Tomb Raider Review

A Survivor Is Born – And Hell Is She Born In Style!

A Personal Introduction

The announcement of a Tomb Raider reboot was one of the most exciting times I have ever been through as a gamer. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation on the Playstation One was the first game that I ever played on the first console that I ever owned, and since then it is a saga that I have always followed without feeling the need to ask why. Even through this however, it was not hard to recognise that these games had been starting to lose what really used to make them. They were not so hard, so jumpy, or so challenging anymore. Then this origin story reboot was announced and it was certain from the off that this was going to change the way I looked at and played some of my very favourite games. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the reboot, it was either going to seem fantastic or disappointing to me based on how it compared to the older titles. I did not expect to find what I did when I got hold of it.

“Thanks a lot Invision Game Community, Square Enix and ‘Ben’ for the copy of Tomb Raider”

The Review

Tomb Raider is a reboot of the classic series following the infamous adventurer, Lara Croft. This new episode in the grand saga has been made not only to try and return these games to their former glory, following a slip in standards with some of the more recent releases, but also to tell the as yet untold and unknown origin story of this legendary heroine. From the classic developers Crystal Dynamics and new  publishers Square Enix, Tomb Raider promised a lot to gamers and was always going to be heavily scrutinised leading up to and shortly after its release. To reboot a game which is one of the greatest ever designed in the eyes of the collective gaming community is a risky mission however you look at it. It is absolutely fair to say however that Tomb Raider has succeeded in this mission and achieved far more than simply a nice little reboot.

The game begins with Lara aboard a ship searching for a lost island alongside several other research partners. There is little introduction to the rest of the crew to begin with, as the game’s action starts almost immediately when a sudden storm causes their ship to be wrecked off the shore of an unknown land. Alone, confused and in imminent danger, Lara is forced to work on instinct alone to survive and find her companions with no equipment or skills to speak of. Never having killed before or been trained to manage such situations, there is a clear progression throughout the game from a young, innocent and well educated girl to a hardened, instinctive and experienced adventurer. Without giving away too much of the story as a whole, as this would almost certainly taint the experience you would have, this is an origin story that truly shows how the woman gamers have watched and admired for many years became the person who she is famous for being.

Aside from storyline it is worth mentioning that Tomb Raider has taken an entirely new approach to the saga compared to anything that it has involved before. The 18 rating of the game is the first surprising and intriguing change which many gamers will notice. You can expect to find brutal deaths, strong language and unlikely if not controversial themes around every corner of this new and more realistic story to what we have been provided with before. This will no doubt divide gamers on its appropriateness and how well it works for the saga, but given that the majority of long time fans of the saga will now be adults anyway it is not a move which is likely to, as a whole, disappoint or confuse the community. The change in fact only makes the game seem more real and certainly makes the story and adventure more gripping and intense.

Gameplay in Tomb Raider is very much unlike any of the previous instalments. It is far more open, in depth and dynamic to its predecessors, and this is certainly not a bad thing. There is a direct main storyline throughout the game, however the player may choose to stray from this in order to explore the land they have been placed in, finding hidden relics and exploring hidden tombs outside of the main adventure. This freedom is a welcome change to the previously very linear titles. You have of course always been able to search for hidden secrets, but the choice of exploration alongside or as a change from the story allows the player to make their own adventure as they play. As well as this, experience gained and parts found around the game world can be saved to upgrade Lara’s abilities and weaponry, turning this simple girl into a hardened adventurer as her adventure progresses. This might not work in the tomb raider world normally, however the fact that it is integrated into an origin story where your character is ever growing anyway makes it work very well. The camps at which this upgrades can be made also act as checkpoints throughout the game, which can be fast travelled to and from to make exploring easier. There is no need for the fast travel feature in the story however making it very nicely free moving throughout. Loading screens are also not a problem in the game, and if it takes you in as it took me this is a fantastic feature which allows you to simply keep the story going from start to finish.

Combat and events in game now also work quite differently to its predecessors. Most thankfully, the auto aiming system for using firearms is now gone. This makes combat more challenging and more importantly more free to play with. Further to this, you can now automatically hide behind cover if you are in combat and stand near it, as well as utilising various tactics to dispose of adversaries. You might choose to run in with your shotgun or melee attack with you pick axe, or rather fight from a distance with deadly accuracy using your bow. The options are many, but most importantly you can flow between them quite openly. Ammunition is limited however, which adds to the realism of the game, so an accurate shot is as important as avoiding damage in your firefights. While looting bodies may reward you with a clip of bullets, it may reward you with one or two or even none at all, so conservation is key. There are still some quick-time events in game, but these have been far improved upon from the last few tomb raider titles and fit nicely into the way that this game plays. Even gamers who are not normally a fan of this feature in games will probably agree that it works better here than it does in most. More often than not however it is up to you to utilise Lara’s skills to quickly progress and survive through the dangerous and dynamic situations which may stand in your way.

