Tomb Raider

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics had to do something, despite being utterly brilliant the last proper "Tomb Raider" outing for Lara Croft "Tomb Raider: Underworld" took around 7 months to reach the sales targets the companies were hoping for after a 2 month Christmas period which lead to 30 CD staff having to be laid off, so a reboot of some sort was always on the cards due to the perceived apathy towards the series. The result, Tomb Raider 2013 is both an amazing success and a disappointment and letdown.

I have LOVED Tomb Raider games from the very first one (and yes that even includes Angel of Darkness, although that was more "enjoyed" than "loved") it is no word of a lie to say they are my favourite games ever. I love the sense of discovery, exploration, secret passages, finding exciting tomb machines and puzzles and working out how to solve them and how to navigate Lara to the next tomb room... unfortunately most of that is lacking in the current Tomb Raider game.

However, let's get the good out of the way first... and there is A LOT to like about the new game. If you have a PC that can pull it off, Tomb Raider is jaw-droppingly beautiful there has never been a better looking TR game or with a few exceptions any other game for that matter. The voice acting is also exemplary across the board, and whilst the script does fall in cliché at times during the latter part of the game, Lara has never felt more real as a character. Lara is also much more fluidly animated, seamlessly moving from one action to another in a very natural way which is a joy to watch. Also improved beyond recognition is the 3rd person cover shooting. The shooting mechanic was always a "tacked on" element in previous games, now Lara will automatically crouch behind cover when it is nearby, headshots, bodyshots and legshots all cause the enemy to be injured in a different way and enemies stagger and react to weapon impacts much more believably.

But this is where we now get to the flipside of the coin and where things start to falter...

Tomb Raider used to be a puzzle-plaformer (that was its true genre) which used to get lumped under the action/adventure genre umbrella... well it's not any more. The cover shooting mechanic is now one of the main elements in the game combined with very simple plaforming to get around the island. By about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through the game the shooting was becoming very tiresome, you'd be standing on a cliff about to slide down a rope and could see barrels and other environmental items laid out in a conveniently "there's going to be some shooting coming up so we're giving you cover" kind of way and as if on cue the moment you reach the ground the script kicks in and you find yourself in YET ANOTHER firefight, there was way WAY too much cover fire fights in the game.

and talking of scripts another thing there were way way WAY too many of were scripted events weather they were Quick Time Events or other scripted corridor moments in a trend to make the game more "cinematic". QTEs are a truly hideous inheritance from the console generation. I understand the appeal for developers as they are not as passive as a cut scene and to some minimal extent allow the player to still feel involved in a sequence of events that are outside the normal in-game actions for a character, or as an easy (lazy) way to transition from one area of the game to a completly different area without having to design a "linking environment", but they always leave me cold, they end up either being overtly simple (you are running over a collapsing series of bridges in a spectacular sequence, but in actual fact all you are doing if holding down the "w" key to run forward and occasionally pressing space in a HUGE window of opportunity) or amazingly frustrating (steering Lara left and right down a river constantly getting impaled on metal poles and having to start the whole sequence over from the start a dozen times so by the end of it you're actually more frustrated than exhilarated). In effect the game is playing itself and you're just there for the odd random unnecessary single button press. I despise them.

There has been a trend over the last year or two which has been acknowledged both by the gaming press and by the game designers themselves of "dumbing down" or "watering down" the gaming experience and difficulty, with games becoming more expensive to produce and a need for more people to buy the games to finance them they want to appeal to a wider audience base which now includes the "casual gamer", this is no clearer than in the lack of TOMBS in TOMB Raider a game about raiding TOMBS. There are now a total of just SEVEN tombs in the whole game, all of which are optional and can be bypassed and to call them true Tombs with a capital "T" in the "Tomb Raider" sense is laughable, they all consist of only two rooms, the first room contains a single physics based puzzle which you need to solve to get to the second room which is basically a place for a "treasure chest" which contains a map of where all the collectable diary entries and GPS cache cylinders are located. Each puzzle is woefully simple to solve and I completed each "tomb" in under 5 minutes... so that's 35 minutes max out of a 12 hour game actually in a tomb using your brain to solve a puzzle.

All of the rest of the platforming in Tomb Raider is of the non-puzzle variety, and whilst the game will have you shimmying across ledges and jumping across gaps you are always led by the nose and left in no doubt where you need to go next, 90% of the time it's always obvious how you're meant to get to a certain location and on the occasions you find that you can't it's not because you need to work out your route or solve a problem and actually use your brain for once to get there, it's because the game has deliberately locked you out from progressing because it hasn't given you the climbing axe you need, or the rope arrow you need or the shotgun that can get through blocked doors... so for much of the platforming you're just "going through the motions".

