Tomb Raider

I first played Tomb Raider about 4 months ago and I got 1.7hours into the game on steam. At that point I found the game very boring and I thought the quick time events were ruining the game somewhat. However I went back to the game 3 days ago and carried on from where I was not imaging it would improve much. However like out of nowhere the game started to get intense and I can now realise they decided to make the game progress really slow. You will watch as Lara goes from young and naive to a survivor/warrior or the Lara Croft we know and love. So although I like a game to make a good impression very early, I think they made right decision with slow start with this game. So I would advise people wait till about 2.5 hours in and then you will struggle to remove yourself from your computer as you play this game. Now I know this game gets compared to the Uncharted Series and vice versa alot... But I’m going to try not to compare the two as I love most of the TR games and grew up playing them on the good old ps1 and UC2 was my favourite games for the ps3 and my favourite game of 2009 as well as enjoying the other games in the series. I'm mainly going to focus on the single player as I believe that’s where TR excels.

One of the more obvious delights in TR is the environments they are such a delight to play through. They also seem to become even better as you progress through the game. The environments in the latter part of the game are amazing, the graphics also help bring these environments to life. However TR was one of those games that really pushed my PC to its limits. I played the game on ultimate however I did find motion blur annoying and turned it off and found I could enjoy the views much better with it off. All in all the game is beautiful to just look at before I even get onto gameplay. The physics are also impressive but they have to be being an essential part of most puzzles even down to some destructible environments and even Lara's hair the physics shine through. The platforming is also a good, I expected the platforming to be very basic but as well as borrowing from some mechanics from Uncharted they brought some new things to table as you progress through the game you discover a new way to the expansive environments. The story is very well done and a good length however the supporting cast are not rememberable at all. The is good selection of different enemies to fight against throughout the game however I found the weapons a bit limited and found myself using the same weapon throughout most of the game to kill enemies (the bow) as it was the most satisfying weapon to use and there was no real need to use any other weapon (shotgun, rifle & pistol) however each weapon does help you with platforming in one way or another which I thought was cleverly done.

Despite being a reboot there is a lot of homage to the older TR games in this latest TR adventure, there were a lot of moments where I was reminded I was playing a TR game which not all reboots manage to achieve. However with a new even newer TR game coming out very soon called “Rise of the Tomb Raider” I’d like to see more of a homage to the older games that made them so great such as more complex puzzles, an actual use for the artefacts you find (keys), underwater puzzles, many different kinds of weapons, more variety of environments, return of vehicles and please after this game’s finale bring back Lara’s signature dual pistols. The multiplayer is fun but nothing there to keep you going back. Overall it was a great experience and a joy to play through. I’d recommend to fans of the series as well as those new to the series and it does look and play like an AAA game so buying it in a steam sale will be a real bargain.