50°

PCGamer-Tomb Raider hands-on: “a lack of meaningful interaction”

PCG:On screen, Lara Croft is inching her way up a rock face. She’s wedged in a narrow vertical gap, chimneying her way up. It’s complicated, gruelling work. She grunts as she works her way past outcrops, exerting herself totally with the effort of remaining suspended some 40 feet above the jagged ground below. She slips, losing her footing for a second, before she jams her boot against the wall, steadies herself, and heaves a lungful of air. She climbs on.

Mariusmssj4134d ago

Not surprising but still sad :( It did look promising

MikeMyers4133d ago

From the article:
"Sometimes, Lara slips and tumbles as I’m pressing the thumbstick forward: collapsing into a heap after diving past a falling rock, missing a handhold halfway up a radio mast. It’s meant to feel thrilling, moments of near-death to keep the pulse racing. It succeeds instead in frustrating me. I can see the obvious coming, but I can’t avoid it. I can’t do anything but press the thumbstick forward as control is wrested away from me, keeping the scene rolling as Lara finds out about her own survival instincts on her own.

The closest parallel is the PlayStation 3’s Uncharted series. But where the linear leaping of those games was leavened by Indiana-Jones-style humour and silliness, Tomb Raider is pitch black in tone."

This is where gaming needs to evolve. The player needs to have more control but it's limited because games are scripted. How many times have you died in a game only to go back a bit and the same scene plays out? That's why I hope The Last Of Us really does break free of that mold that the Uncharted series does. Playing games like Call of Duty are the same thing. It's all scripted and you're being forced to follow the same path.

The original Tomb Raider games gave me so many memories. I loved the puzzles and the exploring. I don't want the series to turn into what the Resident Evil series has where action is the main importance. It also seems like the graphics are key and because of that the more linear it gets.

FunAndGun4134d ago

:(

I will miss doing backwards flippys with dual pistols.

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4133d ago

Had a good run on ps1-ps2 but I will stick to uncharted now.

Hingle_Mcringleberry4133d ago

Did you even read the preview? He is complaining about a lack of interactivity, pretty much saying all you do is push forward and jump and then he says the closest game he can compare it to is Uncharted because it too is a linear push forward to win kinda game.
The whole time I was reading the preview I was thinking Uncharted even before I read the part where he himself mentioned it. How it's predictable, how you just KNOW that a ledge is going to crumble when you jump to it, how you just KNOW that Drake is going to fall and then at the very last mili second grab on to a root/hand/rock sticking out of the side of a cliff.
Uncharted is saved (according to the writer) by its humour.)
Personally I'm looking forward to Tomb Raider even after reading the preview.

Bolts4133d ago

Yeah Uncharted easy mode platforming is wearing thin on me too. I can can only stand so many death defying by the finger tips grabs before the thrill of it is completely gone.

VonBraunschweigg4133d ago

Tomb Raider lost it's crown to Uncharted and now tries to be Uncharted, and it fails. Imo Uncharted never lacked interactivity, and although linear (just like Tomb Raider was) the gameplay never breaks down to pushing the stick forward forever. Perhaps he should compare this to Enslaved, which also tried to be Uncharted and failed.

These type of games walk a tightrope between storytelling and gameplay and Naughty Dog is one of the few developers that doesn't fall off, all 3 games are complete adventures from A to Z and imo they never get boring, uninteractive, predictable or too easy.

Most people play Uncharted games with a big smile on their face from start to end, after reading this preview I do not expect this to be the case for Tomb Raider, unfortunately. They just lack a talent like Amy Hennig that can keep a story driven game from falling off the rope.

And with The Last of Us, they will probably do an even better job.

DeadlyFire4133d ago

I personally see nothing discouraging even in this article.

Why so negative. Tomb Raider defined Action Adventure in PS1 days now Uncharted does and its only natural that Tomb Raider takes some of that and builds on it.

