Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider was first created in 1996 by Core Design which introduced the first female heroine in the gaming industry . Although the 3rd person platform had been quite famous at that time , thanks to Prince of Persia , the Tomb Raider series was different in its unique way . Bcos it was not only about killing enemies but actually following in the shoes of an archaeologist .People who always had a thing for mystery and puzzles fell in love with it and it showed . The first game was released in PlayStation , PC and Sega Saturn . 

Later in 2006 after the seiries was messed up by Core Design , Crystal Dynamics came into Play . The first game which was released by them and the one which again brought to Lara Croft to the Lime light was the famous Tomb Raider : LEGEND . The game had an astonishing awesome detail when compared to the old titles and breathtaking puzzles that were actually solvable by simple logic.

Evolution of Lara

The game introduced the first ever QTE mechanic to increase the dynamic moments in the game and also the Grapple Gadget that can be user for swing over small chasms or pulling an enemy from ledge or to pull objects nearer which formed a major part in solving the puzzles and traversing the environment such a beauty .Fans went crazy over the game ( including me ;-) ) that the game was considered to be a phenomenal hit . Later came The Anniversary and  Underworld where the later was praised for its immense details and graphics .

The Trilogy

So its 2013 and Crystal Dynamics has once again redefined the concept of Lara that we had known of . The game was confirmed to be a reboot of the franchise with the players stepping into the shoes of a younger Lara who later on became the hard and tough as shell Croft that we know of .

Tomb Raider 1996

Plot ::

The game takes place in the present day world where Lara , a ambitious archaeology graduate who goes in search of the Lost kingdom of Yamatai which was funded by the Nishimura Family ,actual descendants of the Yamatai . Her crew involves the Dr. James Whitman, Conrad Roth ( Lara's Mentor) , Samantha "Sam" Nishimura ( Best friend of Lara ), Joslyn Reyes ( Mechanic ) , Jonah Maiava , Alex ( Electronics Specialist who has a secret crush on Lara ), Angus "Grim" Grimaldi ( The helmsman of the Ship ) . According to Lara's Direction when the crew attempt to navigate to destination via sea , they come under fierce storms and the ship gets thrown at the rocks .

A younger/ Innocent and Attractive Version of Lara

Lara is separated from the crew and is taken captive by the local Natives that are in the island. Lara escapes from the natives and tries to find her crew who are scattered all around the island . When they finally meet they find that the Island Natives are actually shipwrecked people who are stranded in the Island while some supernatural Force does not allow them to escape . Now its upto  the Innocent Lara to actually escape from the Island safely along with her friends and also to escape from the evil clutches of Mathias , A physco maniac who believes in the actual Ritual of bringing the sun God to life .

Gameplay ::

I have to say Tomb Raider has always sucked in shooting mechanics . Right from the initial game the game had employed a auto point and fire mechanism where Lara focuses on the nearby targets automatically. Although it made the game easier it could be kind of irritating at some times . Hell  even Legend had the same thing in it . But this time Crystal Dynamics has really nailed it . The game exactly feels like Uncharted now , especially in the shooter mechanics . It has the same aim and shoot tactics , cover mechanism , doge and kill , shielded Enemies who start coming at you . Replace Lara with Drake in this game and you won t feel a difference at all . But still Hey Drake never had Bow and Arrow ;-) which is now Lara signature Weapon in this game instead of her legendary Dual Pistols.

QTE Event

The game looks so smooth , be it ordinary traversal or engaging enemies the engine never loses its momentum . You will actually feel like you are the one who is engaging in the action . The epic feature in the game that impressed me a lot and have to be mentioned here is there are Zero Loading between levels , I mean can you believe that :D I was really shocked when I realized it after I have completed about half of the game . The game was so addictive that I kept on playing promising myself that I would stop after this level . But hell man , I was in for a surprise . Since there was no loading in between levels the game actually felt like it was  a movie . You want to know added to the beauty of the movie . Say hello to the Dramatic Moments

When I said Dead space was famous for its dramatic moments that completely blow your breadth away , It was because I haven t played this one yet . My God ! You can never imagine whats going to happen next in this god forsaken Island . Right from the beginning where you escape from the claws of the maniac who tied you upside down , the game is filled with dramatic moments and QTE . Fail in this QTE and you will get to see the most gruesome deaths that Lara can ever die of . It will be so cruel and you will feel so protective over her that you will do your level best to not to let your character die at all .Such is the impact of Lara in this game .

This is the best moment ever in the game

The dramatic moments sure add life to the story and gameplay. And what one has to appreciate is the complete Transition from in-game cutscene to actual gameplay . I mean it will be so fluid and film like you won t realize that you had to actually control your Lara until you die horribly at the hands of nature . It was really the coolest feature in this game that has to be appreciated and praised . Hats off to Crystal Dynamics in thinking that and actually achieving it too. You did a really impressive job guys .

