Call me crazy but I think this game is an overall better product than any of the uncharted games hands down. The only place where I think Uncharted is better is the character interactions as the secondary crew feels largely unforgettable. Everything else though? Incredible. The small things like how lara will automatically peek around a corner with a weapon when you press L1 the way she instantly takes cover, the subtle clues like lara going into a crouched stance to let you know if enemies are near by.

The guns are loud and feel good and even on hard mode I feel like I've been given enough tools that I can actively be the predator in most fights. And man even in the fights the banter from the enemies is fucking awesome. In one fight really early on a surprised guard exclaimed "How the fuck did she get that machine gun?!" they even react to subtle things like if you are reloading and move in to your position accordingly.

The sort of hub that they turn the island into is great too letting you go back and find treasures and diarys that actually do provide some insight to the thoughts of the crew and other characters. Everything about this game feels so dialed in. I'm playing on PS3 and the frame rate is a little shaky but it looks damn good. Crazy how they got it to look so good even on a console. Which makes me wish I could run this thing a full specs on PC. But seriously, good on Squarenix and Eidos for churning this one out. They have really been putting out some bangers lately. With 3.4 million sold I'm sure that we'll see a sequel which is exciting. I'm really liking the direction they are taking the series.

This game is slowly demanding more and more of my attention it seems. A lot of the things you mention seem really compelling. I'm wondering if it has the same wow factor that Uncharted tends to have. As in set pieces and large action sequences? I understand those are not essential but they are a big part of the Uncharted series (along with the characters which you addressed) and I am wondering how those moments compare. But yeah didn't think this game would even be on my radar but here it is demanding attention....fucking games man.

I agree. Uncharted is laser-focused on one thing, the action platforming set pieces, and those are pretty good. Unfortunately the shooting sucks, the characters are incredibly one-dimensional, and even the amazing traversal wears thin fairly quickly. Tomb Raider is so much better balanced as an overall package, and does almost everything at a higher quality level than Uncharted. I can't wait for another Tomb Raider game. I was only able to play one Uncharted to completion and by the end, I was beyond done with that franchise and that style of game.

I think the "tomb puzzles" to be more intricate and advanced in Uncharted but the combat is better in Tomb Raider. We need to see a merging of both for some super game.

Better than Uncharted 1 and 3 but not as good as 2 were my general feelings after finishing the game.

If it wasn't for my unnatural obsession with Nolan North, I'd be right there with you. It's just as good/better in the gameplay, graphics, and character department, but it's just missing that one thing... Tomb Raider X Uncharted 2012. Raiding Uncharted Tombs.

Yes, Amy Hennig get on the phone with your contacts over at Crystal Dynamics that I assume you have and make a cross-over happen. :P

I think the combat is way better than in any of the Uncharted games, and some setpieces are almost on the same level, (the burning buildings) but the game is full of forgettable characters, some godawful acting and lacks the charm of Nathan Drake, sully etc etc. Naughty Dog's big moments are absurdly good and even if this game almost reaches those heights it feels like nothing more than an imitation.

I personally think that they are too different to compare. If I were to pick, I would say it's a draw because I think the fighting is more fun and dynamic in Tomb Raider but that the set-pieces in Uncharted 2 and 3 are better then Tomb Raider. But when I think back on the games they feel really different to me.

I havent beat it yet but I think I'm pretty close...but.... ya the story is pretty bad and dumb thus far. Pretty much reminds me exactly of Uncharted 1 where you fight doods the whole game and then there is some supernatural element towards the end. The main baddy in the one seems very generic thus far.

That being said... I've enjoyed it for the gameplay and visuals.

Yeah, the story isn't great. I like Lara as a character and I think they could take her cool places. But this story was wonky. The ending, by the way, is really rotten. The gameplay is kind of cool but what is happening around you is shit.

