Tomb Raider (2013 reboot) Discussion

I thought I'd make up some individual game threads for upcoming games some of us might be getting. Will anyone else be grabbing the Tomb Raider reboot? I really want to grab the Collector's Edition, but I am undecided because money is a bit tight right now, but I will be grabbing the game at least. I'm pretty excited.

I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on what you think of this Trip. Hope it turns out well.

It is getting close. I should really pre-order, but I am on the fence on which version still. I have a few Lara figures and that one feels like it might need to be in the collection.

I'm on the fence about it. I didn't really like Tomb Raider back during its glory days on PS1, and while this game looks nice enough, I'll be waiting for some opinions before I jump in.

The violence is kind of weird in that she goes from like traumatized over her first kill to doing shit like that in a few hours. I'm not much of a complainer when it comes to narrative dissonance though so if it is fun I won't care. The combat looks like the best in the series to date, so that is a plus for me. I still hope the gameplay leans towards platforming/exploration, but I'm not sure if that will be the case or not. It kind of looks like hubs will be the latter while the linear sections that connect the two will focus a bit more on the former. I guess it will depend on how much of each there will be and how much of the platforming in the linear sections will still be fun. Puzzles I'm a little worried about. Like they haven't shown much of the tombs, so I hope they are fun. I'm not expecting full-on huge room that sort of act like one giant puzzle here, but I hope they have a new kind of interesting take on puzzles.

A lot of the new stuff I like though. The more open hubs look like a lot of fun. Combat as I mentioned looks better. The story I like. I like the idea of starting Lara's story over and seeing her grow into a great adventurer. The gear-gating is cool and upgrade system is cool. The challenge tombs sound good assuming as they say there are still big tombs in the mainline story. Again my big question is the balance between all the elements. I still want it to feel like a TR game. And that has always focused on the adventure part of the action/adventure genre.

I'll try the multiplayer. It looks pretty fucking janky though. I do like the amount of traversal in the maps (there is more than even Uncharted multiplayer) because that should be a part of this series in any form. I also like the idea of incorporating the traps. I am not expecting it to be good, but I will try it. I hate to be that guy but I do wish there were less multiplayer trophies. Not so much because I need the platinum, just because I'd like more attached to stuff in the singleplayer campaign since this is that kind of series at heart. Like I get something with a big multiplayer component having them, but this a little less.

Also I while I agree this is by a good margin the best looking version of Lara. She looked great in Anniversary both renders and in game. Obviously it was a PS2 game, but I still she looked good there.

Yeah I'm sure it will be fun to discuss. At least with you having a negative reaction to DmC you'll get if the balance or whatever TR stuff is sort of missing bothers me here. Assuming you are getting the PS3 version we will have to give the multiplayer a shot. I can't imagine we played anything online together before, so it should be neat for that too.

I skimmed a few reviews today. It sounds quite good though a bit action-oriented. I kind of expected that at this point. It also seems to just be grabbing elements from a lot of different games. Like a little of TR with a little of Uncharted with a little of Arkham with a little of Far Cry 3. Though people seem to think it makes a fun whole. And I like all of those games. It's tracking at an 87 on Metacritic for whatever that is worth.

Here's a link were you can listen to entire soundtrack for the game, but it wont let you download without paying unfortunately. http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/3 It's pretty damn good.

Only listened to the first track (I'd rather hear the rest in game), but it sounds good and Tomb Raider-y. Thanks for posting.

I finally pre-ordered today. CE for PS3 at Best Buy. Pre-order bonuses include a 48-page comic book, some skin and a shanty town multiplayer map. The wait is just fucking killing me now.

Ahhh.... so close now. Hey Kay, looking forward to chatting about this here with you, but if you can keep any big location, enemy or story spoilers out of here for now or spoiler tag them, that'd be great.

My % says 27 and I'm going to give some brief impressions. I love the island and the atmosphere and the graphics make for for a really beautiful place to look at. The history of the island seems pretty neat. Lara is cool too to me and looks great.

I wish platforming was tougher. It is simply too easy. Not just in a jumps are too easy sort of way. I think it needs some hazards/traps like the recent games had. Make timing important at least. And make it harder to find your way around. The couple of optional puzzles I have enjoyed and I wish they would have put some more on the main path. If they are afraid of scaring off some folks that don't like to think by putting them on the critical path, I figure that is what that survival instinct is for. Or you know don't be afraid to make gamers think. It's a Tomb Raider game. They are supposed to.

I still think it is fun to jump around and explore environments. I'm also someone who generally likes collecting stuff. Why they would make one collectible reveal the location of others I don't know. I just try and never look at the map if I get the locator thing unlocked. Didn't realize you could turn those icons off. Nevermind!

I think the balance has been alright in that I don't think I've fought that many enemies yet. If people were worried about it being a cinematic action game only, it is not. Exploration outweighs combat so far. Encounters aren't very long usually. But it is still more than in the old games. But the combat is also better than the old games. I think the auto cover system works well and the bow is a lot of fun to use.

I am having a lot of fun so far, but there are definitely some things I wish were different. I really need to play more before I say anything definitively on any of this stuff though.

I played some more. I think I'm at 40%. My only complaints seem to be what it isn't as a fan of the series. I can't shake the feeling it is just too easy. Like dying during platforming is impossible almost. At least in the hubs there are some moments where you have to figure out how to get to certain places. And puzzles are still pretty seldom. There are some little stupid things I love about the series I wish were there but because of the story I could see them not making sense and hopefully adding them to the sequel, so I wouldn't complain much about them.

