-
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!
- Thread starter Tricky I Shadow
- Start date
Genuinely shocked at how many guns appear to be in this Tomb Raider game. But I'm even more upset to hear that the traditonal platforming sections are no more than sideshows to the main path, which have little bearing on your ability to progress.
[Rhet?] Are we really at a point where even the biggest IPs in gaming have to gundown armies of enemies in order to sell enough to justify the production costs? It's so, so disheartening.
For those reviewers claiming, 'this is what evolution looks like, you should deal with it', you miss the point entirely. You can still innovate and evolve, while staying true to what makes the IP so great to begin with - following the path most successfully trodden by preceding games is not the same thing.
[Rhet?] Are we really at a point where even the biggest IPs in gaming have to gundown armies of enemies in order to sell enough to justify the production costs? It's so, so disheartening.
For those reviewers claiming, 'this is what evolution looks like, you should deal with it', you miss the point entirely. You can still innovate and evolve, while staying true to what makes the IP so great to begin with - following the path most successfully trodden by preceding games is not the same thing.
Diablo Rosso
Member
Yes, next Tuesday with consoles.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Just depends on what you go in wanting/expecting. You want a Tomb Raider like old, your not going to be happy. You want a new take on the series, you might just like it. You just enjoy gaming overall and playing new games, then you probably don't give a fuck.
SirButterstick
Banned
I'd say most likely because it doesn't have the word 'Uncharted' in its title.
Vire
Member
So far Machinima has had the most fair and balanced review I've seen. He goes over the positives and negatives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWQMMlCCEuU&list=PLZLTS4u9M_2rPFsdbdY7xL8oAApgU0Zar&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWQMMlCCEuU&list=PLZLTS4u9M_2rPFsdbdY7xL8oAApgU0Zar&index=1
NullPointer
Member
None of these reviews are easing my concerns - except to say that the idea of failable platforming is a positive. Classic Tomb Raider gameplay seems to be constrained mostly to the optional tombs, with combat and collectibles making up the bulk of the experience.
And yeah, the handful of reviews I've looked at so far all sound negative for Tomb Raider fans, but positive if you want more Uncharted.
And yeah, the handful of reviews I've looked at so far all sound negative for Tomb Raider fans, but positive if you want more Uncharted.
Interesting. Machinima is usually pretty forgiving with their scores. Seems like they dig a bit more into the negatives than other reviews.
Fuck, I hope not. If this game fails I would rather they just kill the TR franchise rather go back to the way it was.
Why would you wish the death of a franchise? Just because you don't like it so you think it shouldn't exist?
I mean I am not much of a Tomb Raider fan but that's not a great thing to say. If there is demand for that style of game play then someone needs to capitalize on it and provide that type of experience.
I'm sorry but the point here is not that its as good as Tomb Raider, the reason why I, and others have made such comments is because the idea of this new formula actually working in Tomb Raider was completely rejected by a lot of people. Evidently, that is not the case. Yes there are issues, I doubt many would argue that. But the point stands, the game is not the "train wreck" some would love to believe.
sublimit
Banned
Indeed.Actually for the very same reasons these "positive" reviews provide,if they were to be seen from a pure gamer perspective or from the view point of someone who loved the games for reasons other than Lara and the story,this game shouldn't score more than 4/10.
But then again no one actually reads the reviews other than the people who really care and criticize the direction this game is going.
Because previous to this reboot, the Tomb Raider franchise was one of many that pumped out shitty, worthless sequel after shitty sequel.
I would rather Crystal Dynamics work on a new IP instead if this fails, that's why. But I want this reboot to succeed.
That Guardian of Light was a pretty nifty game I felt.
Arghhh...it's Lara, not Laura... She's only been around for over 15 years now.
I was also there, trying to input the "Lara Croft Nude!" cheat codes printed in an April edition of OPM. Looking forward to this game a lot.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Pretty thorough, very good info. "Laura" drives me nuts though.
Except if you actually read the reviews and not just look at the scores, the reviews prove it is as much of a train wreck from a gameplay standpoint as we feared it would be. It's about as dumb and modern as you get in this industry anymore.
It has nothing to do with not being a TR game and everything to do with it being a *bad* game.
It's sad that the best Tomb Raider game in 15 years, other than this reboot, is barely even a Tomb Raider game.
It pretty much proves my point.
Even the official videos got it wrong...
tiny raptor
Member
NIICE!!!!
Haters can eat their crow now
Uhh, nah, I'll be eating crow, but it'll be a different flavor. See, I was hyped for this game and was hopeful that exploration/platforming/puzzle-solving would still be a large part of the game. Reading the reviews, that's obviously not the case. At the very least, I expected the side tombs to be a good chunk of head-scratching tomb raiding, but even that's apparently short.
So now that I've seen the scores and read the reviews, I'm disappointed.
Exactly.
You just used a whole lot of words to repeat what you already said earlier: that the review scores somehow prove that the game is not the train wreck some would love to believe.
Which, by the way, we were never using the phrase train wreck. I would thank you not to put words in people's mouths.
People were worried that it would deviate so far from what made TR special and morph into your bog-standard AAA gaming experience. And they were right.
Nah there were a couple of decent TR before this (TR Anniversary and Legend were good). Sounds like you just never liked the series to begin with so congrats, you are in the target demographic for this game.