Ultimately at the end after 12 hours Tomb Raider left me feeling like I had won a hollow victory, like I had been led by the hand through the entire game, and however beautiful and cinematic the journey might have been I had not been challenged once and had done nothing that gave me in any way a sense of accomplishment. Despite all it's characterisation and beauty I still think Legend/Anniversary and Underworld are the better Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider games.

So, I think the last time I played a Tomb Raider game must have been...phwoar...10 years ago.

I do however, recall Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider 2 being 2 games in just a half-dozen or so that introduced me into gaming back in the mid-90s. There are scenes from both games that will live with me forever. The first icey cave your run into and the wolves attack. The first swan-dive. The first Raptor. The first T-Rex. Running around in the jungles of India killing Tigers etc (was that TR 3 maybe?). Venice and the wooden boats. Ahh. Memories.

I still have a Voodoo graphics card box up in my attic that has, I think, Tomb Raider 2 on the cover (Lara stood on a rock with a waterfall behind her if I recall). I confess to missing out on the "newer" versions of Tomb Raider, those made for the latest generation of consoles etc, but, Lara has always held a nostalgic place in my heart.

And now, she's finally back.

So, has Crystal Dynamics delivered? Is Tomb Raider worthy of Lara's icon? Has the wait been worth it?

Yes. Yes it has.

Now, it's easy to get sucked into reviewing a game with 5 stars on the day of its' release. You're excited. You over-react.

So, realistically, I'm giving this game 4 stars.

I'm not going to delve into the game's story, due to spoilers of course, but also because you can get a synopsis of the game's intro by reading a wikipedia page, can't you?

One thing that bugs me, is people complaining that Lara is more realistic. She's more relateable. They want her to be some sort of badass that just goes on killing sprees. Right. Okay. Good for you?

This is a PREQUEL. Lara is 21. This is her first adventure. Her origins story. This is the first time she's ever fought for her life. The first time she's had to kill.

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GRAPHICS
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Now. Graphically, on the PC, this game is truly, TRULY stunning. At 1920x1080, everything on Ultra, this game will test your machine as much as, say, Battlefield 3.

Granted I play on a custom-built laptop, but my specs are:

Intel i7 3840QM @ 2.8ghz Quad Core
16GB DDR3 RAM @1600mhz
Nvidia GTX 680m 4GB DDR5.
Crucial V4 256gb SSD.

I have everything on Ultra, AA off, teselation off, and I get 40(lowest I saw)-70fps.

Battlefield 3 gets 70fps with lows of about 30, so yes, the new Tomb Raider is relatively taxing once you wack up the detail.

I tried all the settings on low, just to see how it looked, and it still looks pretty darn great.

The level of detail of the characters, particularly Lara, the environment (except the water, that for some reason is toned down and barely ripples when you walk through it...disappointing I guess. It moves and sways of course, but the surface is..."flat" and doesn't really react to collisions on objects or Lara herself), is fantastic.

Artistically, Crystal Dynamics have gone for a darker, grittier feel, and it shows everywhere. Lara gets covered in mud mixed with blood that washes off in the rain. Early on, she gets pretty badly injured and you constantly see and hear her pain and struggling.

Her infalted air-bags are gone, kind of, but Lara looks like a young woman perfectly portioned with curves in the right places. Hot-pants are now cargo pants, and her vest covers her belly finally. She's still very, very sexy, so retains her sex symbol status in gaming, but she's far more realistic now.

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AUDIO
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Crystal Dynamics have truly hit the jackpot with Camilla Ludington. Not only did she do all the motion capture, she is the new voice of Lara.

Quintisentially British as always, with this being an Origin story and Lara's first adventure at just 21, her performance and that of all cast members is superb.

Lara is alot more vocal in this entry, and will constantly be making noise of exersion when she jumps or grabs a ledge, will shout with pain, will tremble in confined spaces or when she faces any form of environmental danger.

Trees sway, birds chirp, wolves howl in the distance. You're in the wild, alone with nothing but Lara's wits and inner drive to survive.

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GAMEPLAY
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Standard 3rd Person action here. Camera behind. The usual Tomb Raider controls with some new aspects thrown in. Ledges where you slip require you to hit a certain key in the allocated time or Lara will fall and, inevitably, die due to the sheer drop below her.

Combat is completely revamped. No more hopping around with 2 pistols on auto-lock and infinite ammo. This is far more realistic, and stays in 3rd person throughout.

Uncharted and Gears of War comes to mind when you're firing, but hey, how else can you do action in a 3rd person game?

