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Critical Drinker: Tomb Raider is Back, Baby

Very nice. He sounds like a fan of the old stuff.

Were the remastered TRs really as successful as he says? I wasn't aware of that.

I also wasn't aware that the new one (Catalyst) is set right after Underworld, rather than being an extension of the most recent trilogy. That sounds promising. He makes good points about the character changes in the trilogy. They were competent action-adventure games, but Lara didn't have much personality. I enjoyed the first one but gradually lost interest in the others.
 
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It's so odd that everyone has immediately jumped back on the "Tomb Raider is back" bandwagon when the game could still be absolutely rubbish on release.

Gooner's gonna gooner though.
 
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All three recent games were good, Lara has always been hot!

Fair plays, shadows was just good and not great but they are still good.

The three games were not bad action adventure games .... but they certainly got worse with each iteration and Shadow was really mid.

The point is that they weren't great Tomb Raider games though, many of the attributes of the game were generic, Lara could have been any character, the things that made TR what it was were absent. It's not about the boobs, Lara lacks the kickass-ness of the pre-survivor trilogy character, the humour is missing, the tomb raiding is largely absent.
 
As a hater of video game puzzles, I had much more interest in the reboot. I think this type of gameplay will not age well. It was novel on PSX just by virtue of being 3D and having triangle boobies.
 
Very nice. He sounds like a fan of the old stuff.

Were the remastered TRs really as successful as he says? I wasn't aware of that.

I also wasn't aware that the new one (Catalyst) is set right after Underworld, rather than being an extension of the most recent trilogy. That sounds promising. He makes good points about the character changes in the trilogy. They were competent action-adventure games, but Lara didn't have much personality. I enjoyed the first one but gradually lost interest in the others.

It was a major success for what was a low budget release. Low budget, high return.
 
He says...

"Maybe we should start making games people want..."

"...instead of..."

"...chasing whatever cool trend is going on at the time."

There's no saving us. The fact that people don't know that trends tell us what people want...we are doomed.
 
I mean, it was her origin story. She is 21 in that game, hardly old enough to be confident older self. It clearly resonated with people being the highest selling title by far and also the best reviewed one. Like it or not, it was the most popular she had ever been.

The series already had an origin story - only survivor of a plane crash in the Himalaya at the age of 21 that led her to seek a life of adventure away from her aristocratic privilege

As for sales, its a different and much bigger market now. The original series was console exclusive on PlayStation whilst the recent games were multi-platform, yet Shadow barely outsold TR1-3. The highest rated TR game is the 1996 PS One original.
 
The three games were not bad action adventure games .... but they certainly got worse with each iteration and Shadow was really mid.

The point is that they weren't great Tomb Raider games though, many of the attributes of the game were generic, Lara could have been any character, the things that made TR what it was were absent. It's not about the boobs, Lara lacks the kickass-ness of the pre-survivor trilogy character, the humour is missing, the tomb raiding is largely absent.

great points. I see what you are saying. i enjoyed the games but they were deffo missing some of the key DNA. hopefully this brings it back, or some of it at least.
 
Very nice. He sounds like a fan of the old stuff.

Were the remastered TRs really as successful as he says? I wasn't aware of that.

I also wasn't aware that the new one (Catalyst) is set right after Underworld, rather than being an extension of the most recent trilogy. That sounds promising. He makes good points about the character changes in the trilogy. They were competent action-adventure games, but Lara didn't have much personality. I enjoyed the first one but gradually lost interest in the others.
He is , he did a playthough of the Remastered Trilogy on his channel which I didn't expect.
Obviously something he played when he was younger so seeing this probably made him happy.
As for the sales of the Trilogy, no official numbers have been announced but they did state it sold well above expectations and was a financial and commercial success.
 
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The series already had an origin story - only survivor of a plane crash in the Himalaya at the age of 21 that led her to seek a life of adventure away from her aristocratic privilege

As for sales, its a different and much bigger market now. The original series was console exclusive on PlayStation whilst the recent games were multi-platform, yet Shadow barely outsold TR1-3. The highest rated TR game is the 1996 PS One original.

The OG wasn't a console exclusive. it was available D1 on the Playstation, Saturn and PC. It was 2 and 3 that were console exclusive.
 
