• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Tomb Raider Review Thread!

R

RagnarokX

Member
IGN - "This traditional Tomb Raider exploration takes a back seat to the storyline in the main campaign, so it's great to see it shine in the secret tombs."

Sounds great!
 
A

antitrop

Member
Fine Ham Abounds said:
We need every game to have Bryan Cranston though.
Click to expand...
WHATLEY!

H674i8S.jpg
 
E

ezekial45

Banned
Sephzilla said:
Yeah, DmC has a pretty large amount of issues that I was surprised reviewers glossed over. That's why I'm curious if Tomb Raider be a similar case.
Click to expand...
I can understand that, but DmC did have a number of features that the other games were weak on. Yet the folks who were invested in seeing the worst from that game completely refused to acknowledge it.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
Lime said:
I agree that there seems to be trend in the latter half of 2012 and forward in which reviewers were more down upon repetitious AAA sequel than earlier. Unfortunately it is still the upper echelon of the 100-scale that is being used ad nauseum for these titles, so the couple of points are not that significant in this growing trend to be more hard on sequel# 3 in the same AAA franchise. I simply attribute this tendency to be IP fatigue more than a tendency to be more critical.

I'll bet that once the new IPs land in next generation, game reviewers will return to being dazzled by production values and polish and subsequently overlook the elaborate flaws.
Click to expand...

pretty much. this started around Uncharted 3. this gen has gone on too long. graphics aren't everything, but they are something, and it's getting harder and harder for anyone to push the aged consoles we're still dealing with. scores are suffering, and that'll end with the proper next gen power houses later this year.
 
Acheteedo

Acheteedo

Member
Oh shit it turned out fine... note to self, continue not listening to the hivemind.

Finally, a 2013 game that does it right.
 
P

piratepwnsninja

Member
Derrick01 said:
If nailing it means missing the point completely then he did indeed "nail it".
Click to expand...

There is no point to be missed here. You not liking something doesn't make it objectively bad. You don't like it, and that's fine. Blah blah, right to your opinion, blah blah. Games, on basic principle alone, are by and large subjective material. I was actually arguing FOR your seeming dislike of the game being relevant. But you've apparently decided that if something is bad for reasons you deem it bad, then it is objectively bad.
 
C

CambriaRising

Member
piratepwnsninja said:
There is no point to be missed here. You not liking something doesn't make it objectively bad. You don't like it, and that's fine. Blah blah, right to your opinion, blah blah. Games, on basic principle alone, are by and large subjective material. I was actually arguing FOR your seeming dislike of the game being relevant. But you've apparently decided that if something is bad for reasons you deem it bad, then it is objectively bad.
Click to expand...

This post could probably apply to most of what Derrick says.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
piratepwnsninja said:
There is no point to be missed here. You not liking something doesn't make it objectively bad. You don't like it, and that's fine. Blah blah, right to your opinion, blah blah. Games, on basic principle alone, are by and large subjective material. I was actually arguing FOR your seeming dislike of the game being relevant. But you've apparently decided that if something is bad for reasons you deem it bad, then it is objectively bad.
Click to expand...

Yes I do think the gameplay on display here is objectively worse than previous gaming standards.
 
L

Lucius86

Banned
Heart Attack said:
More good games? or more games copying each other while offering a soulless product with shinier graphics?
Click to expand...

I cannot deny that we need innovation. But this game clearly never set out to do something new. Not every game does. And thankfully we do get many that try new things.

If the overall quality of the product is good (which, it would appear, Tomb Raider is, based on the quantity of positive reviews), then it has set out what the developers envisioned. It may not have done anything brave or different, but that does not make it a bad game.

Calling the game soulless, when you haven't played it, is quite amusing too.
 
R

Revven

Member
Coolwhip said:
Or all the gaming websites have grown to like the brutal, cinematic, linieair, narrow pathed games.
Click to expand...

Check those boxes! (In other words, yes, they do).

While Tricky is orgasming with gifs I'll be passing on this game; it's absurd how the reboot strayed so far away from what the franchise was known for.

Such a shame.