The bow and arrow add an element of stealth to the game, which is actually the prefered way for Lara to move around. She can now crouch and hide behind objects. Choke foes to death from behind. Arrows can be used as distractions, but rather worryingly, arrows seem to be available a bit too much. To the point where just an hour or so in, I was thinking "why are there so many arrows around here?" Get into a gunfight and Lara for sure can hold her own, BUT, she's very fragile, even on normal difficulty.

As expected in games these days, the "entry level" thugs at the start are your typical selection of only-wearing-a-shirt-for-protection bad guys with AKs. Easy to taunt and trick. These do get replaced with heavy-armour wearing foes with shotguns and LMGs later on, with some riot shields thrown in as well to mix up your tactics mid-fight, and for the most part the AI holds its' own. They'll spot you if you're not hiding properly, yet don't have eagle vision either to make it unfair.

Lara can eaves-drop on foes and some humorous dialogue can be heard, as you crouch in the shadows (aka behind a low brick wall in the bushes).

Weapons can be upgraded through parts you find in the world, to repair your bow, your AK47, your shotgun etc, from the rusted pirates' version to a shinier, more accurate and damaging version (standard stuff in gaming).

These upgrades are done at "camps" you find in each area of the island, where you can rest up, catch your breath, fast-travel and perform said upgrades.

Collectibles throughout the world give you an incentive to re-visit areas (often with different weather too) and gain XP to give yourself new moves and better upgrades etc, so the camp quick-travel is always useful.

In my opinion, there are too many Quick Time Events causing button mashing, but the I've never been a fan of them. Also, a few too many "cutscenes" where you have no control of the awesome moments.

Some of the QTEs are exhilirating, such as using your shotgun to blow away wooden obstacles as you crash down raging rivers (and these parts of the game REQUIRE weapon upgrades before you acces them).

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CONCLUSION
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After a long write with not enough detail no doubt, I can honestly say this is the one, latest game in the series that is worth a purchase, just because it gives you an insight into who Lara is and how she became the legend.

It's darker, it's gritier, it's rated 18, and it's a well-told, emotional ride.

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ANNOYANCES
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I have only 2 so far.

First off, there is a bug that is kind of irritating.

When you grab a ledge or have a button to hit, it shows you which button to hit, otherwise you fall and die, or the object crushes you etc. Well...it usually shows you what button to hit, but not always. You die. Reload, try again, and there's the button you have to hit on the screen. Weird. But it does it numerous times, which is annoying, but hardly game-breaking.

Also, Lara's attitude changes FAR too quickly from scared woman to killing machine.

Her first kill (ie, ever), is a dramatic moment that will live long in a gamer's memory. It's horrifying. It's partly a rape scene. Lara's emotions are so relateable after she kills her first person. She breaks down. She's on her knees, dropping the gun in horror at what she has done.

It's a powerful, unforgetable moment.

...but then 5 minutes later, she's slaying men left and right.

It's not that the scene was bad or unrequired, it just seems they pushed the moment so hard but then showed no emotion about it from then on.

This is a problem in games these days, and it's just story-telling being badly done. Far Cry 3 did it. Jason Brody is a teenager. Never fired a gun. Kills someone for the first time, it's horrific for him, sure, but again, 5 minutes later, he's using an AK47 like he's a trained killer.

I kind of wish developers would ease us into being so proficient with weapons in a better way, especially when it's obvious the character has had no training at all.

It's a nitpick some will agree and disagree on I guess.

It's not a 4. It's not a 5. It's a 4.5.

I was more than a little hesitant about this one. Far Cry 3 didn't float my boat in the way I had hoped, and neither did Dead Space 3. They were both part of respectable series of games. Neither one of them bad, but neither really living up to the hype. Much as I loved those `series', Tomb Raider has always been in a different class for me (in terms of gaming `love'). Some of the recent episodes of Lara I have deliberately decided to skip for fear of disappointment. This one, I had to have.

First impressions are often crucial to how one ends up perceiving a game. In this respect, the new Tomb Raider (let's call it TR) gets off to a flyer.

I'm running the game with decent rig, albeit with a 3 year old 5870 GPU and the visuals are frankly, stunning. The detail in the water, on the beach and then as you go inland in the forest, caves and the inevitable tombs is fantastic. Far Cry has always (for me) been king in this respect, but TR is visually even more stunning. I think the fact that Crystal Dynamics have clearly worked on the `atmospheric' side of the game definitely lends a hand to bringing the graphics further into people's consciousness. Audio is excellent. Lara is perfectly voiced, but the entire supporting cast is equally good. There are a number of cut-scenes, particularly early on, but they almost never feel excessive as you can feel that they lend themselves to the development of the story.

