Tomb Raider

The newest Tomb Raider was an interesting experience for me. I had played a bit of the original Tomb Raider, but I would never call myself a fan. And the newest rendition is an entirely different kind of game. It went for the full power triple-A experience. It also went for more action make it into a game very similar to Uncharted. I find that funny, because Uncharted was based on the third person precedents set by the older Tomb Raiders. And it was also an unusual purchase for me. I have mostly stayed out of the Super big titles, since the mid 2000's. Its mostly that the big games since then have all involved shooting, which isn't really my cup of tea. But I wanted to see, I wanted to see how this franchise could be saved.

Well, they went for a much grittier and realistic look. The design of Laura is MUCH better, especially the chest area. The infamous Laura boobs have been scaled back to something that looks like a person. I would also like to give the makers a lot of graphical credit for this game. The hair and water physics are spectacular and there are some very nice views and set pieces in this game. Its pretty obvious they had a very firm vision of how this franchise was going to evolve and ran with it.

It was a solid third person action platformer. It was linear, but it took advantage of the linear nature to show great views and have good action sequences. It also had one of the best cover systems I have ever played with. I did dabble in Gears of War and can attest that Tomb Raider's adaptive cover system is infinitely better and more intuitive. But much like Boy and His Blob, I wanted more.

Is it better that she isn't covered in her own blood?

The tomb raiding of the game was scaled back into a series of smaller puzzle rooms hidden around the island. These were always lots of fun to find and explore. But the puzzles were too easy. It really felt like the makers were just throwing a bone to hardcore original fans. AND IT WORKED!!!! I was totally tickled. If they could make another one that has more puzzles and exploration combined with the same combat system and we will have a winner. But I fear they won't. Uncharted had a great three game run based entirely on its combat and set pieces. The makers may be trying to emulate that. If they don't, I will be sooooo happy. We need more female heros in games. And its better if they actually have quality games.