Crystal Dynamics deserves an apology from gamers for hasty Tomb Raider 'controversy'

There are some very talented game designers out there who are attempting to dig this hobby out of the childish stigma it was born into, and it’s sickening that Crystal Dynamics had to be ostracized over expanding this medium into more mature territory.

[TimNunes]

This game was such a great experience. The industry would be so much better if every character could feel as human and realistic as this rendition of Lara Croft is.

Old Lara can fade to black, now that we have another Lara that makes everyone grow as a person instead of cheaply appeal to a subliminal likeness.

[MasterCornholio]

So i guess its a reboot done right.

Ninja Theory take notes.

[LightSamus]

Really? Still? Even though DmC was released and it received positive critical acclaim from pretty much everyone you're still going to claim Ninja Theory can't get it right?

Just let it die.

[Reverent]

@LightSamux, well... As far as sales go, the game did flop, so...

[knowyourstuff]

DMC had good gameplay, and a stupid, skinny, weakling character that no one could relate to, so nobody bought it.

Lara is also an overly skinny girl who looks like she can't lift 10 pounds much less perform the unbelievable physical feats in Tomb Raider. That's where the controversy should have been, everything else was drivel from trolling gaming press fishing for hits on their sites.

[finbars75]

I concur with you on that one.What they have done with this franchise is absolute genius and a breath of fresh air.Its going to be nice to see the old Lara fade away so we can experience somehting new and more adventurous.I love the old TombRaiders but it got stale for a while there.Thank you CrystalDynamics for doing us proud.

[JokesOnYou]

Much to do about nothing, its a great game, CD isn't waiting for apologies they'll simply be grateful for the critical and financial success the game is receiving. Is it just me or are most of the news posts on n4g written about regurgitated non-stories that have been posted on n4g in the past, most of which only n4g folks like to rant over and over again while the real world moves on and just enjoys games.

[MaideninBlack]

I must have missed it but I thought it was "gaming journalists" that sensationalized one scene in the game and not gamers. Not initially, anyway.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

You're right, it was the gaming journalist's sensationalism not the gamers.
Still I'm sure one million copies in sales in just a few days is apology enough.

[Mounce]

It was Journalists And Femminazi's of all calibers. Especially if both of them were combined, the mouth of an upset female journalist who were too blinded by a feministic perspective that they could not see the potential the mere scene had in a sense of character development rather than emotive input of being 'Offended' for borderline irrational 'reasons'.

[Mocat]

Oh snap

[Megaton]

Yep. Bloggers and feminazis perpetrated the "controversy". Gamers defended CD.

[Root]

The ones who complained about it weren't really gamers though were they.....they were probably just people who saw the trailer and wanted to hate on video games.

Either that or those silly feminists, who b**** and moan over such little things

[MaideninBlack]

Double post.

[Genuine-User]

I agree.
This game is fantastic in my opinion.

[parkerpeters]

This game is an amazing experience and a worthy successor to the franchise. Controversy comes with the territory, and it is a shame that such lame rumors get started by "journalists" and adopted by the public.

[Darth Gamer]

This game is a gem to play. Whether your an old Tomb Raider fan such as myself who has played them all or someone new to the franchise, this is a game that sets the bar high and I hope the developers are praised for it. Crystal Dynamics have breathed new life into a franchise that even I have to admit was beginning to turn stale. Lara is back and in stunning fashion and I personally am enjoying the hell out of this new game.

Look out for WarThunder"s incoming post and his mindless bashing about how Uncharted is better and Drake is king and everything is sub par and mediocre, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Don't by into it. If you have not played Tomb Raider, you owe it to yourself to play this game and to finally support a developer worthy of praise for pushing the boundaries.

[parkerpeters]

I would say the franchise went stale at Tomb Raider 4. But your statement is no less true. This game is just amazing, and leaps and bounds above the next best entry, Legend.

[betan21]

The game was great i loved it.I want more ugh.

[porter470]

I think gamer's with certain NVIDIA card's deserves an apology, just saying.

[parkerpeters]

I think it is kind of funny that Nvidia cards, which are the preferred cards for Tressfx, have a hard time with the game that introduced Tressfx. I have an AMD card, and have no trouble with the game at all.

But yes, it is a shame that the quality control didn't catch these problems... Probably due to insufficient testing.

[aliengmr]

You mean the Tressfx that was developed by AMD? Not quite sure where you got that Nvidia cards were preferred.

porter470 is right, there are some issues that have to be addressed for Nvidia users.

