Tomb Raider is a hell of a Game
An arc is very important to any fictional character. At the end of their journey the hero must have changed either for better or worse as the narrative dictates. A few games have undertaken this narrative tool and attempted through various means the transition a routine video game character must undergo through any myriad of tasks. This being video games and that meaning being married to the gun, bow, and knife most of these character changes revolve around going from an innocent human who may or may not have the endurance to crush a butterfly to a almost heartless murderer who may have more blood on their hands and body than the supposed villains. Far Cry 3 presented a very intriguing view into the allure of power and the corrupting influence of revenge. Jason Brody goes from totally shocked at knifing a man to survive to quite earnestly enjoying the thrill of killing and the challenge it presents. Embracing or rejecting the two is a core concept for the game's end and to Jason as a whole. Spec Ops: The Line likewise gives its characters an arc from heroic to something not. The executions go from quick to protracted and commands uttered with efficiency to bellowing a curse. Tomb Raider attempts much the same at having a young Lara Croft out on adventure to help film a documentary series on a lost island nation. What follows is a harrowing journey that pits Lara against cultists, the island, and a far more sinister force best left to discover.
Tomb Raider makes a solid effort trying to show the transformation of Lara Croft into this super soldier able to mow down enemy platoons with ease. It stumbles however. It's perfectly fine from a story perspective to believe that the innocent hero would kill in self-defense. Slaughtering loads of baddies with an assault rifle and shotgun makes for a tougher pill to swallow. Once unlocked in the short and sweet talents tree, Lara can perform executions where shut unloads her rifle into a dying man or digging her climbing axe into his forehead. It can become quite easy to forget where, hours earlier, Lara had trouble killing a deer for food to survive. This dissonance, like any dissonance, is troubling. It's a note out of pitch. The actual impact of this is negligible however. Pondering the nature of humanity's will to survive is kind of hard when there's ten cultists tossing grenades and pouring fire while advancing, you know? Playing the game is fun enough that it's easy to not think about the silliness of Lara doing what she does.
The rest of the story is told alright with a mixed bag of characters. The angry Scottish crewman being my favorite with the big Maori Jonah in a close second. The big reveal is a touch easy to predict however and watching as Lara tries to figure it out can be somewhat frustrating.
As a game, Tomb Raider is largely successful however. Running, climbing, shooting, and using a bow all feel great. The core of the game is mixed between combat where Lara can sometimes use stealth to clean out a room or go guns blazing with both options being viable and exploring the island. Exploring the island and revealing all its mysteries is a great delight as well. Walking slowly through a small tunnel with only a torch for light and stumbling into an ancient tomb protected by a not too hard not too easy puzzle is enjoyable every time. Collecting scrap off of dead enemies or animals or lootable crates and chests allows for Lara to upgrade her weapons alongside a linear path. What's more is that just about every upgrade is reflected on the actual model in game. Always a good thing. GPS caches, diaries, relics and the such also scatter the island enticing more time to spent on the island.
And that's just fine seeing how gorgeous the game is. The hollowing wind forces Lara to slow down and cover her face as thick clouds of dust pelt her. A setting sun makes even the decrepit shantytown of the cultists pleasing as the tin roofs light up in color. Coated in myth, the tombs are all a treat to the eye. A silky smooth frame rate on top of the package only makes the game look better.
I really wasn't expecting to have such a great opinion on Tomb Raider as I do. I'd would be very interested to see where this franchise is headed now. If you're in the market for an extremely solid action adventure game than Tomb Raider is exactly that.
