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Tomb Raider Review Thread!

Derrick01

Banned

As I feared, that's going to be way too short to get any sort of depth out of the RPG elements. No wonder we saw the player getting XP for so many ridiculous non-interactive things (like watching a cutscene) in the demos, they had to cram as much as they could in that short of a game to make use out of the skill tree.
 
As I feared, that's going to be way too short to get any sort of depth out of the RPG elements. No wonder we saw the player getting XP for so many ridiculous non-interactive things (like watching a cutscene) in the demos, they had to cram as much as they could in that short of a game to make use out of the skill tree.

Does the game even have new game+? What happens to all the pointless XP on your 2nd playthrough?
 
Does the game even have new game+? What happens to all the pointless XP on your 2nd playthrough?

I can't imagine the game even really needs a skill tree or a new game+. Guess I'll find out in a week.

While games that should have them, don't. I'm looking at you Deus Ex: HR, and Dishonored. A fucking shame.
 

inky

Member
IGN on Tomb Raider - How To Tell If You'll Love Tomb Raider

WhatMakesTombRaider1.jpg

Looks like something that would come out of IGN of course. Mission Accomplished CD.

Guess I'll just play those games again. *shrugs*
 

Derrick01

Banned
I can't imagine the game even really needs a skill tree or a new game+. Guess I'll find out in a week.

While games that should have them, don't. I'm looking at you Deus Ex: HR, and Dishonored. A fucking shame.

They basically have the same thing, a list of powers that make you too overpowered and the game too easy if you choose to purchase them with skill points which you get from getting XP or money from scavenging the environment. It's close enough to a skill tree.
 
They basically have the same thing, a list of powers that make you too overpowered and the game too easy if you choose to purchase them with skill points which you get from getting XP or money from scavenging the environment. It's close enough to a skill tree.

Yeah but that's what I wanted. Hell that's the whole point of NG+ to me. I wanna be OP'd as hell.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I see what you mean. I do however think that your "greatest feeling" comment is subjective, though.

Of course it's subjective, everything about games is subjective except, er, "the resolution is X" and "the framerate is Y" and such technical distinctions ;)

What isn't subjective, however, is that overcoming real gameplay challenges are the point of these games (and of most great games, I'd say, but we're back in subjective territory), and that's where the fun is derived. And if that never appealed to you, you'd obviously not like Tomb Raider or any other game like it.
 

mujun

Member
Of course it's subjective, everything about games is subjective except, er, "the resolution is X" and "the framerate is Y" and such technical distinctions ;)

What isn't subjective, however, is that overcoming real gameplay challenges are the point of these games (and of most great games, I'd say, but we're back in subjective territory), and that's where the fun is derived. And if that never appealed to you, you'd obviously not like Tomb Raider or any other game like it.

I like how you say everything is subjective except framerate, etc and then go on to say that something else isn't subjective :)

I agree with everything you said, though.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I like how you say everything is subjective except framerate, etc and then go on to say that something else isn't subjective :)

I agree with everything you said, though.

I don't know how what I said is subjective about Tomb Raider. If you take out the joy of overcoming the obstacles the game puts in your way, exactly what is the point of the game? looking at blocky pixelated abysses? I'm not sure what else one would get out of these games lol

I understand you agree, but I am genuinely curious now as to what other point one might get from these titles.
 
I don't know how what I said is subjective about Tomb Raider. If you take out the joy of overcoming the obstacles the game puts in your way, exactly what is the point of the game? looking at blocky pixelated abysses? I'm not sure what else one would get out of these games lol

I understand you agree, but I am genuinely curious now as to what other point one might get from these titles.

Boobs.

Jokes aside...well still boobs, but I agree. It used to be:

* Here is a big open area
* There is where you probably need to get to
* Go!

And when you got to the end you felt pretty darn good and got ready for the next challenge. Repeat and rinse, throw in some random demons for no real reason and you are done. Wasn't much else to it.
 

Andrew.

Banned
I say it'll take longer than 12-15 if you go out of your way to give in to the OCD and find everything.

But what is it worth to do all of that for the besides trophies and cheevs?

The NG+ is a good question and I doubt they have it because why bother right? Shitty multiplayer is all you to suffice for replay value.
 

mujun

Member
I don't know how what I said is subjective about Tomb Raider. If you take out the joy of overcoming the obstacles the game puts in your way, exactly what is the point of the game? looking at blocky pixelated abysses? I'm not sure what else one would get out of these games lol

I understand you agree, but I am genuinely curious now as to what other point one might get from these titles.

It was a joke about the way you said it. That's all. I was being silly.

I agree with what you said about the joy of overcoming obstacles.
 
I say it'll take longer than 12-15 if you go out of your way to give in to the OCD and find everything.

But what is it worth to do all of that for the besides trophies and cheevs?

The NG+ is a good question and I doubt they have it because why bother right? Shitty multiplayer is all you to suffice for replay value.

They give you XP for the skill upgrades, and that's it. Unless you missed something or play a harder difficulty that possibly unlocks, I doubt there's any reason to go back through.
 

Amir0x

Banned
It was a joke about the way you said it. That's all. I was being silly.

I agree with what you said about the joy of overcoming obstacles.

Ah, was just curious. I enjoy trying to understand people who think differently than I do, so I was wondering what other ways there might be to approach the series after all. I have plenty of my own blind spots, ya know? Sometimes I can't see beyond my own horizons.
 
