"Tomb Raider" - Square Enix / Crystal Dynamics
Way back in 1996 a game appeared on the Sega Saturn, PC and PlayStation that changed gaming in the way that maybe one or two games per generation do.
Games like "Doom" and "Grand Theft Auto III" and even "Space Invaders"- the Grandaddy of them all.
This game, like those others brought something new that hadn't been seen before and broke some perceived rules.
In this case it provided massive open areas to explore and the lead character was a woman.
Not the usual space marine, or pilot or Italian plumber or spiky blue hedgehog.
Lara Croft would become a cover girl gracing not only gaming magazines but sports, movie and men's magazines.
"Tomb Raider" sold a metric crap-tonne of copies and made a fortune for developer Core Design and publisher Eidos.
The anticipation for the sequel was massive and turning out better then the first in every way, the game didn't disappoint.
But with the third game a slow slide in quality and gamer favour began that continued into the next generation of gaming hardware and arguably the one after that.
As is often the case with game series' that lose favour with gamers this one got outdone by other titles.
All innovators must deal with those inspired to take the baton and run with it.
"Resident Evil" has "Dead Space", "Medal Of Honour" has "Call of Duty" and "Tomb Raider" has "Uncharted".
And now here we are seventeen years later at the tail end of the current generation of hardware and Crystal Dynamics are attempting to re-boot the franchise.
It's a great word that- 're-boot'.
More often than not it means 'try to forget the failings of the past and do-over'.
In this case it is doubly, literally true because in trying to salvage the franchise this game positions Lara Croft as a student on her first expedition.
Yes- an origin story.
More on the story side later.
For now the pressing concerns are how does the game play?
It is clear very early on that it plays very, very well indeed.
In fact it has turned the tables on the 'pretenders' and taken plenty of what they learned from Tomb Raider and refined and done the same to them.
This game has adopted many of the things that work in its contemporary competition and tweaked and refined and polished them to a fine sheen so much that once again this franchise will no doubt be copied by all who dabble in its genre.
Welcome back Lara Croft.
Depth is added with a fantastically realised open world island for Lara to play on and an abundance of skills and upgrades to learn and perform.
Most noticeable are the improvements to the weaponry.
Starting with a rudimentary bow found on a convenient corpse Lara will not only gain access to a spread including pistols, shotguns and assault rifles but the means to upgrade each of them so that they barely resemble the starting points.
It is all done reasonably organically with things added island style with cloth and strings as they are accessed.
The AK-47 gains stocks, extended magazines, a grenade launcher and various tweaks to improve reload times and recoil.
It's a rewarding system with each new upgrade generating a desire to test the new destructive power in Lara's hands.
The same goes for non-lethal gear such as the addition to the bow that enables a rope to be fired at distant objects and rocks to enable a makeshift flying fox of sorts.
(zipline is the preferred term I think)
I don't quite understand the mechanics of the motorised upgrade to this- it seems incredibly powerful for a small steel box but it is great to power Lara along long ropes to save a long, slow jamming of the stick to the right as she shimmies along.
So as a character Lara is given a great place to play and some wonderful toys to play with.
What about the lady herself?
Firstly, in terms of character modelling and performance she is a sight to behold.
Obviously Lara Croft has always been Barbie like in that she represents an impossible ideal but at least in the case of this 2013 model she is almost realistic.
Almost.
She does look fantastic and clearly a lot of work has gone into making Lara expressive.
The beautiful (and genuinely English) Camilla Luddington does an excellent job with the voice duties.
Everything from her educated English accent to her grunts and squeals during climbing and combat scenes are perfect.
It helps immeasurably with player connection to have the voice so right.
Lara is treated very, very badly right from the get-go with beatings, animal attacks, impalings and near drownings just the entree to a smorgasbord of torment inflicted upon her throughout the game.
You really do feel for her.
The pain is right there on her face and in her voice.
It's good character stuff but it is not taken as far as it might have been.
Creating a character that the player cares about and even feels protective of is no mean feat.
