Lara makes her move to the nex gen cosoles
First of all this is probably the 4 TR game I have played over the years. I was really looking forward to this title and had very high expectations after seeing screenshots and reading previews. I have enjoyed the TR series and have been pleased with the past editions of Anniversary, and Legend. Developer Crystal Dynamics has been somewhat good for the series, but at its attempt to move the game forward is stuck in neutral. This game has a sense it was built for the fans and not gamers. There really is nothing new and old habits tend to make their appearance. The key points:
The story: I like the story, very simple and will tie up a few loose ends from previous versions. The cutscenses are excellent and some of the best I have seen. There are very few characters and if you are new to the series, you will be asking yourself, “Who’s that?”.
Gameplay: Most of TR core game play mechanics have remained intact. Crawling, climbing and solving puzzles are pretty cliché for the series but I think the underwater scenarios is where TRU looks and acts its best. Would it be a TR review without talking about some bad camera angles? Nuff said. There are occasions of gunplay but it is totally worthless and not even worth talking about.
Graphics: I don’t know, im starting to get a little tired of jungle environments(Crysis, Uncharted, Crysis Warhead) but it looks great. Lara has never looked better and all the environments are all very detailed and the lighting, and water effects are awesome. The game ran pretty smooth until the last chapter when there are a lot of flashes that will cause some frame rate slowdowns. The cut scenes are some of the best I have seen and really keeps the story moving.
Final Thoughts: As a fan and core gamer, I had a lot of fun but the game itself had a feeling of being dated. There are some pretty cool moments when solving the puzzles and the story is pretty good but its missing that special something to make the game more memorable, as opposed to forgetful. With games pushing the platform and adventure genre such as Mirrors Edge, and Uncharted excluding the upgrade in graphics, this is still just Tomb Raider version 1.0. You will have fun, but in the end you have seen this movie one too many times.
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