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I really like Survivor trilogy, even Shadows. I need this type of games, don't want to back to tank control or the tedious climbing puzzles from Legend and Underworld.
But let's see what the new games will bring on the table.
 
Back?

The previous trilogy were good games. Shadow of the Tomb Raider being the worst of the three. I really liked Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider though.
 
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Very nice. He sounds like a fan of the old stuff.

Were the remastered TRs really as successful as he says? I wasn't aware of that.

I also wasn't aware that the new one (Catalyst) is set right after Underworld, rather than being an extension of the most recent trilogy. That sounds promising. He makes good points about the character changes in the trilogy. They were competent action-adventure games, but Lara didn't have much personality. I enjoyed the first one but gradually lost interest in the others.
For TR 1-3 Remastered, the sales are something like 200K; they say it's above expectations. Now, granted, those expectations could have been really low.

For 4-5 remastered, there's a pretty big gap; those sales are 40-50K.

IMO, all these numbers seem a bit low for how well known this franchise is and given that it was pretty cheap. And OG fans are still around, it's not like everyone died that played them when young.

Also, I don't know what he means by back, as everyone said the previous trilogy are good games. Sure, flaws with that modern crap touch, but still good.
He probably refers to either the Reamke itself or Lara as a character and her looks, yeah, she was unlikable for the most part in those.

But, only by this trailer, we don't know anything about how it plays, there's indication it may very well be kind of the same. So all in all the only thing different so far is her looks.
 
The OG wasn't a console exclusive. it was available D1 on the Playstation, Saturn and PC. It was 2 and 3 that were console exclusive.
It was actually Sega Saturn Exclusive for 6 weeks, this is where Sega fans get the idea that it was originally a Sega Saturn game, but the PC version was obviously the lead platform, the PSX could duplicate that version and was in development too and the Saturn one was well...you understand why Sega paid for the Exclusivity, even if it was only 6 weeks.
Having the others out at the same time would have revealed a lot that Sega didn't want people to see.
 
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The occasional good point this dude makes does nothing to compensate for his constant stream of cross-eyed shit takes.

Plus, the hilarious irony that a film critic produces an absolutely shitty movie - golden.

Enjoyed his videos some time ago then quickly got tired of his shtick. Its always the same , I already know what he's gonna say when I see a new video popping up.

"Byuleave that!" *farting noises* - his videos in a nutshell. It'll be there somewhere, and it's never funny when it lands.
 
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Plus, the hilarious irony that a film critic produces an absolutely shitty movie - golden.
At least he puts himself out there and tries (even if he fails). Being a filmmaker and a critic are two different things. Just look at RedLetterMedia who know a lot about scripts and shooting scenes and they still pumped out Space Cop. Also, you need to start somewhere and learn the ropes. Making a film, especially a low-budget one may require that you yourself put a lot of effort into casting, shooting, cinematography, directing, writing and editing. If you work for a big Hollywood studio as a director you'll have top professionals elevating each of these parts and you can focus on directing and creating a coherent vision.

This is why I'm so insanely impressed by movies like Primer, Coherence and The Endless. Especially Primer with its budget of $7000. According to ChatGPT Shane Carruth was a writer, director, producer, editor, composer, cinematographer and also starred in the film. It almost gave me anxiety as it felt so insanely realistic, for a time-traveling movie.

jD0fZTCSgjBKXvzW.jpg

(right one)

"Byuleave that!" *farting noises* - his videos in a nutshell. It'll be there somewhere, and it's never funny when it lands.
Some of his videos are quite interesting, but I'm mostly interested in his streams which I think are far better.
 
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I don't agree with his take on the previous Tomb Raiders games I thought they were fine. I like his channel though. He definitely focuses in on the woke stuff too much but at least it never gets to toxic levels where he encourages people to go harass creators like some people do. He's useful for when a show or movie actually does suck that he'll criticize it when it needs to be.
 
That voice is so fucking annoying. Wish I could stand it so I can actually listen to what his opinion is.
Yeah

Right on par with VaatiVidya, who mainly makes FromSoftware lore videos

The guy sounds so extremely pretentious and trying way too hard to sound mysterious. I'm sure his content is decent but I can't stand how he sounds.
 