I disagree. I think Lara is good but everyone else in story is pretty forgettable and their voice acting is terrible and a bit stereotypical in some areas( you have dumb party girl who get kidnapped constantly, big loveable guy, angry black woman, and a father figure. pretty generic and stereotypical if you ask me). Gameplay wise i think their about the same. While i loved the bow and the stealth takedowns, i didn't feel like it surpassed anything uncharted did gameplay wise and Uncharted's set pieces are just better especially in Uncharted 2. I'm definately excited for the next one though if they just tweak a few things its going to be awesome. I personally didn't like all some of the scripted moments and the way Lara starts creeping down into a crouch. I just feel like they went a little overboard with the qte's and I personally would like a little more control over my character then they let me have at times.

I don't even think it's an argument for me. The only thing Uncharted does better is the dialog.

@demoskinos: good on Squarenix and Eidos for churning this one out.

No thanks to Crystal Dynamics? Sheesh.

I too must disagree. The tone of Tomb Raider and the underdeveloped characters really killed this game for me. Lara Gets impaled and just walks it off, crawls through corpses and doesn't bat an eye, kills hundreds of men, and other gameplay focused stuff that doesn't quite fit the story. Uncharted does that stuff too but in that series it seems to fit, since its more of a pulpy adventure instead of trying to tell a serious and gritty story in Lara Croft. That disconnect is really my main reason why i enjoyed Uncharted more. Also Nathan Drake just oozes charm where i didn't care for Lara, or any of her dead friends.

The gameplay in both games felt the same to me, but i like manually taking cover in Uncharted rather than Lara doing it automatically (which i thought was really cool but not my thing). As for the fights i liked the open-ess of Lara Croft but i thought there wasn't enough of that and the encounters usually had me just shooting and moving forward, as in Uncharted there were plenty of cover firefights but overall i felt the encounters were more varied.

But what ever both games/ series are good and im eagerly awaiting for the Uncharted 2 of the Tomb Raider series

I am having a lot more fun with Tomb Raider than I have with any of the Uncharted games. The general "bullet-pinata-ness" of enemies in Uncharted tends to wear on me by the halfway point of those games.

This. Aside from the big action set pieces the actual run and gun gameplay really started to feel bland and generic in Uncharted 3. It was worth playing for the story, but other than that the gameplay experience felt dried up.

I agree as well. Tomb Raider does offer a bit more exploration and some of the platforming isn't as painfully obvious and sometimes requires a bit of dexterity and timing. Also the way they've mixed all manner of time periods is very exciting. I normally dislike old tombs with eye-roll inducing pressure plate systems so it's nice to see that one moment you're in an ancient ruin, the next you're in a modern boat, then you're in a lab then you're in a Japanese style temple and so forth.

Seems a lot more varied in style and some of the set pieces are just as exciting if not more so than Uncharted. I know that after a few of those encounters where you're running for your life as everything crumbles around you I finally got a moment to breathe and it was like a "wow.." moment.

Funny, because I don't find that enemies in Tomb Raider exactly go down quickly unless you headshot them, which is exactly the same as in Uncharted.

Overall Tomb Raider was a great game and I am really looking forward to part two, but Uncharted still has it beat as far as I am concerned, mainly because the environments and the characters are just better in Uncharted. The combat, to me, felt about the same, even though I really liked the bow in Tomb Raider. Overall I think Tomb Raider would have benefitted from steering clear of the "kill 20 guys in one fight"-scenarios. The game felt best when you came across a patrol of two or three dudes and you had to try and take them out using some stealth and surprise. It got kind of silly when you were fighting 10 enemies at a time, something I feel Uncharted pulls off better.

My favourite fight in Tomb Raider was in the wood right before you come across the wolf pen. There were plenty of enemies there but you could sneak around and take them out one at a time. That felt cool and it also felt like something Lara would do in that situation.

Isn't that from Uncharted? I haven't played one in a while, but I remember them doing something like that. I remember him having a couple different stances.

Maybe it's the inclusion of the bow, which lets you take things down relatively silently.

I agree, that is a good addition which allows you to avoid combat or at least take a few enemies down before they have time to react. Once combat starts though, the enemies soak up bullets like crazy.

I haven't beaten Uncharted 3 yet, the shooting mechanics annoyed me so much, that I put it down and haven't gotten back to it.