Imagine if the end twist was that this Tomb Raider was actually a film that Lara was watching based on her life in the other TR universe (the more cartoony one). Directed by Christopher Nolan.
 
I doubt there's any reason to go back through.

No offense to you and nothing exactly pertaining to Tomb Raider. Just saw this comment and it made me think about whenever I see people post this. I have to wonder why people that only play through a game once even buy games. I've played Uncharted 1,2,3, Alan Wake, Dead Space 1, 2, and countless other games over again. Not because they had more to unlock or new dlc, just because I loved my experience I had with them. This is why I buy games, but I'm slowly realizing that I'm in the minority here. People really should rent more often at this rate.
 

mujun

Member
Ah, was just curious. I enjoy trying to understand people who think differently than I do, so I was wondering what other ways there might be to approach the series after all. I have plenty of my own blind spots, ya know? Sometimes I can't see beyond my own horizons.

I have another way of approaching the series, I don't play it :) This will be my first TR in a long time (maybe since the TR 3 or around there). Basically because of what you described the series being about. I really don't enjoy the part of the game where you have to spend a good chunk of time looking at an environment wondering how the hell it all fits together and what you need to do to get past it. I even got frustrated with that stuff in Uncharted 2 (big statue puzzle) and Darksiders (where you are first introduced to firebombs). I'll make myself clear, neither of those were beyond me in terms of figuring them out, I am just not willing to spend 30 minutes looking at a puzzle in an effort to solve it (in most cases) and especially hate where a lot of traversal is involved (climbing over stuff, pulling a lever, moving to the next lever, going back to previous lever, etc).

Actually a lot of games have that sort of stuff these days and I don't enjoy it. I do however enjoy the puzzle aspect of things like Dishonored (trying to get past the assassins without getting caught using only the basic blink in the Flooded District for example) and the combat puzzles in Mass Effect (fighting waves of enemies on the hexagonal platforms in the Collector ship).

I would say that all in all I am not prone to liking puzzles but weird things grab me (Are they really puzzles? Maybe combat puzzles as you put them are actually strategy and tactics problems). It might be down to how easily I can reset back to trying again (very fast in Dishonored) as I really hate having to replay chunks of stuff, or maybe it is up to how many options I feel that I have available as I really don't like traditional puzzles that only offer one set solution, as opposed to my Dishonored example which offers a wide range of possible movement paths through the guards who themselves are moving.
 

Derrick01

Banned
12+ hrs for main story, 15+ if you explore and do everything?

Pretty good actually.

15+ if you collect all the useless collectibles and do the dumb challenges like shoot 5 lamps.

Cool for achievement whores I guess. Actually never mind, from what I've seen most of us hate that shit almost as bad as MP achievements/trophies.
 

Revven

Member
No offense to you and nothing exactly pertaining to Tomb Raider. Just saw this comment and it made me think about whenever I see people post this. I have to wonder why people that only play through a game once even buy games. I've played Uncharted 1,2,3, Alan Wake, Dead Space 1, 2, and countless other games over again. Not because they had more to unlock or new dlc, just because I loved my experience I had with them. This is why I buy games, but I'm slowly realizing that I'm in the minority here. People really should rent more often at this rate.

I only replay games if it's been a long time since I've touched them or if they have a lot of unlockables for replaying them (like the recently released Metal Gear Rising, which is like the only game in recent memory that rewards you via unlockables for getting collectibles besides a meaningless trophy). Otherwise, they get shelved and I move onto the next game in my backlog. That's how it is for a lot of players, I'd imagine.

New Game+ adds a lot to games that have a leveling system; it increases the chances of replaying the game earlier for the player. It's not necessarily a negative to not have it, but when you have a leveling system it kind of makes sense to have it... so you can have fun redoing shit with the most overpowered nonsense ever. It changes up the experience while still being the same game.
 

Dahbomb

Member
Anyone have a picture of the skill tree in the game? Curious to see the type of moves/abilities you unlock, I liked that dirty sand move.
 

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
Holy shit I just saw the Conan O'Brien review.

WTF with the head-impaling. They wanted to do a RE-like death sequence, but considering she always gets brutalized even when not dying, this is just way out of line. How dumb.
 
No offense to you and nothing exactly pertaining to Tomb Raider. Just saw this comment and it made me think about whenever I see people post this. I have to wonder why people that only play through a game once even buy games. I've played Uncharted 1,2,3, Alan Wake, Dead Space 1, 2, and countless other games over again. Not because they had more to unlock or new dlc, just because I loved my experience I had with them. This is why I buy games, but I'm slowly realizing that I'm in the minority here. People really should rent more often at this rate.

Completely agree. I think the only game I haven't gone back through that was a recent purchase and of course time permitting to revisit it with backlogs and all taken into account was Gears of War 3. Not that I didn't like the game, but I just didn't get the feel of needing to return. I can say the same will unfortunately happen with Assassin's Creed 3. Both of those purchases were factored in that I invested in the series and the next game sounded like a safe bet (AC3 sounded fantastic...if only we knew..).

As for my response, that was strictly in the context I was getting from Andrew that it needed more than just the experience to go back to experience it.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
15+ if you collect all the useless collectibles and do the dumb challenges like shoot 5 lamps.

Cool for achievement whores I guess. Actually never mind, from what I've seen most of us hate that shit almost as bad as MP achievements/trophies.

Stop hating everything. Seriously.
 
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