By: Square Enix
Rating: Mature
Release Date: March 5, 2013
ASIN: B004FSE52C
Rating:
"Tomb Raider is an Action-Adventure game that introduces players to the origin of one of the most identifiable video games icons of all-time, Lara Croft. The game features a blend of survival, stealth, melee and ranged combat, and exploration gameplay as a young Lara Croft is forced to push herself past her know limits to survive and unravel the dark history of a forgotten island. In the process she will unlock the adventurer within her. Additional game features include: weapons both familiar and new, upgradable items, a variety of play environments, and human and animal enemies."
~ Amazon
Even though I have never played the past Tomb Raiders, the whole character/story concept has intrigued me. After playing reboot demo of Devil May Cry, a friend of mine told me that they were rebooting Tomb Raider. While over at my house to play Resident Evil 6, he downloaded the trailer to my Xbox to show me the new game. And, to be honest, I was hooked! The graphics were amazing, Lara was now less busty, and it looked amazingly awesome! When Tuesday rolled around, I happened to find it available on Redbox.
In her first adventure, Lara sets out on the ship Endurance to find the Japanese city of Yamatai. Supposedly, Yamatai was the home to the Sun Queen, Himiko. After learning of Himiko's story from her friend, Lara has been enchanted by the story. However, on their way to the Dragon's Triangle, the Endurance is struck by a vicious storm and crashes on an island. Once Lara washes ashore, she is taken captive. The game is her story of survival, finding all of her friends, her discovery of Yamatai, the truth behind Himiko, and the strange occurrences on the island.
Tomb Raider is visually stunning, especially when you get into the island! I felt that the creators put a lot into the storyline and Lara's/comrades' back story. It was absolutely amazing that the load time didn't override my system or take an egregious amount of time. Long load times can really turn me off of a game and kill the mood. The graphics also did a good job of impressing the overall atmosphere of the game. Some of the sections in the palace and catacombs made me want to plug my nose. And I found myself recoiling when Lara had to roll around in bloody water and body parts.
The score did a good job of mirror the setting and action in the game. A lot of time, I felt my heart rate escalating due to the music! To me, a really good score can made a game!
Lara's transformation into the tomb raider feels quite real. Through documents, things said by other characters, and the video footage Lara finds, you can see that she started out as a fairly happy and somewhat sheltered girl. That being said, she is not stupid. In fact, she's far from it. The agonizing things Lara goes through are just heartbreaking.
The game is a combination of puzzles, platforming, cinematic events, quick time events, and so on. Further, you are also given a nice stash of weapons to use in any given situation. And it is fairly easy to change between them during large fight sequences.
As I said, I rented this game on Tuesday afternoon. After playing a few hours on Tuesday, I ended up winning the game just after midnight today. Even though I loved the game, unless you want to spend time collecting the GPS caches, documents, relics, all of the optional location specific side quests, and multiplayer, I would save the $60 and rent the game. That being said, I will end up buying it when I have the money. I am desperate to finish finding everything, and I would like to give multiplayer a chance with some of my friends. Plus, it's just awesome
This game is nonstop, heart pounding action! I cannot wait for future games in the series! For me, this game was a massive win.
*For my followers, I know this is a big break from the norm. However, after a lot of thought, I decided to share this on my blog. Whether I will continue posting game reviews here has not been decided. If I do, they will be few and far between. Thanks for hanging with me on this review!*
I cannot wait to play this game!!!!
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