After the Play Through: Tomb Raider (2013)

Game: Tomb Raider (2013)

Play Time: 24 hours over 5 days (with a 10 hour marathon on the last day)

Recommendation: Buy at first opportunity

This is an after action report on my experience playing Tomb Raider (2013). Before playing the game I have only heard negative reviews about the game, most notably the following remark: “The game is a game, but it is not Tomb Raider.” (WARNING: This review has a few spoilers.)

The Cons:

1) There are quick time events in the game.

A quick time event (QTE) is a spot in the game where you must press a button in response to an on screen prompt. A successful action means you get a postive result and usually continue the event to the next prompt or finish the event. A failure usually means your gruesome death. (And Lara dies in so many unpleasant ways in this game.) I do not like QTEs when I must revisit them because I failed to notice how to successfully press a button. I should be rewarded for my wit or for successfully solving a puzzle. Many times I watched Lara die the same death and it was because I didn’t know how to press a button.

2) My graphics setting should not hold me back from advancing.

This is a small gripe because my settings might have prevented me from successfully completing a guantlet event. This was not a QTE but a series of actions that I must perform in order to advance to the next safe area. I did successfully traverse all BUT the last element. And I failed the last element time and time again. The problem was that the last element was not in my field of vision. All through the gauntlet my vision was purposely looking down. The last element was actually above my field of vision, but because the gauntlet event conditioned me to look down I kept failing it. My setting were lowered at the time so I blame that for keeping me from noticing the wall. I probably would have noticed the wall better if it were glowing. (I know there is a button that will show all the spots where Lara can climb but I kept thinking the gauntlet was a QTE.)

3) There is a cast of characters in the game but very few places where I could interact with them.

Another small gripe. The writers went through the trouble of making these characters and this story with so many background elements. However, personally interacting with them was not only few and far between but they didn’t seem to give any more advice or help with the game or your progression. I wished that there was more each person could say as you talked to them.

The Pros:

1) The skill system is robust and filled with excellent uses.

The first skills you can pick up help you get bonuses as you traverse the game. Later on these bonuses help get you the more powerful skills that help you take down enemies quicker and keep you alive longer during battles. Not once did I ever regret getting a skill because each skill either built on previous skills or helped you use your tools better.

2) Lara’s weapons can be improved with a robust upgrade system.

Those bonuses I mentioned earlier help you gain scraps (I do not remember the actual term) to “buy” upgrades for your weapons. Each upgrade helps you take down enemies easier and quicker. There are the normal upgrades like larger clip size and an added scope for sniping. Then there are the other upgrades that help you traverse areas and open up previously restricted zones. One of the cool options is that the bow Lara uses can shoot a rope so you can make zip lines where you need them. Each upgrade is expensive but not so expensive that you cannot get the scrap to purchase them.

3) The action is plentiful.

In the beginning all you have is the axe tool and the bow. This is all you need because the enemies are easy and they fire arrows at a slower pace than you. In my playthrough I purposefully tried to headshot when I could because you get extra experience from a headshot and the enemy immediately stops shooting at you. Each death means closer to a skill point and, after acquiring a specific skill, more scraps from looting dead bodies. And there are many areas where enemies were plenty to shoot at.

4) The scenes are breath taking.

Yes, the action all takes place on an island but each area you open up is jaw dropping. From plane wrecks to abandoned Japanese villages to a sprawling shanty town your eyes are treated to a fantastic view. Yes, the shanty town seems unbelievable but then again the game keeps mentioning a queen that can control the weather. The artists and designers went all out and did a great job with it.

5) There are tombs that Lara can raid.

Almost all the tombs in the game are optional. You can go through the game and not once step inside an optional tomb. You would not get as many experience points or scraps for upgrades, but you can skip them. If you do then you’re robbing yourself of the quintessential Tomb Raider experience. I believe those extra areas are there for those people who call themselves Tomb Raiders. I went through the game and played every single optional tomb because this is Tomb Raider. If there were no tombs to explore then this game would be called Lara Roughing It On an Island.

6) The combat system actually works.

Instead of an clunky auto-targeting button the game lets you choose to aim your weapon. You hold down one button to go into aiming stance where your view is closer to Lara and then fire using the reticle. If you let go of the aim button your view returns to behind Lara where you can see more of the area. This is a subtle and powerful use of the camera because this causes the player to decide if looking around the character is more important than aiming down the barrel. (Throughout the game I’ve abandoned the aim view in favor of finding better cover or an unflanked position. Trust me, you never want to be flanked.)

And with stronger skills you can, on a successful dodge, play a short QTE where success means you kill an enemy or failure means you continue the battle. In my opinion that is the best use of a QTE. Also no other enemy close by can melee you while the QTE is acting out.

There are many more things I could say about this game (all of them positive) but these are the ones that stand out. I got this game on Steam for ten dollars on the Winter Sale. If I had gotten this game earlier at a higher price I would still say the same things. This is a great game and I highly recommend this.

And to the nay-sayers: this game is a Tomb Raider. So stop yelling at all of us to get off your damn lawn.