Game Discussion of the Week: Tomb Raider (2013)

Added and stickied.

The best part is the many painful ways in which Lara can die. I found myself dying at purpose just to appreciate the developers work in making her suffer. Sadly, the following games lost that nice touch.

It's been a month or two since I've finished this game, but I really wanted to discuss it. I finished it before I played the original Tomb Raider, and my thoughts on it has changed a lot. First off I thought it was a really good modern adventure game. One thing I have to give it credit for and which I love, is the fact that there are no difficulty settings. Having just one difficulty perfectly balances a game instead of having 4 different ones where all of them are either too easy or too hard. Secondly, it's smooth as fuck and it looks fantastic. And after playing the original Tomb Raider, my praise ends right there. I loathe open worlds, and while this is a metrovania style game, it's completely pointless. It adds nothing of value. I just wish it would stick to being level based as the original series. The combat is alright, but there are so much better games when it comes to this type of combat. The treasure and mythology are so boring and uninspired. You're on a cursed island, which is cool, but it isn't represented at all until the very last part of the game where you fight some old Chinese army. There are no bosses except for a ridiculously lame one near the end. Lara as a character is a complete joke, she plays an innocent woman that gets abused by the dangers of the island, but it feels so half-assed. She is all wimpy and shit while she kills a lot of people with no remorse, but it's not reflected in any of the cutscenes. When I compare this to the original it pales in comparison. Sure the original had a little bit of tank controls, but it was tight as fuck. Lara was a badass and had clever comebacks. The mythology was great (killing Atlantian demons!), awesome bosses and enemies, varied and great locations, and overall just a better game. I think I'll go back and give the original Tomb Raider a 5/5, this on the other hand a 3/5.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, though I was never particularly a fan of the older Tomb Raider games. It was unfortunate that none of the surviving supporting cast made it to the subsequent game.

Dudes, this game is free on Steam right now! Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is free too. Certainly recommended.