Tomb Raider Review



Tomb Raider (2013) is the reboot to the long running and beloved franchise. It aims to present the defining events that shaped Lara into who she is. Can they pull it off and can they do it without
upsetting too many people?

Lara and a few crew members are searching for the lost island of Yamatai which was home to mystical and ancient Japanese tribe. They find it at the expense of their ship which is wrecked by a storm. Lara and the crew quickly learn that they are not alone on the island, which is also inhabited by a strange and violent cult.


Lara is alone and away from the other crew members for most of the game and has to quickly learn how to hold her own. Initially she's quite shaky and platforming sections which would usually be effortless for her are a bit of struggle. There are plenty of ooh and ah moments where I could almost feel her fear - her pain too! She goes through and immense amount of punishment which had me wincing and looking away from the screen. 


Action is a big part of this reboot, something unusual for a Tomb Raider game. Lara's first weapon is a makeshift bow. Her first victim is a deer which she kills for food. There's a definite sense of power in being able to take a life, a bit of sadness too.

Killing an animal is one thing, killing a human is completely different. Lara is forced to kill one of the island's cultists in self defence. She doesn't take this well and is physically ill after doing so. However, this doesn't last long and she quickly becomes quite skilful in eliminating those in her way while screaming threats at them. This is not quite and overnight-badass transformation but it does seem a little unrealistic. Tomb Raider is a game after all so it's not reasonable to expect it to be completely accurate in this regard.


I liked watching Lara gradually become more confident and I liked the action. In addition to the bow, a shotgun, pistol and assault rifle become available later on. They are all very satisfying to use. Combat is fairly straightforward and consists of a solid 3rd person shooter component with a bit of melee and QTEs on occasion. Ability and weapon upgrades make combat and exploration a bit easier and require experience and salvage, which is a form of currency. 


Platforming and puzzle solving take the back seat in this reboot. There are many on-rails, set-piece events where Lara has to react quickly or die. On one occasion she is sliding down a river and has to shoot obstacles in her way. There's not much player involvement during these scenes but I found them to be quite enjoyable. Back in the day, these would be pre-rendered cut scenes so even this slight bit of involvement is appreciated. This is similar to what Uncharted does so well and honestly this game does feel a lot like Uncharted. Gone are the long tombs and mind bending puzzles and grid based jumps. Replacing it is a more forgiving platforming system with simple puzzles and mini (optional) tombs. 


I was thoroughly impressed with the way the game feels. There's definite weight to the way Lara moves. Every step, every jump feels real. It's amazing how often this is overlooked but this small touch makes the controls much more responsive and satisfying. There are still several platforming sections which make use of Lara's new tools including a climbing axe and rope arrows. They aren't that difficult but they are fun. There's also almost no fall damage (except in critical sections) which makes exploring even more fun and encourages... exploration! 


Each area has mini challenges where Lara has to locate a certain number of items. These are optional but they're pretty fun to do and the bonus experience makes it worthwhile. You can always backtrack at a later stage and take your time to completely explore each area. I found this enjoyable and relaxing and it's the kind of thing a traditional Tomb Raider fan will appreciate and want more of. 


The story is simple but well told and engaging, which will have you anticipating what happens next.Yamatai was once ruled by a queen who was said to posses mythical powers. Lara and her team aim to discover more about the island and her queen. Unfortunately, the island is inhabited by zealous hostiles who don't take kindly to the new arrivals. There are several journals to discover which help flesh out the story a bit more and give different perspectives about the happenings on Yamatai. The supporting characters are not wildly original but they're likeable and realistic enough to help things move along without being overly clichéd. 


Lara though, is special. It's awe inspiring to see someone we think we know in a totally different
light. Lara has always had an illustrious history and her character and background were always well documented but only as Lara Croft: The Tomb Raider. It's surprising it's taken so long for an origins story to be made in the franchise. Even Uncharted briefly touched on Drake's past in Uncharted 3. The brief section where you played as young Lara in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation doesn't count. 


In this reboot we see a strong and assertive young woman who is also clearly scared and naive. The design of her physically is more realistic with Lara having a stronger-looking and bigger build. Her voice actor sounds younger and more casual, gone is the clipped Croft accent. There's a definite sense of Lara being a person and not a 3D model named Lara. To be fair, Legend and Underworld did do this well too but this reboot take it to another level. 


There is multiplayer which features standard team-based modes as well as deathmatch. Unfortunately this could not be tested (a result of online matchmaking which didn't find any matches at the time) but it should provide kicks for those who like that kind of thing. At least they didn't tack on a co-op mode. Unobtrusive multiplayer like this is the way to go if a traditionally single player game must have a multiplayer component.

On the technical side of things, there's little to complain about here. The game looks magnificent and has great weather effects. It's worth backtracking just to see the same area at a different time of day. The sound is excellent and has great depth. A boulder crashing will boom and resonate deeply while small stones will crackle down. The gentle pattering of rain against the leaves is interrupted by loud thunderclaps. I just wish there was an option to balance the sound levels as the sound effects can overpower the speech. 


I found Tomb Raider to be an engaging and enjoyable experience from start to finish. It's a little short but it's one of those never-a-dull-moment kind of games which inevitably always feel short. I put in over 20 hours of time in my first playthrough but this was to get a 100% collection rate. It would take about 8 hours otherwise. It's worth pointing out that I actually enjoyed the backtracking and searching for hidden items. I didn't force myself through this just for achievements. 

One common criticism is that this is not be a real Tomb Raider game. The lack of puzzles and exploration being chief concerns. This is a legitimate point but it's important to bear in mind that this is a reboot and also and origins story. The emphasis on this game is to give insight into what transformed Lara Croft into the person we know. In this regard, they did a fine job and I look forward to what awaits her next.

Pros

Technically excellent
Interesting story
Bold re-invention of an iconic character
Simple but enjoyable combat

Cons

Easy puzzles
A bit short

Rating: 90%

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