It's a shame then that rather than give the player the option of working to help protect her the designers have insisted on a linear journey that allows none of this.
I am speaking mainly about her attire.
She spends the entire game clad in the same top and pants.
They get ripped and dirty but there is never an option to use any of the animal hunting aspects to fashion warmer clothing for her.
One of the first orders of business that the game demands is that the bow be used to kill a deer in order to feed Lara.
Rather than allow the deer hide to be used to make a rudimentary jacket Lara must be returned to a campfire to get warm and eat her venisony bounty
She is only required to do this once however - must be a damned fine, nutritious piece of meat that sustains for days.
As for the attire - it is bizarre to see Lara in snowy environs dressed in a skimpy tank-top and thin trousers fighting men clad in fur jackets and wooly hats.
She could have stolen a jacket or hat from any of the hundreds of bad guys that she must dispatch but this is not an option.
And this is quite telling.
The killing of the deer is revealed as simply a mechanism to get Lara on the road from passive scholarly schoolgirl to efficient killer.
Sure, she is upset and apologetic at the sight of the dying deer that she herself killed.
Yes, the first human that she kills deserved it and died badly - disturbingly so.
But from then on it she is pretty much set.
She kills frequently and without emotion after the first blood is spilled.
That is until she gets angry and actively threatens violence with a "I'm coming for you all!!" snarl.
Any consequence of the violence is forgotten as she learns a series of skills best described as executions or in videogame parlance - finishing moves.
Pistols under the chin, pick axes to the head, stranglings, beatings and emoliations.
It's all great fun in game terms but it does feel like Crystal Dynamics are having their cake and eating it to with their desire to make the violence shockingly impactful and yet gleefully bloodthirsty fun too.
To be fair this is first and foremost a game and fun is the order of the day so of course killing bad guys should be fun.
Story has become a major aspect of the Triple A game these days.
You could go back to the Half Life games and Bioshock but I believe the pinnacle of game storytelling is pound for pound, all things considered the Uncharted trilogy.
It is difficult not to be reminded of any of those games when playing "Tomb Raider".
Clearly Naughty Dogs masterful trilogy was itself heavily inspired by Tomb Raider so I don't mention this as a criticism.
There are numerous sequences that seem almost identical to the first two Uncharted games in particular.
Climbing up wrecked vehicles (aeroplanes as opposed to a train), hopping and climbing across crumbling structures (temples as opposed to Tibetan buildings) only to cling on for dear life courtesy of hastily mashed controller buttons (square rather than x).
There is even a cliff climbing scene amongst World War 2 ruins that brings to mind much of the early stages of "Uncharted: Drakes Fortune".
Another game that "Tomb Raider" bears a striking resemblance to is the recent and quite superb "Far Cry 3".
There are story and environment similarities that are hard to ignore (note that the productions crossed so I am not siting copying here).
Lara has friends who watch as she becomes harder and more brutal.
She must protect them and not all of them will survive.
"Far Cry 3" protagonist Jason traverses a similar arc under identical circumstances.
Sadly "Tomb Raider" also features the same dull supporting characters who are annoying and extremely difficult to give a toss about.
Writer Rihanna Pratchett delivers an okay script but it is short on compelling dialogue and resorts to cliche far too often.
There is a big tattooed ethnic hulk with a soft voice and a heart of gold.
We have a bitter woman resentful of Lara who you just know will come around before the journey is over.
Also catered for is the crazy, but smart young buck and the arrogant untrustworthy snob whose actions are always dubious.
Hmmm... wonder if he is likely to betray Lara...
And of course the sweet innocent woman-child who must be protected.
It's lucky that Lara spends so much time on her own in the mountains killing folk so that we don't have to put up with this motley crew of dullards.
And in truth that is all of the negative stuff out of the way.
"Tomb Raider" is a wonderful game.
Like the movie "Skyfall" it takes an iconic character and returns her to her roots delivering a grittier, tighter experience that just feels right.
The depth provided by the bag of tricks that Lara is given make this a dense, satisfying mix.