Story-wise, Tomb Raider is on par with the first two Uncharted games. Nothing extraordinarily amazing, but Tomb Raider's mysticism makes a little more sense than Uncharted.

Uncharted edges out Tomb Raider by a bit when it comes to set pieces.

Tomb Raider executes the gameplay mechanics better than Uncharted.

The characters and character interactions are better in Uncharted; Tomb Raider only has Lara to work with, everyone else was forgettable.

Ignoring graphics, I'd give Uncharted a slight edge because of the supporting cast.

I like both but I have two issues with Tomb Raider; the melee combat is terrible in TR, I can't remember how it was in Uncharted but it seems to me that it must have been better because I remember killing a lot of guys that way, luckily melee is almost entirely unnecessary in TR; and the multiplayer is pretty weak in Tomb Raider, certainly not the reason to play either game but Uncharted is much better in that regard.

Does Tomb Raider have spiders? If not it is automatically better than Uncharted 3 and I will purchase it ASAP.... please don't let it have spiders :(

I'm only an hour in, but I'm already certain I'll enjoy it a lot more than I did Uncharted 3 (that's really not saying much). Drake's Fortune too, but I think that's an unfair comparison given how old it is. Still, whether it can top Uncharted 2 is a very tall order, one that I doubt it'll be able to match let alone surpass given Uncharted 2 is one of my favourite games of the generation.

@jacdg: no spiders, it does have crabs though...

It's an excellent game but it is not as good as Uncharted 2.

So many jokes.....

I enjoyed the combat more, since it's a bit snappier and the enemies aren't such bullet sponges, but the writing is really bad. Rhianna Pratchett is no Amy Henning and it goddamn shows. The supernatural story is forgettable, the characters are boring as hell and Lara's arc is barely there.

It's on the same level as Uncharted to me, which is saying a lot since Uncharted is my favorite game series of this generation and perhaps all generations so far. I absolutley loved Tomb Raider, and PS3 version was rock solid. I did get the PC version just to mess around with, but it hasn't arrived yet.

@demoskinos It's not even like Uncharted. It's more like Arkham City. Some areas are locked until you get the proper tool, yet the whole Island gets, at some point, entirely unlocked. Lara also takes battle damage throughout, and upgrades her gear along the way.

Crabs are fine, scorpions are tolerable, spiders... not so much.

I like the general gameplay of Tomb Raider better. I find Uncharted really frustrating to play when you don't do everything exactly right and the blockbuster feel is broken. The guns and shooting in TR sound/feel really satisfying.

I've still only put in like maybe 3-4 hours (mostly because of playing Gears: Judgment), but yeah, the gameplay is well beyond Uncharted and the bow in particular is a really satisfying weapon to massacre with. That said, the writing and its characters are utterly forgettable, and even Lara herself is just super annoying courtesy of the voice acting.

The way the story takes itself so seriously really doesn't mesh well with the gameplay either. Such complaints have been brought up aplenty already, but it's because quite frankly they're spot on. While Lara's growth as a character seems... OK so far (the way she instantaneously becomes she-Rambo is still really jarring, though), the grittiness of everything and how incredibly dire the situations are portrayed does a poor job of fitting in with a game where I can skin animals for ''XP''. Not resources or some sort of food substance to try and survive in such a harsh environment -- XP.

Also, QTE's fucking suck. Though I am still looking forward to getting back to it, it's purely from a mechanical gameplay point of view, as the story and its characters I could not give any less of a shit about. Whereas in Uncharted 2, which is the one Uncharted that I'd still say is a perfectly competent TPS, I enjoyed both the shooting/set-pieces and the story/writing/characters a great deal.

@yummylee: Yeah, totally agree. There's a tone they go for with Tomb Raider that makes it really annoying how she is running around with a puncture wound through her side through the entire game, and how she just destroys everyone but still whimpers when you go through a crack. Basically what you said.

I feel like I should say I like the Uncharted games a lot, but coming to them just this year (only now got a PS3), I'm finding them to be massively overrated. The Giant Bomb GOTY discussion where they debate Uncharted or Batman AA just seems like such an easy choice to me - a lot of Uncharted 2 was just an annoyance to me.

