So, Crystal Dynamics is making a new Tomb Raider game.
Or, I guess we can’t really call it that since it won’t have the words tom raider in the title. They are going to take the Tomb Raider recipe and add a mountain of new spices.

Not the worst decition I’ve heard in years since most people have done nothing but complain about the recent games in the series. 
But is Tomb Raider really the game you want for such a revamp?
I think of Tomb Raider (I really do mean the good ol’ ones) as the adventures of Lara Croft (and the wonder twins) where most things could happen within the limits of “boom boom”. Everything from Indians, foot soldiers and dinosaurs get shot, you pull levers, solve puzzles and recover strange artifacts and that was pretty much it.

It was when they started with the intricate story line that things got weird. Angel of Darkness was the final drop in my cup before it spilled over and I completely ignored all things with the Tomb Raider name. 

And then came Tomb Raider: Legend. 
I saw the trailers and the reviews, I downloaded it and played it. 
And I was having the best time in quite some time.
They had not done much to the original game. A great deal of polish, a few new moves and puzzles and that was it. A brilliant thing to do. Like adding bacon to a hamburger. You know the original is awesome, all you need is to leave it alone or add more awesomeness.

Now back to the coming game.
I’m going to list the things I remember from the interview: New camera angle, coop play and what looks like a new engine.

The new engine is a good thing. Polish is always a good thing.
The camera angle and coop makes me shift my head and my eyebrows narrow.
Its like my head is asking my eyes “are you really seeing that?”

I’m a bit concerned about this.
On the good side of it; Its the good old Tomb Raider team who’s making it and that is probably one of the best things that could happen to a new Tomb Raider game. But I feel like they should look to Santa Monica Studios (creators of God of War) and realize that nothing needs to be fixed if its not broken.

Tomb Raider has worked just fine like it is for over a decade. That should be proof enough.
If they really want to make an adventure game with coop, get together with Naughty Dog and give them some ideas for the new Uncharted game. In there you’ve got established characters who’s ready for coop play. Not forced though. If the second player wants to join in, then he/she may do so. But it should not be needed to complete the game. Especially since adventure/platform/shooting games tend to get tricky in some spots and the last thing you want is your little brother next to you on the couch using up all the ammo and the better half of your patience and mental health.

Bottom line: Stick to what you and the gamers know. If you want to make something new. Then make something new FROM SCRATCH.