Is raiding this tomb as fun as the original?

Tomb Raider is a reboot developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. If you were born in the 1990’s, you might know Crystal Dynamics for Gex or Legacy of Kain. If you were born after that, you might know them from a few other Tomb Raider games. This Tomb Raider game however is meant to go back to the games roots and show the origin story of our protagonist, Laura Croft. Does is it come to par or the fate of the game doomed to be lost at sea like her? Let’s find out.

STORYLINE

This Tomb Raider follows Laura Croft as she ventures out on her own and to make a name for herself. Her boat is caught in a storm and her and the crew, those that survived, are shipwrecked and separated. I suppose this all wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the supernatural element keeping them there and the crazy cultists. You might be doing a double take as you try to make sense of that but sadly there isn’t much I can say without giving out spoilers except that the storyline is crazy. The people from the show Lost and Oliver from Arrow aren’t the only ones with bad experiences.

GAMEPLAY

As you might guess the game is largely about exploration. The island is huge and traveling from point to point requires the use of various tools. Fighting is done with guns and a bow and arrow. As Laura fights she gains experiences and parts to make her weapons stronger or have reduced recoil and the like. The combat is nothing revolutionary but it is fun. And gritty, definitely gritty. You will die often and the developers made sure that every death has some sort of cinematic video behind it. Say for example you’re caught in a current, then they will show you being slammed hard into some rocks and dying. The scenes didn’t bother me any but they might upset some people.

LENGTH

The game will probably be about 15 hours, give or take. Again that is mostly dependent on how you play but there are side things to do that can bring out the inner completest within you. Oh yeah, and there are tombs to raid. Kind of can’t have a Tomb Raider game without those lol. And if that isn’t enough, there are also multiplayer modes that allow you to compete against other people. Sort of team vs team from my understanding. Multiplayer isn’t really my thing so I won’t comment further on that.

GRAPHICS/SOUND

It goes without saying that this game is gorgeous but I’ll say it anyways. This game is gorgeous and the realism of the island shows. That realism adds to the beauty and awe of some things, and the grit of others. The sounds are awesome and lifelike, which is a good thing considering all the time you’ll spend being bombarded with wind.

OVERALL

I’d definitely say that this is a great game, a great reboot, and is something that should be played by Tomb Raider fans and newcomers alike. The story may seem a little convoluted but it comes full circle and makes you excited to see how they’ll handle the sequel. I’d say 8.5 out of 10 because you will die and more than likely cheaply some times which can be frustrating. The death will probably come from a failed quick-time event than the enemy AI.