Let’s face it.
Tomb Raider came as close to dying as a game series could possible come without finally
getting the ax.
I guess Lara is more of a survivor than we could even guess.
After the breakthrough success and sequel after sequel that could never live up to the
original the series was on life support.
Eventually boiling down to just giving people the opportunity to stare at Lara’s behind
for a couple hours.
The series was given to a new studio, Crystal Dynamics, to fix the problem.
Well, they didn’t just fix then problems, they turned the series completely around and
gave Tomb Raider the breath of life that so many fan boys has wanted to give Lara for
years.
Having seen games life Prince of Persia be what Tomb Raider should have been, they went
back to the drawing board and took Lara back to her roots, exploring tombs and making it
easy to control Lara as you do so.
No longer does Lara control like a tank, where you have to turn her to the direction you
want and press forward.
Now you control completely in a 3D world like every other game and it makes a world of difference.
How could they not figure this out that this is how Lara needs to control before they made
Angel of Darkness?
That was a big waste of my life.
It is a small change but it makes the game just so much more accessible, now that you
don’t have to fight with Lara to make her do what you want.
Although some of you might like that?
Lara is also given a grappling hook that is used throughout the game.
She can use it to swing to ledges or to move objects to solve puzzles.
It’s great to have one thing for all this instead of having to constantly be changing
items.
The combat has also seems some major changes.
Instead of blasting away with you handguns and hoping you are hitting the enemy, you
can lock on to the target while you jump around avoiding bullets.
You can even get close and perform a bullet-time kill and although this has been done a million
times since Max Payne, it is still satisfying to do.
The combat is easy, and I mean Jersey Shore Girls easy.
But I never played Tomb Raider for the combat, I want to explore tombs.
Also added to this game is a real story for the first time.
Where before they would give you a basic back story then release you into a tomb, this time
there is a real sense of meaning to every location you go to and leaves you wanting
more as you learn about Lara’s past.
That brings up a side point.
They really toned down Lara in this game which is nice in my opinion but probably upset a
lot of fan boys out there.
They made her look more like a really person instead of a 15 year olds fantasy.
This makes the game very more realistic and plausible and that brings you into the game
more than any other Tomb Raider.
The game returns Tomb Raider to what it should be, that is the freedom to explore tombs and
fight bad guy while feeling in complete control and with great visuals.
I remember how much fun the original Tomb Raider was and being let down with each sequel.
This game finally allows me to relive those memories of the original and be looking forward
for the next game in the series not because I hope things get fixed but rather because
I just want to play more.