That voice is so fucking annoying. Wish I could stand it so I can actually listen to what his opinion is.
There's nothing random people didn't say in the announcement thread, he just says last trilogy bad, new games good, rants about Lara's personality being her good old self that triggers whoever even though we've seen 0 of it in the tiny teasers. Though I guess the remake at least naturally can be assumed to lean more on the first game, not that you saw much there, the story was minimal and will hopefully keep being so, those games were all gameplay with few cut scenes and that's how I liked them, also the less humans the better (more TR1 & 4 - past the prologue - than 2 & 3 please).
 
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The previous trilogy weren't "bad" games. In fact, I will go as far as to say TR 2013 and Rise were really good games. The problems as I see it were this:

  • 95% of Lara's character growth happens in the first game.
  • Lara is 1/4 the Athlete that Classic/Legend Lara were. She's not a gymnast at all, and doesn't perform a single flip the entire trilogy.
  • She uses her iconic dual pistols only once in all three games, and it's done in a way that promises you that they will be used in the next game, and then blue balls you.
  • Lara is devoid of ALL of her charm, wit, femininity, and humor. She is effectively a completely different character than the previous versions of her, and not for the better. She is not a fun or entertaining character to watch, which is criminal for an adventure story.
  • The developers turned the series into Uncharted, but without the charm, cool protagonist, and good writing.
  • "Watch how Lara becomes the Tomb Raider" became a fucking meme.
  • The soundtrack for all games are completely forgettable and generic.
  • All three games don't have an ounce of the atmosphere the Classics had.
Now again, I still think overall the first two games are good. But imo they're not good Tomb Raider games.

I don't agree with Drinker about Lara being hot again, as if she weren't attractive before. Rise/Shadow Lara may have been a departure from how Lara typically looks, but that woman is still a 10/10. You gotta be a porn-brained moron to think she's not pretty. That said I'm very happy with the LoA model, I think looks much more like Lara Croft.
 
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There's nothing random people didn't say in the announcement thread, he just says last trilogy bad, new games good, rants about Lara's personality being her good old self that triggers whoever even though we've seen 0 of it in the tiny teasers. Though I guess the remake at least naturally can be assumed to lean more on the first game, not that you saw much there, the story was minimal and will hopefully keep being so, those games were all gameplay with few cut scenes and that's how I liked them, also the less humans the better (more TR1 & 4 - past the prologue - than 2 & 3 please).
I wouldn't be surprised if he hasnt played any games, just saying shit for yapping sake. Calling last trilogy bad is just egregious
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if he hasnt played any games, just saying shit for yapling sake. Calling last trilogy bad is just egregious
Apparently also doesn't like muddy/bloody vfx cos she always has to look pristine and hot as fuck which is also dumb, you may think they overdid it in this or that game or scene but obviously if it fits the scene then a character being affected like this from the environment is a good thing. Like Batman's suit becoming more worn and torn as you play the Arkham games. Might as well not even add other conditions like wet from water as even later PSX era games added, lol. Of course if she does get muddy and bloody then it could also wear off over time or when you dive in water etc.

Well that's on me for watching the video even though it should be obvious it's just gonna be shit and say nothing new or worthwhile. I'll know better next time.
 
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Those games take place after the reboot trilogy. Characters grow.
Hard disagree. The plan was clearly to replace the old Laura, but the fanbase revolted so they had to course correct. Much like Snyder Superman spent 3 films learning how to be a superhero, while Batman and Wonderwoman figured it out in ONE film.

There was never any reason to spent three games on someone who doesn't resemble Laura whatsoever. You might as well try to make a Jesus Christ trilogy film, and spend all three films having Jesus learning how to make furniture from his human carpenter father.
 
