This brings us to the latest iteration of the series; Shadow of the Tomb Raider. This would conclude the trilogy showing how Lara went from an a "normal" person to the Tomb Raider we knew from the previous games. It apparently took three developers to finish this title, which usually spells disaster, but in this case, it seems to have improved the third game from the second.
I won't go into detail as some of you may not have played it and still plan too, but essentially something goes wrong causing a potential apocalypse that Lara has to stop. The writing is done much better this time. I don't know if the developers heard the writing was a major complaint of the previous game and decided to up their ability or it was happenstance, but either way, it's appreciate.
One thing is evident in the newer adventure and that is that this game is gorgeous. The jungle settings (always a favorite of mine) are done nearly perfectly. Honestly, it's remarkable what they were able to do visually in this game on 7 year old technology. I played through it on my launch PS4 with any Pro enhancements and it still looked incredible. The environments almost never look identical. You can now hide in the brush and with the jungle being so full of vegetation, you can even hide in the brush that goes up walls. It's a fantastic addition to the game allowing for stealth.
More animals were added given the setting and the ability of these creatures to be climbing in a tree and attack from above is very impressive and intimidating. As you walk through the jungles, you don't know what you'll run up against so you always have to be on guard. It was a fantastic implementation.
As much of the game takes place in Peru, you can imagine what many of the Tombs look like. The attention to detail isn't lost once you move out of the jungle settings and into the villages or tombs. If you're running around a small town setting or village, there are quite a few people walking about and doing their own business. The tombs are well done and feel lost to time as they should. There are even a few puzzles here and there.
On top of that, there are quite a few set pieces that are fun and give the adrenaline rush they were going for. You can tell that Uncharted had influenced this newer trilogy quite a bit and vice verse. While I'm good keeping the two series separated, there are quite a few fans of both that are hoping to one day see a cross over between the two where Nate and Lara meet up and have to work together. A fun idea to be sure, but not one I see happening.
This game was definitely a step up from the previous one but now that the story arc they were going for has completed, what's next for the series? As this new trilogy has put new life into the series and is pretty successful, we're sure to see it continue. The question is in what form and how long will it take for us to see another entry.