And this thread proves that a lot of people don't read the actual content of the reviews. Also how "gaming journalism" is still a joke. -_-

"Narrative is good but all this gameplay is kinda mediocre... GIVE IT AN 8!" Yeah, the score often does not seem to match up with all the negatives given in some of these reviews. A 10 score scale is simply way too high for these sites and even a 5 score scale system is too high. Abolish scores and things would be better all around.

It's like they can't like the game too much so they throw down some negatives and then line up their score with how much enjoyment they had with the game vs how much positive/negative comments they gave. Rather than critically analyzing what the game is, executes, and whether or not it is actually comparable to its past games (if any).

Oh well.
 
M

Magic Mushroom

Member
Penny Arcade review

The missteps are small and few, and the triumphs are many and large. Tomb Raider re-introduces us to the character of Lara Croft, explains how she came to be the hero we know from earlier games, and then sets her on her way to more adventures. The game’s final line, and the tiny hint at a possible sequel if you know where to look, do a great job at capping off a fulfilling adventure. I walked away from the game as the credits rolled like one walks away from a grand meal: Feeling satisfied and refreshed.
Click to expand...
 
I

inky

Member
Acheteedo said:
Oh shit it turned out fine... note to self, continue not listening to the hivemind.

Finally, a 2013 game that does it right.
Click to expand...

There have been way more positive comments than negative ones around the game, so I guess you are continuing to do that just fine. ;)
 
G

grosvenor_92

Member
Sn4ke_911 said:
Imo Tara Strong's review is really good, everyone should watch it.
Click to expand...

Just finished watching it and im glad the single player is good despite the over use of qte's. I also don't care about mp so I'm not shocked to find out it's lacking. Overall though it sounds like I'll enjoy it despite the flaws.
 
A

antitrop

Member
Derrick01 said:
Yes I do think the gameplay on display here is objectively worse than previous gaming standards.
Click to expand...
But why would anyone care about your opinion if you haven't played it?

You should probably just save this discussion for the OT after the game actually comes out.
 
J

Jrpgfanatic

Member
Very excited to play this, I hope future installments continue to feel distinct and don't go anywhere near the tone of the original series.
 
D

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Derrick01 said:
Yes I do think the gameplay on display here is objectively worse than previous gaming standards.
Click to expand...

That's opinion. The last Tomb Raider games had extremely dumbed-down gameplay. So if anything this one is just another style of that. People act like the last few TR games were the holy grail of Tomb Raider. They were solid and fun, just as this one looks to be.
 
R

Relaxed Muscle

Member
Lime said:
I agree that there seems to be trend in the latter half of 2012 and forward in which reviewers were more down upon repetitious AAA sequel than earlier. Unfortunately it is still the upper echelon of the 100-scale that is being used ad nauseum for these titles, so the couple of points are not that significant in this growing trend to be more hard on sequel# 3 in the same AAA franchise. I simply attribute this tendency to be IP fatigue more than a tendency to be more critical.

I'll bet that once the new IPs land in next generation, game reviewers will return to being dazzled by production values and polish and subsequently overlook the non-obvious flaws.
Click to expand...

I disagree here. RE6 played nothing like RE5 although they shared a lot of level design similarities then it was bashed by the press. Then we have games like Far Cry 3 scoring really well.

I think that games that offers some way to get around their linearity, like the collectibles or even the same few side missions all over again are likely to score better nowdays. Simple linear design isn't gonna cut it anymore.
 
G

grosvenor_92

Member
Anyone know when Giantbomb will post they're review ? I assume sometime today or tomorrow due the massive amount of reviews that are already out
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
ezekial45 said:
I can understand that, but DmC did have a number of features that the other games were weak on. Yet the folks who were invested in seeing the worst from that game completely refused to acknowledge it.
Click to expand...

For the sake of discussion, which features? Because honestly in my opinion DmC didn't do anything that the other games did equally, if not better.
 
F

Fine Ham Abounds

Member
antitrop said:
He meant Tara Long, who did the review for Rev3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bASdmh4URg

It's one of the best reviews I've seen of the game this morning.
Click to expand...