The climbing, shooting, hunting, puzzles and exploring are all superbly well done.
Crystal Dynamics have made good Tomb Raider games previously with the likes of "Anniversary" and the terrific "Legend" and "Underworld" titles.
They've set the bar even higher here.
This is never more apparent than with the love poured into the production values.
Menu's and on screen indicators such as the upgrade overlays that appear when at a base campfire are slick and easy to use.
And overall 2013's "Tomb Raider" features some of the best console graphics of this generation.
It is to its credit that a multi-platform third party game can stand against the likes of "Uncharted 3" and "God Of War: Ascension" and still generate debate as to which has better visuals.
Personally I still think that the Sony titles have the edge but it is close.
Damned close.
"Tomb Raider" is an utterly gorgeous looking game.
What really counts above all else is how much fun there is to be had playing this game.
A complaint about the Uncharted games is that they drive you down a tunnel in order to hit key dramatic moments.
"Tomb Raider" doesn't come close to the narrative excellence of Amy Hennig and the Naughty Dog Crew's masterworks but still features a compelling enough story that does okay.
Whatever tightness of story elements that it gives up in preference for an open world are mitigated by how much enjoyment there is in joining Lara on the adventure.
It is exciting, dramatic- at least in bursts, visually amazing, violent and an absolute blast.
All niggles aside I can't recommend this enough.
It is my second favourite game of recent months.
Only "Far Cry 3" dominated my time more.
I finished "Tomb Raider" with a 72% rating so there is much more to do beyond merely getting Lara to the end of the story.
Tombs can be found and there is an abundance of things to achieve such as lighting shrines on fire, collecting mushrooms and other side missions.
I don't know that I will be driven to complete the game to anywhere close to 100% or even dabble with the multi-player but damn- that was a truly excellent three quarters.
A second game can not come soon enough if this is a sign of things to come.
Second games tend to iron out any minor glitches (Uncharted 2 for example) and are often an order of magnitude better than the first installment.
If this is the case here we are in for a treat in a couple of years.
For now this game is an absolute must buy.
Do it. Play it. Love it.
SCORE: 9 out 10
Rated R16 for brutal, realistic violence and a small of amount of profanity
Buy "Tomb Raider" for PlayStation 3, XBox 360 or PC from Mighty Ape...........
Games like "Doom" and "Grand Theft Auto III" and even "Space Invaders"- the Grandaddy of them all.
This game, like those others brought something new that hadn't been seen before and broke some perceived rules.
In this case it provided massive open areas to explore and the lead character was a woman.
Not the usual space marine, or pilot or Italian plumber or spiky blue hedgehog.
Lara Croft would become a cover girl gracing not only gaming magazines but sports, movie and men's magazines.
"Tomb Raider" sold a metric crap-tonne of copies and made a fortune for developer Core Design and publisher Eidos.
The anticipation for the sequel was massive and turning out better then the first in every way, the game didn't disappoint.
But with the third game a slow slide in quality and gamer favour began that continued into the next generation of gaming hardware and arguably the one after that.
As is often the case with game series' that lose favour with gamers this one got outdone by other titles.
All innovators must deal with those inspired to take the baton and run with it.
"Resident Evil" has "Dead Space", "Medal Of Honour" has "Call of Duty" and "Tomb Raider" has "Uncharted".
 |
| Lara Croft is truly back |
It's a great word that- 're-boot'.
More often than not it means 'try to forget the failings of the past and do-over'.
In this case it is doubly, literally true because in trying to salvage the franchise this game positions Lara Croft as a student on her first expedition.
Yes- an origin story.
More on the story side later.
For now the pressing concerns are how does the game play?
It is clear very early on that it plays very, very well indeed.
In fact it has turned the tables on the 'pretenders' and taken plenty of what they learned from Tomb Raider and refined and done the same to them.
This game has adopted many of the things that work in its contemporary competition and tweaked and refined and polished them to a fine sheen so much that once again this franchise will no doubt be copied by all who dabble in its genre.
Welcome back Lara Croft.
