I want to start off saying I've never played a Tomb Raider game before this one, so I have no prior experience with the franchise, so please keep that in mind while reading my review. My purpose for writing this review is to give people who haven't given the game a chance a better feel for if they want to or not. I will try to remain as spoiler free as possible for this purpose. I'll also try to have a summary of my opinions at the end for those that don't want to read everything I typed.
I guess the best place to start would be with the contents of the collector's edition:
-CD soundtrack: While I haven't opened the CD yet I was excited to see that I got a physical copy of the soundtrack over a code for a digital download
-Lithographic print: The lithograph is amazing to look at and it depicts Lara drawing her bow
-Iron on badges were something I had forgotten came with the collector's edition, they look cool but I doubt I'll ever actually use them
-Downloadable Weapons pack gives you weapons from the most recent Hitman game for multiplayer
-Play Arts Figurine: The Lara Croft figure seems well made and painted, I knew I wasn't getting a miniature statue but I had hoped that the figure would be something I could display with my Batman statue I got from the Arkham City collectors edition, but I can't really get her to stay standing
-All comes in a nice tin perfectly sized to fit everything and looks like a supply kit from the ship they were all on at the beginning of the game
Speaking of the game, in case you were wondering, the collector's edition has the game in the same case as the standard version of the game so it can be displayed with the rest of your gaming collection if you so choose.
Now for the main course of the review, the game itself:
I guess the best way to start this section would be to describe my initial experience in the first 20 minutes I played. So, here I am just started the game and I'm expecting some kind of long opening cutscene depicting Lara before she gets on the ship, some interactions on it during, and ending the opening with what I saw in the trailers. I felt initially let down to see the exact same thing I had seen in one of the trailers and my heart sunk for I was afraid I'd made a grave mistake, then BAM! lights out, then things start to HEAT up and finally the creators drive a point through me, and that point was that they were going to get me invested from the get go as I went from laying back to the sitting up and paying attention position in a matter of seconds.
STORY:
So this is supposed to be an origin story of how Lara Croft came to be what fans of the franchise know and love. Without giving too much away a simple way to put this is that the crew of the Endurance has been shipwrecked and in their attempts to get off the island Lara Croft will eventually grow into her role as the Tomb Raider. The story itself isn't anything super amazing, you can probably guess where it will go once you get so far, but it does what it intended and was meant to do, it delivers the origin story of Lara by focusing on her trials, challenges and character development.
CHARACTERS:
Lara is probably the only character who experiences change in the game. I don't believe any of the other characters end up differently than they began. I feel most of the cast was boring and did little to advance the plot other than being in danger and needing Lara to save them. I only liked Roth and Grim, and this was because Roth was like a mentor and father figure for Lara while Grim was this awesome old dude who could still deal with punks as if he was in his prime. The main villain didn't seem to be on the screen that often and unless you read the collectible documents scattered on the island you might not even know what he's up to until the last hour of the game. He had one plan and no real back story but he did what he needed to do: be the first villain in an origin story that basically challenges the main character to prepare them to deal with greater threats later, not intentionally of course lol.
GAMEPLAY:
The camera follows Lara in the 3rd person perspective and to fire weapons you have to aim down the sights, so no blind or from the hip fire. I thought the combat was well done, providing you with multiple ways of dealing with enemies, as well as a decent variety of weapons with the potential to upgrade the abilities and power of each. Switching weapons is as simple as tapping a direction on the directional pad. In most situations you can choose to either fight right up in the enemies face or be stealthy and quietly taking out the enemies one at a time. You have skills you can acquire that do a variety of things depending on which category you picked a skill from. Since you may gain experience at different rates than other players you may only have so many skills at certain points in the game so it is important to pick skills you think will benefit your play style best, I recommend obtaining something that increases experience gain as soon as possible making it easier to unlock more skills a little faster. Once you've gained enough skills you will gain access to melee attacks which make close combat a little easier. Exploring an area can reveal crates which hold either experience, salvage or if you are fortunate enough to find them you can obtain weapon parts. Exploring as helps when looking for all the collectibles and in game challenges, but while it is possible for you to explore a large area most of the game follows a linear path. Most of the time you will either need to scale a rocky surface, get on a zip line or jump across a large gap to proceed through an area but with your survival instincts button you will almost always be able to discern where or how to proceed.
TOMBS:
Wouldn't be able to call itself a Tomb Raider game without a few tombs i guess. There are in total 7 tombs I believe, and they are all optional so if you start one and can't finish it don't worry for you will be able to leave. Each tomb consists of one puzzle to solve and afterwards you are awarded experience, salvage(which is how you upgrade weapons), and a map of all the collectibles in the area. If you aren't usually good at puzzles do not worry for these are all simple, I'd say for 6 of the 7 I completed them in under 10 minutes and the one that took longer probably only took around 20, so if I can do it without a guide in that time I'm sure most people will have no problems either.
