Rise of the Tomb Raider

[CT Phipps]

So, I just started the game.

I was deeply in love with the Tomb Raider reboot. This? Hmm, it's a tough call. It has a lot going for it but "Lara looking after her father's legacy" feels like a rehash of the movie with Angelina Jolie and the story has abandoned most of the emotional depth (perceived or otherwise) from the first game.

Still, it's pretty damn fun.

A very cinematic experience.

 

[Dr Fallout]

Hmm, what depth.

 

[Mr Fish]

Judging by the porn I've seen of her I'd say the depth lies in her throat.

Anyway, I think I bought the first one of the reboot series on sale on Steam (Cause I had shitloads of money to spare and it was on sale for like 5 bucks and I figured I need to play more AAA titles so I don't fall too out of touch with the gaming scene) but I've yet to play it so I can't really comment. Titty McGee In Da Jungle has never really been that interesting to me. I played a game back in the later 90's and some demo in 2005-2010 and neither of those games impressed me either. It always just seemed like a boring series to me.

 

[CT Phipps]

Okay, having dived into Rise of the Tomb Raider a bit more I think it's a really good game but I think it's definitely a marked step down from the previous one.

1. The absence of Lara's supporting cast except for Jonah: Basically, Lara is suddenly a lone wolf in this game and the aspect of her supporting cast on the island had humanized her a great deal. The previous game had done a lot to make her more than shapely Super Mario and now suddenly she's back to being a person shooting a large number of people to steal ancient relics. I also strongly miss Sam who was nicely confirmed as Lara's bestie.

2. The quest for the Divine Source is never quite as pressing: Lara in the previous game was working on survival and attempting to help her friends. Here, there's a handwave she's trying to help redeem her father's reputation but it feels shoe-horned in from the Angelina Jolie movie. There's never really a good explanation for why Lara is so desperate to recover the Not-Holy Grail.

3. The villains are less compelling and kind of reak of anti-Catholicism: So, the Vatican has a hidden army of EVIL Knights Templar wannabees who are psychotic religious fanatics. They're after the Divine Source and Lara has to stop them. They're also potentially the people who killed her father. Matthias and the Solari at least had the reasonable justification they're trying to get off Hell IslandTM.

4. Quite a bit of this feels a bit familiar: It feels in many ways like a reskin of the previous game with Lara vs. an army of religious fanatics as well as a bunch of supernatural monsters. I know that's the nature of sequels but they could have gone in quite a few different directions.

 

[Makta]

I used to love the old games but trying them now a days they are just to clunky.. The reboot was not bad but way to easy with way to many QTE's and cutsceenes. Not to mention the fact that she was falling from high places 80% of the game.. Michael Bay material maybe?

Rise was better in my optinion even if it is far from perfect. Will do another playtrough with all the DLC's some day now that i got the season pass.

 

[CerberusGate]

From what I've read about Rise of the Tomb Raider, the game seems to be a rehash of reboot Tomb Raider except made more prettier looking. I never got the game due to it being an exclusive (though I played most of the reboot and enjoyed what I've played) and I can't afford to buy it at the moment.

4. Quite a bit of this feels a bit familiar: It feels in many ways like a reskin of the previous game with Lara vs. an army of religious fanatics as well as a bunch of supernatural monsters. I know that's the nature of sequels but they could have gone in quite a few different directions.

Yahtzee Croshaw of Zero Punctuation went into detail on his own problems with Rise (outside his usual video on said game) in the article I'm linking below and nearing the end of his article, wound up highlighting the repetitive writing style of the game's lead writer, Rhianna Pratchett, as a contributor to these problems especially with the story that feels like a rehash of reboot Tomb Raider.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/art...083-The-Problems-With-Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider

 

[aenemic]

From what I've read about Rise of the Tomb Raider, the game seems to be a rehash of reboot Tomb Raider except made more prettier looking. I never got the game due to it being an exclusive (though I played most of the reboot and enjoyed what I've played) and I can't afford to buy it at the moment.

Even if the story might be a bit rehashed, the game itself is so much better. Much more than a reskin.

I really liked both games. The first one felt a bit linear but had a decent story, likeable characters and most of all fun gameplay. The second one was more of everything, and everything better. More exploration, better puzzles, less streamlined character progression, etc. I did prefer the story of the first one however.

