Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
Players:
One
Genre:
Action-Adventure
Distribution:
Optical Disc, Download
Platform:
Playstation 4
Release Date:
January 28, 2014
Lara
Croft is back and getting the reboot treatment. A character that has
been around since the original Tomb
Raider,
released in 1996, gets a much needed overhaul. I hadn't played a
Tomb Raider
game since that 1996 release, so I didn't come into this game as
jaded as some players who had suffered through incarnations of
varying quality. I'll also state up-front that I ignored the
multiplayer. To me this is a single player game, it doesn't need
multiplayer and I won't humor a studio tacking multiplayer onto the
game in order to add 'value' to a game that doesn't need it. Focus
on the single player campaign and make it the best you can, please.
Judging from some of the things I've read about the multiplayer
modes, I didn't miss much.
With that out of the way, this was the perfect reintroduction of Lara
Croft into the gaming consciousness. We get to find out what kind of
crucible the badass that we've come to know was forged in, and wow.
First of all, Yamatai, the setting for the game, is gorgeous and
there are tons of environments for you to work your way through.
Each one feels different than the previous ones, you never have that
feeling of “Really? Another jungle scene?” The enemies
populating said environments don't feel like they're just waiting to
be killed, they perform tasks and have conversations, there are a few
instances where they are stupid though. Four guys would never run
straight at a person pumping shotgun shells into them across open
ground, but hey, I was low on ammo and didn't mind.
The 'tombs' you raid consist of an isolated area with a puzzle of
some sort. The puzzles are fun to solve without being 'throw your
controller across the room' frustrating, and were always one of the
things I looked for when entering a new area. It's possible to play
through the game without pouring over the map looking for the last
collectibles and get a fairly high completion percentage; which was
nice as I hate backtracking for that last audio log/idol/map/etc.
Plotwise the game more than does the job, we get an origin story and
a believable way for Lara to expand on her skillset. The secondary
characters are generally all right, none really stand out, but I also
never wished for a command to throw one from a cliff. Camilla
Luddington does a great job voicing our heroine and I hope she sticks
around for the forthcoming sequel. I was very pleased with the
length of the game, it never plodded and it lasted long enough that
it felt like I got my money's worth.
Conclusion:
A reboot done right, it has me waiting anxiously for the next
installment. With the comic series written by Gail Simone continuing
the story I'll have a way to get my Lara Croft fix in between, but
when the sequel's release date is officially announced I'll be on my
way to pre-order it. I can't wait to see what's in store for
everyone's favorite raider of tombs.
Rating:
9/10
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