http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/8/3850608/tomb-raider-developer-diary-dives-into-multiplayer-inspirations

So Ploygon posted this story with a "Last Hours" of Tomb Raider video apparently there is a whole series of these hosted by Zachary levi I had no clue about. Anyways, last week I think it was announced that there was going to be Multi-player in the game. Which seems like an extremely odd fit for Tomb Raider but after watching the video I'm possibly convinced that it might actually be fun. It for the large part looks extremely familar to what Uncharted does with its multi-player although it seems there are far more environmental hazards around the levels which could be pretty neat. I don't know about you guys but I think I'm ready to raid me some Tombs. Oh... and apparently Zachary Levi is a playable character in multiplayer...? Yay?

Yay indeed. The multiplayer looks promising. It definitely gave off an Uncharted MP vibe; something I can definitely get behind as I played tons of UC MP. There's just not any games with that sort of traversal in a multiplayer setting. I was rooting for this game well before now but had tempered my own expectations. Now I have nothing but high hopes for this game. Everything about it looks fantastic and if not for the Last of Us it would be my odds on favorite for game of the year.

Plus Zach Levi as a multiplayer character! That's catering to the right audience. I've been saying since the Uncharted movie rumors began he should play Nathan Drake. Nathan Filion is too old ad I'm tired of his schtick and Mark Wahlberg is Mark Wahlberg. Enough said.

That does look cool but the thing really grabbing my attention here is that dude with the mustache who I want to ram me without asking

Well it does look kind of cool I guess, but I feel like this franchise has got a lot riding on this reboot, so idk if now is the best time to introduce multiplayer. I really hope this game is good.

I hope eventually developers learn to go with co-op content for these kind of things rather than adversarial.

Not that that they all have to, but I think people who like single player are more likely to go that direction and have fun with it. I think Mass Effect 3's MP success is a really great example. I feel like you can dip your toes in more there and possibly get very hooked, as opposed to adversarial, which really requires you to jump totally into it. And most of these games' MP just doesn't warrant that.

@ArtisanBreads: I'm the opposite while I'm usually a single player gamer when I want to play some multiplayer im more into adversarial stuff. Coop just never does anything for me.

@Demoskinos said:

@ArtisanBreads: I'm the opposite while I'm usually a single player gamer when I want to play some multiplayer im more into adversarial stuff. Coop just never does anything for me.

I feel you, different tastes, but do you ever really just dabble in an adversarial type game? Like I edited in my post I feel like that's rare and thus harder for a game to do that type of mode. You can mess with co-op for a little while and have fun.

There's also the fact that I'm sure developers have an easier type adapting single player gameplay to co-op vs to player vs player.

@ArtisanBreads: Well, when I find a game I like I play a ton of it. Like, Halo 4? I haven't touched the single player or Spartan-Ops for that matter but I'm nearly 100 hours deep into that game with just the multiplayer. Its just rare that I find a game that I like to commit to like that. Before Halo 4 the last one I went real crazy with was Team Fortress 2. So with me its usually I'm a single player gamer but when I find a multiplayer game that clicks I'm usually going to sink double digit numbers into it. Its not that I hate Co-op its just that I hate having to try to tailor my game playing around other people's schedules.

Uncharted?

Zachary does not need blonde hair. No he does not.
 
Just like this game probably didn't need multiplayer. But we'll see how that ends up.

Ironically enough the prospect of multiplayer has me more interested in Tomb Raider. I loved the multiplayer in both Uncharted 2 and 3, but I've moved on since then and this could act as a suitable replacement for my TPS/traversal hybrid multiplayer needs.

Bows all day, erreday

That's a really homoerotic couch.

@Demoskinos said:

@ArtisanBreads: Well, when I find a game I like I play a ton of it. Like, Halo 4? I haven't touched the single player or Spartan-Ops for that matter but I'm nearly 100 hours deep into that game with just the multiplayer. Its just rare that I find a game that I like to commit to like that. Before Halo 4 the last one I went real crazy with was Team Fortress 2. So with me its usually I'm a single player gamer but when I find a multiplayer game that clicks I'm usually going to sink double digit numbers into it. Its not that I hate Co-op its just that I hate having to try to tailor my game playing around other people's schedules.

Yeah I think that kind of proves what I'm saying.

I don't see it being worth it for all these shooters to put in adversarial multi if they want to diversify for whatever reason because people just don't play many adversarial shooters. There are a few that are really big but it's super hard to break into.

Co-op is probably less work and more likely to have more users try it.

@EuanDewar said:

That does look cool but the thing really grabbing my attention here is that dude with the mustache who I want to ram me without asking

go on...

Funny to hear the creative director spin some of his bullshit:

Ryan McCaffrey: So, the big question: Why multiplayer in a Tomb Raider game that you've spent the last couple of years pitching as a single player cinematic reboot of Lara and a very personal experience for her? Why include a 4-on-4 multiplayer mode?

Noah Hughes: Well, looking at rebooting the franchise, it was important to us to really establish Tomb Raider for the future, going forward. This is part of what a reboot's about. And that was about Lara's story, but it's also about bringing gameplay forward and for me, multiplayer gameplay is probably the biggest innovation in game design since 3D, so for me that was important and we have all kinds of ideas about how to make that fun in the Tomb Raider universe. This is just our first step down that road. We wanted to make sure that we were initiating sensibilities that we'd carry forward through to future Tomb Raiders.

Translation: Company executives decided that shoving multiplayer in there would add more value to the product, plus they can charge $10 for online passes.

Not a Tomb Raider kinda guy but I loved what they did with Deus Ex so ... sure, why not? Bring it!

Zachery Levi is cheating in that video. He is obviously flashing before every match.

Looks interesting, and I like Uncharted and its mp.

But I also loved the last three Tomb Raider games and I just wanted more of that. Kept a distinctive identity all through this generation.

This is actually a little scary. More and more I find myself hoping that "Uncharted" is finally happening for the PC when looking at this game, and I also know that the Uncharted-series is incredible - and if I keep thinking Tomb Raider will be close to the same quality, I'll likely be horribly disappointed.

I've also not had any interest in previous Tomb Raider games (I never liked their style) but with the look and "Uncharted-like feel" of this one I'm excited.

Also Karl's mustache is one of the most sexy things I've seen this year - it needs to make it into the game, or at least, the multiplayer.

At risk of sounding reductive, this looks like Uncharted multiplayer with bows and booby traps. I never cared much for the multiplayer in those games since I don't like competitive multiplayer in general. I find it strange that developer decide to put two very different games on one disc. I agree with @ArtisanBreads; I would prefer to have co-operative multiplayer or UGC as an addition to single player games.

Hmm, I don't know. I'm picking up Tomb Raider specifically for the story, but if the multiplayer component is interesting then I might just stick around!

I will mess with it probably, but I'm getting the game for the single player. If it's a lot of fun on top of the main game that's a real bonus. Really excited for this game, I'm a huge fan of the last few Tomb Raider games... It seems weird that this game is a reboot of a rebooted series.

I'm not surprised. We have been proven wrong time and time again by assassins creed mass effect 3 and uncharted that multiplayer can be done well almos anywhere. Hell I played some of that god of war beta and it seems totally fine.

Is it a co-op game from start to finish?

Why the hell is Zachary Levi a playable character in a Tomb Raider game?

If it's like uncharted mp, I'll probably hate it.