Terrible writing in this game. Terrible. Cliched, trope-riddled, the story a terrible rip off that doesn't have the guts to go all the way. Really dismal.
Terrible writing in this game. Terrible. Cliched, trope-riddled, the story a terrible rip off that doesn't have the guts to go all the way. Really dismal.
just finished the game. Overall I really enjoyed it, I thought it looked great and played great as well. I loved the dodge mechanic and the cover system and the shooting was good. I though the final battle was great but the boss wasn't. I think the game was more fun for me when it wasn't being uncharted, I am sure the next game will have more puzzles, actual tombs and more items/weapons. I think they should expand on the survival aspect as here it was introduced but not followed through. Cant wait for the next one, I hope Uncharted takes some gameplay notes and opens up their game and makes it more fluid I terms of platforming.
Also, the writing and acting was shit. They need better writers.
, rocking the sticks back and forth won't budge or engage the animation. A restart of the game/checkpoint fixed it. Just one niggle and the playthrough was smooth to the end.
I am missing one last Tomb and it's in Shantytown...the maps for that place when there is no ennemy around is such a maze lol...I remember going into a passegeway and reaching a door that told me I didn't have the tool for it(that crowbar thing)...is that the place?
just finished it at 100% on my first playthrough. what a beautiful game! i really enjoyed it a lot and can't wait for more!
what great surprise this game was. i liked it since the first trailer but was never that hyped but i have to say it ended up being one of the best games i played this gen.
Think I'm nearly finished but I'll chime in with my thoughts.
Playing on a meaty PC. For the most part it looks really nice, especially where fire is involved, with one or two absolute stand out moments. It started rather slow for me and took a while to get going but certainly 40% completion onwards have provided some really nice moments. As most have said the story is trash, and I care not for the characters. Gunplay for the most is fine and a lot of the gameplay mechanics work well, especially whole weapon upgrade system. Mind I've not used the fast travel at all as I've no wish to go back through to pick things I've missed.
The Unchartered comparisons are worthy of a mention, in that they've tried very hard to implement many of ND's cinematic flair techniques i.e certain camera angles, big scripted moments of grandeur, but for me they fall short of ND's superior skills in these areas.
Pacing was really good. Made me think back about Assassin's Creed 3 (since its one of the games I recently finished) and how that game was TERRIBLY paced at the start.
Oh and for anyone just starting the game...I personally would recommend using survival instinct (aka eagle vision ) as little as possible. Halfway through the game I started doing this a little bit to try and get XP via collectible and I think it kind of messed up the flow of the game for me. Exploration of the environment was much better when I wasn't setting checkpoints and hitting LB/L2 all the time.
Enjoyed it overall, but the combat got tiresome and the puzzles and tombs were laughable.
Bow is cool, but for obvious reasons I don't see it returning. (Lara isn't Turok)
So i finished the game. Nice graphics, like really nice. Tressfx is something I want next gen for every character and NPC. These kind of physics are the best way to immerse me personally. Hope fully things like cloth physics and clipping are adressed more in future games.
Anyway there wasn't much else I enjoyed. The story wasn't very engaging or interesting, the characters were all completely forgetable and and Lara herself was just kind of annoying. Talking to herself all the time, Screaming peoples names constantly and all the screams and grunting. The platforming is laughable. Sometimes you gauge that a jump cant be made, but Lara defys gravity and manages to float onto the platform or ledge. There is no skill to judging timing or distance.
The instinct mode shows you all the environmental objects you need to interact with to work out a puzzle or traverse a tomb. The tombs themselves are incredibly small, taking only a minute to complete.
Quick time events. These plague the entire game. Platforming is made even more trivial by them, enemies that should be tough are easier than regulAr thugs because of them and then there are the interactive cutscenes of Lara sliding down rocky slopes.
I have a question about Shantytown. I'm finishing up the GPS/Relics stuff and I'm trying to get a treasure map that appears on the far left of the map in the middle of nowhere and I for the life of me cant figure out how to get to it, any ideas? Am I just being an idiot and missing the obvious?