TOMBS ::

Of course whats a TR game without tombs to explore . These are like optional objectives that are found in each of the big environments and the only place that you will be challenged with puzzles . Yet again with the Instinct , the puzzles are seriously down graded . Although some were real brain teasers , they were not tough enough that you would end up breaking your head over it for hours and hours :D ( Like Limbo for eg )

But still it was quite fun too.

Graphics ::

Right from the opening cutscene which opens one thing will always be on your mind top most . God ! Lara is beautiful , Wish she was my girlfriend ;) . I mean really ,we were so used to  the same Lara of the old gen games that this one looks completely adorable and cute like hell . Definitely not the tough as nails character that we have been familiar with . But wait , that was the actual movie and not in game graphics . Lets see how she looks in that . If you thought that wait for the game to actually run , Because I assure you will be astounded by how realistic and breathtakingly beautiful Lara looks even when she is battered , dirty with grime ,sticky hair without any make up ;-) And she looks so fragile that you will feel completely sorry for her when she gets thrown around in the game like a rag doll . Seriously man, even a guy can t take that much hurt and stand up and walk after such a fall .

The environments looks beautiful with sunlight filtering in via leaves and Lara's Clothes swaying in the light breeze . The PC version of the game boasted a new concept in Graphics detail know as the Tress FX hair Dynamics . This is an awesome  Graphic feature that has been introduced in the Gaming Industry for the first time and one can hope to see it in the near future games . The hair looks so real and natural that you can actually see individual strands of the hair that sways in teh breeze . My god I was blow away with it .Made Lara look even more sexier ;-)

Beauty of TressFX

The difference in lighting is beautifully shown in the game that you will actually feel like you are experiencing it in real time . Although the Island isn't the happy and rich to look and please you eyes Island like it was in Far Cry 3 , it looks really amazing in the background and especially in the Vast open areas . Especially when you use the instinct the entire environment light up with a greyish tinge that looks amazing .It really demands your GPU too , so better keep an eye on your temperature too .

Abilities ::

Ok , we all know that Lara is famous for her Balance skills , back flips , expert swimmer and everything . But since its a reboot one can t expect and hope to have the same things right ? Well you are in for a surprise . Well now Lara can t swim , or atleast in the gameplay moment s, no Swan dive too of course , and no back flips too .

But In comes the Bow and Arrow with a lot of cool techniques . The bow and Arrow not only is capable of finishing off enemies silently but is useful fro another feature . As the game progresses , you will find beams in houses and other constructions that will have large amounts of rope tied around them. Most of us won t even notice it . But for the ones who notice may even not think of using it . Because these ropes are not for only securing the platforms and beams . You will be able o fire arrows with rope tied to it at them and where it gets stuck and you can use the near by rope tied mast to secure the other rope end and thereby creating a path for high and unreachable places or to places which are unreachable by your jump abilities . Once the rope is tied , you will be able to slide along them from higher to lower ground or climb back from lower to higher ground.

And once you get the Rope ascender gadget you will able to ascend the rope quickly with the help of the gadget :D . Quite cool to look and use and damn effective

Lara also has a pry axe which she can use as a melee weapon to attack enemies who come closer or to get a stealth kill from behind ( Quite brutally too) .This later gets upgraded so that now you will use it to climb rocky mountain walls with it . The way use it is quite innovative , like you have to jump and press X fro Lara to grab on to the rock face with her tool . The famous grab again to tighten your loose hold is back too.

Lara can now use a torch which is nothing but a cloth wound on  wood which can be set to fire with the help of Climbing tool and a metal piece that you find . You can extinguish them anytime you want and can be used to find your way in dark places and also to burn things that are in your way or bags that may hold some salvage parts .

Weapons ::

Say goodbye to the legendary Dual pistols and say hello to the

1.  Bow and Arrow :: 

This is the first weapon that you get to handle in the game and can take some time for you to get used to it . Especially used for stealth kills, it kills very quickly when ever the enemy is unaware of you but may require 2 or more arrows when the enemy sees you and goes into alert, unless of course you are a veteran enough to pull of an headshot . Initially the bow pouch can hold only 20 arrows which is quite plentiful , But as you upgrade you may carry upto a max of 40 arrows along with Arrows that has explosive arrowheads , flaming arrows that you light up with your lighter .

The effective pull of an arrow is also quite effectively shown with the circle tightening to a compact red one that it kind of gives you the feel of actual pulling the bow (which was missing in AC 3 for sure ). Although you do get the guns later in the game you will see that you start preferring this more and Arrow .Maybe bcos of the abundance of the arrows that are found littered all over the place or the skill to retrieve an arrow form the body of a dead guy . Deadly and Lethal :)

2. Hand Gun ::

The most ineffective and , Ironically , least used weapon of all in tis game is the pistol . You will be wielding only one at the beginning . Ross does give you the second pistol at Quarter of the game . When Lara turns back with a pose  with the dual pistols you will start routing for her involuntarily .Damn she is back . But sadly the excitement does not last and you yet once again you will find yourself switching back to your bow and arrow :)

3. Assault Rifle ::

Although when you get the gun first it won t be most effective but as you find more parts and upgrade your gun to hold more ammo per magazine , reduce recoil, attach grenade launcher etc, this baby becomes your favorite when you need to make some noise . Second most preferable weapon in the game .

