Tomb Raider PS3 review

[Brad]

^^^^ This. Resi 4 QTEs = good. BF3 and Fahrenheit QTEs = crap. Done well they have their place but if you can't do them well then do a regular cut-scene.

[nakamura]

I thought they were generally well handled in Resi 4. Not overdone and you have enough time to react.

[Guts]

Resi 4 knife fight was brilliant, really put some pressure on the player like, you know, a knife fight should. Other QTEs in that game were good too, they could totally surprise you like when Salazar's guard throws the knife at Leon and you suddenly have to hit buttons in a total "holy f***!" moment, but they weren't over-used.

[rmoxon]

I think that's just proof of how good a game RE4 was, when even the QTE's were good.

Unfortunately that's not the case with most games. The worst QTE in a game I have played is actually probably the end of MGS4, with Snake crawling across the floor.. You literally had to bash a button repeatedly for about 10 minutes. It's a fine example of how a dramatic moment in a game can be completely ruined by QTE's

[MrKirov]

Completely disagree with MGS4- that corridor QTE was incredible.

You were effectively hitting a button repeatedly, but you had to do it for a long period, and you got tired and found it hard to continue- echoing the pain Snake was going through in order to push himself past his limits to make it through the corridor to defeat the AI.

I would easily put tht in the same camp as the Resi 4 knife fight.

[fallenangle]

Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophesy was the QTE fest that confirmed my hate for the whole concept. They were the main physical gameplay element used with such tiresome regularity and long-windedness that it was the principle thing that caused me to end up detesting the game with a passion I still feel. It is one of the few games I've given up on when over halfway through.

[rmoxon]

Completely disagree with MGS4- that corridor QTE was incredible.

You were effectively hitting a button repeatedly, but you had to do it for a long period, and you got tired and found it hard to continue- echoing the pain Snake was going through in order to push himself past his limits to make it through the corridor to defeat the AI.

I would easily put tht in the same camp as the Resi 4 knife fight.

I didn't get tired though, I just felt an odd mixture of boredom and amusement at how silly the sequence was. It was the worst moment in the game, even worse than what followed it when the game kept ending and then starting back up again.

[MrKirov]

Horses for courses. I loved it and thought it was a effective way of combining cutscene and playability, and also an attempt at making you feel the emotion of the character.

[EvilBoris]

I didn't get tired though, I just felt an odd mixture of boredom and amusement at how silly the sequence was. It was the worst moment in the game, even worse than what followed it when the game kept ending and then starting back up again.

You need to start playing games on harder settings.

[rmoxon]

You need to start playing games on harder settings.

Eh?
I play everything on hard usually, not sure what that has to do with the end of MGS4 though.

[EvilBoris]

I'm winding you up and am failing.

I actually quite liked that ending on MGS for the same reasons as Kirov, you just had to push on through because you needed to win, just as Snake needed to succeed, even though you literally had no choice but to try and kill him in order to do so. I thought that was a particularly effective QTE.


Anyway, I love a good QTE...Asura's Wrath for the win

[EvilBoris]

This is very traumatic so far. !st degree burns, impaled, caught in a bear trap, attacked by wolves.

When will something go right?!

[rmoxon]

It is pretty harrowing stuff. Lara is a really believable lead and it's hard to watch her go through what she does. They did a fantastic job there. In fact I'm surprised at the quality of the game in general. There have been a lot of disappointing releases over the last 6 months or so, but this game has exceeded my expectations really. I tried to hold off calling it brilliant, because I remember that I initially did that with Uncharted 3 and ultimately the game had several broken elements that reared their ugly head and disappointed me. That does not look like occurring here though.

One thing I have been really impressed with is the bow, it's more enjoyable to use than any bow I've ever used in another game. The combat isn't perfect, the enemy A.I. Is a bit stupid, and their constant reliance on firebombs, which are easily avoided, got old after the first hour of the game. But the shootouts are still an enjoyable part of this. The climbing is enjoyable too, it's a straight rip off of uncharted, but that's no bad thing, it does have a kind of been there and done that feel too it, though that is made better by the use of Lara's climbing axe, which helps make climbing even more interactive than in the Uncharted games.

The level design in general is excellent. The hidden tombs are fun to discover, and most importantly the game contains a sense of adventure that few others do. Yes the QTE's are not done that well, but really it's a minor gripe when the game is taken as a whole.

In my opinion this game represents a fantastic achievement, and a welcome rebirth of a classic series. I haven't quite completed this yet, but I already can't wait for the next installment.

[Charlie]

I dislike both QTEs and cutscenes personally. Anyway, pleased to read all the positivity for the game, this could be the game that gets me switching my Xbox on for the first time in over 3 months.

[EvilBoris]

It's nice how silky smooth it is after coming off Crysis 3