The new Tomb Raider game is so good I forgive all the bad Final Fantasy games!

[dashv]

Subject says it all.

I continue to be blown away by the Last Tomb Raider game Squeenix released for the PS3.

I am actually tempted to buy a PS4 just to play the definitive edition!

Anyone else played it?

Somehow they managed to combine Tomb Raider, Infamous, Resident Evil, and Hollywood and totally make it all work.

The camera moves are awesome. Sometimes I die because I don't realize a cut scene is actually a fully playable moment from a new camera angle!

[kamikazekeeg]

Whoa, whoa, whoa...Lets not get crazy here.  Squeenix only PUBLISHED the game, they weren't the developer lol I do think it's a fun game though.  Flawed somewhat as it really could've used more actual tomb raiding as the side missions for doing that are incredibly short and easy. I'm pretty excited for the sequel despite knowing I'll have to wait for its Xbone exclusivity to run out lol

[campercarl]

It was okay, nothing to really boast about though. But hey everyone's different right?
If you want the true definition edition just get it on Steam during a summer sale, plus you wont have to pay out the ass just to get the same game again.

[argyle]

Whoa, whoa, whoa...Lets not get crazy here.  Squeenix only PUBLISHED the game, they weren't the developer lol I do think it's a fun game though.  Flawed somewhat as it really could've used more actual tomb raiding as the side missions for doing that are incredibly short and easy. I'm pretty excited for the sequel despite knowing I'll have to wait for its Xbone exclusivity to run out lol

Eh, since S-E owns Eidos they pretty much are the devs for it too.  But otherwise I more-or-less agree with you.  It was a really fun game, but I won't have a problem waiting on that exclusivity to end.  Esp. since the new Uncharted will most likely be out around the same time.

[maikaal]

It's a good action game with great mechanics, but it fails in all other aspects and has some of the most awkward writing and scenes  I have seen in video games, my top 3 of them:
- Lara's father figure or whoever he was sits by a campfire with an axe in his back and says his last words to Lara. Probably the most confusing scene I have ever seen, games or movies.
- Guy with glasses whose character was never developed sacrifices himself. Nobody cares.
- At the very end on ship Lara says 'I'm not going home'. Really Lara? Where are you going then, and why?

My biggest gripe is that it's not a Tomb Raider game but a Uncharted clone. RIP Tomb Raider.

[kamikazekeeg]

It's a good action game with great mechanics, but it fails in all other aspects and has some of the most awkward writing and scenes  I have seen in video games, my top 3 of them:
- Lara's father figure or whoever he was sits by a campfire with an axe in his back and says his last words to Lara. Probably the most confusing scene I have ever seen, games or movies.
- Guy with glasses whose character was never developed sacrifices himself. Nobody cares.
- At the very end on ship Lara says 'I'm not going home'. Really Lara? Where are you going then, and why?

My biggest gripe is that it's not a Tomb Raider game but a Uncharted clone. RIP Tomb Raider.

I wouldn't say RIP Tomb Raider, because Tomb Raider had been dead for years before.  This is a good revitalization of the series, they just need to bring in more of the actual Tomb Raiding with this.  I'd even take Tomb Raider over Uncharted, just because Uncharted has always had just the worst combat.

[maikaal]

I wouldn't say RIP Tomb Raider, because Tomb Raider had been dead for years before.  This is a good revitalization of the series, they just need to bring in more of the actual Tomb Raiding with this.  I'd even take Tomb Raider over Uncharted, just because Uncharted has always had just the worst combat.

Underworld (2009) was a proper TR game with exploration, platforming and puzzles. Apparently it was the last proper TR ever that's why I said RIP.
Yeh, Uncharted's combat is a joke - the worst hit detection ever.

[davifus]

All I saw from Lara Croft. DEM Polygons

[maximo310]

All I saw from Lara Croft. DEM Polygons

At least you didn't use the pixeliated Lara Croft from the original Saturn version.

[kamikazekeeg]

All I saw from Lara Croft. DEM Polygons

Damn, those flat sharp edges be looking fine!

[dashv]

It was okay, nothing to really boast about though. But hey everyone's different right?
If you want the true definition edition just get it on Steam during a summer sale, plus you wont have to pay out the ass just to get the same game again.

I got it "free" because I am a Play Station Plus subscriber. Stuff like this makes the $50 yearly subscription totally worth it.

[dashv]

It's a good action game with great mechanics, but it fails in all other aspects and has some of the most awkward writing and scenes  I have seen in video games, my top 3 of them:
- Lara's father figure or whoever he was sits by a campfire with an axe in his back and says his last words to Lara. Probably the most confusing scene I have ever seen, games or movies.
- Guy with glasses whose character was never developed sacrifices himself. Nobody cares.
- At the very end on ship Lara says 'I'm not going home'. Really Lara? Where are you going then, and why?

My biggest gripe is that it's not a Tomb Raider game but a Uncharted clone. RIP Tomb Raider.