Like just looking at it as a game, it's great. I don't think I'd complain too much save some of the QTE's I guess, but I just don't like QTEs. It really is a wonderful game. Ah... you know how it is to be a fan of a series. You expect certain things, so those are the little stuff bothering me. I think it is great otherwise.

I do love the auto cover system. It feels really smooth and some of the upgrades have made combat a lot more fun.

Also the game is pretty stunning visually. Really great art direction I feel.

I had the same issue with the triangle QTEs before I realized it was always triangle. I also thought at first you had to hit it when it reached the little circle, but that is when it went away! Oops. Killed Lara liked three times on the first one of those.

Also I'm not even saying the other games are better necessarily. I definitely think this is a better overall game than Underworld and Legend so far. I just think it could be even better. The platforming is growing on me though in the more open hubs. This game handles that better than most games with open regions like that. There are multiple paths, but you can't just go anywhere like in AC or Infamous, so you still have a bit of figuring out where to go. And it makes for big regions to explore.

What would make the game better is basically have stuff that is in the optional Tombs on the critical path. For instance the two tombs in the Shanty town or the earlier one with the wind. They make you think about how to traverse the areas and have a puzzle element to them. They're short, but a good example of the stuff I'd like more of. If the game's linear sections had more stuff like that, this game would be even better I think. And well just having more tombs on the main path wouldn't hurt. More basic traversal moves too. I think that last one is something they would add in a sequel since they did over the course of the last trilogy. I do think its good they make you hit a button to use your climbing axe and do wall scrambles. Could have easily made those auto and they add a bit more depth to the climbing/platforming.

Do you enjoy the optional tombs Kay? I feel like people would really generally enjoy it if there was more of that type of stuff even if they don't know there should be more of it so to speak.

I think the enemy AI kind of stinks too, but the combat is still by far the best in the series and it gets more fun when you get some upgrades.

Anyway, I am really loving the game. I just happen to be focusing on the negatives here or what could make it even better I guess. Everything else I really like. Lara, the island, the way the level design seems to wrap itself around on itself, the combo of linear and non-linear sections (my favorite type of level structure), the gear-gating/new ability system, the island itself and the atmosphere. Graphics and music. All great.

I am rather impressed with just how many weapon upgrades there are. They just keep coming and I seem to have quite a few to go. Really keeps the combat fresh. The bow is so cool. It's not just a traditional weapon, but a Zelda-like multi-purpose tool. The platforming actually improves to as you get more abilities. I also played that flooded tomb you mentioned and it was in fact rad.

The level structure is so cool. You have this great combination of linear and open levels. Level structures that combine these two are always my favorites (like the Jak games). And I love that you seem to kind of wrap back around to old areas at times. The one even had quite a few changes the one time I went back. It felt kind of new that way.

The more I play, the more I love this game. I would have played more, but that glitch I ran into made me need to call it a night.

There is no higher difficulty other than hard from what I've read. And I hear hard is pretty easy too (would you agree?). This game's biggest misstep is definitely how easy it is. The puzzles, the platforming, the combat. It seems really hard to fail. I have died rarely outside of QTEs. That needs to be a big priority in the sequel. Make it challenging.

I wish I had more time to play today. About 75% in I guess. Apparently I finished all the optional tombs. Only 7 I think... bah!. Should have been more. They each take like 2 minutes.

Instead of just posting one long ridiculous post, I will just give some impressions here and there about various elements of the game. Starting with the story and characters.

I really love what they have done with Lara. Her character is great. The story was alright. I really like the background of the island and they did a good job of fleshing it out via the various journals and stuff. It did feel a little reminiscent of LOST. This game in general was not shy about pilfering stuff from other sources, but that isn't terrible unto itself.

This next bit has spoilers for the end of the game:

Spoiler:

Story isn't something that is a big deal to me in a TR game, but I can appreciate them trying to do more with it. The presentation and graphics are very spectacular and make for a beautiful game to look at and fun to watch the scenes regardless of how they go. Can't say enough good things about the graphics and art. Looked spectacular.

I'll throw a little combat in here too and tackle the platforming and puzzles later.

Definitely better than previous TR games. Mechanically it is pretty sound. The cover system works well. I love the bow. And the upgrades keep the combat interesting throughout. And stealth is actually handled quite well. I think the enemy AI needs work. The difficulty doesn't bug me as much here as it does with the platforming and puzzles (though it should be tougher still), but I think smarter AI would go a long way. Maybe more enemy types as well.

Spoiler:

There were a couple really interesting scenarios in the game that I wish they would have done more with. The early one against the wolves (not in the trap) was cool. Maybe it was because I was underpowered at the time. Maybe it was because you can't just take cover, but it was one of the few times I was worried in combat and it felt cool. The other one was in this dark forest where there were enemies roaming with flashlights and you can just sort of sneak around and take them out at your pace and however you like. In this regard, I wish some of the areas where you fought enemies were bigger with more options to approach them like this. That is something I'd look at in the sequel if I were Crystal Dynamics.

I'd still shift the balance away from it though despite it being quite good. It was probably 50/50 between action and adventure, but it should shift back towards its adventure roots with the sequel (I imagine you won't feel the same Kay!). That assumes they will rev up the difficulty of that side of things.