Still slowly plodding along through the game. I nearly gave up after it got really combat intensive- I think the combat system is good for what it is, but the structures of the encounters were ruining it for me.
But I'm glad I stuck it out- just got to
the beach, and it feels like I've got a moment to breathe before things get loud again
. Everytime I felt burnt out on some of the shooting stuff, I enjoyed some of the casual exploration in picking up collectibles or completing challenges. I think any urgency to see the story through is crippled by the problematic narrative and hilarious side characters.
But in all honesty, I'm enjoying it- automatic platforming and all. It lacks the charm and polish of Uncharted, but it allows for more exploration amidst the explosive set pieces and restrictive moments. And at times, it's really gorgeous. Some of quieter moments in the forest gave me pause.
Oh, she's not the same Lara. But in some sections that's alright. Most of it, I've felt slightly disengaged but I have enjoyed it- albeit very slowly.
At this point they could release a tic tac toe minigame DLC and it would provide a greater puzzle challenge than any of the puzzles in the main game. And I would welcome it.
I like how he chooses to not only leave out the spoiler tags, but actually makes the concerted effort to bold face the text.
On the other hand, who gives a shit, this story is garbage and there is no character development for anyone outside of Lara, so it really doesn't even matter.
just finished the game. Overall I really enjoyed it, I thought it looked great and played great as well. I loved the dodge mechanic and the cover system and the shooting was good. I though the final battle was great but the boss wasn't. I think the game was more fun for me when it wasn't being uncharted, I am sure the next game will have more puzzles, actual tombs and more items/weapons. I think they should expand on the survival aspect as here it was introduced but not followed through. Cant wait for the next one, I hope Uncharted takes some gameplay notes and opens up their game and makes it more fluid I terms of platforming.
Also, the writing and acting was shit. They need better writers.
I don't think they should expand the survival stuff. I feel it would bog the game down even more and remove it further from tomb raiding. Plus it would make absolutely no sense for Lara to be less prepared following the events of this game.
At this point they could release a tic tac toe minigame DLC and it would provide a greater puzzle challenge than any of the puzzles in the main game. And I would welcome it.
I like how he chooses to not only leave out the spoiler tags, but actually makes the concerted effort to bold face the text.
On the other hand, who gives a shit, this story is garbage and there is no character development for anyone outside of Lara, so it really doesn't even matter.
I don't feel the game developed Lara much, either. Her character is pretty much already developed before the game even starts. She was already adventuring, exploring ruins, and going on survival training romps. This game only introduces her to homicide and the supernatural, which are both handled pretty poorly.
How long is it taking people to finish the single player? I'm kind of interested in the game, but only really care about the single player, so multiplayer won't mean much to me. (esp true since I'll likely get the 360 version and won't have access to the multiplayer anyways of course).
I admit I was skeptical about this reboot being a huge fan of the older games but boy was I wrong. This game is awesome. The PC version runs well and looks amazing, combat is way better than the previous games and definitely a step up from UC.
The only real sticking points are the awful side characters and the tombs(too small). Definitely cant wait for more.
Alright I finally got the trophy for upgrading all my weapons. I basically spent a few hours running around the various forests killing deer and looting them. There really should be a better way to collect salvage in the post game, it felt so out of character for Lara to go around murdering animals by the hundreds.
Alright I finally got the trophy for upgrading all my weapons. I basically spent a few hours running around the various forests killing deer and looting them. There really should be a better way to collect salvage in the post game, it felt so out of character for Lara to go around murdering animals by the hundreds.
I tried out the post game for less than an hour before I just started a new game. What was I gonna do, go back and look for those tiny GPS markers and extra salvage to upgrade weapons I don't need to use anymore? New game+ with an extra difficulty mode or something would have been nice.
Just finished it on hard, 70 something percent. I have no idea how long it took me though, but considering I spent 2 bucks at red box I'm gonna say it was a good rental. Now for dem final impressions:
Pros
-The game looks good on consoles and generally has great art direction.
