A carefully crafted emotional roller coaster!

User Rating: 9 | Tomb Raider (The Final Hours Edition) PC
By Aleksanian | Review Date:
I used to love tomb raider...I really did. But after Tomb raider 3, I stopped. The formula got old, the gameplay was the same, there was nothing new in the series. Then crystal dynamics took the realms and gave something fresh to the series. However, I still failed to be charmed with their games. I bought a new video card and tomb raider came with it. And I'm glad it did.

First, I'd like to say I read very little about tomb raider, so I didn't know what to expect a lot. I thought it would be the same old with better graphics. Boy, was I wrong. From the first 2 minutes of the game, it was clear that this game was different. I immediately understood what Crystal dynamics wanted to achieve: to create an emotional link between the gamer and Lara. As far as I am concerned, they succeeded. I had almost genuine tears when I escaped that first cave, I wanted to succeed, I wanted Lara to get out of that crazy place.The survival gameplay style is really good. I think they could have spent more time introducing the character to new comers in the franchise. Also, I found that Lara was suddenly superhuman too fast. A lengthier introduction where we witness a slower transition from frail girl to a cold survivor would be nice. Her first human kill was ordinary, thrilling but it could have been done better.
However, the setting is great, Lara is very relatable (thanks to crystal dynamics to make her more proportional so I don't look like a total creep when playing the game lol) and her emotions are genuine. The gameplay is reminiscent of uncharted (a solid platformer) but with more exploration. I really like the hidden tombs here and there that you can explore, very thrilling. The graphics on PC are incredible, I took a screenshot of Lara's face and put it on steam so you can see:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=131059168

The game has great screeshot potential :D. I play using DTS on my TV so the sound is incredible. Total immersion. I honestly liked the story but I wish it was longer than 15 hours. Though, if you like to explore and find all hidden tombs that can easily get longer. I haven't tried the multiplayer yet so I can't comment on that.

The cons of this game is that its kind of short; except Lara, the other characters are shallow. I like QTEs so its not an issue for me, they are being used in a nice way, not too many and not very distracting. But somehow, I feel like the game could be much more than it is. Give us things to look out for (food, shelter, clothing) in order to help Lara on her journey.

But nonetheless, the new Tomb raider is an incredible game that will leave you wanting more and will make you love Lara once again as we once did :D

Other Helpful Reviews for Tomb Raider (The Final Hours Edition)

Load Comments (0)