Tomb Raider: Girl you lookin' good!

     Any video gamer knows about the Tomb Raider series. Players were first introduced to the lovely archaeologist Lara Croft back in 1996 on the original Playstation. The original game introduced players to a 3D action/adventure title like no other. There have been numerous other Tomb Raider titles but as with any game series that sticks around for a while, things start to stagnate. Yes there were new adventures, enemies, and artifacts, but the overall gameplay seemed to be a rinse and repeat affair. Thankfully the developers at Crystal Dynamics took a look at the series and completely revamped it. What they created was a whole new entry to the series simply titled Tomb Raider.

     The newest game in the series sets players back in the shoes of Lara Croft, but a younger Lara. The game starts out with Lara and a crew sailing to an island in search of the lost city of Yamatai and the Sun Queen. The crew gets stuck in the middle of a storm and their ship is destroyed, thus leaving them shipwrecked on the island. Soon Lara discovers that a group of criminals known as the Solarii Brotherhood have inhabited the island and are worshipers of the Sun Queen. It's up to you to reunite with your crew, survive, and find a way off the island. The developers did a good job showing how Lara transitions from being a scared and timid person, and into a strong survivalist. The story of Tomb Raider falls in line with the archaeological adventure theme and creates a fast paced and intriguing ride.

     The controls and combat in the game are great. The climbing and other platforming elements are easy to grasp and flow smoothly. Melee combat works well too. You press one button to dodge attacks, and if done successfully you are prompted to press either the Y or triangle button to preform a finishing move. It's hard not to notice similarities to the Uncharted series, but that's not a bad thing. To me, the star weapon is the bow. You'll use the bow to reach certain areas and of course take down enemies. There are also different firearms you collect throughout the story and each can be upgraded with skill points. The shotgun, pistol, and assault rifle can have different attachments or special ammo unlocked. The bow can also be upgraded with different arrows and strengthening abilities. Lara herself will also be able to learn new abilities from earning experience and gaining skill points. These abilities range from new techniques in finding hidden objects to combat moves.

     On top of upgrading your weapons and skills, there are a lot of collectables to find throughout the large island. Some of the collectables are documents that go in depth with characters on the island and even past people who were stranded. Other collectables include GPS devices and relics that give you more of the history of the island and of course on the relics themselves. There are also challenges to complete in the different locations. The challenges consists of finding and destroying certain objects that are hidden throughout the area. True to the Tomb Raider series, there are hidden tombs to discover. The tombs always have some sort of puzzle to complete in order to reach the treasure. You can spend a lot of extra time finding all the collectables, tombs, and completing the challenges (which can still be done after completing the story).

     The game looks great too. The lighting effects are superb and make the environmental textures look even better. Cutscenes are especially good looking. Character models look pretty good and the voice acting is done very well. The island's lush foliage comes to life, while the rugged mountains and littered remains of sunken ships create an eerie feeling. Also the dilapidated temples and structures seem to transport you to the past and make you feel like you are really exploring an ancient civilization.

     To me, the only "bad" thing about Tomb Raider is the multiplayer portion of it. I put the word bad in quotations because the multiplayer does work, but I didn't find it to be very fun. The same controls from the single player are found in multiplayer which is good, but for some reason it just didn't seem to flow as well in multiplayer matches. There were some minor glitches and stutters in different matches but nothing game breaking. If you've played any of the multiplayer from the Uncharted games you will kind of know what to expect here. Unfortunately the developers have stated that they are only working on multiplayer dlc and not single player.

     At the end of it all Tomb Raider is an excellent action/adventure game. Crystal Dynamics have really overhauled the series and taken it to new heights. Any fan of adventure, action, puzzles, great stories, and Tomb Raider in general will find something to enjoy. Even with the mediocre multiplayer, the single player alone makes this a must experience game.

Final Verdict: 10/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83