Ludus-ing! Tomb Raider.

Another review and another selection from a past PS+ update. I do play games that I have paid for, honest! Tomb Raider came out in the March update and it has taken me a while to play. I actually borrowed this game from a friend about 6 months after it had came out with every intention to play it but I spent a lot of time ruined by how good The Last of Us was. I must say that I am disappointed in myself, Tomb Raider isn’t in the class of TLOU but it was actually a really enjoyable game!

I did get about 15 hours out of the game I think. I might go back onto the game and do some more of the tombs and collectibles so could boost that up to 20 or so hours.

The game basically acts as a bit of a reboot to the series. Everyone who games knows about Tomb Raider, and Lara Croft, so I won’t drown on about it to simply fill up space (because I’m fucking good at that and do it a lot!) It tells the story of a young Lara Croft and how she struggles with jumping, shooting, killing, manipulating areas and cracking puzzles during her first struggle because of a wronged expedition.

There isn’t really many dislikes I have about this game. I decided to just play this on normal instead of hard because I prefer to enjoy games like this; I’m an average gamer, and whilst I do think I could have completed it on hard I’d probably miss out on crucial segments of storyline because of either relief or annoyance. With games like Tomb Raider, and Uncharted for example, I can never seem to get used to the physics of the game. The amount of times I’d fall off of shit because the camera angle had gone funny or something like that throughout the years is astonishing. Not really a fault with the game I know but I still have reservations about these style of games because of that. Apart from that the only things I didn’t like was the jerkiness from when the computer was in control until you get control. Just looked a bit daft!

Now for the good bits. The story is impeccable, we obviously know bits and pieces from past Tomb Raider games but this takes it a step further. It is an absolute pleasure to play the game and learn why and how Lara Croft had become such a total bad-ass (or is that bad arse Lara?) through the PS1 and PS2 years. Not only that, but the actual story is interesting and fun and I would enjoy it if it was Doureen Smith (random person I made up) fighting to get the ultimate objective (avoiding spoilers!) Add the legacy of Lara to the great story and it’s totally worth your time.

The game also looks stunning, Lara looks great and the areas and backdrops are sometimes simply jaw dropping. It has a vastness that is so much more detailed than previous Tomb Raider’s and games like Uncharted. The detail in minor things is fantastic also; looking at Lara’s bruised, cut and just generally battered face whilst noticing the first bow you get is made up of branches just looks great and makes the game feel really immersive. Add this attention to detail to how great trees, water, sand and fire look and you have a really nice feeling game. Graphics aren’t always a major selling point for me, but I would be quite happy to spend a bit of money and get the Definitive Edition on PS4 whenever I get one.

Probably tied into the two good points already mentioned, I’d like to mention how great it was to play as Lara Croft. She is definitely one of my favourite ever gaming heroes, although I don’t shout about it very often. The developers did a really good job of having a young Lara Croft going through struggles and triumph and watch her grow into the Lara we all know and love. I also absolutely love her shouting “take that you bastard” in perfectly phrased posh English as you blow away from dude with your shotgun. Also, and lastly, the use of the bow in this game was great. It had some great combat effects allowing for the removal of hostiles in silence, as well as having practical uses as you climbed, slid and blew shit up to get through the game.

In all, I thought Tomb Raider was pretty fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it and am still annoyed with myself for not playing it earlier. I really hope that this is the next Lara Croft we see in a future sequel. Hopefully it’s a total reboot so developers don’t have to stick too closely to timelines dictated by earlier games (if there is one, I don’t really remember!)

I would definitely play this again, and as mentioned earlier I could be tempted to go back into the world to do some of the extra stuff it was that much fun. The sequel should be great fun and it’s definitely in my list of favourite PS3 games.

Inabit.

SJ.