Tomb Raider Review

Is the new look Lara a reboot to treasure or a misguided adventure?

Tomb Raider Underworld hardly set the world on fire despite being a very good game, its sales were good but hardly groundbreaking, or anything close to what the original Tomb Raider games had been in the past. Even before Underworld the Tomb Raider series had been on the decline, in both popularity and sales. Videogames has moved on, and far more likable female leads to Lara Croft began to be released. So Crystal Dynamics decided to reboot the whole thing, start a fresh, with a completely remodeled Lara.

In the long four years that Crystal Dynamics has been working on this new Tomb Raider game, the videogame industry has moved in a fast way, we're coming to the end of the current generation of consoles, and in that time another adventure/ platform/action game series by the name of Uncharted has become very popular, reinventing the genre the same way that Tomb Raider did, despite the clear influence seen in the new Tomb Raider from Uncharted, there are clear differences.

The story of Tomb Raider begins with a 21 year old Lara Croft, who is part of an expedition to look for the Yamatai Islands, aboard the Endurance, which was once the home to the infamous 'Sun Queen' Himiko. Characters included in this group and who become a major part of the story as it progresses, include Dr Whitman, an archaeologist, Royal Marine Conrad Roth, Lara's best friend Sam, Alex Weiss-Endurance technician, Angus Grimaldi-helmsman and first aid officer, Jonah Maiava-ship's cook, and Joslin Reyes- mechanic. The ship crashes before setting aboard on the Island, but the game starts with Lara on the Island as the group separates. The plot steadily gathers pace the more you progress through the game, some of it very predictable, some of it a little ludicrous. The plot unfolds in journals that you pick up on the way, and a video recorder which shows you what was being discussed on the ship before it crashed. But of all the points in the game it possibly is one of its weakest, too often it feels ponderous, as though the writers made it up as they went along, but that said it doesn't deter from the whole experience.

The gameplay of Tomb Raider plays very much like a corridor shooter, with moments of exploration and wall climbing. One noticeable change in this game compared with the other games in the series, is that it concentrates far more on action than exploration, this is the case for at least two thirds of the game. It's only in the last half of the game that it's linearity becomes less restrictive, and sections of the game become much more open, it is only in this part of the game that you're really required to do any backtracking, my personal favourite is Shipwreck Beach. In fact the first hour of the game actually feels like you're controlling a movie, as you encounter numerous Quick Time Events, and walk narrowly through different tunnels with nothing more than a blowtorch.

Because of the game's setting most of what you would call real tombs that were so prevalent in most of the other games are actually optional, these are sections of the map which are hidden but easily accessible. In truth they are quite short, at the end of each one you have to figure out a puzzle, once you figure it out you get a piece of treasure as a surprise. This is one disappointment in the game, nearly every location in Underworld could be considered a tomb, because of the setting and change to action oriented gameplay, this new Tomb Raider lacks any real tomb that can be explored, and those that are in it are just supplementary.

The game feels good to play, moving Lara is effortless, the motion capture is spot on, the combat system is a real pleasure to be a part of, the targeting system is great, the overall experience is a real joy to play. The variety of weapons is basic compared to some games on the market, but all have their advantages, if you're a more experience and patient gamer you'll like the Bow, the shotgun and machine gun are good if you like to go all in, the pistol is good for precision and quite handy as a secondary weapon. At certain points in the game you can buy new skills for the weapons and gear you have, you get these points through the treasures you collect and the kills you make, it's a nice edition to the game that adds variety, and provides another incentive to progress through the game further.

The game is not worth playing on easy difficulty, start with normal, to my surprise the game's artificial intelligence is very challenging and relentless. You will rarely encounter enemies one by one, they actually work in packs for a lot of the game, the most difficult is towards the end when you are faced with Japanese Samurais. Despite the fact that the puzzles are sadly few and far between, they are challenging, just like previous Tomb Raider games they have the unique ability of making the most seemingly easy tasks feel impossible, after you have succeeded in each one you'll breath a sigh of relief, and feel good about yourself.

The presentation of the game is second to none, the landscape and environments are exceptional, as you're playing they feel real and accessible, the look of the game is very raw and dark, thanks to the game's visuals the tone of the game is believable and in some ways very enchanting. Lara herself has had a bit of a makeover, which is a good thing, although she is younger, her face now seems more rounded and less cartoonish, which fits well with her innocent and vulnerable personality at the beginning of the game. Lara comes across as a real person in this game, we emphasize with her, in this game she is a real character rather than caricature. The game's voice acting and cutscenes are also also perfect, although I was disappointed that the games cut-scenes were all taken from in-game.

There are certain gripes with the games, I would have liked to have seen a vehicle control section, more puzzles between the action would have been nice, a wider variety of tombs to explore. But Tomb Raider should be a stepping stone to future games in the series, it certainly deserves it, and I certainly would like to be a part of it.

8.5/10- A must have game