?

 

[Brainwreck]

Interesting.
When fucking Machinima, the unholy, disgusting, corporate shill pilefuck chucklecunts of the industry give a game a bad review while presenting very much valid points about why it is so, you know something is up.
So I'Ll respectfully disagree with the contents of this review.

Because the one worst review must be correct?

No, because they raise and explain very valid points about why the game is not particularly good.
Which is made all the more poignant by coming from a company you expect to bust down your door and violate your fireplace with Call of Duty merch.

 

[jcfrommars9]

Interesting.
When fucking Machinima, the unholy, disgusting, corporate shill pilefuck chucklecunts of the industry give a game a bad review while presenting very much valid points about why it is so, you know something is up.
So I'Ll respectfully disagree with the contents of this review.

I didn't find his points very valid at all. For example, he said five minutes later (after killing for the first time), Lara is ducking behind cover and shooting large groups of enemies in the face like a military trained combatant. Lara was first ducking behind cover because she was shot at and hit across her arm by an arrow clearly meant to kill. You don't need to be a military trained combatant to learn to keep your head down after being shot at. As far as shooting goes, she knows how to shoot because Roth, one of the characters in the game, taught her how prior to the events of the game. I can point out others but that would be taking too much time.

 

[m19]

No, because they raise and explain very valid points about why the game is not particularly good.

Very valid to them, a tiny minority among reviews, not just "very valid".

 

[Casual Shinji]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Except Indie is so likable because the films do humanize him. He's a flawed hero, prone to arrogance, greed and fear. The first film spends a lot of time establishing his fear of snakes. In the third, we learn that most of his flaws stem from his bad relationship with his father.

I foresaw someone calling me on that.

Indy is humanized, but just to a point where we can empathize with the situations he finds himself in. We see him get scared and nervous when he's in actual danger, and become cocky when he has the upper hand. But in the end he remains very much a cartoon character.

Instead of adding something like this to Lara's "personality", they apparently tried to pass her off as a real person. They are really pushing this game as a gritty, realistic reboot of Tomb Raider, and I honestly don't think that was needed.

Not real, grounded. She's still a character, no different than how you described Indiana Jones. They don't need to push the game as gritty, it already is. And I disagree, it was very much needed. After that many years, the franchise needed a change. It needed something different. I think this fulfills that in spades.

Yeah sure the franchise needed change, it was all but dead for years now. But now it seems to have lost everything that was good about it. Believe it or not, the reason people liked Tomb Raider was not because Lara Croft was such a sharp pixel babe, but because of the grand, elaborate tombs and treasure rooms that you risked life and limb to conquer. Places you could get lost in for hours trying to find a way out, feeling trapped and alone. Feeling a tremendous sense of exhilaration when you finally realize how to reach the exit. Occasionally running into something that wanted to sink its teeth in your calves, and having to run, jump, and backflip while pumping it full of lead. All the while you were controlling a spunky, light hearted treasure hunter.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was the last game in the franchise to do this well. This new game just seems to go for the typical cinematic Uncharted shenanigans with a gritty paint job.

 

[jcfrommars9]

Whether it's a good game or not, I just don't see the point in humanizing Lara Croft and turning her into a frightened little girl. It's like humanizing Indiana Jones.

Except Indie is so likable because the films do humanize him. He's a flawed hero, prone to arrogance, greed and fear. The first film spends a lot of time establishing his fear of snakes. In the third, we learn that most of his flaws stem from his bad relationship with his father.

I foresaw someone calling me on that.

Indy is humanized, but just to a point where we can empathize with the situations he finds himself in. We see him get scared and nervous when he's in actual danger, and become cocky when he has the upper hand. But in the end he remains very much a cartoon character.

Instead of adding something like this to Lara's "personality", they apparently tried to pass her off as a real person. They are really pushing this game as a gritty, realistic reboot of Tomb Raider, and I honestly don't think that was needed.

Not real, grounded. She's still a character, no different than how you described Indiana Jones. They don't need to push the game as gritty, it already is. And I disagree, it was very much needed. After that many years, the franchise needed a change. It needed something different. I think this fulfills that in spades.