The look of the game of course is an element which has had a lot of care put into it and has succeeded in amazing gamers with some of its capabilities. The review copy which I recieved personally was for the Xbox 360, and so I have not had a hands on play with the PC graphics systems which were created for the game. I have however had a very good look into them and will comment on them in a moment. In general, the game looks simply increidble, being at least on a par with how good Assassin’s Creed III looked on the Xbox, which was pretty damn sharp indeed, if not better! It is, without a doubt, one of the best looking games that I have ever seen. The character models, landscapes, simply everything looks great. Anyone who has taken the time to read my previous reviews might also know of my love for water graphics in games, and let me tell you I was in heaven here! A damn fine job has been done making this game look beautiful, and something truly fantastic has been achieved. As for the full powered PC graphics of the game, which I will be giving a try in the near future, there is nothing quite like what has been done here. The detail which has been achieved in generating the individual movements of Lara’s hairs, aside from the stunning beauty of everything else in the game, is simply incredible and another step forward for the gaming industry as is strives to make fiction appear to be reality.

It is worth making a quick comment on the audio elements of the game. The sound effects of the game as a whole are very realistic sounding, with nothing in particular which stands out to make you think “well that doesn’t sound like that at all”. The voice acting of the game in particular however was very good indeed. With an experienced voice cast the game was in good hands in this area, including the new voicing of Lara by television actress Camilla Luddington which works well and is a tidy and almost unnoticeable transition from the previous actress. The in game audio fits comfortably with the extremely well developed graphics and fantastic new style of gameplay to complete an entirely excellent all-round package for the new Tomb Raider.

This new Tomb Raider release also introduces a new competitive online multiplayer feature into the mix. This is something that many gamers will certainly have questioned and had concerns about, having never been included in the saga’s previous titles. There are a few game options in this multiplayer, each of which you play as either the Suvivors or the Solari. You can choose which character from each side of the game you wish to play as (although some require certain achievements to unlock), and the loadout which you want to play with. The aresenal avaiable for your loadouts at first is very limited, but more can be unlocked the more you play. This is similar to a lot of current multiplayer styles such as in Halo or Call of Duty. The first game mode you can try is Rescue mode, in which you either have to try and retrieve medical supplies as Survivors or kill the Survivors as the Solarii. It’s an almost capture the flag type premise except the supplies could spawn anywhere on the map and only one team wants them. This mode does work in terms of its a good multiplayer game type idea, but as good as the single player combat is it is very hard to aim at moving players rather than computer characters. Another unique game mode to this game’s multiplayer is Cry For Help, in which Survivors must try to activate radio transmitters and stop the Solarii stealing their batteries. This is pretty similar to the Rescue mode but with slightly different objectives on both sides. Other than this you can also choose to play Team Deathmatch or Free For All, which pretty much speak for themselves in terms of rules. So does a Tomb Raider multiplayer mode work? Well, it does not fit into the game as a key element and so it is unfair to judge the game according to the decision to include it. As with many other games where this is the case, it could probably do with some work. To draw a comparison, it is probably on a par with the Assassin’s Creed multiplayer experience, which while entertaining is not the best, but it does not bring down the game as a whole. The main area to look at with this game however is almost certainly how to improve the multiplayer combat, as this appears to be particularly hard to become good at.

As a whole, Tomb Raider is a simply fantastic game. It has a great storyline to it which covers an area of the saga which has been a mystery in the past and was a perfect choice to tell with the game’s shiny new reboot. The gameplay is dynamic, in depth and challenging, as well as keeping you interested alongside the storyline throughout. The openness of the world of play is fantastic and the ability to stray off on your own small adventures into hidden tombs allows you to make the story your own. The graphics are simply terrific and could be considered nothing less than beautiful. The console graphics do not match up to the pc standard, however they are none the less some of the best visuals in any game to date. Everything is nicely rounded off with some great audio including the talented voice actors who were brought in for its development. The multiplayer does need some work if it is something that the developers intend to keep for future titles but it does not in any way ruin or bring the game as a whole down. A triumphant return for Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider saga which will have many gamers waiting, praying and watering at the mouth for more. Hopefully this game can be seen as an exciting sign for things to come, as well as possibly the greatest reboot and one of the greatest games made to date.

The Good – A fantastic reboot to the Tomb Raider saga, boasting a deep and gripping storyline, fast paced and dynamic gameplay, stunningly beautiful graphics and high quality audio features. An almost perfect all-round package!

The Bad – A multiplayer experience which could do with some more work in any future titles in the sage, but which is a decent starting point and does not bring the game as a whole down.

A Personal Conclusion

I had high hopes for Tomb Raider from when I first heard of the reboot to when I finally held it in my hands. My excitement for the game was equalled only by my hope and curiosity surrounding it. I had certainly not expected to find myself playing through the story from start to finish in a single day; something that a game has not kept my attention enough to do in a very long time indeed. The game surpassed all of my expectations and rekindled the love I have held for Tomb Raider since I first played The Last Revelation. It was strange not to feel nostalgia as such, but pleasing also that this game may have been the best in the saga so far in terms of what it had to offer. This opinion will not be shared by all who play it, but to me it felt like as well as a new start it was a great step in the right direction. I will certainly be keeping a close eye on what is next for the saga and hope that I can make similar comments when that next instalment comes along…

Editor Comment “The Best version to grab Tomb Raider on has to be the PC,as it being the the Lara Croft adventure to life in more ways than an console can currently using the latest technology, Directx 11, Tessellation, AMD’s TressFX  and much more… Check out what TressFX is here http://www.invisioncommunity.co.uk/2013/02/26/crystal-dynamics-and-amd-introduce-tressfx-the-first-real-time-hair-rendering-system-in-a-playable-pc-game/”

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.