The Review Of Tomb Raider I Wish I Had Read Before Playing

[plethora]

An action-packed thrill ride, much more of a controlled interactive experience with some combat and scavenger-hunting thrown in. The developers clearly succeeded in making their own Lara Croft - which is exciting - but gameplay-wise they essentially made a lean-on-story Uncharted with a shoehorned basic skills-XP system - which is disappointing. Nevertheless, the game does a great job of moving the action forward, and making you feel you want to go along with it.

But there isn't enough exposition at the start of the game to get to know the characters. If, and I mean IF, you come across some of their journals, you will get to know a few things, but getting to care about them happens far too late in the story. And partway through the game the narrative turns into almost a fairy tale where you are saving the princess (yes, seriously) - and guess what: just when you think you do save her, you find out that the princess is in another castle (literally). This happens more than twice.

As for the game itself, somehow Lara is able to simultaneously tote a bow, quiver, pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, and climbing axe. You get to choose the order in which your "skills" and weapons are upgraded (so somehow Lara is also a weapons machinist with nothing but a campfire to use as tools), but there are Metroid-style upgrades bestowed upon you too at certain points in the story. Still, you have no control over whether you run vs. walk - ever. There are several "courtyard"-type areas where you can take advantage of the environment to eliminate squads of baddies (all male), but most of the time it's a corridor where you do the shooting - that is, if the game isn't already involving you in its many forced QTEs. Tropes such as stripping you of your weapons mid-game show up too, and if you really like the bow, too bad - you won't be able to use it during one of the major battle contests of the game. And of course, the major narrative crucial shots Lara fires are all taken cinematically - you have no input into these at all, unfortunately. The most satisfaction I had with the gameplay was with a night forest section where you had to take out enemies silently or have guard dogs sicked on you.

Tombs are in the game, but each tomb is small and makes little impression - there is exactly ONE navigation puzzle per tomb, and each tomb reward is the same - a stereotypical treasure chest loaded only with XP. Fortunately, the game's many story environments offer plenty of navigation puzzles of their own so that the game overall isn't so weak in traversal puzzles. Developer fascination with Red Dead Redemption continues, as hunting shows up in this game to boost XP, but as a mini-game it's pretty tame overall.

There are target-practice and collectible challenges too, but offer no rewards other than XP and unlocking concept art. The relics you find are like Uncharted's relics - wasted potential. They have nothing to do with Lara's own story, and any narrative associated with them is weakly put to use, which frankly is a shame since the developers stress how passionate Lara is about archaeology and history, and how strong her sense of wonder is (and thus by proxy, ours). And as a result of collecting everything, there is one and ONLY one secret revealed, which doesn't reveal all that much anyways.

So as was stated at the start of the review - it was a great RIDE, and parts of the game actually allowed me to play around a bit, but after 20 hours of story and collecting, it's over. It's worth the journey, but be warned - some sections are both gross and grotesque, especially when it comes to blood. Have fun!

[Imo]

Another flaming post? Why not posting in one of the others? Many people really like the new Tomb Raider. :-)

[GrimAquatic]

Yet another person who thinks that sandbox automatically makes a game better, and that story is not as important as the impression of freedom.

[plethora]

Thanks for the comments guys. I said in the review that "it was a great ride" and "it's worth the journey". I had a good time playing it. How are these comments flaming?

And, I mentioned nothing about a sandbox, or whether a sandbox relatively or absolutely makes a game better or worse. I said that Tomb Raider is more of a controlled interactive experience.

I also think that story can be important in a game, but in this game the story is just as lean as the "freedom" you are granted as a player. It seems that this game's overarching goal, above both story and freedom, is to "keep the action coming", and in that aspect it excels.

[GrimAquatic]

Originally posted by plethora:

Thanks for the comments guys. I said in the review that "it was a great ride" and "it's worth the journey". I had a good time playing it. How are these comments flaming?

Because they carry derogatory implications. Usually they are used to say you disagree with or don't like something in presumably non offensive way. Sugar coating in other words.

Originally posted by plethora:

And, I mentioned nothing about a sandbox, or whether a sandbox relatively or absolutely makes a game better or worse. I said that Tomb Raider is more of a controlled interactive experience.

Sandbox is an opposite of controlled interactive experience

Originally posted by plethora:

I also think that story can be important in a game, but in this game the story is just as lean as the "freedom" you are granted as a player. It seems that this game's overarching goal, above both story and freedom, is to "keep the action coming", and in that aspect it excels.

I have to disagree with you. The story is no lean, it's rich and colourful. It's saturated with shades, overtones, nuances. Unless you truly believe that the story is about saving the princess.

