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Tomb Raider |OT| Lara's Misfortune

Hellix

Member
Okay, what the fuck do you press
I tried every button at different times but the closest I got was some yellow sign when I press LMB.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Just picked up my CE pre-order at BB

To my surprise, the Comic is a little hardcover book. But the art is actually good! Usually these things have piss poor throw away art.

The Playarts Kai figure also looks REALLY good. Very satisfied with this CE (doubly so since I paid all of it off with Rewards Points lol)
 
gorgeous game (PC/ ultimate settings) although I fear it'll be over before too long been playing since 6am. haha

really glad I invested in a decent PC recently
 

strafer

member
Okay, what the fuck do you press
I tried every button at different times but the closest I got was some yellow sign when I press LMB.

I had to retry that section 5 times until I got the right button. >.<

I checked options and saw the icon and the right button to press.
 

OverHeat

« generous god »
I cannot even start the game.... Failed to initialize direct3d bla bla
Should have bought the 360 version
 
Loving this so far, I think I'm about 40% through and no issues on my pc yet. QTEs are a pain but the combat feels great. Wish the enemies were more of a threat though, I get more nervous when QTEs come up than when enemies show up. Really does play like an Uncharted game with better combat mechanics and grittier atmosphere.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Holy damn I got to an area that's....pretty big to put it in simple terms. Now this is more like it.

It's stressing my PC too, getting drops to the high 30s because there's so much to load at once.
 

Jarmel

Banned
Since I'm stuck in class and can't play right now, I'll write up my opinion of the game so far. I'm on the 2nd to last level on hard so I doubt my opinion will change much when I finish the game.

This is a well polished game that took stuff wholesale from other franchises and doesn't really add much of its own to the mix. There are very big issues with the characters and narrative as well. That said, it's still a very good game because of the execution. The graphics, animations, combat mechanics, and gameplay mechanics (excluding the awful QTEs) overall are all topnotch.

The main narrative is a Japanese version of Lost, there is a level out of the Descent, and another sequence is straight from Uncharted. The characters are all pretty much uninteresting, even Lara is pretty dull. There really isn't any attachment compared to say Uncharted with Drake, Sully, and Elena. There just isn't any charm to any of it. As I stated earlier, this feels like what would happen if Uncharted took itself dead seriously. There are also some pretty big 'conveniences' that happen as well
such as the grenade launcher bit
. Not to mention a lot of dissonance with the cutscenes.

The AI is one of the worst I've seen involving humans. I'm debating whether Dead Space 3 or TR has worse AI. At least with DS3, the necromorphs can be somewhat decent. The game isn't balanced at all. The enemies here just flat out charge you with a little zigzag to make it seem like they care about their lives. There is very little flanking and the only times I've been flanked, it's been more from the spawn system rather than the AI itself. The bow is broken early on and on for a small section in the middle does it become somewhat weakened before becoming overpowered again due to the upgrade system at the end. I'm literally twoshotting the armored guards at the end. I haven't really bothered with the shotgun or guns in general because they are probably even more broken. The dodge system isn't balanced either due to the fact that you either OHK an enemy or stun them. The skills as a whole are worthless and only serve to make an easy game even easier. The animal hunting skill is pointless and I only clicked on it because none of the other skills are interesting in the least. The XP system is just a constant stream of numbers.

The puzzles themselves are pretty idiotic and don't require intelligence for the most part and are mostly oriented around platforming more than anything. The tombs are nice little breaks but they're definitely not 'meaty', which I'm sure bugs some people.

The atmosphere and art direction are really stellar. The graphics being so good only further to enhance both. Even small touches such as the smoke from the rope when you glide down and the scars and burns on Lara are really fantastic. The animations are also extremely fluid.

The problem I have with the game is that it isn't original at all. While I applaud execution over originality, so much of the stuff feels like they just took certain components and put a little of their own over it and dumped it in the game. So little of it feels like something they came up with on their own.
 

Slacker

Member
The more I play this, the more I'm realizing that if it came out last year it might have been my second pick for GOTY.

Behind what?

I'd say it's on the list for Action GOTY this year. I'm really enjoying it. Looking forward to them cranking out sequels.
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
Other than the tiny arena linked to tiny arena design that is the hallmark of a game intended for console I'm enjoying it.

I hope the increased memory footprints of the next-gen consoles gives the industry the opportunity to move away from this. I don't need everything to be open world, but I need the areas to be bigger than this to provide a real sense of exploration.
 

antitrop

Member
Behind what?

