Tomb Raider

[Sapientia]

What are your thoughts? Do you like this new take on the TR formula?

 

[Azuardo]

Really enjoyed the new TR.

My first game was TR2 many, many years ago, then also later got TR1 and TR4, and then Legend, Anniversary and Underworld.

So I think the ones I missed out on were TR3, 5 and 6.

But yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed the reboot and really cannot wait for the next-gen sequel.

 

[Omegaflare]

Much like with Resident Evil, Final Fantasy and Tekken I have been a Tomb Raider fan for 15 years. I started in 1998 with Tomb Raider III which was one of my first Playstation games and instantly like so many back then fell in love with the game and of course Lara herself.

Then I went back and played Tomb Raider II (which is still an absolute masterpiece and the best TR of the PSOne era) and the original which started the entire phenomenon and both were fantastic games.

Starting with Tomb Raider IV, however I was already beginning to feel that the series was declining. TR IV lacked innovation and versatility, about midway through I was already sick of the desert landscape and overall it just lacked the marvel of the first 3 games.

For some reason (probably around that time I got the Playstation 2 and was overly excited about PS2 games) I then missed Tomb Raider Chronicles in 2000 and actually I havent played that game until this day. Though I dont really want to I think. The game was the first in the series to receive really negative reviews and is one of the lowest selling titles in the entire franchise. Thats probably for a reason.

Instead the next one I got and obviously was extremely excited for was Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness for PS2 in 2002. And that one really broke the series completely. It was bug-infested and a complete departure of what Tomb Raider was supposed to be in the first place and rather some mystery thriller in a city. That game completely alienated me and I was very sad what Core (the developers of TR at the time) had done to this once so important series.

After this I turned my back on the series. For me with AoD the series had been killed and I wasnt about to ruin more of my fond memories of it with further games that would take the series more and more away what made love it so much once. Which was actually twice as hard back then because I had just "lost" another of my fav franchises (Resident Evil whose main installments would not be released on Sony consoles anymore because Capcom had entered into a special exclusivity agreement for Nintendos Gamecube, though thankfully in 2005 the series did return to Playstation).

So when Tomb Raider: Legend came out in 2006, I deliberately stayed away from the game, same with Anniversary in 2007 (I didnt even bother to read up on them).

In 2009 however when Tomb Raider Underworld was on sale for PS3, I decided to give it a shot (At that point I hadnt played TR in 7 years!) and wow was I surprised! This was totally back at being classic TR with exotic locations, lots of climbing, jumping, puzzles, platforming, action and the environments and especially Lara looked more gorgeous than ever. I noticed that Lara had been updated for modern times but was still as iconic and recognizable as ever (something that the later reboot would seriously screw up) and I loved the MUCH greater emphasis on story then in the PSOne games (who never had that much of a story to be honest) and especially Laras voice actress Keeley Hawes was so fantastic.

And I noticed of course the completely redone control system. if there is one thing in the 90s TRs that was a mess then it was the controls. They were clunky and choppy and extremely frustrating on more then one occasion. Also because in the old games there were no such things as checkpoints. If you screwed up you had to restart from the last save point. While in TR I and II you could save everywhere, in TR III you could only plant a limited amount of savepoints. That whole control and savepoint system in the old days was the cause of much frustration, I definitely remember that much.

Thankfully Crystal Dynamics (who had bought the series from Core after Angel of Darkness had become a critical and commercial disaster for the series) got rid of all of that and devised a completely new control and savesystem, planting various checkpoints in the levels and making the controls as soft and smooth as butter. I was amazed how fluid and intuitive the controls were now and how much more seamless combat was implemented and handled. I also loved the addition of the grappling hook. the controls went straight into my bloodstream so to speak. I couldnt believe it, CD took the series, brought everything back that people had fallen in love with in the 90s and re-did savesystem, controls and storytelling. In short - they created a Tomb Raider that was better than ever. Its not that I had stopped loving the series (since I was still a big fan of my beloved TR I - III and also liked IV) but now I was loving it more than ever and my "lara-fever" returned.

of course now I wanted to play Legend and Anniversary as well but couldnt because I had no PS2 anymore. Luckily CD and Square Enix (who bought publisher Eidos a few years ago) released HD remasters of TR Legend, Anniversary and Underworld as "Tomb Raider Trilogy" in 2012, which of course I got right away. And so I finally got to play Legend and Anniversary and they had several surprises in store for me.

