Tales of Tomb Raider

For my first review for Limit Break, I've taken on the task of reviewing the reboot of the Tomb Raider series. The latest of Tomb Raider games was released worldwide March 5, 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Just like the old Tomb Raider saga, the new game allows the player to take control of Lara in a third person adventure. While Tomb Raider (2013) is the newest installment, it's also a reboot of the series.

Personally, I grew up with the original Tomb Raider games and boy were they frustrating. Ol' Lara didn't seem to do exactly what you wanted her to. Either that or the objective was so convoluted that you had no idea where to go or what to do. My first experience with Tomb Raider was a demo for the Tomb Raider II game on the PSX.

While being among one of the most confusing games I've ever played, because of the mechanics, I don't support players having their hand held throughout the entire game. A demo should at the very least offer some kind of direction for the player. Unfortunately, because of such a bad experience, I was hesitant to try the new Tomb Raider. While knowing that things have changed over the years and games have been revamped to appease the players, I was still worried that Ol' Lara wouldn't co-operate with me.Thankfully, this was not the case, although I did end up yelling at Lara several times.

The story opens up with Lara and friends on a ship, the Endurance. This would be Lady Croft's first adventure, but things go wrong when the ship is breached and starts to sink. Our heroine manages to make it to an unknown beach, only to be knocked out and taken away. She regains consciousness, now upside down in a cave. Lara manages to escape, suffering a major wound in her side. Fleeing from her captor, she leaves the cave. From here on out, the Lara we were shown at the start of the game changes.

Being forced to hunt, to kill, turns Lara from being innocent to a survivor. Just having escaped her captor, Lara must hunt for food, find shelter, and meet up with her friends. Only, things don't go as planned. Without giving too much away, the game is highly suspenseful, full of action, drama, and blood. This game, I would say, isn't for people with a weak stomach. Rated M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, and Strong Language, Tomb Raider lives up to the rating.

The game itself is really linear, which for a Tomb Raider game is really expected. There are some side missions, which the player is encouraged to go find and complete as it provides experience for Lara. That brings me to the next element that is new for any veteran Tomb Raider player out there. Lara levels with experience, acquired from progressing through the game, hunting animals, picking fruits, finding hidden tombs, completing quests and so on. The player then is allotted one skill point per level, which they can use to develop their own style of fighting for Lara. Granted, the style will never be unique as the player can eventually acquire enough skill points to max out all three skill trees for Lara, in the beginning to middle of the game, each tree can define her fighting style.

The three trees are: Survivor, which consists of skills such as Animal Instincts which allows Lara to spot animals and food sources easier; Hunter, with skills such as Steady Shot which allows Lara to aim her bow more accurately; and finally Brawler, with skills such as Pain Tolerance which allows Lara to take more of a beating before going down.

Along with skill points being added to the game, the player has the ability to customize their weapons and Lara's Survival Instincts ability. Throughout the game, the player can collect 'Salvage' from crates, boxes, animals, fallen enemies, just about anything. The Salvage allows Lara to customize her weaponry, strengthening the damage dealt or lowering the recoil on a gun. Lara's Survival Instinct skill changes the screen to a black and white scheme, while lighting up certain parts of her environment in yellow, such as animals, quest items, ropes, doors, level exits and more.

The visuals for Tomb Raider are absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed with how seamless the game went from cut scene to game play  Water, trees, even Lara's clothing are animated perfectly. As the player progresses and Lara comes to be the woman she is known for, her clothes get dirtier, ripped, torn, scars are left behind, blood and muck coat her form. Absolutely stunning, and it's just the beginning.

While I've gone and highlighted the really good aspects about the new Tomb Raider game, time to talk about the less lovable aspects. The music, while it works well with the environment, gives away the suspense before it happens, more times than not. Having Lara walk into a room only to have the music quicken and have her draw her bow, even when you see nothing there, gives away the fact that there will be a shootout soon.

Game play was another aspect that bothered me from time to time. I loved playing through Tomb Raider, though the side quests seemed to just really prolong the inevitable. The tomb raiding in itself was sort of exciting, though really lacked in luster as there were only five tombs accessible (for those who did not reserve the game at Gamestop). I would have liked to see more tombs, though being that the game is supposed to be about Lara's origins, that can be forgiven. Apart from the lack of tombs to raid, the maps are utterly confusing when you end up in an area with three to four levels and can't find your way around,. Not only that, but certain quests you have to drop and come back for in another hour. For gamers who go for the platinum, like myself, it's torture to leave an area incomplete without ever knowing if you can return.

Thankfully, there is a nifty ability that Lara has when she's sitting at particular camps. A camp is used to allot skill points, power up guns, and Fast Travel! During my play through, I only used fast travel twice as it can be a saving grace for those who really don't care to explore everywhere. That's it as far as single player goes~ but don't go yet! Multiplayer was also installed in this Tomb Raider.

The multiplayer allows players to take control of their favorite, if any at all, survivors and play them against each other. I don't feel like a multiplayer aspect was really needed for Tomb Raider, though it's interesting to have. I'm glad, however, that the multiplayer aspect didn't take away from the game itself. Sitting down and playing through Tomb Raider on Hard, it took me about two days nonstop, adding up to about forty hours of action packed enjoyment.

Taking everything into account I rate Tomb Raider with an 8.5/10. Some of the maps felt like they were made larger simply to prolong the game, not so much for a free roam feeling or for entertainment. The graphics and vocals were great, and the music had some flaws. I enjoyed my play through of the game, but it's not a game I would play through multiple times. Tomb Raider walks away, close to a 9/10 but not quite. I suggest the game to any gamer however, it's a really great experience, and there is much fun to be had.