-The bow is a fun weapon and very satisfying to shoot dudes with
-Hubs are usually great and let you tackle combat/traversal in non linear ways... for the most part
-Automatic cover system is smooth
-Collectibles are easy to keep track of
-Controls are solid
Mehs
-Survivor Instinct. Never used it.
-Weapon Upgrade system. All I did was focus on the bow for the most part. I guess it's okay(?)
-Lara. Instead of short shorts we get cleavage. She's inoffensive overall, but the dissonance at the beginning is hilarious.
-Stealth was neat, but undercooked.
Cons
-Story is just lol, tropes galore and really predictable. The side characters are "who?" and Lara is at her best when she is talking to herself about history or yelling at people/trying to kill them.
-Platforming is made easier/more accessible in this game but they didn't really bother making the situations interesting. Really disappointing especially since CD proved they could do it in Underworld and Anniversary. Platforming was easy in those games as well, but not as brain dead.
-Combat is really easy (played on hard) and the AI bros weren't all that smart. Sure they tried to flush you out by lobbing molotov cocktails/dynamite at you, but when the enemies tried flanking they simply walked right towards you. No bueno.
-QTEs are terrible and I hate them, go away.
-Uncharted set pieces also need to vanish. Very few of them are interesting and most are largely forgettable.
-Collectibles are a waste of time and could have made exploring satisfying, but they do not. Collecting shit for the sake of collecting shit is not a good way to implement collectibles.
-Puzzles and optional tombs are a joke.
-The skills aren't even worth mentioning. Not fleshed out and most of them feel like filler to get to the next useful one.
Overall I felt the game was too safe for its own good and just made everything boring/by the numbers. I could hear the modern game checkmarks ticking as I played through it. However, there is a lot of room for improvement and I can see myself being sort of interested in a sequel, but I'm feeling pretty meh on the game overall.
I am missing one last Tomb and it's in Shantytown...the maps for that place when there is no ennemy around is such a maze lol...I remember going into a passegeway and reaching a door that told me I didn't have the tool for it(that crowbar thing)...is that the place?
I remember the last tomb I needed was in the Shantytown too. If I remember correctly it's kinda straight ahead from the helicopter to run into. It's in this room and there should be some wooden panels on the floor you have to pry open. There might be some guys practicing some ritual in there too. But yeah Shantytown is a pain to navigate.
I remember the last tomb I needed was in the Shantytown too. If I remember correctly it's kinda straight ahead from the helicopter to run into. It's in this room and there should be some wooden panels on the floor you have to pry open. There might be some guys practicing some ritual in there too. But yeah Shantytown is a pain to navigate.
All done, 76%. Deliberately skipped some stuff to try the post game.
Last level is the very definition of anticlimactic, but hey, there was one moment of battle variety.
Worst part was definitely the post Shantytown Michael Bay bit. Most of the last half I actually preferred, because it was like the open beginning, just more interesting areas.
Gonna see if I care to get 100%, then I'll post some final thoughts.
-Collectibles are a waste of time and could have made exploring satisfying, but they do not. Collecting shit for the sake of collecting shit is not a good way to implement collectibles.
But collecting those 5 bird eggs is integral to the story!
I'm at the ship and enjoying myself so far. I'll post my thoughts when I finish the whole thing, but the whole focus on action in the end hasn't bugged me as much as I initially was afraid it would.
Who thought the multiplayer would be a good idea? I tried a few matches, and it's absolutely terrible. On top of that, I always see mainly Russians on. Is anyone even playing this thing?
-Engrossing story and the little bits of history told through journals you find
-Awesome moments:
Radio tower climb and the wide open forest hunt that lets you play nextgen MGS3
-Lara squeezing through gaps... Mmmmmm
-Mmmmmm
-The amount of action/enemies feels just right - not too many that it's tiresome, but enough to keep you on your toes
It did get a bit too intense around Shantytown though
-Had to switch to PC at 94% because of a glitch, but to my surprise my 3-year-old card ran it perfectly. Could even do TressFX.
