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[Net_Wrecker]

...Since when Uncharted series does not take their stories seriously?

It may "appear" lighthearted (maybe due to all of the beautiful colors?), but they did take their stories seriously.

"Seriously" in that they were attempting to present them well, have good characterization, good voice acting, solid writing, etc. They want Uncharted games to have a great presentation, but they've never really promised some kind of character study, or a serious arc. They're popcorn games. There's nothing wrong with that.

You don't have to execute the enemies, though. I think this whole discussion wouldnt have gotten that big if it werent for those finishing moves. It makes far more sense for her to kill enemies from a distance with her bow than executing them in melee fights.

TR kinda breaks the mold of traditional games, it's a different experience if you see Lara as a videogame character (&empathize with her) and not as the ingame manifestation of the player.

It would make far more sense for her to be AVOIDING combat, and for any eventual enemy encounters to be small, messy, and infrequent enough that the character's change would make an impact, and work with the tone they're aiming for. The finishing moves are a part of the problem, but combat as a whole is at odds with the kind of story they've presented.

And I don't see Lara as a manifestation of the player. That's the reason I'm arguing in favor of a toned down approach. It makes no sense for this character to take on hoards of enemies head on. The game is built as a shooter, but the story is trying to go somewhere else.

 

[Ninjimbo]

RE4 of Tomb Raider series, don't worry!

(RE4 maintained so much of what made RE tick that the comparison always falls flat; all RE4 did was shift the perspective to make the controls work better and speed up the action. But it did all that within the same horror framework - there are jumps, there are frights, there is tension everywhere - and maintaining classical uptuned RE inventory, bosses, replay value, etc.

RE4 also killed the story, set the campaign on a straight line, made the player an overpowered juggernaut, dispensed with the ammo like pennies, added in QTEs, got rid of the puzzles, made inventory management a joke, etc.

It radically shifted the series into pure action; a far cry from the slow paced adventure game RE1 was. The only reason RE fans tolerated the reboot was because it was a fucking incredibly designed third person shooter. Hell, I can make the case that it set the template for the entire generation that followed. The DNA of the modern action game is all RE4.

RE4 changed everything about the series. I would argue for the better even though REmake will always be my favorite game in the franchise. If RE continued on the Code Veronica/RE0 path, RE would have died as a franchise. Just like Tomb Raider did.

 

[Toa TAK]

I watched the machinima review and that seemed to bring out to light everyone's concerns about the game being the real deal.

 

[dreamfall]

Tomb Raider does fine in that regard. Still some of the old Tomb Raider DNA in there, just about as much as RE4. They ditched the same things, however, and focused on the same things as well. The methodical pace is gone, as are most all of the puzzle solving. In their place we have an incredibly tightly paced action game.

And so that is definitely where Tomb Raider stands now- which isn't a bad thing, it's just going to feel completely different.

As much as I enjoy my first/only playthroughs of every Uncharted game, I think the fact that there is more openness to your approach and explorative/larger hub areas to tackle offer variety to combat restrictions in this game.

Lara over Drake any day, especially if they are rivaling each other now on purely an action front. That being said, I'm going to miss my puzzles a lot.

 

[Phionoxx]

Excited for the game. Great deal with that CAGROCKS code on Amazon to purchase the PC download.

I haven't used the Amazon PC direct download before, do you just take that activation / serial number code and redeem it in Steam - and then download it through Steam? Trying to avoid having to download it twice (through Amazon and Steam each).

 

[dreamfall]

Excited for the game. Great deal with that CAGROCKS code on Amazon to purchase the PC download.

I haven't used the Amazon PC direct download before, do you just take that activation / serial number code and redeem it in Steam - and then download it through Steam? Trying to avoid having to download it twice (through Amazon and Steam each).

Yeah, Amazon will just give you the Steam activation code (in your Games Download library) and you can do it directly through Steam. They are really good about Steam Activated games- it's simple/usually cheaper.

 

[Amir0x]

CAGROCKS deal? I've been hearing that code word everywhere, what does the deal do?

 

[Laughing Banana]

"Seriously" in that they were attempting to present them well, have good characterization, good voice acting, solid writing, etc. They want Uncharted games to have a great presentation, but they've never really promised some kind of character study, or a serious arc. They're popcorn games. There's nothing wrong with that.

Uncharted 3 was all about Drake's "character study."

 

[dreamfall]

CAGROCKS deal? I've been hearing that code word everywhere, what does the deal do?

25% off any game on Amazon I think? Single use only- don't know how long it's going for.

Edit: Until 2/28 according to CAG!

 

[Baconsammy]

Uncharted 3 was all about Drake's "character study."