Playing Legend I realised that this was actually a reboot of the entire series and story after the Angel of Darkness desaster, which I gladly welcomed. Legend revised Laras origin and made her much more of a real character with its emphasis on story and it also introduced the new control and savesystem (being the first TR that CD made). Despite being a reboot however it retained or rather brought back everything that for me Tomb Raider needs to be and most importantly even though Lara was updated as well, she remained the iconic, athletic, tough and intelligent Lara Croft that I had always loved. One thing I especially loved in Legend was how she interacted constantly with her partners Zip and Allister via headset while you were playing. sadly CD dropped this from Anniversary (where Zip and Allister havent joined Lara yet) and Underworld (where she only interacts with them in cutscenes). Its enormously entertaining and awesome to have her talk to her partners while you play and how they often would refer to something I just did as Lara and the witty banter between them. I really, really loved this.

All in all Tomb Raider Legend was even better than Underworld and really the best TR I had ever played. My beloved series was back indeed.

Then I got to Anniversary and boy was I surprised when I realized this was actually a remake of the original TR ! Having everything that made the original great but with the new control and savesystem and much like the Resident Evil remake everything grander, bigger and more alive. One of the rare cases where the remake is superior to the original in any way. Anniversary to me really was the ultimate Tomb Raider. A combination of the original classic and the new style. This was really the most pure and essential Tomb Raider, even though I probably love Legend just a tiny bit more because of the story and interactions. But without a doubt Legend and Anniversary were the absolute pinnacle of the series and I went on to get platinum trophy on all three of them (those time trials were a bitch, holy shit. But the reward is great since you get such weapons as Silver SMGs or the Golden Shotgun which kills even most bosses in one shot. And in legend you can unlock special cheats like unlimited ammo and one hit kills, which is enormously helpful for playing through on hard mode)

But Crystal Dynamics decided that Legend started a trilogy which was then concluded with Underworld (and granted it really does feel like a proper conclusion to the story started in Legend) and they wanted to reboot Tomb Raider a 2nd time - only this time they decided to basically throw everything away that defined Tomb Raider, create a whole new game from the ashes and slap the name Tomb Raider and Lara Croft on the game and its new protagonist.

The result was the 2013 game simply named "Tomb Raider" or as I like to call it "The slap in the face". Now technically this is not a bad game, actually its a pretty good action adventure and it got good reviews (87 %) but this is by no means a Tomb Raider game. In fact you could give the character and game different names and nobody would really be bothered. Sure people would go that the concept of the female character in the wild, exploring caves and whatnot would remind them of Tomb Raider but they would just chuck it up to be something new in the genre much like Uncharted (which is also undoubtedly influenced by Tomb Raider). My point is if you wouldnt call that reboot Tomb Raider, nobody would even consider it a Tomb Raider game.

Because it practically lacks everything that Tomb Raider needs to be like. This is a survival adventure of a young woman exploring a supernatural mystery. Its not the iconic Lara Croft who is cool, atletic and superior who explores exotic temples, tombs and whatnot with untouchable athletic skills and lots of equipment to hunt for priceless artifacts.

The entire concept of the new Tomb Raider is something very different, with it being more of a combination of Uncharted and Gears of War, then an actual TR. But this would even be acceptable (it is a reboot after all, just like Legend was) if the actual character was really Lara Croft. But she isnt. If you compare Lara from Legend or Underworld and the new Lara, they are two entirely different characters. Wether its look, attitude, vulnerability, skills or anything else for that matter. Its just like what Capcom did with Dante in the new DmC. Good game but this just wasnt Dante. And this just isnt Lara Croft. At least not to someone who loved the original Lara from the 90s and the revised Lara from the recent trilogy. That is Lara Croft. CD already proved in 2006 how you can redesign Lara for a new generation and still retain what makes her Lara. Thats exactly what they did in Legend.

This time however they created an entirely different character which should have never been called Lara Croft in the first place (You could give her a different name and it would work!).

I am not saying she is a bad character, I am not saying the 2013 TR is not a great game - but what I am saying is that to a decade long TR fan like me, this is neither Tomb Raider nor Lara Croft. the 90s games and the recent TR Trilogy (which to me are the best and truest TR games that exist) - this is Lara and that is TR.

if the new game would be a completely new franchise (= different name) and the character would have a different name, I would really enjoy this game but as it is now its just a slap in the face and the worst thing about it is that the Tomb Raider I know and love has ended with Underworld and will probably not return for a very, very long time.

Well I still got the superb TR Trilogy though I recently replayed Anniversary and Legend (as some of you who have me in their friends list on PSN maybe noticed in recent days^^) and am currently replaying Underworld.

I only played Underworld as single disc before and unfortunately the save files for the single disc and the TR Trilogy disc are not compatible which means that I will have to do everything in Underworld from scratch. I decided to ignore all the treasures for now (except of the Relics since they boost health) and instead just complete the game and afterwards during Trasure Hunt mode will go back and take care of all of the treasures (another advantage is that in treasure hunt mode all puzzles you solved and enemies you killed are still solved and the enemies still dead so you can focus entirely on collecting the treasures.)