The previous trilogy weren't "bad" games. In fact, I will go as far as to say TR 2013 and Rise were really good games. The problems as I see it were this:

  • 95% of Lara's character growth happens in the first game.
  • Lara is 1/4 the Athlete that Classic/Legend Lara were. She's not a gymnast at all, and doesn't perform a single flip the entire trilogy.
  • She uses her iconic dual pistols only once in all three games, and it's done in a way that promises you that they will be used in the next game, and then blue balls you.
  • Lara is devoid of ALL of her charm, wit, femininity, and humor. She is effectively a completely different character than the previous versions of her, and not for the better. She is not a fun or entertaining character to watch, which is criminal for an adventure story.
  • The developers turned the series into Uncharted, but without the charm, cool protagonist, and good writing.
  • "Watch how Lara becomes the Tomb Raider" became a fucking meme.
  • The soundtrack for all games are completely forgettable and generic.
  • All three games don't have an ounce of the atmosphere the Classics had.
Now again, I still think overall the first two games are good. But imo they're not good Tomb Raider games.
Being a big TR fan, completely agree with your points. That is the primarily issue, she's not Lara in character and the atmosphere is nowhere of what it would be.

Although even if Shadow is the weakest of the 3, I feel in terms of tombs is the best one.
I don't agree with Drinker about Lara being hot again, as if she weren't attractive before. Rise/Shadow Lara may have been a departure from how Lara typically looks, but that woman is still a 10/10. You gotta be a porn-brained moron to think she's not pretty. That said I'm very happy with the LoA model, I think looks much more like Lara Croft.
Exactly, she always looked good, especially in the 1st game's CGI model. And that's the only thing different in this Remake, her outfit and duals pistols, for all we know the gameplay could very well be heavily inspired by the latest trilogy.
 
How do you all rate the remasters? Looking for some of them on the cheap with the current sales going on? Been forever since I played these.
 
How do you all rate the remasters? Looking for some of them on the cheap with the current sales going on? Been forever since I played these.
I'm just playing the first one right now with the original graphics and I think it's amazing, the purity and how straight forward it is. You literally have to figure it all out yourself.
 
Being a big TR fan, completely agree with your points. That is the primarily issue, she's not Lara in character and the atmosphere is nowhere of what it would be.

Although even if Shadow is the weakest of the 3, I feel in terms of tombs is the best one.

Exactly, she always looked good, especially in the 1st game's CGI model. And that's the only thing different in this Remake, her outfit and duals pistols, for all we know the gameplay could very well be heavily inspired by the latest trilogy.

Wouldn't be surprised if Black Widow's pistol combat from CD's Avengers game will be the prototype, and they'll build the gunplay off that. If they inject some Max Payne slow/mo mechanic, that be the cherry on top.
 
Hard disagree. The plan was clearly to replace the old Laura, but the fanbase revolted so they had to course correct. Much like Snyder Superman spent 3 films learning how to be a superhero, while Batman and Wonderwoman figured it out in ONE film.

There was never any reason to spent three games on someone who doesn't resemble Laura whatsoever. You might as well try to make a Jesus Christ trilogy film, and spend all three films having Jesus learning how to make furniture from his human carpenter father.
Except no one revolted. The trilogy sold almost 30 million copies.

And whether or not anyone agrees, CD is officially unifying the games/timeline. So the new trilogy Lara is the precursor to the OG game Lara.
 
Seeing this thread still active I decided to give the video a watch. Specifically 01:00 to 02:00 or so. Is he trying to imply the remasters sold better than the rebooted trilogy? Or that the rebooted trilogy sold bad? So either a moron or a grifter? Probably both.
 
Except no one revolted. The trilogy sold almost 30 million copies.

And whether or not anyone agrees, CD is officially unifying the games/timeline. So the new trilogy Lara is the precursor to the OG game Lara.

I'm fine with the Unification thing. It's CD trying to make Lara an "ethical" Tomb Raider that I think is retarded.
 
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I'm fine with the Unification thing. It's CD trying to make Lara an "ethical" Tomb Raider that I think is retarded.
That I can agree with. One of my biggest gripes with storytelling in recent years is trying to make every villain sympathetic, and every hero flawed.
 
That voice is so fucking annoying. Wish I could stand it so I can actually listen to what his opinion is.

I thought it was fun for a minute but it got old fast. Funny enough, his normal speaking voice is close enough to that sound to almost get grating lol. No need to ham it up.
 
That I can agree with. One of my biggest gripes with storytelling in recent years is trying to make every villain sympathetic, and every hero flawed.

I'm a hardcore fan of Tomb Raider, pretty much all my life. Nobody had a problem with this. It was never a hot button issue, and it was never a problem until CD made it a problem.
 
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