Yep. His origin story. That was probably the only interesting part of that entire bland game.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Beaten with 78% complete.

Like I said in the other thread, I have always been a huge Tomb Raider fan. This game isn't really anything like the older ones though. It reinvents itself as an Action/Adventure game much like Resident Evil 4 reinvented that series. It succeeds much the same way, as an incredibly tightly paced game. I feel that it can stand easily next to the Uncharted series. In actuality, it is easily a better game than the first or third and I feel that is indeed better than 2.

 

[Amir0x]

25% off any game on Amazon I think? Single use only- don't know how long it's going for.

Edit: Until 2/28 according to CAG!

25%!? Hot damn!

Thanks man

 

[brandonh83]

How long is the story? Not interested in multiplayer so I'd be buying it for the single player alone.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Not at all. I just can't take people who lash out at detractors and then fail to point out how even a single of them are wrong in any meaningful fashion seriously. I only can respect people who take the time and effort to understand the positions of those you attempt to debate with, positions thoroughly and rigorously explained to you thousands of times over the last year, in which even up until close to release you still tried to pretend you had NO IDEA why people were complaining.

There are plenty of people who love this new Tomb Raider that I hold great respect for on this subject (hey, like slasher_thrasher21). Consider why you are different than these.

You're right. I didn’t really understand why a lot of people were complaining a while ago, and now I do because you and some others explained themselves. You guys have some valid points. I understand that now - surely you’ve noticed that?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

How long is the story? Not interested in multiplayer so I'd be buying it for the single player alone.

Apparently 12-15 seems to be the median.

 

[EagleBurnn]

Beaten with 78% complete.

Like I said in the other thread, I have always been a huge Tomb Raider fan. This game isn't really anything like the older ones though. It reinvents itself as an Action/Adventure game much like Resident Evil 4 reinvented that series. It succeeds much the same way, as an incredibly tightly paced game. I feel that it can stand easily next to the Uncharted series. In actuality, it is easily a better game than the first or third and I feel that is indeed better than 2.

Fuck, exactly what I predicted. Glad I haven't pre-ordered yet. Hoping you're wrong...

 

[Messofanego]

Not really experimenting but here is an area I went back to. Instances like these you surely can fall or miss your jumps but not all areas are like this when climbing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BznGF2cwcKU&feature=youtu.be

Even if this doesn't answer my questions specifically, thanks for posting this.

 

[Baconsammy]

Apparently 12-15 seems to be the median.

And multiple reviews saying you'll want to go back to the island to knock out stuff you didn't find the first time, and that there's compelling reasons to do so.

 

[Amir0x]

You're right. I didn’t really understand why a lot of people were complaining a while ago, and now I do because you and some others explained themselves. You guys have some valid points. I understand that now - surely you’ve noticed that?

well cool, honestly I didn't notice, but I can take your word for it and trust it. That's the only thing that ever frustrated a lot of TR fans, not anyone's love. Just this idea that after all the tireless explanations of our positions, some people still tried to act like it was this impossible to understand railing against the wall, like we just want to hate shit to hate it. If that is not the case, and we can live with the idea that we all like different things (while reasonably debating the differences), that's cool.

My primary argument at that final peaceful junction is basically you could have had what you wanted and I could have had what I wanted if they had just gave the game a different title. Thinking about how simple a change that would have been to satisfy everyone and not take down the only series on Earth that played the way it did, I think it is a fair request

 

[SlasherJPC]

Even if this doesn't answer my questions specifically, thanks for posting this.

Yep, NP anything else you might want to see?

 

[NullPointer]

25%!? Hot damn!

Thanks man

Yep. Snagged the PC download version at Amazon for $33.

I'm going in with non-Tomb Raider expectations really, but I think I could have some fun with it.

I'm still jonesing for a new, real, Tomb Raider fix though, even (maybe especially) if that comes in the form of a Guardian of Light 2.

My primary argument at that final peaceful junction is basically you could have had what you wanted and I could have had what I wanted if they had just gave the game a different title. Thinking about how simple a change that would have been to satisfy everyone and not take down the only series on Earth that played the way it did, I think it is a fair request

This is true. Since we have X-Com Enemy Unknown I don't have to shit on the FPS reboot (or whatever it is), because I can still get my classic but modernized X-Com gaming on.

But if you're looking for something post-Underworld that plays like a Tomb Raider game, what are your options?

 

[RoboPlato]

25% off any game on Amazon I think? Single use only- don't know how long it's going for.

Edit: Until 2/28 according to CAG!

Whoa, is it just for PC games?

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Uncharted 3 was all about Drake's "character study."

Yep. His origin story. That was probably the only interesting part of that entire bland game.

