Hi guys, want the good news or the good news? Ok, the good news it is. Lara’s back........and she’s looking very fine indeed!
Perhaps the most instantly recognisable female games character there has ever been has struggled for attention over the last few years and recent games involving her haven’t really hit the spot. A much needed boot up the backside is what she needed and it’s definitely what she’s got. This is a new, much improved, Ms Croft and even though we are now witnessing Crystal Dynamics fifth attempt at a Tomb Raider title, there has been a massive change in direction with this latest outing.
Which is all a bit weird really because 17 years after she first hit our games consoles and shook up the video game world, we finally get to experience how Lara became the most famous of gun-toting gymnastic heroines and get to run with her story from before her adventures in the original production from 1996. But I guess franchise reboots and re-imagining of stories is all the trend at the moment, so it’s about bloody time Lara Croft was subject to a makeover.
Essentially what we’ve been presented with is a platforming, survival horror, action adventure story-driven game with a bit of puzzle chucked in for good measure. If only she were given a car and a load of racing were included then we could have had the full house of gaming genres. A bit of everything has been included and for the most part, each piece is remarkably well thought out and works well. Very well in fact.
And even though the whole damn thing is very good, it’s the story itself that stands out head and shoulders above everything else. From the very first moment to the very last, the adventure is compelling and drives the gameplay forward in a way only found in those top triple A rated titles. For that reason, I really don’t want to divulge too much information into how things play out for Lara but rest assured, there are twists, turns and more twists throughout the 20 hours ish of gameplay and story-telling. It’s a remarkable story based in and around a lost Japanese kingdom on Yamatai island that will have you wanting to see more each time you switch that Xbox on. Lara’s first ever expedition turns out to be the one that sets her up for life. Literally. From starting out as a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-the-mouth young lady, we get to take Lara through agony and ecstasy (yes, ecstasy!), until she becomes a fully fledged fighting machine, the one we know so well from years past. From starting the game unable to fire a weapon, it doesn’t take long before you start hearing her muttering away to herself mid battle........‘You won’t stop me you bastards, get outta my way’. Get the drift? Lara’s a bit damn hardcore!
She can’t however become this fighting machine without any weapons. Best known for her dual pistols these have now been left firmly in the past and she now relies heavily on a bow and arrow. That’s not to say the usual pistols, shotguns and rifles aren’t efficient firearms, they are, just the first weapon picked up is most probably her best, thanks in part to it’s numerous upgrades that can be implemented along the way. Not happy with firing normal pointy sticks? Get those bad boys upgraded to fire arrows, or even napalm ones and watch the damage flow.
Of course, any weapon upgrades need to be earnt and this is done in the way of collecting ‘salvage’. Dotted around the island are salvage crates which can be broken down and collected. Once enough have been scavenged you’ll be needing to make haste back to one of the various base camps in order to upgrade your weapons and/or Laras skills. Skill points are earned by defeating enemies, by going out animal hunting (from deer to crows to crabs!) or by recovering the relics and secrets of Yamatai Island. Once upgraded, Lara can start dishing out all manner of lethal moves on unsuspecting islanders and wildlife.
Along with uncovering the island secrets and for those who like to venture off the beaten track, we also have plenty of collectables to search out. These range from the standard ‘documents’ detailing even more of the story, to the old Japanese artifacts that require a good thorough examination and the much needed treasure maps, to set ‘challenges’ requiring you to ‘find’ a number of a certain item. Whilst all the collectable items will eventually appear on your in-game map, the challenges don’t and require a great deal of exploration and hard graft in order to complete. Obviously you don’t need to go searching for any of these things that I have mentioned but for those of us attempting to 100% complete the game, or for those who wish to bring Lara’s skills up to scratch, they are all lovely additions which compliment the story well.
Thankfully, even after the main story has been completed, you can jump back into the game to go searching for those missing collectables. Any base camp can be used as a fast travel point to reduce the amount of time needed to trawl through areas in search of the outstanding items, so those desperate to leave no stone unturned can sleep happy. To help you on your way here, you can activate Lara’s ‘survival sense’ which will highlight waypoints and any collectable items in the area. Yes it’s all a bit Batman Arkham Asylumy, but Laras a superhero........isn’t she?!
And those of us who do wish to clear up everything in our path would probably be pretty interested in picking up a number of achievements along the way. I can gladly announce that most of the single player cheevos are easily attainable and whilst the first 5-10 hours only see a few unlocks, they do start popping up much more regularly later on in the game. In the most part this is due to the nature of them, ie 75 rifle kills, loot 200 enemies etc... so for those gamerscore addicts, please don’t give up on things just because the points seem hard to come by, it’s more than worth it in the end! Unfortunately it has been deemed necessary to include multiplayer achievements as well and thats a shame because it obviously means Tomb Raider has also succumb to pressure and included a multiplayer mode.
Seriously? Multiplayer? Reboot or not, it really isn’t needed in this game and would still have been a top seller without it. In fact, I’m even tempted to downgrade the overall AG rating slightly just because they HAVE added the bloody thing.
But for those who do want to know about it, the multiplayer covers all the same bases as most other online shooters. It’s not in any way as smooth as something like COD or Halo but does just about get the job done. ‘Salvage’ is earned throughout the online play and this is used to unlock weapon upgrades and perks. I’m not a big multiplayer shooter freak and I did find it a little boring after a while. There just doesn’t seem to be anything new bought to the table and feels more like it’s been added because there has to be some kind of multiplayer included. Pity that.
If there is one other slight niggle I have with the game it comes in the form of the tombs. Tomb Raider is the name of the game and I for one would have liked to have seen many more of these burial grounds dotted around. They are after all the main housing for our much loved and world-renowned Tomb Raider puzzles and I think a trick has been missed with the lack of quantity or indeed the quality of them. Each one can be completed within 5 minutes and only one saw me actually have to really think about what was going on. Puzzles! We want more, so damn you Crystal Dynamics for not making them very taxing.
So to conclude, if you’re a Lara fan or are just setting out to discover the old girl for the first time, you’ll be very very pleased with what you are presented with. Rumours of additional story content coming in the form of DLC have circulated and this can only enhance what is already a great game. Two top games from the past couple of years have been Batman Arkham Asylum and Far Cry 3 and whilst not as much a free roamer as either of these, Tomb Raider has hints of both while still managing to go its own way. You certainly wouldn’t have played anything anywhere near as good as this so far in 2013 and is a very early contender for Game Of The Year.
A survivor has been born.
