My earliest Tomb Raider memory is my dad getting stuck on the first puzzle in Tom Raider II. When he did get past the game presented us with a screen thanking him for playing the demo and encouraging him to buy the full game. From these lofty beginnings did I progress to never touch another Tomb Raider title. Despite hearing from some friends how good one title or another was I had been soured.
So I played today's game without knowing what to expect. Some platforming of course and some combat sections no doubt but for the most part I had no idea. What I got was a game that's equal parts assassins creed and Indiana Jones.
The first Assassins Creed vibe I get is when the menu wants me to sign up for the square Enix version of of Uplay. Odd insistence on getting my email aside, the game gets right into then action with a tutorial level(s) that doesn't hold back.
The plot is that Lara is searching for a lost city in Siberia. Her fathers research into a Prophet and the secret to internal life lead her there and put her into conflict with an evil organization also looking for this secret. A typical enough adventure plot but its more than enough for the game to function.
What follows is a semi open world adventure through eastern Russia. The game flows through both liner tombs and open environments. The plot conspires to have Lara separated and alone on the search for the tomb. The game does a good job of making the dangers of being alone in Siberia real. Lara shivers in the cold, is hampered by deep snow, and will vocally dread going into cold water. Survival in a situation like this is not easy, and the game reflects that.
What might be the best part of the game is the survival and crafting system. It's difficult to create mechanics like this that replicate. The difficulties of a survival situation while still being unobtrusive and fun. And they are fun. More than once I found myself crafting something quickly to get out of an animal attack or I went out of my way to get mushrooms to make poison arrows.
The survival also works in the leveling system. It's simple and effective. That's it.
Much of the game is spent in the semi open world locations looking for things. Again there's Assassins Creed influence here but Lara is a Tomb Raider so it's her job to look for things. Caves have things to find, resources, and places to boost your language skills. What's more interesting are the optional tombs.
These are platforming based puzzles that are a treat visually and intellectually. Each revolves around navigating an area to get to a place. They're fun. The rewards are useful. Most importantly though, they're optional. If you get stuck on one it won't interrupt or ruin the story. Fast travel between camps will let you return and have another go anytime.
The game is beautiful in its locals. I stopped playing several times to take a screenshot to use as a new background on my Xbox. The game also rewards exploring these locations in the usual way. Finally I liked the language translation system.
Something that I'm unclear on is where this game fits in for the series. I'd understood that the series had a reboot but this ones
seems to be a prequel. Is it? Is it a prequel to the originals? Is Angel Of Darkness cannon? Maybe it doesn't matter but it bothers me.
There's no one really big complaint but a few small ones. When it's combat time the music and Laura's movement shift into a combat themed one. Unfortunately this has a tenancy to go off when the enemies are not even nearby.
Lara also has a tendency to blurt out the solution in the optional tombs sometimes. Controls are pretty tight, but not always. In a platformer this is a bit rough. Finally for all your options there's less combat then it feels like there should be.
The good:
-absolutely beautiful locations
-fun but unobtrusive survival/crafting mechanics
The bad:
-occasionally solutions are handed to the player.
-miscues are jarring
Maybe it's because I didn't think I'd like it so the good parts of the game stand out but I really liked Rise of the Tomb Raider. In fact, I'll probably keep playing long after the review just to try for 100%. It's a good game and worthy to wear the title of one of the older franchises in gaming history.
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