 

[Omegaflare]

A list of the critical and commercial successes of the TR series:

Critical Reception

1. Tomb Raider (1996) 91 %
2. Tomb Raider (2013) 87 %
3. Tomb Raider II 85 %
4. Tomb Raider Anniversary 84 %
5. Tomb Raider Legend 82 %
6. Tomb Raider Underworld 80 %
7. Tomb Raider IV 79 %
8. Tomb Raider III 78 %
9. Tomb Raider Chronicles 70 %
10.Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 56 %


Sales

1. Tomb Raider II 8 Million
2. Tomb Raider (1996) 7 Million
3. Tomb Raider III 6.5 Million
4. Tomb Raider IV 5 Million
5. Tomb Raider Legend 4.5 Million
6. Tomb Raider (2013) 4 Million
7. Tomb Raider Underworld 2.6 Million
8. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness 2.5 Million
9. Tomb Raider Chronicles 1.5 Million
10.Tomb Raider Anniversary 1.3 Million

 

[Omegaflare]

nah sry you are just justifying all the stuff they just shouldnt have done. You will not convince me. I dont want Lara to be more "human", I dont want her to look like an entirely different character. And its not about just being badass. TR 2013 doesnt have the old feeling that defines Tomb Raider. CD rebooted TR before and they did it without throwing everything overboard. TR Legend was already the perfect reboot. There was no need for another.

The high metacritic score is due to the fact that objectively it is a very good game by itself and I am not denying that. But its not nor will it ever be a Tomb Raider game for me. After I completed the new game and went back to the TR Trilogy to replay it it was an ENTIRELY different feeling and Laras character was an entirely different character to me. It was like coming home and I realized how painfully I had missed the "true" Lara.

You can justify the changes in the reboot in any way you want but it doesnt change anything for me. I have played the series for 15 years now, it was one of the two first series I was EVER a fan of and I am telling you that this new game is not a Tomb Raider game. That doesnt mean its a bad game, its not. Its a good game. Hence the 87 % at metacritic. But I´ll take a real TR game with "only" 83 % at metacritic over the reboot any day of the week as decades-long Lara fan.

When I replayed Legend and Anniversary recently (and currently I am fully replaying Underworld) it just felt like TR. And that feeling I just did not have playing the 2013 game. And thats not something you can justify away, no matter how hard you try.

the new TR is essentially the same thing as Uncharted. Heavily influenced and based on Tomb Raider but still a game of its own with a very different feeling and gameplay. The new TR is just like that. And like the Uncharted games (who have higher metacritic scores then all of the TR games) its a very good game on its own - all I am saying is that the character should not be named Lara Croft and the game should not be called Tomb Raider. Period.

 

[Omegaflare]

You referred to points specifically mentioned by me in my post, therefore your post wasnt meant as a general expression of your thoughts on the 2013 game but as a direct response to my post. You took points I made and went on to justify them in different ways. I simply responded to that by stating MY opinion and thoughts on where I stand and what you said. Criticizing me for that is hypocritical since essentially I only stated my opinion and thoughts as well. You brought up your arguments and I told you why they dont apply for me. Simple as that. You cant attack someone for expressing their opinion on what you have written after you directly responded to things they have written and then tell them to pipe down because you only expressed your opinion. Practice what you preach.

PS: I always thought "Good Lord" is something only old british people say You sound like Giles.

 

[Omegaflare]

Whatever.

I completed Southern Mexico (including the relic) last night in TR Underworld and next up is Jan Mayen. Will do that after I reached the next checkpoint in the Final Fantasy IX playthrough.

 

[Omegaflare]

yeah TRU has a few glitches but they seem to appear randomly and not at specific places. For instance I had one playthrough where the area with Jormungandrs poison in Mexico was very glitchy and the game even froze a few times. But when I replayed it yesterday there was no glitch or freeze at all. Then again this time I am playing on the TR Trilogy disc, not the TRU single disc, maybe they patched it for the Trilogy version (save files from the single version are also not compatible with the Trilogy version).

On my current playthrough I completely skip all treasures (except relics) and instead take care of all the treasures in Treasure Hunt mode after I beat the game.

A few months ago I saw some speedruns on the internet of TRU where the player was able to use several bugs in the game to skip entire sections of the game. For instance if in the prologue you jump straight at the glass window, the game is made to believe you already arrived at the point where Lara meets the doppelganger, therefore it triggers that cutscene and you skip the first 2 levels completely and go straight to mexico instead.

