PlayStation 3 Review: TOMB RAIDER

"Tomb Raider" is a game I was vastly critical of since before I even played it. 

I was ready to hate this game on the sheer fact that, what I'd seen of it, it was nothing more than a clone of Naughty Dog's "Uncharted" franchise, right down to forcing Lara into cover-based shooting and regenerating health. IGN's playthrough did nothing to calm my fears, either. Focusing on minimal platforming and maximum combat, I was certain that 2013's "Tomb Raider" would be nothing more than a bastardized product of mainstream AAA gaming.



I'm glad to say that I am, for the most part, extremely wrong.

I say "for the most part" because sadly you can tell "Tomb Raider" certainly is a product of it's time.
Getting the negatives out of the way first is usually easier for me so we'll start there:

Right off the bat Tomb Raider acts as a concerned parent, holding your hand as you get onto your bike (a bike you've ridden quite a few times with a different coat of paint) and keeps coming back to check up on you to make sure you're doing okay.
I can understand the beginning of the game should be introducing you to core mechanics and teaching you how to get adjusted to them before leaving you on your own to handle them; but about halfway through the game when the game still cuts into slow-motion to painfully remind you MOVE RIGHT TO NOT GET CRUSHED TO DEATH or still flashing command prompts over enemies and puzzles, you'd think you would have it down.

I mainly wonder, in a game rated M for Mature, you would think the developers would have a little bit more faith in the maturity and competency of it's players?

The hand-holding can be overlooked, as it's almost to be expected in this day and age; but putting in a "Spider-Sense" or whatever, was as unnecessary to Lara Croft as it was to Agent 47 in Square's other recent big-budget action game, "Hitman: Absolution".

The games length, also, was an issue for me. 

Until recently with "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" and "Dishonored" I hadn't let a games length (or lack there-of) upset me; but as the time goes on I realize games aren't what they used to be. "Tomb Raider" was claimed by Karl Stewart on his Twitter to be between 12 and 15 hours, with multiple side-quests and things to keep the player busy. Needless to say, I don't believe we played the same game.
Just as “Tomb Raider” really gets going, it is cut short, with a somewhat unsatisfying “boss-fight” that follows the “Halo 4” trend of PRESS X TO WIN.
Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled especially since they hyped up the antagonist and his plan so much, you really want to fight this guy and save your friend; but I guess battling hordes of demon samurai across a collapsing ancient palace somewhat made up for it.

This also leads into the games writing which, for a reboot that is so reliant on story (which is actually really neat) fumbles more than it flies.
Lara is fine and well fleshed out as the story progresses, going from timid; but brave girl into a killing machine as is evident in her in-game dialogue that mirrors the dark transformation that the player character in “Spec Ops: The Line” goes through.

Her friends and their dialogue though, that is another story. It's corny and kind of bland or just uninteresting for the most part. Some death scenes of the main-cast lose extreme emotional weight when the writing is so clunky and weird.

The highlight being the brief amount of time Lara and Roth spend together (the Obi-Wan esque figure in Lara's life) where we get a really well done speech about the difference between “loss and sacrifice” which really carries on with Lara as the game progresses.

My last major complaint with Tomb Raider is the fact that hunting and survival are such prominent things in the early marketing and even in the games “skill-point” menu; but you literally only do this for maybe 10 minutes in the actual game.

That's it, really. Lara has to kill a dear for food and then this entire section of skill-building and gameplay is never seen again. I mean you can find some rabbits or birds and kill them; but Lara never needs to eat or survive or bandage wounds or anything.

I thought for sure the game would attempt to emulate maybe “Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater” in it's survivor aspects; but no. Nothing ever comes of it, which makes me think this was a huge part of the game until they removed over 80% of it to maximize the action for the Mt. Dew crazed teenagers ready to watch a hot girl kill some dudes.

I know this sounds like I hate the game; but really, I actually was enthralled by it, despite these flaws.

The gameplay is smooth and responsive, when Lara jumps and hangs off cliffs and structures it feels weighty and precise. The “scatter” button is Lara's equivalent of a dodge mechanic, where she drops to all fours and scatters to avoid gunfire or to circle around enemies, and this is actually an extremely fun and useful tool, not to mention the character animation is STUNNING.

Swinging a pick-axe and taking enemies down has never felt so satisfying, neither has a bow and arrow; which make you almost forget you have fully-automatic weapons. The bow, besides being the funnest weapon in the game, is also your most valuable (and fun) tool.

The set-pieces are exhilarating and fun, with my personal favorite being sliding down a very steep mountainside as a burning and exploding plane comes tumbling after you, followed by one that takes the tone from “action” to terror and wonder as Lara wades through a river of waist-deep blood looking at the sick depravity that this cult showcases. This part is also almost terrifying to me personally, as the level goes on.

The engine they used for this game is gorgeous and it makes me anxious to see what Crystal Dynamics and Square will be able to do with next-gen tech like the PS4. The water looks crisp and clear, the trees and island look luscious and green, the run-down temples and collapsing bridges and boats are gorgeous to look at and show some amazing talent on the art-direction front.

It was refreshing coming into this game knowing nothing of the plot and thinking it was a generic survivor girl story, only to be met with a crazed cult-leader, demon samurai protecting an evil queen's spirit, and an islands dark history that somewhat echoes “Far Cry 3”.

By the end of the game, I found myself wanting more and more for this to sell well enough to warrant a sequel, and I truly hope Crystal Dynamics and Square listen to critical response, because with just a few minor tweaks and improvements, “Tomb Raider 2” could be almost flawless.

All in all,"Tomb Raider" is a sadly short; but competent and fun ride that, when it's not stumbling, is much like the cinematic Naughty Dog games that influenced it, putting you right into the action and heart of big summer-movie set-pieces and death-defying stunts that keep the adrenaline high, the fingers twitching, and the player coming back for more.