Tomb Raider is no longer about a big breasted bimbo with guns. Now it has class and character.
Tomb Raider originally released in 1996. Since then, the series has seen its ups and downs. The worst it got was Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness which was not a completely horrible game, but it sure wasn't great. After that, we didn't see Tomb Raider for a little while until Legend, which was a pretty solid game, I can say. I had plenty of fun out of Legend and I almost played all the way through it from when I borrowed it from a Rhino Video-Games I used to work for. Then we saw the remake of the first title, Tomb Raider Anniversary and a bit later Underworld. These were all pretty solid games, but none of them did anything to put the series back on top as an adventure game. I mean, come on. Uncharted has been crowned king of this specific genre for multiple reasons. However, Crystal Dynamics pared with Square-Enix's bank account clearly yields amazing results. Tomb Raider (2013) was an amazing adventure and, in my opinion, rises above Nathan Drake and his adventures in almost every way.
Let me say that I was not planning in any way, shape, or form to play this new Tomb Raider. I had already thrown Lara Croft and her adventures into the filing cabinet labeled "dead licenses." I did not see the point in bringing the series back because I felt it had already lasted much longer than it should have and that it just needed to rest comfortably in the past. A friend of mine reminded me of this service that a few people know about called Redbox, and, get this, it allows one to rent movies AND video-games. Who knew, right? Anyway, he was telling me about Tomb Raider and how good it was, so I checked out what the critics had to say. I firmly believe that the critics' reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt because often one can't trust them. I'm not saying they all accept bribes or anything, but sometimes things just don't make sense. (Like with Dragon Age: Origins. Yeah, that's right. I said it.) It was clear to me that the professional reviewers were really enjoying this game and for a lot of the same reasons. What I put more stock in, however, is that fans (a.k.a players) were saying the same things, save for the haters because, as we all know, they will hate. So, with the re-acquired knowledge of video-games rentals from Redbox, I decided to get my rent on and check out the game to see if it was really as great as multiple sources were claiming, and boy was I surprised!
For a game that I was not planning on playing at all, I was astounded! This new Tomb Raider was legit! The first thing one realizes is that Lara is young and inexperienced. She's innocent and unknowing. This sets the fundamentals of her character. Events quickly go south for her when her ship in ravaged during a storm and she, along with multiple crew members, are washed ashore on this beautiful island. She's is quickly abducted and tied up and hung from the ceiling inside a cave somewhere on this island. This is where the game begins. The developers makes it obvious what kind of role fire has in the game when it literally burns just about everything, and it spreads. You'll find a torch quickly and realize that it can just as quickly be extinguished. Then you encounter your first puzzle which plays on the fire's dynamics. There are no lever puzzles here! You will use your head to make logical decisions on how the puzzles will be solved. The early portions of the game are somewhat heavy on quick-time events (QTEs). After the introduction of the game, it lets off of QTEs quite a bit and focuses more on direct gameplay. QTEs are used plenty throughout the game but never so much that I got tired of them nor that I didn't expect them. There's a bow that Lara finds early into the game and it serves as the ultimate tool for silent destruction. There are guns that are acquired later, but none of them feel like the bow nor are they as satisfying as the bow. In general, the shooting is done very well. Better than Uncharted, undeniably. There is a basic cover system in play as well as a zoom function. All the weapons feel just right when being wielded. The game took me back to fond memories of Resident Evil 4 and the gameplay presented in its shooting. Lara's enemies are affected differently depending on where they are shot. Shoot an enemies in the knee and he'll be cut down on his prime and setup for a brutal, context-sensitive, melee kill from Lara, which is most satisfying. Needless to say, many adventurers in this world used to be like Lara, but then they took an arrow in the knee. Other than setting the enemies up to be instantaneously murdered, head-shots are epically as satisfying as downing a target.
You'll want to take advantage of your enemies weaknesses often too because there are times when those enemies will have you surrounded in multiple ways, and they aren't dumb. It's common for bad AI to exist in games and even more so for shooters it seems, but the enemies here will continually seek to out flank you. They'll continually dodge your incoming attacks. They'll constantly scurry around for new vantage points or cover to keep from being shot by Lara. They are also not afraid to hammer down on that trigger and spray Lara with bullets until she's dead should she be caught flatfooted. You might believe you're safe behind cover until you see a couple of markers on screen informing you that you have some molotovs incoming. Almost nonstop, you'll be pelted with molotovs and dynamite to get you to move out of cover. The molotovs, which are the worst, are what's used most often. When they hit behind your cover they explode leaving fire everywhere behind said cover. The fire burns for a little while, so you can't really leave the cover and then return to it just a second or two later. You will have to find new cover elsewhere until you can return to it. This all makes the combat incredibly exciting because you'll never know how a firefight will pan out. Lara is given a dodging ability that gives a couple frames of invulnerability so that she can escape an area safely.