They looked at his origins and relationship with Sully for a bit, but that's about it. In the end it was still a story about action, adventure, globetrotting, huge setpieces, and a little historical mystery. It was akin to the Young Indy scene from The Last Crusade. Nothing like the promises made from Crystal Dynamics regarding Lara in this new Tomb Raider. Her journey, mentally and physically, has been nearly ALL of the marketing.

 

[dreamfall]

Whoa, is it just for PC games?

I think it is PC Digital Downloads only? Here is the link with more detailed info!

 

[antitrop]

Beaten with 78% complete.

Like I said in the other thread, I have always been a huge Tomb Raider fan. This game isn't really anything like the older ones though. It reinvents itself as an Action/Adventure game much like Resident Evil 4 reinvented that series. It succeeds much the same way, as an incredibly tightly paced game. I feel that it can stand easily next to the Uncharted series. In actuality, it is easily a better game than the first or third and I feel that is indeed better than 2.

 

[brandonh83]

Apparently 12-15 seems to be the median.

That's not bad. I still may wait for a price drop though. I would have loved a demo.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

well cool, honestly I didn't notice, but I can take your word for it and trust it. That's the only thing that ever frustrated a lot of TR fans, not anyone's love. Just this idea that after all the tireless explanations of our positions, some people still tried to act like it was this impossible to understand railing against the wall, like we just want to hate shit to hate it. If that is not the case, and we can live with the idea that we all like different things (while reasonably debating the differences), that's cool.

My primary argument at that final peaceful junction is basically you could have had what you wanted and I could have had what I wanted if they had just gave the game a different title. Thinking about how simple a change that would have been to satisfy everyone and not take down the only series on Earth that played the way it did, I think it is a fair request

Never thought I'd see the day - we actually agree with one another. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

 

[SlasherJPC]

That's not bad. I still may wait for a price drop though. I would have loved a demo.

Depends, what are you wanting out of the game? I think you will find a few things to enjoy about it. Knowing your preferences.

Never thought I'd see the day - we actually agree with one another. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Amirox has his moments, like we all do. Actually try and talk to him though and you'd be surprised.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

They looked at his origins and relationship with Sully for a bit, but that's about it. In the end it was still a story about action, adventure, globetrotting, huge setpieces, and a little historical mystery. It was akin to the Young Indy scene from The Last Crusade. Nothing like the promises made from Crystal Dynamics regarding Lara in this new Tomb Raider. Her journey, mentally and physically, has been nearly ALL of the marketing.

I kinda wish they'd delved more into Drake's past and that stuff. Very intriguing bits that we got. Also loved how they dealt with the father/son dynamic between Nate and Sully. Great stuff.

 

[brandonh83]

Depends, what are you wanting out of the game? I think you will find a few things to enjoy about it. Knowing your preferences.

I don't really know to be honest. The series has never did anything for me. I feel like it would be a blind purchase unless it has good replay value.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I don't really know to be honest. The series has never did anything for me. I feel like it would be a blind purchase unless it has good replay value.

Well part of me wants to tell you to watch some of the walkthroughs people have been posting to see if it suits you, but the other part of me is saying "Tell him to jump right in. Take a chance. Don't spoil anything. He may just really like it" AHHHHHHHHHHH

*edit* Seeing as Tomb Raider never did anything for you. Do you like Uncharted? Does the idea of some violent deaths, and whatnot disturb you? Do you mind there being minimal puzzles?

 

[-tetsuo-]

Fuck, exactly what I predicted. Glad I haven't pre-ordered yet. Hoping you're wrong...

Really can't be wrong. It is what it is, lol.

 

[brandonh83]

*edit* Seeing as Tomb Raider never did anything for you. Do you like Uncharted? Does the idea of some violent deaths, and whatnot disturb you? Do you mind there being minimal puzzles?

I like Uncharted but mainly because of the presentation, characters, music, etc. I don't love its linearity. No, polygons being impaled by other polygons doesn't disturb me.

I didn't think to watch some walkthroughs -- I'll do that. Not really worried about spoilers.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

On the other, other hand, do you really want to go back to grid-layout line up a jump for 30 seconds, oops a little bit to the right because how archaic these fuckin' controls are, now I'm dead platforming?

There must be a middle ground somewhere.

Maybe they should have stole the Sands of Time engine, that game's platforming makes every hop, jump, wallrun, and flip entertaining, with just the right amount of weight to make the fantastical leaps seem plausible.

Most might disagree, but I was generally ok with how CD handled updating the original controls in Anniversary. I was disappointed in there only being one kind of jump, but in general the sense of figuring shit out for yourself and maintaining the illusion of controlling your character's destiny was well enough retained to be satisfying. Just turn autograb off.