Tomb Raider is a lot more fun, fluffy game to play. Running and jumping and shooting are a lot of fun. There's a lot of good animation in it, but the controls feel like they always take priority. It's fun enough moving around that I may go collect more stuff just to run around in the world more.

I haven't played any Uncharted, so you might be right about this being the better game, but I found this one really frustrating.

I realized that it contained everything I wanted out of a Tomb Raider game, but it was way to busy forcing me into QTEs and combat situations that I had no interest in to ever let me have any fun. The tombs themselves were way too small, but I still really liked them. The controls felt pretty good when I was set free to explore, but almost every time I was just starting to enjoy myself, it trapped me in an arena with another boring gunfight or dragged me down a river.

I finally gave up in the shantytown area after I got the fire arrows. Once I had cleared everyone out, within about two minutes of letting me explore, it started spawning new enemies and if I tried to fall back to a better position to take them out it would respawn the ones I had killed over and over. When I finally decided to stay in one spot and just kill them all in the most boring way possible, I moved into the next area and was immediately trapped in another fight. No thank you. This is not why I am playing a Tomb Raider game.

Tomb Raider feels like it's taken Uncharted to the next level. It feels more akin to Uncharted 1 than 2 and 3 because of it's focus on one location rather than going from place to place. I don't think the set pieces are as impressive in Tomb Raider as in Uncharted 2 and 3, but everything else feels like a step up.

The characters are better in Uncharted, but the gameplay is better in Tomb Raider.

I haven't played Tomb Raider yet but isn't the multiplayer there total dog shit? The multiplayer in Uncharted 3 has a large dedicated following and is pretty damn fun.

Also Uncharted has Victor "Goddamn" Sullivan while Tomb Raider does not, making Uncharted the better series.

Hands down Tomb Raider for me. Uncharted 3 just felt so meh.

Tomb Raider originally inspired by Indiana Jones. Uncharted is originally inspired from Tomb Raider. I agree with the topic writer :)

@igooner7:

Indiana Jones originally inspired by old movie serials. Tomb Raider originally inspired by Indiana Jones. Uncharted originally inspired by old pulp magazines and movie serials, just like Indiana Jones, and ND perfected the action/adventure formula. New Tomb Raider ripped of the Uncharted formula and so on.

Tomb Raider is not a bad game though. It's pretty fuckin' awesome actually.

I think I had a lot more fun with Tomb Raider than I did with Uncharted. The island made a great location and the smaller tomb puzzles were fun events rather than some of the early 2000's Lara games where the puzzle rooms could takes ages just because the thing you were pushing, pulling etc moved so slowly.

I haven't played Tomb Raider yet, but nothing I've seen of the game suggests that any of the cast are anywhere near as charismatic as the cast of Uncharted. Gameplay quirks aside, Uncharted has some of the best written/voiced characters in any video game.

I thought the new Tomb Raider was excellent - as for the tombs, if they were literally three times as big that would be perfect. I think there are 7 tombs overall, so if they combined them and just made 2 tombs with 3 puzzle rooms each that would be perfect.

The tombs themselves were pretty fun but some were simply way too short - like the one where you have to close the window shutters, wait for them to blow open again and jump onto a box. I thought that would lead me into the actual puzzle room and was shocked to realize that was actually the entire "tomb" puzzle.

Yep I fully agree.

The traversal mechanics are actually fun and at least more involved then most games with such.

Oh and on PC the game looks damn gorgeous, the rain the fires, especially the windy tomb set pieces.

The bow is badass in this game and an absolute beast when fully upgraded.

My only minor pet peeve was Lara never changing out of those tank tops into something more appropriate, warm or sturdy over the course of the game.

I agree

Ironic that a series called "Uncharted" has such linear game design. Impossible to get lost, ever.

Yes, you are crazy. Tomb Raider doesn't hold a candle to Uncharted 2. That game is freaking fantastic. It's definitely better than UC1 though.

What's so bad about games being linear? Why does everything need an open world and multiple endings, some of which doesn't even matter(Yes, I'm looking at you, Bioshock:Infinite)

Sometimes I just want the developers to take me in the direction they planned.