This review contains spoilers
This feels like the emblem of a certain age, which feels appropriate for something that came some 8 years into its generation. It's Uncharted, it's Assassin's Creed, it's Gears of War, it's inexplicably still Tomb Raider despite this, it has a needless multiplayer mode, it has a definitive edition with a face change and downloadable content. It has a distinct ludonarrative dissonance. It isn't very colourful and falls apart in the final stretch, because of glitches and a rushed finish. Quick-time events up the arse. RPG/upgrade mechanics. Special editions and retailer-exclusive bonuses. The only way it could be more emblematic of the seventh generation of video games is if it had fucking some sort of needless motion control in it. Which... I mean I played this on deck, no guarantee it didn't have some basic gyro on ps3 or something.
To be so emblematic of its generation isn't in itself a bad thing. The game is good. I mean... outside the multiplayer, I'm too cool to waste my life trying that out, but that aside the game is eminently playable, with some fantastic feeling mechanics, such as the near-perfect strain of the bow, or the nice chunky shotgun. The platforming (arguably the most crucial thing to get right) is fun, despite a weird magnetism to Lara that flings her across to the nearest bright white object at any given moment. You forgive a lot when the scramble of Lara across a map is still zippy and does (largely) what you want it to do.
Story's a big pile of wank. Bunch of arseholes I don't care about making stupid decisions all the time, with a clunky selection of mentor, obvious villain, nerd, angry woman, chunky kiwi, and lesbian life partner that feel less cookie cutter and more like someone trying to drearily recreate the shape of a cookie cutter by tearing at the dough. They're just boring box-ticking exercises for what you'd expect from a AAA game of the time, or a mid-budget action flick of the time.
There is a villain. He's Salazar from Resident Evil 4, as played by a mercenary who didn't quite know how to play the part. There are other men of various sizes available throughout. At one point a large man immune to headshots appeared, and I can't even remember if we knew about him beforehand. He felt important, but wasn't exactly a thrilling boss fight.
Despite this, the scenarios feel pretty good. Lara's big murder journey around the island is a thrilling jump from location to location, usually with a chaotic and irreversible sequence pushing you between them. Her transformation from hesitant murder machine to resolute murder machine is great to follow. It's just the characters surrounding Lara that let it down.
So what, where is this going? Do I like it? Yeah, to about the measure of three stars. Would I recommend it? Yeah, if you like finding trinkets and killing people until a bunch of things say 100%. It satisfies in that regard. Just don't expect anything different to anything else that had come along that generation.
Oh, it has inexplicable quick travel, too.
To be so emblematic of its generation isn't in itself a bad thing. The game is good. I mean... outside the multiplayer, I'm too cool to waste my life trying that out, but that aside the game is eminently playable, with some fantastic feeling mechanics, such as the near-perfect strain of the bow, or the nice chunky shotgun. The platforming (arguably the most crucial thing to get right) is fun, despite a weird magnetism to Lara that flings her across to the nearest bright white object at any given moment. You forgive a lot when the scramble of Lara across a map is still zippy and does (largely) what you want it to do.
Story's a big pile of wank. Bunch of arseholes I don't care about making stupid decisions all the time, with a clunky selection of mentor, obvious villain, nerd, angry woman, chunky kiwi, and lesbian life partner that feel less cookie cutter and more like someone trying to drearily recreate the shape of a cookie cutter by tearing at the dough. They're just boring box-ticking exercises for what you'd expect from a AAA game of the time, or a mid-budget action flick of the time.
There is a villain. He's Salazar from Resident Evil 4, as played by a mercenary who didn't quite know how to play the part. There are other men of various sizes available throughout. At one point a large man immune to headshots appeared, and I can't even remember if we knew about him beforehand. He felt important, but wasn't exactly a thrilling boss fight.
Despite this, the scenarios feel pretty good. Lara's big murder journey around the island is a thrilling jump from location to location, usually with a chaotic and irreversible sequence pushing you between them. Her transformation from hesitant murder machine to resolute murder machine is great to follow. It's just the characters surrounding Lara that let it down.
So what, where is this going? Do I like it? Yeah, to about the measure of three stars. Would I recommend it? Yeah, if you like finding trinkets and killing people until a bunch of things say 100%. It satisfies in that regard. Just don't expect anything different to anything else that had come along that generation.
Oh, it has inexplicable quick travel, too.