Thanks for the spoiler! Dammit! I'm only 30% in. Guess I should have mentioned that in my first post.

[instantreplay]

The gameplay was good but everything else was overhyped.
1) Lara didn't have a character. People claim that she goes from a person who hates using violence to a strong woman but that's total bullshit. She says something like "I don't want to hurt you" like once but then she seems fine driving a spike through people's throats. Instead, the game should have forced the player to stealth in the beginning of the game, not because Lara didn't have a weapon, but because she didn't want to kill people. Then she would be forced to kill someone in self defense or something and then we see a slow progression in cut scenes as she becomes more accepting of violence. As opposed to bringing it up and then forgetting about it. (See Spec Ops: The Line for a good example of moral decay).

2) Side characters. A lot of the side characters died but I didn't give a shit because I didn't know anything about them. In most instances they were killed off as soon as they were introduced.

3) The plot. I don't fully understand the plot. SPOILER WARNING! Basically, the sun goddess was taking over the body's of younger women so she could live forever, but one girl got wind of this and killed herself in the middle of the ritual. The Sun Goddess got pissed and wouldn't let anyone leave the island.

[dashv]

The gameplay was good but everything else was overhyped.
1) Lara didn't have a character. People claim that she goes from a person who hates using violence to a strong woman but that's total bullshit. She says something like "I don't want to hurt you" like once but then she seems fine driving a spike through people's throats. Instead, the game should have forced the player to stealth in the beginning of the game, not because Lara didn't have a weapon, but because she didn't want to kill people. Then she would be forced to kill someone in self defense or something and then we see a slow progression in cut scenes as she becomes more accepting of violence. As opposed to bringing it up and then forgetting about it.

Didn't read much past bullet 1 because I sensed spoilers.

That said the game does exactly what you suggest. You start out stealth.

**SPOILER ALERT** If you've never played the game skip the rest of this comment.

Her first human kill is an accident. Her attacker dies because of other events that are going on. Her second kill is an animal in the woods because she is starving and she mourns it. Her first deliberate human kill is when she is nearly raped/killed. Immediately after she vomits and has a breakdown... It takes about a solid hour of gameplay for all of this to transpire if you're not speed running.

Several times after that (when she finds the tools needed to make fire arrows for example) she looks at the weapons and things she's come to rely on for survival and has a moment of "what the hell have I become" type reflection.

Also she talks to herself frequently when you make camp. It seems like background and is easy to skip over if you're just making camp to save or get the next upgrade. But a lot of those monologues bring out her inner thoughts and conflict.

She is the entire reason they are on the island. So part of it is not just her own survival but the responsibility she feels towards the others stranded there because of her.

The journals scattered about the island also make it clear the other parties have zero intention of making nice.

It's kill or be killed.

[instantreplay]

The gameplay was good but everything else was overhyped.
1) Lara didn't have a character. People claim that she goes from a person who hates using violence to a strong woman but that's total bullshit. She says something like "I don't want to hurt you" like once but then she seems fine driving a spike through people's throats. Instead, the game should have forced the player to stealth in the beginning of the game, not because Lara didn't have a weapon, but because she didn't want to kill people. Then she would be forced to kill someone in self defense or something and then we see a slow progression in cut scenes as she becomes more accepting of violence. As opposed to bringing it up and then forgetting about it.

Didn't read much past bullet 1 because I sensed spoilers.

That said the game does exactly what you suggest. You start out stealth.

**SPOILER ALERT** If you've never played the game skip the rest of this comment.

Her first human kill is an accident. Her attacker dies because of other events that are going on. Her second kill is an animal in the woods because she is starving and she mourns it. Her first deliberate human kill is when she is nearly raped/killed. Immediately after she vomits and has a breakdown... It takes about a solid hour of gameplay for all of this to transpire if you're not speed running.

Several times after that (when she finds the tools needed to make fire arrows for example) she looks at the weapons and things she's come to rely on for survival and has a moment of "what the hell have I become" type reflection.

Also she talks to herself frequently when you make camp. It seems like background and is easy to skip over if you're just making camp to save or get the next upgrade. But a lot of those monologues bring out her inner thoughts and conflict.

She is the entire reason they are on the island. So part of it is not just her own survival but the responsibility she feels towards the others stranded there because of her.

The journals scattered about the island also make it clear the other parties have zero intention of making nice.

It's kill or be killed.

You're missing the point I made. My point was that I wanted to see Lara forsake violence because she didn't want to hurt anyone which is why the game is stealth orientated. The only reason you stealth early on is because you don't have a weapon. The problem is that as soon as you get a weapon you run around killing everyone. The change needs to be more gradual. Lara has these emotional breakdowns at the campsite but then she goes and taunts her enemies during gameplay. This is inconsistent writing.


Here's the thing, what is the result of a character arc? Answer: a person changes. This change has to be reflected in the they think and behave. We see Lara's "change" in the way she thinks during cutscenes. But she doesn't make any decisions that reflect her change. She is completely reactionary.