Tomb Raider Review

               Tomb Raider is a modern reboot of the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider video game series that began on the PlayStation in 1996.  This game tells the origins of young Lara Croft as she learns to survive and not be a little girl.

                In what may be the worst opening to a video game ever, you are treated to Lara looking into a mirror and then stuff goes bad.  Seriously, if you have seen any of the trailers, the opening is cut just like that. It’s terrible! It was like the creators thought, “Just jump into the action. Let’s not take forever to set up a story.”

                Your boat crashes on an island and you must find your crew mates.  You soon fine that the island itself is keeping you stranded. You find yourself battling the Solarii and Japanese samurai warriors. During the story I did find myself caring for Lara, but I could care less about any other character. The game does try to explain these characters, but does a poor job of doing so.

                I have never enjoyed how other Tomb Raider games played, but this one is enjoyable.  At first Lara seems too slippery to control, but you will get used to it. Lara can also make ridiculous jumps! At times I was unsure how to progress because I knew I could not jump as far as the game wanted me to; but yes, take that leap of faith.

                Along the way you find many weapons that can be upgraded during your adventure. Your arsenal includes a bow, shotgun, handgun, and machine gun. You will always have plenty of ammo. My personal favorite was the bow since you could get your arrows back out of enemies. It also is needed to progress in several puzzles. 

                The game seems like it is a survival game, but do not be fooled like I was. It starts as this, but quickly becomes, “kill hundreds of bad guys.” It begins to feel much like Uncharted, but not as good.

                The game is also filled with quick-time events. These are the worst as the game gives you a fraction of a second to press the Y or Δ button to save yourself. It caught me off guard several times and was a cheap death.

                The puzzles in the game are quiet fun. I liked them because they did make you think, but not frustratingly so. There was only one puzzle that I didn’t like only because my timing was off. See, it was me that was the mistake; that’s how you design a game! Good job Crystal Dynamics.

                If you get tired of just following the story, you are able to find collectables. In each area there are documents, treasures, and optional tombs to find and discover. Completing everything will get you extra XP and achievements.

                At camp sites scattered throughout the island you can upgrade you skills and weapons. You will earn XP during missions and find salvage to use as money. This allows you to use a melee attack, throw sand in enemies’ eyes, or making your weapons deal more damage.

                If there is one amazing thing I must point out, it is that there are virtually no loading screens. This may be because I bought the digital version on Xbox On Demand, but it is remarkable. The only loading screens I saw were after I died or used the teleporting feature to other campsites.

                Overall, Tomb Raider is not impressive, at first. It took some time to warm up to, but I found myself enjoying the game as time went on. After about three hours I didn’t want to stop playing. I give Tomb Raider for the Xbox 360 a 7.9 out of 10. It is also available on PlayStation 3 and PC via Steam.