Indeed.Actually for the very same reasons these "positive" reviews provide,if they were to be seen from a pure gamer perspective or from the view point of someone who loved the games for reasons other than Lara and the story,this game shouldn't score more than 4/10.
But then again no one actually reads the reviews other than the people who really care and criticize the direction this game is going.
You cannot just give a game a lower rating because it's not like the previous entries in the series. If it's a fun, polished game, then it's a good game. And TR seems to be just that. Just because it might not be what some people wanted it to be doesn't make it a terrible game. It would be a terrible game if it would be boring or tedious to play through it or if it had lots of bugs and glitches. Neither of those seem to be the case.
Yikes... 6/10 Pretty brutal listen. Very interesting points though...
Tomb raider with optional tombs is like something just shy of trainwreck. Like a multiple car pile up.
Legend was okay but not a TR game. Anniversary was just plain boring. Both to look at and to play through.
Great post. Agreed with everything you said. People are mistaking "good game" for a "good Tomb Raider game".
The phrase "optional tombs" perfectly describes everything that is wrong with this game.
Vire
Member
I think the reason the endless amounts of violence in a game like Uncharted works is because the entire game has a playful Indiana Jones vibe to it where after the scene is over, everyone just get's up and laughs about it kind of thing. It's rather jaunty and endearing.
With Tomb Raider the gratuitous violence is clearly taken to another level, cocking a shotgun up to someones chin and pulling the trigger. It all comes off as crass and trying to appeal to a certain demographic rather than serving the story of the game.
With Tomb Raider the gratuitous violence is clearly taken to another level, cocking a shotgun up to someones chin and pulling the trigger. It all comes off as crass and trying to appeal to a certain demographic rather than serving the story of the game.
That was really good. This review and the Rev3 are my favorite so far.
*sigh* Here we go again. There ARE mandatory story tombs. The GamesMaster review mentioned 6 big temple/tomb locations as part of the story. What does seem to be only present in the challenge tombs, though, seem to be actually challenging puzzles.
Lord Phol
Member
Except for the part where you haven't played it and are basing ur opinion on what someones else wrote, the same person that also gave the game an 8-10 which is what the guy you quoted based his post on.
And to be clear I don't either hate or love this game.
I've pre-ordered Resident evil 6 so that instantly makes this whole post and my opinion invalid
Heart Attack
Member
Not only that, the characters in Uncharted are "FUN"!!! and they have personality.
Oh and here's a PS3/360 comparison in case it hasn't been posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svlHuWlAGvM
They look almost identical but the PS3 version seems to have sharper textures and better contrast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svlHuWlAGvM
They look almost identical but the PS3 version seems to have sharper textures and better contrast.
Just admit that you're extensive "research" you did when deciding this game was terrible was most likely wrong. We get it, you hate everything. It's cute, really, it is. A game many are excited for is about to be released.....oh "heeeeeeerrreeee's Derrick01 to shit on the parade everyone, put your hands together!!!!" Yeah man, the reviews don't make sense. That's it. Can't you just say that you might be wrong about this one? Is your ego that tied into being a heel on a gaming site that you can't admit you may have fudged this one up? Also, do me a favor, do some "research" on the next gen MLB the Show. Hopefully you think the games sucks...what am I saying...of course you will, it then will probably go on to be one of the best sports games ever made. So could you put some of that voodoo on it?
They feel very critical, but honest and balanced in detailing the game's strengths and weaknesses.
Didn't watch them (As I tried to black out most footage!) but listened intently.
Yea, GamePro Germany also mentioned that (in a preview version) it is somewhat ridiculous that she cries and complains every minute about killing people and how terrible it is but then she keeps on killing dozens of them.
The Far Cry 3 writting has the same issues. (the Gametrailers.com Review pointed that out, haven't played it yet)
Also, more mature and not sexualized my arse. I have played every Core Design Tomb Raider and while her proportions were indeed sexualized and overdrawn, but the rest sure wasn't. I loved the dry, sarcastic British humour, stiff upper lip attitude and she was actually written like a normal human being (in context of course) rather than some submissive sexmonster like some people (from Crystal Dynamics) pretend she was.
OriginofHysteria
Banned
To me it shows someone showing inexperience with a gun and showing a last resort move
I haven't cared about the franchise since Tomb Raider 1 and 2.
I did hear that Legend and Anniversary were good, though. Not great, certainly.
As far as I'm concerned, this reboot is saving the franchise, not destroying it.
Vire
Member
Sure if it happened once, but there's at least 10 unique animations like this that make me roll my eyes:
It's just disappointing that the game had to resort to that.
...what the hell are you saying?
Cynical as he may be, the dude's right about the issues that plague AAA games. TR is no exception.
I've spent the better part of this morning reading reviews that ALL agree with most of my gameplay complaints. The only difference is they still gave it a 8 whereas if I was reviewing it and came across those problems I'd be giving it a 4. In fact the reviews spent too much time talking about non-gameplay stuff like Lara as a character or the plot and weighed it too much into the overall score. I haven't seen anything yet that says I was wrong, unless you do nothing but look at the score and not what was actually said.
CambriaRising
Member
Sure if it happened once, but there's at least 10 unique animations like this that make me roll my eyes:
It's just disappointing that the game had to resort to that.
Fuck it, I love this shit in games. Don't buy it, its not for you.