Tomb Raider (2013) - PC Review

Tomb Raider is a fantastic reboot of an old classic and re-imagines the character and gameplay for a modern age.

I remember how much the original Tomb Raider franchise changed the gaming landscape for me while growing up. Who knew that this absurdly breasted, odd looking 3D model would become such a cultural icon? My most distinct memories involve the time my friend showed me the "Nude Raider" patch (which just looked like two raisins and a brown triangle) and spending 3 hours downloading the Tomb Raider 2 demo over my dial up modem (I sure did play the hell out of that training course). I have to admit that I've never finished an original Tomb Raider game. The controls were terrible and I could never figure out where to go next but with this reboot, I have found a truly enjoyable game that lived up to the promise set by the originals so many years ago.

Seriously. How did anyone masturbate to this?

Tomb Raider (2013) places you in the role of Lara Croft, an young archeology graduate, who is aboard the Endurance in search of the lost kingdom of Yamatai. The ship is hit with a violent storm and Lara and her crew end up stranded on the island. Lara must travel the island, searching for her missing crew and a way ofF the island while dealing with a psychotic cult oF previously stranded inhabitants.

The story is one of the highlights of Tomb Raider. The entire island is shrouded with mystery as you find clues in the ruins of  an ancient Japanese Kingdom as well as documents and items left by other marooned travelers. The whole thing definitely has a "Lost" feel to it in the beginning. You find a mix of dilapidated old tombs along side abandoned modern facilities all covered with strange symbols that keep you guessing if the strange occurrences on the island are from a scientific or supernatural origin.

da da da dummmmm

While the rest of her crew is largely forgettable, Lara stands out as the star of the show. The entire game is a transformation of her character. Starting from a frightened, naive young woman, to an empowered killing machine who emerges as a true leader and survivor. This process occurs from the challenges, personal loses and hardships she faces over the course of the story. And by hardships I mean, "incredible, excruciating pain and death". Lara is beaten and battered more than any other character I can remember from recent gaming history. You will stab yourself on spikes, be burned by fire and nearly raped by the end of the game. Failure during the games quick-time events often results in gruesome death animations such as Lara being impaled though the head by debris. We are talking "Passion of the Christ" levels of ass beating here.

You are constantly running from or on fire in this game

Along with the excellent character progression of Lara to push you forward is the gameplay. Tomb Raider can best be described as a mix between the dungeons and item collection of The Legend of Zelda and the shooting and traversal mechanics of Uncharted. The island is broken up in to a series of hubs with their own hidden collectables and tasks. Areas often have points that you will be unable to traverse without finding a specific item such as a climbing axe. As you progress through the game you are given the ability to fast travel to camps throughout the island to pick up any thing you have missed with your new found abilities. There is just so much to do on the island, from collecting lost items and hunting for food and salvage with each area providing it's own checklist of unique objectives.

There is also and experience and crafting system in place. Finding hidden treasures and salvage lets you upgrade your weapons and stats such as health or attack combos. The puzzles in the game are quite clever, usually involving price timing of jumps or manipulating the environment in some way to reach your goal. The combat is equally satisfying with a mix of cover based shooting and stealth kills. There is constantly a new challenge to encounter and you really feel Lara becoming more capable in her abilities as the game goes on.  

This is the end... Weird scenes inside a goldmine

BOTTOM LINE:

Tomb Raider is a highly enjoyable game with an excellent character and smooth and varied gameplay progression that will keep you playing all the way through it's lengthy campaign.

8.5/10

PROS:
Great character in Lara
Fun upgrade and item system

CONS:
Some of the extra tasks seem pointless and tacked on
Forgettable secondary characters