I'd say it's on the list for Action GOTY this year. I'm really enjoying it. Looking forward to them cranking out sequels.
Spec Ops.

On top of DmC and Tomb Raider, 2013 is already off to a fantastic start. I haven't even played MGR, yet, but I'll get around to that in a little while. Then we have all of next-gen launch to worry about in 8 months. What a crazy year this will be, I'm excited as hell.
 

Magnus

Member
I'm really tired of cutscenes (no matter how long) that involve my character figuring something out, finding tracks, etc. At worst, it's the kind of thing that could be done via VoiceOver as I play and run around; at best it should be built in somehow as a gameplay mechanic. I feel cutscenes definitely have their place but they've gotta be showing me things I can't do during gameplay, or should just be impressive showpieces to demonstrate the consequences of my actions, etc.

I dunno; I used to be fine with it in other games, but I find myself annoyed here with how often I'm finding myself stopping to watch another cut scene.
 

Totobeni

An blind dancing ho
At 20% completion, tops? Hell no lol. There are still a lot of gameplay issues here and who knows how many I haven't come across yet.

I'm playing this with a mindset that it's not a Tomb Raider game since it was the only way for me to get into it.

but even with that I'm not enjoying it so far (again just 4 hours),shooting is the only thing decent but that all so far,the land is just boring so far, there is lack of freedom for my moves and what I can do or not do (unlike let say AssCreed or RDR).
 

StuBurns

Banned
I'm really tired of cutscenes (no matter how long) that involve my character figuring something out, finding tracks, etc. At worst, it's the kind of thing that could be done via VoiceOver as I play and run around; at best it should be built in somehow as a gameplay mechanic. I feel cutscenes definitely have their place but they've gotta be showing me things I can't do during gameplay, or should just be impressive showpieces to demonstrate the consequences of my actions, etc.

I dunno; I used to be fine with it in other games, but I find myself annoyed here with how often I'm finding myself stopping to watch another cut scene.
Speaking of which, this game has audiologs that you have to listen to in a menu. What the fuck.
 
As I am pretty critical of "AAA" games, and their design decisions, linearity, and presentation, I must say this game innovates and delivers on design elements that totally agree with me.

The control layout, open environments, graphical presentation, upgrade systems, they all mesh well with the entire package and work to enhance the overall experience that I get from playing the game.

AAA games tend to make me feel like I'm playing an interactive movie, not very engaging. This game manages to still feel like a game, while having the experience and and presentation at the forefront.

Very impressed with what the dev teams have put together on this project, and even the MP is serviceable because the shooting mechanics are entertaining and different than of its contemporaries.
 

Meia

Member
The plethora of QTEs are almost ruining this game for me.


Why the HELL is this still part of game design 101?
 

Magnus

Member
Speaking of which, this game has audiologs that you have to listen to in a menu. What the fuck.

Seriously. I'm not sure if Bioshock did it first but I loved that I could listen to those (and they were masterfully done) as I proceeded to run around and do other things that might otherwise be mundane (looting the room, looking for secrets, etc). Really kept the pace up.
 
Seriously. I'm not sure if Bioshock did it first but I loved that I could listen to those (and they were masterfully done) as I proceeded to run around and do other things that might otherwise be mundane (looting the room, looking for secrets, etc). Really kept the pace up.

No ... Just no.
 

antitrop

Member
The audio logs are short enough (20-30 seconds) that it's not bothersome to read them. I can read pretty fast.

But still... post-Bioshock... this really shouldn't be a thing anymore.
 

Andrew.

Banned
I kind of like them. They add more of a background to the narrative, and they help split up some exploration.

Quick breather!

Haha that's what I was thinking!

Still though, it's nice to be able to play the game while listening to background stories and tales
 

Magnus

Member
Still waiting for Digital Foundry.

To those who have the PS3 or both versions, how does it hold up? Is it good?

PS3 version here. Uncharted 2 really spoiled us all, by which I mean, it made me start expecting this kind of visual splendour, which is why TR looks just 'great' to me instead of stellar. I have to pause every now and then and remind myself just how awesome this all looks. Total treat.

When tons of shit is happening, fire/multiple enemies etc, the game gets muddy and starts chugging a bit. Not game breaking, but I know how sensitive some are to slowdown. No idea if it exists in other versions.

No ... Just no.

Which game did? I figured BS popularized it even if it didn't pioneer it. Should be standard by now.
 
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