VFX Tomb Raider – ‘An Exciting Affair to Begin, Again’ -

Tomb Raider – ‘An Exciting Affair to Begin, Again’


ABOUT THIS GAME

It is an adventure and discovery of the origins of Lara Croft. Following her through her journey from a frightened girl to becoming a female warrior.

Genre: Action

Publisher: Square Enix, Inc.

Developer: Crystal Dynamics, Inc. Nixxes Software BV

ESRB: RP

After a delayed release from late 2012 to 2013, Tomb Raider is back, but this time instead of starting off from Tomb Raider: Underworld left, the team decided to completely reboot the series, establishing the origins of Lara Croft for the second time, following Tomb Raider: Legend.

Tomb Raider is set on Yamatai, an island in which Lara Croft must save her friends and escape, while being hunted down by a malevolent cult.

Rebooting a series is always a two way sword. Change too much and people hate you, change too little and people will also hate you.

Tomb Raider; the fifth title developed by Crystal Dynamics is one of the longest running game franchise to date. Lara Croft, her journey from an adolescent age where she would tag along her parents on archaeological digs to becoming one of the most famous treasure hunters in the world is what we have known about her in the series; however the back story is too little to know.

Crystal Dynamics has taken Tomb Raider (2013) “back to the beginning” with much success.

This one sets off with Lara, a young, naďve and immature young adventurer on her first expedition, shipwrecked and stranded on an island in the center of danger, pushing her and her boundaries for her survival, making her do things she never knew, things she never did. It is a greatly successful origin story, a series reboot that feels both authentic and hugely exciting

Gameplay:
The game has a slow start, it takes an hour for the game to really pick up and set things for the player, but the purpose to develop the character is achieved. The narrative soon picks up and the game shifts gears when Lara is forced to kill or be killed, which make the gameplay narrative a bit sloppy; the only drawback as it is difficult to gulp, on one instance she’s battling to come to terms with her situation and on the clap of a hand she’s here fighting with 5 men, squashing a knife down their throats. Her first brush with taking another life is beautifully portrayed and is visually appealing to watch, its equally brutal which may take gamers to a bit of a surprise as the mass killing in the previous games became too cartoonish and more for the PG audience. But in Tom Raider 2013; Lara is dirty, bloody, and battered which makes her journey and her quest much more personal, dramatic and captivating.

Tomb Raider has a very linear narrative pattern, which helps the game to maintain a balance, the motions sink in and give the gamer apple of time to soak in and wait in excitement as well for what’s coming in next. Some of the chapters are built around the most intense action scenes having a feel of a big action packed Super hero movie, watching the protagonist running from a burning building, leaping across a falling bridge, escaping the most intense plane crash.

Tomb Raider has its share of light moments especially in a series of optional tombs to raid, all of which are hidden and feature physical puzzles to be solved to gain treasure and salvage. These shifting patterns in the tone which the game underplays help it avoid the line of being boring or repetitive which keeps the gamer hooked up throughout.

The treasure pieces, relics, lost journals; etc is purely collectible which will you to upgrade your increasing arsenal of weapons; from a bow to a shotgun or rifle.

It is also a stealth game. Using your archery skills and a well-timed headshot, you can often pick off your enemies without that attention-grabbing sound of gunfire. The fluidity in action is good and the approach too is entertaining. The combat/action is enjoyable.

There is a multiplayer offering but it feels unnecessary. Four on four objective-based action is nice but.

Graphics & Sound:
To say, that the visuals and graphic treatment given to Tomb Raider is a treat to the eyes, is an understatement. The shadows, the variety of environments, the motion capture of the heroine, the fluidity of the action is  stunning The audio work, sound effects and the background score packs a punch; the artists have done a good job in the voice over department, which perfectly blends into the game.

Overall:
Tomb Raider is another top notch performance added to the galore this year. It’s another feather to the cap of game developers for ps3 who have done a commendable job this year. Camilla Luddington’s performance as Lara Croft will receive appreciation from both gamers and critics alike I believe. Crystal Dynamic’s revival of the franchise is welcome with both arms.

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