So enter the new Lara. She's 21, bright, athletic (but not botox enhanced) and a little naïve. Voiced exceptionally well, she definitely feels like a younger Lara should. The game distinguishes itself from its predecessors by assuming a more mature tone. Gone are the cartoony characters and limitless ammunition with an almost indestructible Lara. She's now extremely vulnerable (at times seemingly excessively so) and clearly in the transformation phase from young woman to the confident Lara we've got to know so well over the years. The violence is far more graphic with blood and gore aplenty. Thankfully none of it seems excessive as it serves to effectively shape Lara and help her down the path of `maturing' as the game progresses.

The gameplay resembles a number of recent games. Drake (on the PS3) springs to mind. It's not overly hard and feels a tiny bit like your being forced down a heavily scripted path. But at the same time, the overall experience of the game makes the linear and scripted nature almost seem irrelevant. The enjoyment factor is just too high.

As with many new games, the cover system is automatic during combat. But this seems to work as it should, so no gripes. Enemy AI is reasonable if not brilliant. Still a challenge, but providing you stay in the shadows as much as you can, Lara should still prevail. Human enemies start off easy and gradually (and naturally evolve).

The wolves are a little annoying as they spawn along certain paths, and you know in advance before you get there that, as this is a path you need to cross, the wolves will be there. But it's a small gripe and you can still `loot' the corpses for `salvage' (see below). There was talk of a `rape' scene in this game. Although I can see where that comes from, I don't think it ever really becomes a risk of rape. Although this is suggested at one point, as soon as Lara starts to resist and fight back, it becomes a survival scene as her assailant seems far more focused on killing her rather than getting her kit off.

Weapons are varied (the stealthy longbow is a great addition) and can be upgraded through the interactive menus available to you at each of your camp sites. This is quite a good way to do it, and most importantly relies on only one raw material (`salvage'). So whatever you decide to upgrade, you will always use the same inventory of salvaged material to do so. There are also skill points, much like Far Cry 3 which are either `survivor' or `hunter'. Self-explanatory and I will not go further into this for fear of spoiling.

There are a number of `tombs' to raid and even more to download as extra DLC. These feel a bit like `intstances' for those that play RPGs. I personally am really enjoying them as you get to do what Lara does best while simultaneously taking a break from the main plot. You get some nice loot and awards for each tomb you complete. The puzzles are not overly difficult and you have a type of `eagle vision' (think Assassin's Creed) that helps identify objects with which you can interact by their gold colouring. This is close to cheating, but you don't HAVE to use it if you don't want to. Everyone does though :-). Still, it means it's hard to get stuck, both while your raiding tombs, but also throughout the main game.

Enough rambling. This game is great. A worthy addition to the TR games of old, if not perhaps the more recent additions. Any TR fan worth his or her salt will love the game. Those that are new will probably still love it for the attempt to focus on as many important details as possible. It's a joy to play, and the storyline keeps you engrossed without every becoming overly burdensome.

My (extremely limited) gripes:
It's a little easy at times. Both the gameplay and puzzles.
Ammo is too plentiful. If you put limits on the ammo that can be carried, make it a real obstacle to the way people will play. If not, why bother?
Cut-scene frequency and length.

My verdict? Highly recommended - and visually beautiful to play.
I'd give this four stars, but I'm giving it 5 to offset all the idiots giving it one star because of Steam related problems.

UPDATE 11/03/13
Having finished it now, I wanted to make a couple more points - for accuracy.

Yes, there are more than a few QTE. But these are painfully easy. I don't understand a lot of the complaints. Also, you can often use them to perform 'finishing' or 'incapacitating' moves. I liked this. It can help immeasurably when you're heavily outnumbered. Just remember to be patient before hitting 'F'. Mashing it will not help....

There is a 'fast-travel' function that allows you to go back to parts (earlier campsites) of the island you have not completed eg to collect missing relics and documents. In all my gaming years, I had never used this type of function before, but I did in TR. I was so engrossed in the storyline first time through certain areas that I had flown past them too quickly for my own satisfaction. There are treasure maps (that you need to find) for each area which can help you collect all relics and documents. A nice touch for those perfectionists out there.

There is a third skill subset - the 'brawler'. Allows you to upgrade combat style and includes finishing moves and improved proficency with different weapon types.

And one more minor gripe - The tombs are very easy to find, and include no combat. It's all about the puzzles to get to the hidden 'treasure'. As per my earlier gripe, this makes the tombs a little to easy. The puzzles of earlier games in the TR series are rocket science compared to these.

But still a fantastic game and these updates do not affect my overall rating or appreciation of the game.