Yeah sure the franchise needed change, it was all but dead for years now. But now it seems to have lost everything that was good about it. Believe it or not, the reason people liked Tomb Raider was not because Lara Croft was such a sharp pixel babe, but because of the grand, elaborate tombs and treasure rooms that you risked life and limb to conquer. Places you could get lost in for hours trying to find a way out, feeling trapped and alone. Feeling a tremendous sense of exhilaration when you finally realize how to reach the exit. Occasionally running into something that wanted to sink its teeth in your calves, and having to run, jump, and backflip while pumping it full of lead. All the while you were controlling a spunky, light hearted treasure hunter.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was the last game in the franchise to do this well. This new game just seems to go for the typical cinematic Uncharted shenanigans with a gritty paint job.

It does go for cinematic but cinematic doesn't mean Uncharted. It's just a sign of today's games. Anyway, the original Tomb Raider was about unearthing tombs but what this game is about is how and why Lara got into tomb raiding in the first place. Where her demeanor, confidence and choice of weapons come from. Even in Indiana Jones, we got a little background information on what makes Indy, Indy. The Last Crusade not only explained how his relationship with his father led to his flaws, but also where he got the inspiration for his outfit, for using a whip, why he's afraid of snakes, that he's had a deep curiosity and knowledge of history and languages his whole life, etc. In my opinion, the next game will be much more of treasure hunt type game like the original 1996 version. In movies, we've seen reboots as well in Casino Royale and Batman Begins. And as you would notice, in those reboots, we see how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman. What made James Bond, the cold and calculating secret agent he eventually becomes. That's how these reboots work, even in video games which are more steadily becoming like movies.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I have a very important question about this game.

Can this

be done?

No, not quite. But you can die in exceedingly gruesome ways. Not quite like that, though...more broken tree limb through the gut, that sort of thing.

 

[Susan Arendt]

It looks nice but the bit about Tombs being linear really disappoints me, was hoping for some hardcore puzzle action. This really looks like Tomb Raider lite, also it looks a lot like Far Cry 3 as far as the upgrades go, even the XP bar was identical

Its worse than far cry in every respect aside from the shitty qte riddled bossfights. Even the tombs in Far Cry were more complex than the ones lara visits in this game.

This is a biased review that glosses over the shitty side characters, and the poor gameplay mechanics when brought up against the plot running the game and say's its fine: 10/10 / 5 stars whatever. The escapist was never any good at reviewing games anyhow. Just look at their Dragonage 2 review.

Oh, so you've played the game?

No, but giantbomb has: http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/tomb-raider-review/1900-561/

Rev3games has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bASdmh4URg

IGN has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91g_a9JjQYg

and a lot of other reviewers have, and I was sure to read and listen to them all to make an informed post. From the linear progression, the qte riddled first hour of button mashing, and the fast travel setpieces. This game is linear to the point of making deus ex HR seem like free roam. You think just because you don't mention the characters much that others would pass them by?

Anyhow you have a good day while I wait for the impending horde of gullible consumers venting their anger on another 60 bucks down the drain. Though I suppose at least one could support a purchase just to improve the sales of games with a female main protagonist.

So GiantBomb gives it a 4/5, IGN gives it a 9.1, and Rev3games gives it a 3/5, and that's what you're using as proof that my review is biased because I liked it slightly better? You're adorable.

 

[Edl01]

I admit I am really looking forward to this game. However I am kind of worried by the suggestion the that the tombs are not very puzzle-y in this game since the puzzle's bar a few silly ones are what make Tomb Raider stand out.

Hopefully the combat will make up for the simplified puzzles if that is the case.

To me Tomb Raider has always been a game with a smug protagonist exploring ancient civilisations, it is primarily a platformer with some shooting elements. Oh and everyone says it is sexist.
Uncharted has always been a game with a smug protagonist exploring ancient civilisations, it is primarily a shooter with some platforming elements. Oh and everyone says the main character is racist.

To me I have always been a fan of tomb raider because I like platformers, however this game appears to be a move toward the Uncharted way of things.