It's hard to defend tank controls, but it was the exploration and figuring things out that made the games. Fml if this game exists because player agency and problem solving have joined those old controls in being considered archaic. It's throwing the baby out with the bath water.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Amirox has his moments, like we all do. Actually try and talk to him though and you'd be surprised.

He does bring up decent points - but like I said...his harsh attitude can be too much at times. His ego often rubs me the wrong way.

I just wish he wouldn’t come across as so aggressive. Regardless, his last post he made in here made my respect for him rise a lot.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I like Uncharted but mainly because of the presentation, characters, music, etc. I don't love its linearity. No, polygons being impaled by other polygons doesn't disturb me.

I didn't think to watch some walkthroughs -- I'll do that. Not really worried about spoilers.

If you like Uncharted for it's presentation, I think you will absolutely love Tomb Raider especially because it has some more open ended exploring and revisiting areas to it. As for the polygons inserting themselves into other polygons, I didn't think so

He does bring up decent points - but like I said...his harsh attitude can be too much at times. His ego often rubs me the wrong way.

I just wish he wouldn’t come across as so aggressive. Regardless, his last post he made in here made my respect for him rise a lot.

Understand completely. I have respect for the man though. Just as he does for me. Were all people after all. Glad we can all join together sometimes though, even with our differences. Feels good man!

 

[dreamfall]

It's strange. I don't think this game will have the same graphical polish nor the technical gun play of Uncharted. But instead, the more open combat/exploration aspects have me more excited about it than Uncharted.

 

[AEREC]

Are their different difficulties? What's the save system like?

 

[steven28]

I wasn't really bothered about this game but the reviews sparked my interest..just put in a pre-order,it looks like a well designed adventure game and the graphics and environments look amazing to me.

 

[brandonh83]

If you like Uncharted for it's presentation, I think you will absolutely love Tomb Raider especially because it has some more open ended exploring and revisiting areas to it. As for the polygons inserting themselves into other polygons, I didn't think so

I'm watching a playthrough right now, it does look really good indeed. Not sold on it just yet but we'll see.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Are their different difficulties? What's the save system like?

Easy, normal, hard. Currently on hard. As for save system. Lots of auto saving. You will see a TR on the bottom right. Though if you go to a camp, it will save their as well.

 

[Baconsammy]

It's strange. I don't think this game will have the same graphical polish nor the technical gun play of Uncharted. But instead, the more open combat/exploration aspects have me more excited about it than Uncharted.

I think being a multi-plat and more open than Uncharted ensures this.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

It's strange. I don't think this game will have the same graphical polish nor the technical gun play of Uncharted. But instead, the more open combat/exploration aspects have me more excited about it than Uncharted.

Something that ND should consider for Uncharted 4. Tomb Raider's wide-linear approach would be a good one for Uncharted next generation.

 

[dreamfall]

I think being a multi-plat and more open than Uncharted ensures this.

You're definitely right. But I like that they've adopted the hub aspect to it- revisiting and exploring the entire map seems like so much more fun than replaying single levels over again.

Something that ND should consider for Uncharted 4. Tomb Raider's wide-linear approach would be a good one for Uncharted next generation.

I'd be all for that! Sometimes in playing any UC title, I start to feel a little restricted- shoot a wave, automatic platform, experience a great set piece, etc. Wonderful franchise on its own terms, but I like this approach more.

 

[Zeth]

Does "CAGROCKS" end soon? I should buy this.

 

[dreamfall]

Does "CAGROCKS" end soon? I should buy this.

CAG forum says tomorrow!

 

[Zeth]

Thanks!

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

You're definitely right. But I like that they've adopted the hub aspect to it- revisiting and exploring the entire map seems like so much more fun than replaying single levels over again.



I'd be all for that! Sometimes in playing any UC title, I start to feel a little restricted- shoot a wave, automatic platform, experience a great set piece, etc. Wonderful franchise on its own terms, but I like this approach more.

Tomb Raider apparently is paced very well, and all the UC games have mostly great pacing (UC3's second act asides...). I think that would definitely be a good approach.

In fact, we could probably still globe trot and do that. Imagine hubs in different countries, multiple inter-connected hubs to explore.

 

[Effect]

The person reviewing the game for Machinima was REALLY hung up on the story. He kept trying to tie everything to it not justifying the on screen action.

If the story is suppose to be a big part of the game it should be judged. The developers themselves have made a point of talking about it and what they've been trying to do. If it doesn't work it should be a knock against the game no matter if it looks good.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

I watched the machinima review and that seemed to bring out to light everyone's concerns about the game being the real deal.

The machinima review was just 90% talked about how the story of Lara surviving does not fit with being able to kill people at will when you control her.

They talked practically zero about the actual gameplay.