Shock and Awe – Tomb Raider Review

What can we say about Lara Croft that hasn’t been said before. Her character is always portrayed as a smart, beautiful and rich archaeologist who has saved the world several times over, but there is one thing that people don’t consider her to be, and that is one of the strongest female video game role models.

The Latest in the franchise is considered to be prequel to the original series, where Lara is still in college, beginning her mark on the archeological world and fighting for survival against all odds.

The very beginning of the game sets Lara and a group of Television archaeologists on a hunt for the island of the Sun Queen, a Japanese legend of a woman who can control the weather. Suddenly they are blindsided by a humongous storm which causes the ship to capsize, leaving her lost on an uncharted island and alone. The game shifts to a journey of Survival as Lara is forced to hunt the animals, climb mountains and find fire to keep warm. It’s a nice twist for the game but it is short lived as the games villain appears shortly after.

As Lara find the survivors of the ship wreck, we find more people who are stranded on the island who have turn into savages who begin murdering her crew mates and kidnapping her friends. At this point, we run into the same problem that we came across with Far Cry 3, Lara does not want to kill anyone, she cries after killing a deer in the beginning of the game, shortly after the game gives you control of her; we turn her into a deadly warrior taking down 10 people at a time with a bow and arrow.

Being a prequel though, I’m assuming that this is to show how she doesn’t mind taking down the many mercs that we see in various other Tomb Raider games, but at the same time, it seems that the whole situation is taken too well by Ms.Croft and most media character (Far Cry 3’s Jason, Arrow’s Oliver Queen and various other “normal guy/girl trapped on a island with people wanting them dead” stories.)

The Gameplay has changed quite a bit from the original series to include a melee attack system where Lara can attack with a climbing axe and the standard third person shooter controls. What hasn’t changed from the series however is the sense of exploration, Lara is able to jump and climb, burn ropes, and swing from spot to spot. Also introduced is the game’s upgrade system, which while taking down opponents and completing various tasks like finding hidden GPS, lighting statues and making life for the Savages hard by destroying their alarms, this levels you up to give you more abilites such as health and better brawling skills  that help kill or disable your attackers. Also you can find weapon parts for your pistol, shotgun, machine gun and Bow to make more powerful weapons, allowing you to salvage parts to upgrades as well.

It seems though that the game moved from the classic Raider games to be more modern like Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series, but taking it up a notch with difficulty and punishment as they also kept the Tomb Raider tradition of cheap deaths, but made them even more gruesome and brutal to the point I started wondering if I was watching a “Saw” movie.

Lara is put through so much crap, both literally and figuratively, that I’m surprised that she is able to walk away from the entire ordeal. By normal standards, most of the stuff that doesn’t kill her in the cutscenes would put most people through years of trauma therapy and taking tons of medicine to clean the infections. From getting impaled on a sharp piece of wood, having ribs broken from parachuting into a tree and falling, to various cuts and gunshot wounds. The ones that do cause her to die in game are just as likely to send the childhood you who grew up on the original series through the same sort of treatment (seeing a sharp poll going through Lara’s head would probably do that to anyone.)

Graphically, Tomb Raider is nothing short of amazing, maxing out the graphics on the PC and using the game’s hair mechanics is absolutely gorgeous. The game on console is just as strong, from the animals to the environment to every cut and detail on Lara is crystal clear. It also features some of the coolest fire this side of the Far Cry series.

For the first time ever, Tomb Raider does include a multiplayer mode where you can play as either the Savages or the Survivors. The game features several team based modes and one Free-for-all mode. It doesn’t shine a light on the Uncharted Multiplayer mode but it is a fun extra.

Tomb Raider strong selling point is the story and the game is a high contender for best story and action adventure winner for the year, it pulls the ideas used in games like Far Cry 3, the Uncharted series and a bit of Metroid with the option to travel back to find hidden tombs and weapon upgrades. It’s a new Tomb Raider for a more Mature audience, but it still one damn well made game.