CGI-Quality4133d ago (Edited 4133d ago )

Sounds like your issue rests solely with Uncharted. Thankfully, you're wrong on nearly every point about it - especially interactivity.

OT: I'm still picking up this game! Yeah, the recent previews of it have been less than stellar, but as a Tomb Raider veteran, this hasn't pushed me away.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4133d ago
AsheXII4133d ago

I don't care about what PCGamer has to say about the game, they have been pretty messed up and inaccurate with their reviews lately.

dirthurts4133d ago

Simply a gamer complaining about the things that are in all games...
Despite judging a game before it's released (poor journalism at it's finest) I'll be anxiously awaiting the arrival of this game.

60°
8.5

Tomb Raider I, II, III Remastered Review – To The Freezer ⏐ Nerdy Bird Games

Tomb Raider I, II, III Remastered is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Lara Croft is back in a classic remaster of the original PlayStation 1 hit title. Is the remaster any good though?

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220°

The Best Tomb Raider Games Ranked

We've gone on many adventures with Lara Croft. With another reboot in the making, Wealth of Geeks felt it was a good time to go down the nostalgia rabbit hole and remember the best of those tomb-raiding thrills.

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Sonic188158d ago (Edited 58d ago )

I do agree that Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness was the worse one 😂 I remember playing some of it and I took it back. That game was just awful in every way. I bought it used at gamestop and glad they had that 7 day return policy for used games 😂

Pyrofire9558d ago

Would it be worth saying why?

ZeekQuattro58d ago

Simple. He's been hating on the Tomb Raider reboots for years. I can't imagine seeing them at the top of a best TR game list let alone being on the list in general sitting well with him because of it.

-Foxtrot58d ago

Zeek

“Hating”

No no, just pointing out how TR mutated into a generic action adventure game losing the appeal of what it once was when it was more about puzzles and platforming over going Rambo, slaughtering waves of enemies

But hey, continue being a dick and speaking about me like I’m not going to see the comment.

MeatyUrologist58d ago

Foxtrot, I'm curious if you have played the most recent games. Sure the 2013 reboot was hugely focused on combat, but each follow up became less and less about combat to the point where outside of a few large scale story missions I don't even remember combat being a part of shadow of the tomb raider. Shadow was so puzzle focused it actually was a bit much for me and I love the TR puzzles.

I still feel like Rise was the best of the series and I was a huge fan of the originals. To me it struck the perfect balance of exploration, platforming, puzzles, and combat. Not saying your opinion is wrong I'm just curious what you think they should have done different. Games do need to evolve somewhat to stay relevant. Would you prefer small linear jumping platform levels like the original?

RavenWolfx58d ago

I would agree Rise for 1 and the reboot as 2. Shadow is a bit high, though.

Sonic188158d ago (Edited 58d ago )

I think Shadow wasn't even develop by crystal dynamics. I thought it was the worse in the new trilogy

Pyrofire9558d ago

That's right. Shadow was developed by Eidos Montreal who who went and made Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy next. (Great game)
Meanwhile after Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics made Marvels Avengers. (bad game)

MeatyUrologist58d ago

Agrees. First two are correct but Shadow should be around 5-6.

terstomp58d ago

For me, Legend should be alot higher (along with the other two ). Shadow, I enjoyed it, but has too much has fluff, as modern games tend to do. Playing the remastered series, and apart from the controls, is very good.

jznrpg58d ago

I really enjoyed the first 2 games, Legend and the first of the reboots and the rest I didn’t get into so I never finished.

robtion58d ago

Completely subjective list. I really liked Underworld, I preferred Lara's design. That said I loved the horror/uncharted feel of the reboot. I think all the TR games have strengths and weaknesses. None are objectively better in every way.

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80°

The Best Video Game Reboots of All Time

Like the film or television industry, the world of gaming has seen its fair share of reboots over the years. While some of these video game reboots have had

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