Touched on the main things I wanted to know about the game, good stuff.

I thought she was with Destructoid? Or is Destructoid under a Rev3 umbrella now? I don't follow these things.

Deadly Cyclone said:
That's opinion. The last Tomb Raider games had extremely dumbed-down gameplay. So if anything this one is just another style of that. People act like the last few TR games were the holy grail of Tomb Raider. They were solid and fun, just as this one looks to be.
Click to expand...

Nah, I think what's actually happening is that people are thinking the last few CD efforts look like better TR games than this does. At the time, CD's approach weren't necessarily thought of as good TR games either, they just look better in retrospect. I really enjoyed Anniversary though, you could turn auto-grab off.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
Deadly Cyclone said:
That's opinion. The last Tomb Raider games had extremely dumbed-down gameplay. So if anything this one is just another style of that. People act like the last few TR games were the holy grail of Tomb Raider. They were solid and fun, just as this one looks to be.
Click to expand...

I was talking previous standards as a whole, not just Tomb Raider.

Like I said before I don't care about this franchise or how sacred it was. But if they're going to change it then don't change it into the same goddamn stupid modern game we've seen and played dozens of times. That's not evolving anything.
 
D

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
lucius said:
Only deal I have seen is for Microsoft Store you get 1600 MS points free with the game
Click to expand...

Oh snap, this is enticing, especially since MS is having a massive Xbox Live GOD sale starting tomorrow...

Edit: Damn it, the sale ends before this game launches.
 
R

RagnarokX

Member
Deadly Cyclone said:
That's opinion. The last Tomb Raider games had extremely dumbed-down gameplay. So if anything this one is just another style of that. People act like the last few TR games were the holy grail of Tomb Raider. They were solid and fun, just as this one looks to be.
Click to expand...

It's not that those games were good, it's that this game looks worse.
 
R

Relaxed Muscle

Member
antitrop said:
This is what confuses me the most, honestly.
Click to expand...

It was that dumbed down? they offered traditional plataforming and some decent puzzles. They weren't like the old Tomb Raider games but part of that essence were there. I don't think most TR fans consider Underworld or Anniversary very good games but they'll agree that at least they were mosr closer to the original formula than the new game.
 
L

Lime

Member
Magic Mushroom said:
Penny Arcade review
Click to expand...

Whenever I have this feeling that Kuchera describes when I'm walking out of a movie theatre, the feeling of satisfaction might be good, but it is fleeting. The experience might be adequately entertaining, but it is simply empty calories, to use the same analogy.

The good and masterful experiences are not the ones that make me feel satisfied, but the ones that stay with me, make me think and reflect on its themes, and emotionally impacts me to such a degree that my world-view is influenced by it.

Thus, I don't see how Kuchera's assessment is a good thing. It's the difference between mindless throw-away media consumption and intellectually/emotionally stimulating "art".
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
ezekial45 said:
it already is true. Everything leading up to this was constant bickering over the reboot trend or what SE or Crystal Dynamics said about the game.
Click to expand...

none of my complaints have had anything to do with this being a reboot or the pr. most people were positive about the reboot idea when it was revealed despite how creatively bankrupt the idea has become.
 
B

BigWeather

Member
To me Tomb Raider has always been about the solitaire moments. I always found the game the poorer whenever I had to deal with (i.e., shoot) others. I imagine that this is true for many long-time fans of the series. I'll ultimately measure this game as I have all the others: imagine that there was no combat, no other characters, what-so-ever in the game -- does it hold up?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

First look at the new Lara Croft
3 4 5 6 7
322
26K
hussar16 replied
Tomb Raider is finally decolonized!
2 3 4 5 6
256
22K
REDRZA MWS replied
In anticipation of the Tomb Raider reboot, let's check out its exciting TTRPG
6
696
Mister Wolf replied
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered | Review Thread
Analysis Review
17
3K
winjer replied
Tomb Raider Remastered just quietly censored one in-game detail after most recent patch
News Drama Cringe 2 3 4 5
240
16K
Filben replied
Top Bottom