MULTIPLAYER:
I haven't had a lot of good experiences with multiplayer other than one night of some really exciting Rescue mode games. The biggest problem I've had with the multiplayer seems to be the game freezing while I'm playing and not allowing me to do anything other than hold down the power button manually to get out, I couldn't even get the home button to allow me to quit the game. Another would be glitches or lag or whatever that make people seem to be teleporting all over the field, and once at the start of a game when I was playing as the solarii on the the shrine map another player and myself both jumped for a zip line at the same time, well I ended up on it but when I turned the camera with the right stick I saw him go over the shrine, three seconds later got a victory message and the match was over like it had already done two games. The fact that about one third of the trophies are multiplayer might make those trying to platinum the game shy away, unless you're like really awesome and can actually achieve them all, I know I'm not going to be able to especially after I heard you need to reach level 60 three times just to get to prestige 3 and unlock all the characters for a bronze trophy. Also, I don't believe I've been able to play on the pre-order map, if it's something that can only be done with friends then I'm out of luck because none of my friends have this game.
So in the end I would give Tomb Raider a 3.5 rating, I rounded up not down, it was a good game that has laid the groundwork for more games in this Tomb Raider universe and was able to give new players and old a feel for the combat, skills and tomb challenges that will likely be present in any future installments. Now a more simplified version of what I liked and disliked about this game:
Pros:
-good origin story and character development for Lara
-combat seemed right and fluid
-skills and weapon upgrades allowed for some exciting variety in playing the game
-amazing graphics made the game feel very life like with great attention to detail
-I thought the voice acting all around was amazing and that everyone delivered emotions accurately
-good soundtrack using appropriate music at the right times
-there is some nice concept art you can unlock and some of the documentary of the final hours of making the game under extras
Cons:
-most of the characters seemed boring or too stereotypical
-any quick time event at all in this game was too much for me
-I personally would have preferred more challenging tombs or at least longer ones, I'm a guy who enjoys his mind games and puzzles so when I'm presented with one I like to be challenged, like how I was when I played the video game Catherine.
-once you beat the game and collected all the collectibles there is nothing left to do besides play again or play multiplayer, and I can only play the same game about 3 times before I never want to see it again
-speaking of multiplayer too many times I've experienced some kind of glitch or lag that keeps me from enjoying it
-while it was interesting to see what looked like real water drops on my screen when it was raining in game it took me out of the experience since I saw the raindrops on my SCREEN, it was that little detail that kept reminding me I was playing a game and kept me from immersing myself in this game completely
I sincerely hope my review helps you make your decision about this game, whatever that decision may be.
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Tomb Raider - Launch Video
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Tomb Raider - The End of the Beginning Part 1
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Tomb Raider - Guide to Surivial Part 2
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Tomb Raider - Crossroads
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The Final Hours of Tomb Raider - An Icon Reborn
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Tomb Raider Turning Point Trailer
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Tomb Raider The Final Hours - Surviving Together
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Got this collector's set and I'm far from disappointed...In fact this is the best collector's set I've ever purchased for a video game. I mean there is usually is something in one of these sets that makes me feel like, "I paid $99 for that???" In this case I feel I got my money's worth and then some. The Game itself retails for $60 (for right now) and for the extra $39 you get a beautiful Play Arts Kai figure (which can retail for $50 and up) that is exclusive to this set...a hardcover Art Book, 3 Patches, two different Download Code cards for skins, weapon packs, extra playable characters in multiplayer mode, as well as a new map, a huge poster/map, a 5x7 Lithograph (very nice), a CD Soundtrack from the game (actual CD, not a download), plus all this is housed in a large metal tin case. So for and extra $39 you get tons of swag which is a refreshing change for the fanboy or collector. I've only played about an hour or two into the game in single player mode and I can honestly say...it is by far the most visually striking game I've played in years. ...and I've been gaming since the Atari 2600...so over 35 years. Nothing to date has even come close. The controls are smooth and reactive, frame rates are incredible, Voice acting is top notch and draws you in, the story so far is extremely compelling, and the backgrounds and environments are lush, stunning, and beautiful...and there are times I find myself just having Lara stand there while I look around and check everything out. I imagine you could run through this game like a bat out of hell and go from one point to the next as quickly as possible...but why would you?? You would really be doing yourself a disservice by missing out on such a piece of video gaming art. So, 5 stars, 2 thumbs up, 3 snaps and twist...however you wish to rate it, Lara has all the makings of Game of the Year...and it's just March. I can only hope this brings Ms. Croft back to the forefront of gaming icons that has been in the need of such a reboot shot in the arm. This my friends is as good as it gets. Just to give you an idea...My wife, has zero love for video games...none. She saw me put the disc in my PS3 and load up...and I swear I could see her sigh extremely hard. Then after about 30 minutes she was pointing out things like, "I saw something glowing over there...no turn around...up there...grab that, right there." Then the unspeakable happened when I shut down and saved my game...I heard, "Your turning it off now?...well are you going to play it tomorrow?"....so after I pick my jaw up off the floor...."Yes, hon...we'll play more tomorrow." The fist pump and loud "yes!" were all in my head, but it was just as meaningful as if I shouted it out loud. Yeah...it's a winner. ~ Jase
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 13, 2013
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