[Villages]

I actually prefer to hear other's views, and found nothing derogatory with this review.
On Amazon, before making a purchase, I appreciate someone expressing disapointment with a product, as well as those whose like it. So, thank you for your intellegent expressions.

The graphics are a tremendous boost to the franchise. I hope it continues to improve with each new installment. Yet, personally, the grotesque death's and murders depicted,
place this game in category previous Tomb Raiders didn't even scratch the surface of.
I've played every tomb raider game up to this point.
I've had a glimpse of what happens in this game, by some of the videos available, of game-play.
Depiction's of throat impalement by arrows, tree limbs, lumber, etc. besides many types of slaughter/murder, seems to cater to what audience? "Hey Jimmy, show Tommy what happpens to Lara, if she's not successful!" "Oooo! do it again!"
I wonder about those who actualy planned and rendered those scenes.
What were they thinking? Better yet, what were they feeling?
The distinct possibility of Lara dying, has always been a part of Tomb Raider. But what's next? Intestines?


I'm glad somebody mentioned the cinema quality of the gameplay. I didn't enjoy the original 1980's "Dragon's Lair", which offered the player a simple choice, then played out resulting the cinematic. To me, this was not gameplay. I don't believe this new TR is entirely constructed this way. But I appreciate the reviewer seemed to point out, you can not make Lara walk, run, tumble, leap, roll, squat, crawl, at will.
Not that this is good or bad, it's just an observation in comparison.
Thanks for your opinions plethora.

[Eloora]

To say you wish you would have read your future self's review of a game after beating it is asinine, unless you actually regret buying and/or playing the game, which the tone of your review doesn't imply.

Your review itself for the most part was well written, although your little paragraph about the "princess" theme is both too reductive and spoilery for my tastes. This makes my past and future self glad I didn't read your review before playing the game.

[Dreakon13]

My problem with this is the way you shoehorn things that really don't matter, as to take shots at the game. For every kudos you give the game, it's met with five of these kind of asinine "picky" points that 99% of the world doesn't think or care about.

For example, who cares if the baddies are all male?

Also, who cares about HOW Lara makes the weapon upgrades (and most of the time they come in the form of a brand new weapon that doesn't require explanation or clearly makeshift upgrades like taping two ammo clips together or some crap).

You're questioning the logic of holding more than one or two weapons in an action game... almost every action game does this. You must be a busy fella, lots of games to criticize on this one.

I'm noticing that the cutscenes tone down a lot as you play the game. I'm spending more time climbing, shooting, collecting, reading and exploring than I am spending in cutscenes... probably halfway through the game. They are prevalent, don't get me wrong, but your exaggerating gives me the impression that you're a little bitter.

You also make it sound like being similar to Uncharted is a bad thing, which is just craziness to me. Uncharted 2 is actually high up on "best games of all time" lists. It sounds like Tomb Raider is in good company, even if the bad guys are male.

[plethora]

Originally posted by GrimAquatic:

Sandbox is an opposite of controlled interactive experience

I would say that a sandbox game, or any game, is a controlled interactive experience. Even A sandbox game gives you a lot less freedom that the design is given credit for.

Originally posted by GrimAquatic:

I have to disagree with you. The story is no lean, it's rich and colourful. It's saturated with shades, overtones, nuances. Unless you truly believe that the story is about saving the princess.

But isn't that saving-the-princess aspect one of the shades and overtones of the story? Doesn't that aspect lend itself to its richness and color, despite being a well-worn video game trope?

All I pointed out was that this game's story and events use the "saving the princess" and "princess is in another castle" tropes. That alone doesn't make it a lean story. Given that the island setting is very rich, and sometimes more interesting than even Lara or the main plot, it's a shame the collectibles weren't used to greater effect to beef up the story.

[plethora]

Originally posted by Eloora:

To say you wish you would have read your future self's review of a game after beating it is asinine, unless you actually regret buying and/or playing the game, which the tone of your review doesn't imply.

Your review itself for the most part was well written, although your little paragraph about the "princess" theme is both too reductive and spoilery for my tastes. This makes my past and future self glad I didn't read your review before playing the game.

Well, many reviews I read were released a week before the game's release date, presumably because they were very favorable reviews. Many of the reviews focused more on the "controversies" surrounding a re-booted Lara Croft, and not so much on the nature of the gameplay or design of the game. These controversies, veritable or artificially inflated, don't affect my enjoyment of a game - but the gameplay and design certainly do so.

So yes, I do prefer to read about the gameplay and design of the games I'm playing before I purchase them, and I wish more had been written up about them before the game's release. I will politely assume that terming me or my words "asinine" was simply a figure of speech.

