Tomb Raider Review
Story:
The game begins with Lara setting out on her first expedition aboard the ship Endurance: to find the lost Japanese kingdom of Yamatai, home to the legendary shaman queen Himiko, called the 'Sun Queen' and said to hold mystical power. Traveling with Lara are Conrad Roth, an old friend of the Croft family and former Royal Marine; Joslyn Reyes, the ship's mechanic; Alex, a computer specialist; Jonah Maiava, a fisherman; Angus "Grim" Grimaldi, the helmsman; Samantha 'Sam' Nishimura, Lara's best friend and the group's camerawoman; and Dr. James Whitman, a celebrity archeologist desperate to make a big find and escape bankruptcy. Against Whitman's advice, the group begin searching in the Dragon's Triangle, a place infamous for missing ships and violent storms. The ship is struck by a violent storm and splits in two, stranding everyone on an isolated island. Lara tries to reach the rest of the group, but is captured by a strange, savage man and trapped in his cave home. (Taken from Wikipedia)
This is where the story really begins for you. You become the innocent and young Lara and you begin your journey of survival. The game does a really good job of making you feel like you are lost, alone and scared. In the beginning Lara has no idea what she is capable. She is surviving off fear and instincts but as the story progresses... so does Lara. She become confident to take on whatever may come against her. It doesn't matter if it's a wolf or a savage man. Lara goes from a scared young woman to a warrior who can overcome all odds. The developers did a very good job make it all believable even though it is still just a game.
Graphics:
The game from a far is a good looking game. The world is beautiful and really feels alive. I loved all the weather changes on the island. When going into different areas you felt like you were going to entirely different place even though you were still on the same island. But that is how the game looks from a far. The game up-close... is a different picture. I felt like Lara looked odd and so did all the other characters. Lara's pony tail in particular got on my nerves as it looked like a raccoon tail or something. :) The animations felt glitchy and sporadic up-close.
Still overall... a good looking game but the character models were a disappointment for me.
Gameplay:
Tomb Raider's gameplay immediately feels like Uncharted and it is Uncharted for the most part but the developers did such a great job with the survival aspects. That at times you felt like you were in Far Cry 3's world. Hunting, scavenging, and trying to stay out of sight to survive. There were still a lot of times where you would go in guns blazing and take cover but there was still a lot of stealth elements as well. The bow came in handy for these quiet attacks. The bow could also be used to make noises to move enemies so you could either pass and enemy or strategically set Lara up for easier kills.
The gameplay is good and it's fun but there was stuff that frustrated me too. For one thing... why must every shooter have enemies that stand next to fuel barrels? Tomb Raider's enemy AI was nothing special. Several times I faced 5 or more enemies and killed them all with one shot to a barrel. That frustrates me. Uncharted is guilty of this as well. I love the explosions but come on already. Not every enemy is an idiot and the protagonist is a genius. We need to get away from this in shooters. The enemies want to live too right?
If you like Uncharted, Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed you will love Tomb Raiders game play. The combat is well done, the plat forming parts are smooth as well. This is the best part of Tom Raider.
Replay Value:
The campaign took me around 12 hours to beat. I didn't do many Tombs or treasure hunting either. That is perfect for a game like this. It's just long enough to not feel short but not too long to feel like it is dragging on. I can definitely say I will come back a second play through at a later date.
Final Word:
Tomb Raider is a great game. Is it a perfect game? Nope not at all but is there really a perfect game? There are things that could have been done better but I'm fully satisfied. There is something for everyone in this game and I highly suggest you take this journey with Lara. It is one hell of a ride.
Story: 8.0
Graphics: 8.5
Gameplay: 9.0
Replay Value: 8.0
Final Score: 8.5