Tomb Raider Review

Completionist Rejoice
For gamers who enjoy collecting stuff and achieving 100% completion, they will be pleased to know that Tomb Raider has plenty of collectables. For every area, you will have an opportunity to collect relics and journals that hold secrets to the island using the Instinct ability that Lara has in this game. When the shoulder button is pressed, Lara will be able to turn on her ‘instinct’ and sense things that she can interact with; it varies from relics found, documents, and areas where players need to go to next. There are a lot of things to be collected and the more the player finds, the more they get to unlock. The island is massive and there are items that you will not be able to get right away, since some areas require Lara to have certain equipment in order to traverse the land. As always, players will have an option to fast travel to previously visited areas and uncover new places with new gear obtained along the way.

Tomb Raider would not be Tomb Raider without actual tombs that players can raid. One of the sidequests that players can do in this game is to search for tombs. Every tomb that Lara explores contains items and relics. When cleared, players will uncover a treasure map where all collectibles will be shown on the world map.

Not So Complex Upgrade System
Every time a player kills an enemy, explores a new area and loots items, XP points will be rewarded. Whenever the XP bar fills up, players get a Skill point that can be used to make Lara’s abilities more efficient, like being able to hold the bow longer or hold more ammunition. As for weapons, collecting the item called ‘Salvage’ will help Lara upgrade her weapons. This item is everywhere and it’s one of the most common loot the enemy drops when taken down. The plethora of options that you can do with Lara’s weapons are wonderful and they help give a punch when Lara uses them in combat.

NOT

Multiplayer is Fun but Not Groundbreaking
To further add replayability to the game, Crystal Dynamics added competitive online multiplayer mode. Fans expecting an innovative multiplayer experience will not find it here. At best, it’s very similar to Uncharted’s online multiplayer. It plays pretty much the same. It’s not terrible, but it’s something everyone has played before and offers nothing new to the genre.

Overall, there are four modes that players can test their skill online. Rescue Mode tasks survivors with recovering the medical supplies from the opposing side while the other team tries to stop them. There’s the infamous Team Deathmatch where both teams’ goal is to kill one another. Cry for Help is an objective mission where survivors must activate the radio transmitters. Finally, there’s Free For All. Out of those four modes, the only one enjoyable one is Rescue Mode as it offers some sort of a challenge, but the rest are simply rehashsed material.

VERDICT

Overall, Crystal Dynamics’ attempt to reboot the Tomb Raider series is indeed successful. Incorporating new gameplay elements while retaining the series’ core gameplay of exploration was successfully achieved in this game. A well written storyline, perfect balance of exploration and action and a non-linear gameplay will make long time fans of Lara Croft happy. The multiplayer portion may not get any attention, but the adventure players will be going through with Lara Croft is one ride that will stick in everyone’s mind. Out with the old Tomb Raider and in with the new Tomb Raider. Oh Lara Croft, you don’t know how much we’ve missed you.

[Editor’s Note: Tomb Raider was reviewed on the Xbox 360 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]