As for the story, my review (reductive or no) hasn't spoiled more than a tiny fraction of the entire experience. There are many environments to traverse, sights to see, moments to experience, and journals to read/hear should you seek to find them.

[plethora]

Originally posted by Dreakon:

My problem with this is the way you shoehorn things that really don't matter, as to take shots at the game. For every kudos you give the game, it's met with five of these kind of asinine "picky" points that 99% of the world doesn't think or care about.

Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it. As for what you think is asinine about my review, you can take comfort in knowing that more than 99% of the world won't ever read it, whether they care about the points I make, or not.

Originally posted by Dreakon:

Also, who cares about HOW Lara makes the weapon upgrades (and most of the time they come in the form of a brand new weapon that doesn't require explanation or clearly makeshift upgrades like taping two ammo clips together or some crap).

I'm glad you can just let go and be entertained, I can too. But this game goes out of its way to explain in part how Lara got good at climbing, investigating ancient sites of archaeological value, and the core of her enterprising attitude and will to survive. She's clearly an amazing woman. But the game doesn't explain away things like the weapons' alt-fire or silencing upgrades, and because it fails to do so, Lara becomes more and more like "generic action hero" as the game goes on rather than remaining the amazing woman she is otherwise presented to be. Not that it wasn't enjoyable to play, it was enjoyable - but the developers really fell into a trap for the last third of the game, and I had no choice but to comply with the design of the encounters and stop using the bow at a few points in order to progress further.

Originally posted by Dreakon:

You also make it sound like being similar to Uncharted is a bad thing, which is just craziness to me. Uncharted 2 is actually high up on "best games of all time" lists. It sounds like Tomb Raider is in good company, even if the bad guys are male.

Tomb Raider IS in good company. The Uncharted games were lots of fun, I even really like the Vita game and it has treasure challenges similar to Tomb Raider. They are somewhat on an even playing field when it comes to racking up a body count, too - both games require you to kill many dozens of enemy combatants. And both games will inexplicably keep alive and entrap their hero/heroine even though he/she could easily have been killed, or easily gotten out of the predicaments the same way they did throughout the games.

But here's the difference: in Uncharted games, the enemies are either a competing fortune-hunting outfit hurting or screwing Drake over, or they are thugs hired by said competing fortune-hunting outfits with orders to shoot on sight. In Tomb Raider, without getting spoilery, many of the enemies have the exact same core problem as Lara - being forced to survive on the island - and are doing what they feel they must do to stay alive. From here on in it will get a little spoilery:


If you listen to some of their conversations you will hear the fear in their words and voice, which is kind of at odds with the premise the game establishes that these people are beyond hope and merely fodder for the villain. And what about some of the "relics" you find. You know, like the wallet she found, or the toys that had the children's own NAMES on them? Were ALL of the women burned at the stake or chopped up? What was the fate of the children? Did Lara end up killing the guy whose wallet she found, or killing the father of the children who owned the toys? That's why all the enemies being male matters.

[Chainshada]

The enemies in Tomb Raider are a cult, people who had lost all hope of surviving or returning to their loved ones, promised salvation from a charismatic and violent man. Reading the documents and conversations, there were far more people than the villain had at his disposal, many even opposed him, only to be executed. We don't know how many children ever came to the island, as they would have less chance of surviving the wrecks, and with dangers on the island like wolves and a survivalist group, they'd probably be seen as a hindrance, parents possibly killing them themselves to save them from the horror (children are murdered often by their parents even in "civilised" society.).

Sure, many of the men you kill throughout the game probably were at some point, fathers and husbands, that doesn't excuse them from anything they've done. I'm sure many of the Germans involved with the Holocaust would have at one point been seen as "good family men", doesn't excuse them of their crimes.

As for the women, yes..they were probably all either sacrificed to try and appease their deity, any that weren't were probably raped and killed..It's appalling, but during disasters, humans can devolve to their baser instincts, especially when being led by an madman who preaches obediance and violence. You hear it during one of the early conversations describing the new people washed ashore, one of them men says "..and some women." with a sickening tone

[GrimAquatic]

Originally posted by plethora:

I would say that a sandbox game, or any game, is a controlled interactive experience. Even A sandbox game gives you a lot less freedom that the design is given credit for.

Then this renders your point moot. Since any game is a controlled interactive environment there is no point in imputing a fault upon this particular game.

Originally posted by plethora:

But isn't that saving-the-princess aspect one of the shades and overtones of the story? Doesn't that aspect lend itself to its richness and color, despite being a well-worn video game trope?

It is a part of the plot, but only a part. If one part is not to your liking, it doesn't mean that the whole thing is wretched.