Lara's ability to dodge adds some depth to the combat as well. There are numerous abilities that can be purchased during the course of the game and for combat most of these abilities play off Lara dodging. After dodging to close in some distance to an enemy, Lara can throw dirt in the enemy's face, blinding him temporarily. Or, dodging just before a melee attack hits allows you to have an opportunity to cripple and enemy or kill them outright. She can also use the dodge to go into a roll to further gain some distance from a spot. It's all necessary to survive in the game, but it's also very exciting and enjoyable.
You'll find parts from time to time for the various weapons you find on your journey. Your simple bow later can be transformed into an elite competition bow with a list of new abilities. Your other weapons will also see equal improvements, but by that time you will have already found your preferred method of playing. For me, I prefer stealth. The gameplay is dynamic enough that you can choose how to engage a situation. You can go in with your guns held high, firing away. Or, you can choose to distract your targets and move in for silent stealth kills or to just sneak around without being seen.
Such dynamic play styles also require a dynamic environment that can be taken advantage of. And with this game being open-world, players are free to do so. The game is somewhat large and open. Though not like Skyrim or Grand Theft Auto, but more like Dark Souls or Darksiders. Each area has a distinct feel even though it may be part of that same forest you've been running around in. One area will have you safely on the ground while another will have you high up on cliff sides. You may be on the beach or down in a hidden tomb inside a cave. All of them look gorgeous, by the way. Tomb Raider's graphics are top-notch and though they may not have same level of detail of the Uncharted worlds, they are close, which is impressive because this is a cross-platform title. I know I was very impressed with the looks of this game. Each enemy looks as impressive as Lara herself.
Speaking of Lara's looks, I have to say I'm impressed with how Crystal Dynamics displays Lara here. For most people, Lara is a hot chick with guns and she was displayed as such with huge breasts and wide hips wearing short shorts and a tank top pulled so tight around her torso that I'm sure most guys were hoping for the day when it would rip apart thanks in large because of her breasts so that everyone could see her "goodies." In this new game, she's dressed modestly and sensibly. No short shorts, no insanely large breasts, no exaggerated features at all. She's a normal, albeit attractive, woman portrayed by Camilla Luddington who plays the part well enough that I was definitely emotionally connected with what was happening to Lara on screen. Since we're on the subject, voice acting is this game is well done and it was professionally cast, that's all I have to say. The actors did a wonderful job of making the experience believable. Lara's character progression is sold beautifully thanks to Camilla's voice work. Lara progresses intensely, also. She goes from being an innocent newbie to a rather hardened adventurer. The first life she's forced to take really brings Lara to tears and after that you're pretty much forced into killing these "bad guys." It doesn't seem to bother Lara after that but I think that's because there's multiple ideas at play. She either kills or gets killed, also, she's been traumatized by what she's having to go through right now which is contrary to her normal comfortable life and it all hit her at one moment of intense weakness. Either way, I felt touched by her journey and I wont soon forget it.
Overall, this game was amazing. It surprised me completely and to think I almost did not even give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised.
Gameplay - 8.5
---I would've like to have seen some survival dynamics at play. Things like needing to eat or sleep, maybe even doctoring wounds. I couldn't help but think of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater!
Graphics - 9.5
---I'll give a game a perfect 10 on graphics when I see 0 clipping of objects that don't even matter... What I mean is the graphics in Tomb Raider are about as good as we'll see for a cross-platform game this generation of consoles.
Audio - 9.5
---A game can score a 10 on audio easily as long as dialogue isn't bad. The voice work in Tomb Raider is top-notch but some of the enemies spout cliches often, so I simply cannot give a perfect score here. The music in this game is phenomenal, by the by.
Presentation - 10
---The mood this game sets immediately, the tone, Lara's character, the events that take place to transform her into the hardened adventurer by the end, it was all amazing. The characters worked, the voices worked, the musical score worked, the gameplay fit perfectly. I was blown away by how much production went into this game. My hat is off to Crystal Dynamics, who used to be one of my favorite publishers from several years ago thanks to a little series (that's also getting a reboot by them) called The Legacy of Kain.
Overall - 9.0
---This game earned this score. I am actually very critical when it comes to judging a game. I do not hand out scores like this unless the game completely proved itself. I applaud Crystal Dynamics and their game. I am looking very much forward to what else comes from this team with Square-Enix's money. haha
Side notes: I strongly recommend playing the game on the hard difficulty setting. That's how I played it. I have no idea how much easier the lower difficulties are but I know hard mode had a nice challenge to it. I believe you will be robbing yourself of the experience this game offers playing it on a safer difficulty. Also, I did not play the multiplayer at all. Not even once. I don't care much about multiplayer especially when it really doesn't have a place in a game. This game didn't need it because it was a solo campaign affair; therefore, I did not include it in anyway in my review. Also also, I played the Xbox 360 version.