-Holy shit TressFX is gorgeous. Lara looks so much more awesome in cutscenes because of it.
-Dat HAIR
-Dat HAIR
-Dat HAIR
Hated:
-Damn glitch almost at the end of the game (Chasm Rift) that its supposed patch didn't fix and made me switch to the PC version just to finish it.
-I guess I missed the elaborate tomb puzzles, but between a great, memorable game like this or a forgettable TR with lots of puzzles, I'd choose the former.
It's funny, I think Tomb Raider ends up doing Uncharted action better (no endless swarms of enemies, weapon upgrades, strong villain
(Himeko)
), but Uncharted does classic Tomb Raider better (elaborate tomb puzzles).
Anyway, the only thing I'd ask for in the sequel is bigger stages for more exploration. Maybe a bit more puzzles, but I didn't really miss them.
Enjoyed it overall, but the combat got tiresome and the puzzles and tombs were laughable.
Bow is cool, but for obvious reasons I don't see it returning. (Lara isn't Turok)
Imagine if they used their set piece budget for actual giant sprawling tombs. You all remember that really windy place with the ancient Japanese statues right? Now imagine that being a fucking huge and elaborate Tomb from CD's previous games. I want this game's hubs/combat/control and Anniversary or Underworld's Tombs/platforming/puzzles. Next time CD, I can feel it!
Imagine if they used their set piece budget for actual giant sprawling tombs. You all remember that really windy place with the ancient Japanese statues right? Now imagine that being a fucking huge and elaborate Tomb from CD's previous games. I want this game's hubs/combat/control and Anniversary or Underworld's Tombs/platforming/puzzles. Next time CD, I can feel it!
Honestly, I'd say that it wasn't an issue of budget.
I think they wanted to do the tombs the way they did so either they could ease newer players in to the idea, or because it detracted from the story too much. I'd love to see tombs come back, but for this game specifically, with the story it was trying to tell and the audience it was trying to entertain and invite, the tombs being small is kind of obvious. Huge tombs would be a bit out of place in this situation. The reason Lara gets to the tombs and what not is because she's investigating and searching for things. In this game, she has a clear goal.
Did he really die though? I just finished the game and it occurred to me that Roth was the only one who died on screen and Lara survived much worse then the off screen fates they all had. I think there's a chance Alex and That Scotish captain dude show up in a future game
Anyway, I ended up getting to the point of no return still needing one skill upgrade and 3 weapon upgrades. I did all of the collecting and I doubt I missed much salvage. Did I get punished for playing the game more stealthy? Should I have repeatedly engaged in firefights so I would get the extra XP and salvage for killing additional enemies?
I did like how you could take out an entire 'kill box' with stealth and wouldn't have to deal with the monster closets. You probably should have got a XP and salvage bonus for doing that.
Funny how the game had less shooting then Uncharted yet it was still a more important bigger part of the game. 90% of the single player trophies are killing based. Kill X people with Y weapon, do this many stealth kills, get X headshots etc. There should have been a trophy for every tomb and more then the one "complete the game" story based trophy.
Is it just me or was there a piece of music towards the end that sounded like it was straight up ripping off part of the Uncharted theme?
The two after that are almost impossible to miss. You're practically required to walk close enough to get the "Tomb near by" sound. Also, one of your last upgrades shows the locations of all the tombs and treasure maps too.
Honestly, I'll say that it wasn't an issue of budget.
I think they wanted to do the tombs the way they did so either they could ease newer players in to the idea, or because it detracted from the story too much. I'd love to see tombs come back, but for this game specifically, with the story it was trying to tell and the audience it was trying to entertain and invite, the tombs being small is kind of obvious. Huge tombs would be a bit out of place in this situation. The reason Lara gets to the tombs and what not is because she's investigating and searching for things. In this game, she has a clear goal.
I don't think it was an issue of budget either, it's more of a joke with me not wanting them to waste their money on set pieces and use it for something else. I am aware they need a game with zero complexity for the shoot bang crowd, but a man can dream.