Depth is added with a fantastically realised open world island for Lara to play on and an abundance of skills and upgrades to learn and perform.
Most noticeable are the improvements to the weaponry.
Starting with a rudimentary bow found on a convenient corpse Lara will not only gain access to a spread including pistols, shotguns and assault rifles but the means to upgrade each of them so that they barely resemble the starting points.
 |
| Weapons are few but they are highly upgradeable |
The AK-47 gains stocks, extended magazines, a grenade launcher and various tweaks to improve reload times and recoil.
It's a rewarding system with each new upgrade generating a desire to test the new destructive power in Lara's hands.
The same goes for non-lethal gear such as the addition to the bow that enables a rope to be fired at distant objects and rocks to enable a makeshift flying fox of sorts.
(zipline is the preferred term I think)
I don't quite understand the mechanics of the motorised upgrade to this- it seems incredibly powerful for a small steel box but it is great to power Lara along long ropes to save a long, slow jamming of the stick to the right as she shimmies along.
So as a character Lara is given a great place to play and some wonderful toys to play with.
What about the lady herself?
Firstly, in terms of character modelling and performance she is a sight to behold.
Obviously Lara Croft has always been Barbie like in that she represents an impossible ideal but at least in the case of this 2013 model she is almost realistic.
Almost.
She does look fantastic and clearly a lot of work has gone into making Lara expressive.
The beautiful (and genuinely English) Camilla Luddington does an excellent job with the voice duties.
 |
| The gorgeous Camilla Luddington |
It helps immeasurably with player connection to have the voice so right.
Lara is treated very, very badly right from the get-go with beatings, animal attacks, impalings and near drownings just the entree to a smorgasbord of torment inflicted upon her throughout the game.
You really do feel for her.
The pain is right there on her face and in her voice.
It's good character stuff but it is not taken as far as it might have been.
Creating a character that the player cares about and even feels protective of is no mean feat.
It's a shame then that rather than give the player the option of working to help protect her the designers have insisted on a linear journey that allows none of this.
I am speaking mainly about her attire.
She spends the entire game clad in the same top and pants.
They get ripped and dirty but there is never an option to use any of the animal hunting aspects to fashion warmer clothing for her.
One of the first orders of business that the game demands is that the bow be used to kill a deer in order to feed Lara.
Rather than allow the deer hide to be used to make a rudimentary jacket Lara must be returned to a campfire to get warm and eat her venisony bounty
She is only required to do this once however - must be a damned fine, nutritious piece of meat that sustains for days.
As for the attire - it is bizarre to see Lara in snowy environs dressed in a skimpy tank-top and thin trousers fighting men clad in fur jackets and wooly hats.
She could have stolen a jacket or hat from any of the hundreds of bad guys that she must dispatch but this is not an option.
And this is quite telling.
 |
| There are many ways to traverse the island |
Sure, she is upset and apologetic at the sight of the dying deer that she herself killed.
Yes, the first human that she kills deserved it and died badly - disturbingly so.
But from then on it she is pretty much set.
She kills frequently and without emotion after the first blood is spilled.
That is until she gets angry and actively threatens violence with a "I'm coming for you all!!" snarl.
Any consequence of the violence is forgotten as she learns a series of skills best described as executions or in videogame parlance - finishing moves.
Pistols under the chin, pick axes to the head, stranglings, beatings and emoliations.
It's all great fun in game terms but it does feel like Crystal Dynamics are having their cake and eating it to with their desire to make the violence shockingly impactful and yet gleefully bloodthirsty fun too.
To be fair this is first and foremost a game and fun is the order of the day so of course killing bad guys should be fun.
 |
| "Tomb Raider" is one of the absolute best looking games this generation |
You could go back to the Half Life games and Bioshock but I believe the pinnacle of game storytelling is pound for pound, all things considered the Uncharted trilogy.
It is difficult not to be reminded of any of those games when playing "Tomb Raider".
Clearly Naughty Dogs masterful trilogy was itself heavily inspired by Tomb Raider so I don't mention this as a criticism.