4. Shot-Gun ::

Again the first gun you come across will be so weak that it will be effective in  very close range that you will avoid it at most of the places like a plague . Yet again when start upgrading you will sure get a kick out of this and will feel its bite on the enemies for sure .Quite lethal for guys who come at you with melee weapons .Because these are the guys who come up close and personal . And right when they pop over your barrier BAAM, give them one right in their face .

Melee Attacks  ::

The melee attacks sure does require a mention . Bcos unlike Unchartered it ain't the routine attacks . The melee is quite innovative and keeps on changing as you upgrade your abilities . Initailly you will just have the shove technique as melee. But as you upgrade , and execute a effective dodge ,you can kill the guy with one thrust from your Arrow to his neck or take your shot gun and give one in his face or use the Assault rifle mercilessly on his body. Damn Effective and makes Lara look Brutal & cold as hell. Hell yeah !

The final Boss Like Guard

Upgrades ::

The same like Far Cry 3 you have 3 levels of upgrades each concentrating on unique skill sets

1. Survival Instincts :

This involves Animal Instinct ,Survivalist, Advanced Salvaging, Bone Collector, Arrow Retrieval, Scavenging, , Climber's Agility, Pain Tolerance , Orienteering , Cartography . Each requires a skill point to upgrade , which can be earned by gaining XP from special kills , environment kills , melee kills etc .

2.Hunter  Upgrades ::

This involves Steady Shot , Ammo Capacity , Heavy Lifter , Accomplished Killer , Bow Expert , Pistol Expert , Machine Gun Expert , Shotgun Expert.  As the name itself explains everything , there is no need of explanation I think :D

3. Brawler Upgrades ::

This involves Dirty Tricks ( Quite innovative again , Lara gets to throw mud and sand into the face of her attacker so as to momentarily blind him allowing her to escape and come back with a lethal blow.) , Axe Strikes , Dodge Counter , Dodge Kill ( Beautiful to look when you get o execute ) , Dodge Kill Mastery , Axe Expert

The upgrades on weapons pack quite a impact too as the assault rifle becomes beautiful to handle when its fully upgraded . While the bow upgrade only makes it to look cool . You won t feel the the upgrade its use . Shotgun is quite superb when its full upgraded too . Salvage parts are required in order to upgrade the weapons . Which can be found out into the environments . Although the game is not of sandbox style you do get to explore the environments which are quite big.  And the way they have entwined the upgrades along with the things which you salvage is quite cool ;-)

Emotional Content ::

This has to be mentioned specifically . Because after a long time , this game made me feel along with protagonist Character . Whenever LAra feels happy you will feel happy and when she feels sad and hopeless you wil vow to not to let Lara like that :D . Tats how the game affects you ( i.e) if you are a true and passionate gamer. The part where emotionally forced first to kill a guy was a little too enthralling and quite though out . Although after that you will go around easily killing off everybody :P that sure required some corrections Crystal .

And the part where Lara is finally able to raise a Transmission signal as she sits on the top of the radio tower is the ultimate peak of emotional content . You will feel her happiness in your very bones . Hats off the BGM that revolves around that scene . Apart from that BGM score is only passable .I mean they could have given a little more concentration to that part .It looks good when the game runs but nothing worthy enough to remember and hum whenever you think of the game.

And another thing that I have to say for sure is the review by Conan who reviews games in the show called " The Clueless Gamer ". This guy really cracked me up . And since I loved it so much , here it it is for you :D . Please watch and I am sure you will love it. He is Hilarious :D

A shot from the review by Conan

And the last part where Lara finally goes off in the boat with her father's diary in her hands and she finishes off saying that this is the only beginning , I really had goosebumps :D :D " THUS A SURVIVOR IS BORN "

Pro's ::

1. Take control of the Attractive and fragile Lara Croft and see her transformation into a battle hardened Survivor.
2. Be blown away with the awesome environmental Effects and special mention to The Tress FX hair Details .
3. Make sure you start the game when you have ample time to play or you will get drawn into this game so much that you will lose track of the time :D
4. Zero Loading Time and Jaw Dropping cinematic moments  makes the game feel like a Hollywood Movie .
5. Nice transition between cutscenes and gameplay .it looks so fluid you wont realize that the cutscene is over and you have to take control of your character until you die :P
6. Epic  Emotional content in the game that you will start to fall in love with Lara :)
7. A easy 8-9 hrs gameplay for sure.,

Con's ::

1. BGM is good , but not Gears of War , God of War , Crysis Like good .
2. Tress FX hair can cause some weird glitches at some places  ( Lara goes BALD at specific angles :P )

Overall :: A must play game for all . Beats Uncharted Series hands down with its Dramatic moments and emotional content . Don t ever miss it

Rating :: 9.9 / 10

Regards
Ram