[jollygoodchap8]

Love this game so far...Hope to see more of this quality in the future

[HeavenlySnipes]

Great game

I hope for the sequel they do a better job writing the script. They wrote it like a very long movie script so the characters behaved so cliche. Video game writing needs to be more drawn out so we can see the characters personalities come out

That and a few animation additions and corrections (you can jump up to edge of a platform you can traverse on, but you can't grab the ledge and climb up, you have to walk around, and some fixes to the cover system)

Overall its a fantastic game. Lots of open areas, combat on the hardest difficulty isn't relenting but it is a formidable challenge, the gameplay evolves over time, and the quicktime events (I personally wouldn't have made all of them end in pressing Y) aren't stale and add to the experience

I will say that the "Uncharted moments" where everything is blowing up and you must run and jump through crumbling architecture happens to often.

[TekoIie]

I absolutely loved this game all the way through! Definitely a contender for GOTY. But there is a reason why there was controversy for this:

"But maybe a written apology is over the top. After all, I should thank the overreaction, since it was through that hellstorm that I became interested in the new vision of Lara Croft in the first place."

This is what should be completely obvious. The scene was put out of context... On PURPOSE... to drum up controversy and publicity. Its no different to the No Russian level of MW2 or the Taliban being in MoH.

[Blastoise]

No they don't

[aliengmr]

I'll wait for Nvidia fixes first.

EDIT: Patch out full screen issues fixed.

Sorry for doubting nixxes:P

[Blacklash93]

Myabe it was just me, but it seemed the gaming media was making a bigger deal of this than common gamers themselves.

I don't know what people expected failing the QTE to do. "You got raped. GAME OVER!" doesn't sound like something that would happen. People thought it out way too hastily.

[pandaboy]

I'm sick of everyone jerking off over this game

[stage88]

I agree, I was playing it today and have yet to go 'Wow' at anything.
In fact, it's quite boring, I'm just playing it to get to the end.

[MysticStrummer]

Why is it that some games get attacked by gamers for straying too far from what made them great, while other games get praised for it? As an old school TR fan, I have no interest in this game. I already have 3 Uncharted games, but I haven't played anything like those old TRs since the last TR title on PS1.

[KaBaW]

Depends on the game, I'd say. Also, if the game is a reboot or a sequel.
Games like Fallout, which changed a whole helluva lot, turned out great.
But, when you go and talk about Dragon Age, which was a direct sequel..
They changed it in such a way that it coulda been called differently.

Iduno. I guess it just depends. :)
Depends on the changes, that were made.

[SilentNegotiator]

Such white knight dribble. Defending rape as a "transforming" tool (No rape/Assault victim will ever call the traumatic event a "transformative tool"), ranting about women being depicted in skampy clothing (only sexist when done to women, not bodybuilders in loincloths), blah blah blah.

Crystal Dynamics is playing some of these people like cards. Point out how "progressive" your game is at every turn and feminazis and white knights do the rest.

If they swapped Laura out with her old model (but exact same story/gameplay), not even half of the noise would have been generated for this game.

[KillrateOmega]

People just like to complain and start shit :P

The game is great and the 1 million copies sold in under 48 hours speaks for itself.

[SaturdayNightBeaver]

morons u can compare old TR games with this.. its beyond retarded

[jmac53]

Or how about the fact that some "gamers" out there need to actually grow a pair and quit complaining about insignificant things.

[jakmckratos]

THis game has been epic so far to me. I don't necessarily love everything about it but it is such a well-made game...def the first top contender for GOTY for me. I can;t wait to see what Crystal Dynamics does next. Either a sequel or new IP they can count on my interest!

[zoks310]

The game is good, but too much like uncharted 3 where you are constantly being interrupted by qte, and cut scenes. When the game does give you a chance to actually play it is fun.

[squallcloud9]

A danger to creative freedom is right. Im really glad that CD didnt change the game. They should tackle final fantasy next, with square enix acting as uninterfering publisher.

[Indo]

Rebooting a franchise is such a hard task. Just because theirs so much expectations to live up to, but Crystal Dynamics did great. Its the fact they took the risk and it payed off in the end and gave Tomb Raider life again.

[Orionsangel]

People need to stop comparing it to Uncharted. This is Tomb Raider and this reboot gets it right. Uncharted is more of a National Treasure style game. TR games are about raiding Tombs and Catacombs, but I will say this, the new TR steps up the combat and yeah it borrows from UC, but in a lot ways did it better, just my imo.

People who find TR boring are the childish morons who just like to shoot things and rush through games. No appreciation for anything. Thank God I'm still fascinated by Video Games and can appreciate games.

[N311V]

It's hard not to compare the two given the similarities. I'm really enjoying TR, in my mind its a hard game to fault. However, the story in TR hasn't been as engaging as Uncharted's for me, still really good but not quite on the same level. I guess that's the price paid for a more open game. On the other hand I'm really enjoying the light RPG elements and exploitation in TR so it's hard to decide which of the two games I like more. If I had to decide I'd say TR comes a very very close second to Uncharted. Can't wait for the next installment of both games. Good times :)