There are numerous sequences that seem almost identical to the first two Uncharted games in particular.
Climbing up wrecked vehicles (aeroplanes as opposed to a train), hopping and climbing across crumbling structures (temples as opposed to Tibetan buildings) only to cling on for dear life courtesy of hastily mashed controller buttons (square rather than x).
There is even a cliff climbing scene amongst World War 2 ruins that brings to mind much of the early stages of "Uncharted: Drakes Fortune".
Another game that "Tomb Raider" bears a striking resemblance to is the recent and quite superb "Far Cry 3".
There are story and environment similarities that are hard to ignore (note that the productions crossed so I am not siting copying here).
Lara has friends who watch as she becomes harder and more brutal.
She must protect them and not all of them will survive.
"Far Cry 3" protagonist Jason traverses a similar arc under identical circumstances.
Sadly "Tomb Raider" also features the same dull supporting characters who are annoying and extremely difficult to give a toss about.
Writer Rihanna Pratchett delivers an okay script but it is short on compelling dialogue and resorts to cliche far too often.
There is a big tattooed ethnic hulk with a soft voice and a heart of gold.
We have a bitter woman resentful of Lara who you just know will come around before the journey is over.
Also catered for is the crazy, but smart young buck and the arrogant untrustworthy snob whose actions are always dubious.
Hmmm... wonder if he is likely to betray Lara...
And of course the sweet innocent woman-child who must be protected.
It's lucky that Lara spends so much time on her own in the mountains killing folk so that we don't have to put up with this motley crew of dullards.
 |
| Players with vertigo are in for a rough ride |
"Tomb Raider" is a wonderful game.
Like the movie "Skyfall" it takes an iconic character and returns her to her roots delivering a grittier, tighter experience that just feels right.
The depth provided by the bag of tricks that Lara is given make this a dense, satisfying mix.
The climbing, shooting, hunting, puzzles and exploring are all superbly well done.
Crystal Dynamics have made good Tomb Raider games previously with the likes of "Anniversary" and the terrific "Legend" and "Underworld" titles.
They've set the bar even higher here.
This is never more apparent than with the love poured into the production values.
Menu's and on screen indicators such as the upgrade overlays that appear when at a base campfire are slick and easy to use.
And overall 2013's "Tomb Raider" features some of the best console graphics of this generation.
It is to its credit that a multi-platform third party game can stand against the likes of "Uncharted 3" and "God Of War: Ascension" and still generate debate as to which has better visuals.
Personally I still think that the Sony titles have the edge but it is close.
Damned close.
"Tomb Raider" is an utterly gorgeous looking game.
What really counts above all else is how much fun there is to be had playing this game.
A complaint about the Uncharted games is that they drive you down a tunnel in order to hit key dramatic moments.
 |
| Annoying supporting characters are a minor complaint |
Whatever tightness of story elements that it gives up in preference for an open world are mitigated by how much enjoyment there is in joining Lara on the adventure.
It is exciting, dramatic- at least in bursts, visually amazing, violent and an absolute blast.
All niggles aside I can't recommend this enough.
It is my second favourite game of recent months.
Only "Far Cry 3" dominated my time more.
I finished "Tomb Raider" with a 72% rating so there is much more to do beyond merely getting Lara to the end of the story.
Tombs can be found and there is an abundance of things to achieve such as lighting shrines on fire, collecting mushrooms and other side missions.
I don't know that I will be driven to complete the game to anywhere close to 100% or even dabble with the multi-player but damn- that was a truly excellent three quarters.
A second game can not come soon enough if this is a sign of things to come.
Second games tend to iron out any minor glitches (Uncharted 2 for example) and are often an order of magnitude better than the first installment.
If this is the case here we are in for a treat in a couple of years.
For now this game is an absolute must buy.
Do it. Play it. Love it.
SCORE: 9 out 10
Rated R16 for brutal, realistic violence and a small of amount of profanity
Buy "Tomb Raider" for PlayStation 3, XBox 360 or PC from Mighty Ape...........
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