 

[MercenarySnake]

Didn't care for the 2013 reboot, the fact that the tombs were optional in a Tomb Raider game sounds silly. Then they attempted to add depth to the character by showing how she apparently hadn't killed before but before you know it she's murdering hundreds of people with little effort, talk about character development. Then the group she was with that you had no reason to care about, not sure why they were even there besides the Sam friend to use as a sort of Mcguffin. The puzzles were also too easy.

As for Rise I played the majority of it until I got bored, still have to finish the game but from what I played I didn't really care much for it. Just another shooting gallery with some silly story I forgot about already, the main character yet again kills hundreds of people. Also more optional tombs which are still too easy. The main character also wouldn't stop grunting to the point where other people in the house got annoyed by it just like me.

Atleast the high quality graphics give you some nice eye candy though.

 

[CT Phipps]

Didn't care for the 2013 reboot, the fact that the tombs were optional in a Tomb Raider game sounds silly. Then they attempted to add depth to the character by showing how she apparently hadn't killed before but before you know it she's murdering hundreds of people with little effort, talk about character development. Then the group she was with that you had no reason to care about, not sure why they were even there besides the Sam friend to use as a sort of Mcguffin. The puzzles were also too easy.

As for Rise I played the majority of it until I got bored, still have to finish the game but from what I played I didn't really care much for it. Just another shooting gallery with some silly story I forgot about already, the main character yet again kills hundreds of people. Also more optional tombs which are still too easy. The main character also wouldn't stop grunting to the point where other people in the house got annoyed by it just like me.

Atleast the high quality graphics give you some nice eye candy though.

I'm curious what you think would be required to actually get you to care about characters? It's a common enough complaint but it seems like wanting to help people in video games is something which should be easy to relate to. It's not like the characters should have to "earn" investment in saving them.

 

[Vergil]

I'm curious what you think would be required to actually get you to care about characters? It's a common enough complaint but it seems like wanting to help people in video games is something which should be easy to relate to. It's not like the characters should have to "earn" investment in saving them.

I don't know about @MercenarySnake but personally it takes a bit of good writing, time to get to really know well written characters and good characterization to make me care about saving polygons on my computer screen and not merely being told I'm supposed to. It's what separates say helping Cass in New Vegas track down what happened to her Caravan and help her come to terms with her past and saving Princess Peach in Mario because she's the princess you have to save. Not that theres anything wrong with the second but if the game is going to try and put a focus on story over gameplay than they should do a good job of making the player care besides being told they're supposed to.

 

[cordelionreaver]

I never played the original games, but I liked the game play of the reboot. The story was kinda of meh, it felt like it tried too hard to be dark. The salvagepunk design of the Solarii was interesting.

 

[mithrap]

So, I just started the game.

I was deeply in love with the Tomb Raider reboot. This? Hmm, it's a tough call. It has a lot going for it but "Lara looking after her father's legacy" feels like a rehash of the movie with Angelina Jolie and the story has abandoned most of the emotional depth (perceived or otherwise) from the first game.

Still, it's pretty damn fun.

A very cinematic experience.

I too was surprised and a bit disappointed by the writing. Some may say it's closer to the classic Tomb Raider, and while they'd be absolutely right, I would have preferred if they kept the 2013's reboot kind of writing. Grittier, more emotional and realistic. Making Lara a volunteer for the quest is a mistake, in my mind. The fact that she was a victim of fate was what gave the reboot its feeling of urgency and danger.

Yeah, the bad guys are basic James Bond villains. However, at least, we now have a clearly defined antagonist, who comes back regulary to piss you off, and who has a basic backstory and development. The reboot lacked that, in my mind (who was your enemy again, Matthias I think he was called?) and that was one of its -very few- defaults.

However, Rise of the Tomb Raider is indeed very cinematic, fun to play, visually stunning, and overall, a great experience. I'd recomand it any day.
The last chapter is excellent, in my mind. Very impressive and cinematic.

 

[CT Phipps]

I too was surprised and a bit disappointed by the writing. Some may say it's closer to the classic Tomb Raider, and while they'd be absolutely right, I would have preferred if they kept the 2013's reboot kind of writing. Grittier, more emotional and realistic. Making Lara a volunteer for the quest is a mistake, in my mind. The fact that she was a victim of fate was what gave the reboot its feeling of urgency and danger.

I don't mind Lara Croft the global adventuress and that's where it was all headed anyway but the simple fact was that it seems very disconnected from where it was before. How did she get to be from traumatized survivor to seeking out her dad's legacy? What happened to everyone else in her group?

I also felt Matthias for all of his awful craziness had an understandable motive. "Get off the island by placating the evil demigoddess."