"Sure thing sarge, I'll wage this war all by myself while you and the others- who are inexplicably immortal- hide out of sight and fire the occasional shot towards the enemy."
Oh man, I loved the original Lords of Shadow- probably one of the most underrated action games in recent times. Looking forward to this as well, especially if it's going to have the modern day setting.
That artwork of him sitting on his throne is so cool as well, almost like from Symphony of the Night. "Enough talk, have at you!"
I really can't wait for this game. It's Naughty Dog doing something completely new for them, and since they've put huge emphasis on character and story in the Uncharted series, I've got high hopes.
Great article- I've played the Walking Dead games and it is pretty much a lesson on how you should do story telling in video games. Because when you get to know these characters over the episodes, when one of them gets killed off it has a genuine impact on you. The end of Episode 5 is pretty much one of the most emotionally-devastating things I've played for a while. :'(
I'm glad that there's a lot more researchers moving away from the view that playing violent games means you're going to become a murderous psychopath in real life- in fact I'm convinced that some tabloids like the Daily Mail get a hard-on reporting on stories like that, like its their obligation to be outraged at every little thing. :p
Fact of the matter is, if certain people act on their twisted thoughts and go on a killing spree, that's their own choice- you can't blame video games for them making that decision in the end. I play plenty of violent games- have done since the days of the old Grand Theft Auto games, Manhunt, et al- and I don't think it's impacted on my everyday behavior. Sure sometimes I get frustrated playing some games, but it doesn't translate onto my actions in reality.
That got freaky for me the second they went down that lift to a room full of those toy soldiers. Those dementia sequences means you've got a good reason story-wise to go through the game in co-op.
Interesting read. I have to agree that Lara didn't exactly have much of a character/personality in the original games- only when Crystal Dynamics took over was when you started to see more of a character in her.
And also I agree with the train of thought that for Lara to become this Tomb Raider that the gaming world knows that she has to go through some pretty horrific things for her to discover just how strong she is capable of becoming in the face of danger- even if that includes that now infamous 'assault' scene.
I'm hoping that the new Tomb Raider will be another of those games where story and character development is going to be one of its strongest points- a la Max Payne 3, Spec Ops: The Line and so on.
Having played through most of the game's single player portions, I'm sorry that I have to disagree with many of the points this review makes.
For one, the game is hardly 'a cut scene every five minutes with occasional shooting', in fact many of the scenes that they have in the middle of action parts are normally quite short- and you can skip most of them with the press of a button anyway. And there's long stretches where the characters just talk amongst themselves instead of it cutting into long cut scenes every few seconds- the review makes it sound like it's like a Metal Gear Solid experience- and it just isn't. And also, the new inventory system is a lot quicker and easier to use than RE5's system- in fact, all the new controls makes it a lot smoother to play than the older games.
Though I will agree that some of the QTE's are harder than they should be- especially if you don't know they're coming, but there is an in-game skill you can equip to make them easier. As are some of the 'gotcha' moments. I got killed twice by a runaway SWAT van on Leon's first chapter. >_>
No, it's not classic survival horror- but Capcom put a hell of a lot of effort into it, you've got plenty of content in there, and it's just satisfying to play in general. I'd give it at least an 8. It's a hell of a lot better than Operation Raccoon City, at the very least...
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