Originally posted by plethora:

All I pointed out was that this game's story and events use the "saving the princess" and "princess is in another castle" tropes. That alone doesn't make it a lean story. Given that the island setting is very rich, and sometimes more interesting than even Lara or the main plot, it's a shame the collectibles weren't used to greater effect to beef up the story.

In that case you didn't explain what does make it lean story. And you have to remember that this is not leisure archaeological expedition, this is struggle for life. Present collectibles are already in discord with narrative.

Originally posted by plethora:

But the game doesn't explain away things like the weapons' alt-fire or silencing upgrades, and because it fails to do so,

You don't need to be a gunsmith to make such contraptions as silencer or muzzle breaker. She's not inventing plasma rifles, she's just applying different kinds of pipes to a barrel.

Originally posted by plethora:

In Tomb Raider, without getting spoilery, many of the enemies have the exact same core problem as Lara - being forced to survive on the island - and are doing what they feel they must do to stay alive. From here on in it will get a little spoilery:

If you listen to some of their conversations you will hear the fear in their words and voice, which is kind of at odds with the premise the game establishes that these people are beyond hope and merely fodder for the villain.[/quote]

You left out a huge part where not all island survivors are church going people and good family men. There are pirates, smugglers and all sorts of scum from all over the world. Also Mathias is brainwashing them into religious fanatics, that's not something that can be easily shaken off. The only fear I heard from them was of Mathias and some extremely ruthless thugs like Russians or Somalian.

Originally posted by plethora:

And what about some of the "relics" you find. You know, like the wallet she found, or the toys that had the children's own NAMES on them? Were ALL of the women burned at the stake or chopped up? What was the fate of the children? Did Lara end up killing the guy whose wallet she found, or killing the father of the children who owned the toys? That's why all the enemies being male matters.

It's explained perfectly clear that they kill every female on the island in order to find the key. And that's why their society is solely male. I presume those girls were either raised to certain age and then burned alive, or killed at the spot. Also I got the impression that the picture and the toys were from like sixties or seventies.

[Makkura]

Some clarifications and [mostly] comments:
'squads of baddies (all male)': There's a document that mentions what happens to the women that end up on the island. The short of it is that they're killed.

' but most of the time it's a corridor where you do the shooting': I felt the combat situations fit the environments you were in at the time very well. There are quite a few outdoor combat areas though when the story takes you through you often have less room to maneuver / leave than going back later.

' many forced QTEs': The game does have quite a few quick time events. Once I did a few of them I found that none of them are particularly difficult or require the split second timing some other games do.

' there is exactly ONE navigation puzzle per tomb': This is true and I find it to be the weakest part of the game. Most of the puzzles are fairly fun but they are very small. I wanted some bigger tombs with more puzzles even if they stayed optional.

'each tomb reward is the same': Not quite the same. Every one of them does give you XP but some of them also give you the area map or weapon parts to allow for upgrades.

'The relics you find are like Uncharted's relics - wasted potential. They have nothing to do with Lara's own story': Most of the collectables are items that just express what cultures have been to the island. About all they do is show what time periods people of that culture were there. A few tie into the collectable documents which do a better job at giving a perspective of other people who have been on the island at some point. As an aside, Lara always knows a little something about each relic she finds and that helps remind us she's an archaeologist and loves this stuff.

I know that when I look back at this game versus the previous Tomb Raider games, it doesn't have nearly the jumping puzzles and such that the previous games did. The problem with the older games is that, for the most part, that's all they were and that's all I remember of them. Looking back at this one I'm going to remember more of the story the developers tried to show us and I appreciate it for that.

[plethora]

Thanks for your comments everyone. Just because I write an observation doesn't mean that I'm dissing you or the game you like, or that I didn't like that aspect about the game. It is a fun playthrough, and has several aspects and featuers that are worthy of discussion.

Yes, some of the enemies are simply thuggish, or come from bad walks of life. But the process by which some of them were "converted" to follow Mathias is pretty brutal and not necessarily by their choice, to the point where you might feel bad for them anyways.

As for the lean story, it's simple: having crashed on an island of lost secrets, can Lara muster the will and courage to do all these extraordinary tasks to make it off the island? That's not a bad thing, as this game has a very clear focus and sticks to it the whole way through. But the island is a better character in the story than some of the shipmates are, even with their journal revelations that Lara doesn't seem to react to or bring back to the main story.

Another observation: anyone notice that at one point Lara seems to be talking directly to YOU? It's usually at a point where she's crouching with the torch lit, and you try to extinguish the torch by waving it. She'll say out loud "I can't do that now", as if she's talking to someone else there. Funny.

[Villages]

Well, at least I appreciated your excellent review!