Tomb Raider PS3 review

[jim g]

Well my full retail copy arrived today from Simply Games!

So quick first impressions. Really enjoying this, great sounds, graphics and even the voice acting is very good (after the Aliens: CM pile of poo this is just great). The game does have some similarities to Uncharted and Dead Space 3, but in a good way. The early parts of the game have you looking for some basics to survival and are quite engaging. There are upgrades to earn in the game as well which no doubt will become important later. The running and jumping to platforms is done very well and at no time does it feel like the game is cheating on you if you make a mistake.

Don't want too say too much to spoil it for others. Save to this after 40 minutes of play even at this early stage this is is a must buy for not only Lara fans, but fans of good action adventures. The game feels like a high quality effort and I am well pleased.

I will post more when I get chance to play later tonight and over the weekend (when her indoors permits it..)

Oh and it was ?34.95 delivered from Simply Games, well impressed!

[shaffy_oppa]

Aw I wrote out a first play on the bus earlier today and was just about to post it lol but here's what I wrote anyway. I didn't really talk about the story or goals though. I'd have got it done sooner had I been able to pull myself away, it's currently on pause...

So far about 30% in and it's a good game. It's not the confident Lara we know and love but a much more real Lara with tiny elements of the character we knew. She's actually quite loveable and unlike the previous Lara I find it hard to watch her die... I can't really make judgement on the direction they're taking her at least not until we get another game.

The game looks and plays similar to Uncharted with the set pieces but keeps the exploration the Tomb Raider games are known for, the island and its inhabitants are very reminiscent of the Lost series but pretty grounded. While the story line is linear and there are segments where you're walking straight ahead they're broken up by large open areas which you decide how you traverse. Backtracking can be done by yourself or via the campfires fast travel to unlock new areas as you gain more equipment such as a shotgun to blow small barricades or the rope attached to an arrow of your bow to reach areas otherwise inaccessible.

Areas have plenty of collectibles and hidden tombs detailing the history of the island and it's inhabitants. I particularly like the way Lara talks about the artefact and how she makes diary entries at campfires. You can also pick up entries by other characters revealing more of their backgrounds and tidbits of story. Then there's also the enemies who you can listen in on and find out more background details.

As you explore and kill you gain experience points which unlock skill points. Skill points can be used at campfires to upgrade Lara's abilities under three categories, hunter, survivor and brawler. Each category includes around 7-9 skills from basic tracking skills to skills that allow you to plant you axe in enemy skulls.

You also pick up salvage, which is basically the in game currency used to upgrade equipment, alongside designated equipment upgrade pieces which pretty much remodels the equipment and makes it sturdier.

Overall I'm really enjoying the game and as I've said I'm pretty much hooked however the game is lacking something and I can't figure out what it could be but I'm guessing its the lack of location change. I haven't had a chance to try out the multiplayer yet due to the lack of Internet but I've not heard great things.

Hope that's all okay...

[BIG EDD]

Nice impressions can't wait til my copy turns up on 360 mind you the last few big releases I've bought both 360 and ps3 and yes I'm an achievement and trophy WHORE

[Combination]

She's portrayed as less confident and innocent but moments later she becomes a trained killer. Slapping a story on games where you are killing baddies in the hundreds is ridiculous because there's an incredible disconnect here. The action and set pieces are well done though.

[Dogg Thang]

Back to good ol' murderer Lara then? I'll never forget that dirty feeling I had in Tomb Raider 3, killing security guards in the museum and that bit where she shoots a helicopter pilot in the head while smiling was just so wrong. I was pretty appalled even back then and I guess I'd be more sensitive to that sort of thing now. Could she possibly rival Nathan Drake's body count though? That man is on genocide level at this stage.

[saturn-gamer]

I just received the survival edition this morning and i have to say this game is absolutely brilliant. I'm very impressed by the graphics, it has to be one of the top contenders for this gen when it comes to visuals. TR looks insanely good at times. The music score, SFX and VA are top of the line as well. Lara looks incredibly hot in this one, shes very human like. The most likeable Lara they ever came up with.

The gameplay is just as excellent. I'm not that far, so the game didn't completely open up yet but the areas I've been through were already bigger than those of Uncharted with all kinds of secrets to find. I'm liking the overall gameplay, visuals and art direction more than Uncharted.

The only thing I don't really like are the QTE, the time window is VERY small. Its easy to fail them first time through. Another thing the reviews all seem to mention is how quickly Lara gets used to killing. This is true. The first deer hunt is kind of emotional but 5 minutes later she's hunting them for kicks (if you decide to). The same can be said for killing humans. But how can you translate that to a game anyway? Perhaps by only putting about 5 or so humans in an entire game, and thats not going to happen.

Unless this is going to jump the shark at some point I'd say this is one hell of a game.

[Kieran76]

Great to see such positive reviews. My wife is wanting me to pick this up as she used to enjoy watching me play the older games. I told her I would wait to see what people thought of it. Thick I will pick up a copy later this week now.

[bash]

I mentioned this in the TR news thread but I'm getting really annoyed at the amount of times shes fallen over and each time shes screaming in more sexual ecstasy than a wimbledon final between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams COMBINED.

I'm probably going against video gaming ners stereotype here by stating I've never been a fan of controlling a female character. I'm not a closet misogynist or anything but they're always such pants characters. Whether its beat em ups or adventure games, actually Virtua Tennis I didnt mind I guess. Maybe its the way they're represented, I dunno but Tombraider has never appealed to me, the fact that this borrows from uncharted is the only reason I'm playing it.

[MadMarc]

It's a big roller coaster game. Very Uncharted, very Lost, where Lara gets tortured for hours at the beginning.
The game is pretty long too. I couldn't finish it with 6 hours of gameplay.

[shaffy_oppa]

I do think the whole first kill thing is a bit :/ but it can't really be translated any better. There's really not that many enemies and there are areas where you can just sneak past them. In the end it's a kill or be killed situation... in a situation like that for real what choice would you have?

I'm now 47% in and from 30% to this point it's been very action packed with hordes of enemies, not like uncharted tho, which is a little annoying.

[jim g]

I am at 22% so some way behind shaffy_oppa, but I am still loving it. It is really enjoyable adventure game with great graphics, sound and loads of story to unfold yet. The combat has picked up but I am really enjoying it, and in this game Lara is almost a reluctant heroine.

And, yes, as some have already said Lara is way too hot for a game character!!

[nonny]

Any MP impressions?

I might pick this up for the campaign as I have a xmas voucher still to spend. I'm just wondering whether its a rental or not.

[tokyochojin]

Really was excited about this but some of the videos and the big shoot outs Uncharted style really put me off. Is there any, you know, tomb raiding?

[nakamura]

It's meant to be a straight rip off of Uncharted, Tokyochojin. Very little actual Tomb Raiding according to Strider on here. Still worth a play through though.

[saturn-gamer]

But Uncharted is completely linear, has no backtracking and actually nothing besides shooting and auto climbing to do at all. Worse yet, the climbing doesn't feel all that well and the shooting quite frankly sucks.

Tomb Raider has some sort of travel, there are areas you can revisit once you've got the appropriate items and upgrades, and there are optional tombs. This game is also bigger than Uncharted, it should take approx. 15 hours on average.

Uncharted is a very overrated franchise. I actually wished that CD wouldn't look at it at all when they created this game. Its not as linear as I said but it could be much more open and complex than what it is right now. The need to hunt food to repel your hunger meter didn't make the cut for example.