Another skip was at jan mayen where the player was actually able to use a bug to make it across the collapsing bridge before it collapses, practically skipping 80 % of the level.

And yet another was in the final level where he was able to use a bug to go into the frame layout of the level (like going through a backdoor "backstage" of the level and re-entering the game itself at a much later point, which took him straight to Helheim and into the final battle.

Its insane how some people can use bugs in games like this. I think he finished the entire game in less than an hour.

 

[Omegaflare]

I platinumed all three games of the trilogy. The Time Trials in Legend and Anniversary were a real bitch but had some great rewards (such as the Golden Shotgun in Anniversary which works the same as the One hit kill cheat in Legend that can be unlocked since it kills every enemy with one shot). Though I admit that I used the airwalk glitch in some Time Trial levels (which allows you to walk through the air, its very tricky to execute though)

 

[Omegaflare]

Just completed Jan Mayen Island and Andamansea. I got the relic in Jan Mayen and am now in the final level. I remember that getting the last relic (in Arctic Sea) was really tough since you only have very little time and need a VERY precise jump to reach it.

 

[APZonerunner]

I never really liked the PS1 games all that much, but I felt the Crystal Dynamics games from late last gen/this gen were solid. I still haven't played the reboot, though I have a copy still in its wrapper on my shelf.

 

[soup or mann]

I own this game. The collector's edition, in fact, and have yet to play it. That's how pathetic my backlog is right now. Blame Street Fighter IV, Halo 4, and my ongoing obsession with Valkyria Chronicles.

 

[Tsukiyomi]

I've only played one Tomb Raider game in my life. It was the one where you can explore her mansion, with that butler and stuff. I could never make it past the first area. there was a big muddy area that I had no idea how to get through. I was way too young at the time to play those kinds of games anyway.

 

[Omegaflare]

You can explore the mansion in almost every TR game, its like a training level.

I have reached the large poison filled hall in the final level of Tomb Raider Underworld, where the monsters keep coming from the poison pool and you can dispatch them easily with Thors hammer. Unfortunately this area is the games area thats most prone to glitches and right in the middle of the fighting the whole game froze ARGHHH. Luckily I saved just before that.

 

[Omegaflare]

Actually I really love both Jan mayen and this level. Yeah the glitches can be frustrating but the design and atmosphere of it is just so gorgeous. I love the stuff in Valhalla with the halls and hammers or in Arctic Sea where you dive freely in the deep with all those giant underwater ruines and norse god statues. And damn when of those bullsharks attacked me from behind I nearly had a heart attack haha.

 

[Omegaflare]

Yggdrasil? There were no Yggdrasil puzzles. You have the beginning with the tower, then the labyrinth and then the large section in the destroyed hall where you need to jump on the pillars, ride the hammers and such. Where are there any Yggdrasil puzzles in that area? I just beat that level only yesterday. Oh or do you mean in the last level when you want to get the final relic? yeah thats a major pain in the ass, toughest part of the game for me.

I never played the DLC because it was never released on PS3 though.

 

[Omegaflare]

Yeah yggdrasil is the tree of life that combines the realms, the Midgard Serpent is the monster that is slain by Thor during Ragnarok^^ I love norse mythology, also because it has influenced FF a lot and because its a vital part of the Marvel Comics (and movies) universe with the world of Thor.

Oh yeah the final battle with Natla. Last time I played it I failed to locate the last switch. I didnt realize I had to use the grappling hook to swing to the right and onto that ledge. I always went left or down instead. man it took me hours to do that and I was playing on hard mode for the final trophy. That was a pain for sure.

 

[Omegaflare]

Have beaten Tomb Raider Underworld again last night and started Treasure Hunt to collect the missing treasures (Already have all 6 relics) but I encountered a nasty glitch. I have found 25 of 26 treasures in the first level but I cant find the last one. It simply doesnt appear where its usually supposed to be. I read that this can be caused by starting a new game while still having an old save file and can only be remedied by deleting all save files and do everything from scratch (which I am not going to do). UGH

 

[Keriaku]

I can't really comment on the majority of the series, since I only have vague memories of playing around with one of them on the PC when I was much younger. The newest game however, I played a couple months ago with my partner and it was a really enjoyable experience. I find that it can be hard to find 'single player' games that are fun to play with two people, but this worked great. Exploring and battles both had natural times to pass of the controller and even watching the other person, we'd constantly be engaged, offering possible places to explore or new ways to tackle the battles. I remember the first big battle in Shantytown was really intense, took us altogether about an hour and a half to complete, with a lot of frantic screaming. Good times.

 

[Grean21]

The old was just cool , the new one...
Square Enix: Urgh its from Japan they made her depressed :O