Crystal Dynamics, a subsidiary of Square Enix, has worked on many titles spanning multiple consoles, and even some on PC. Rise of the Tomb Raider is their 4th Tomb Raider game and the sequel to their 2013 reboot, simply titled Tomb Raider. Crystal Dynamics main legacy series before being tasked with Tomb Raider were the Legacy of Kain and Gex the Gecko series.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox One, PC (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with PC code for review.
Gameplay
Rise of the Tomb Raider is an action adventure with RPG elements. The bulk of the game involves switching between action-packed quick-time events and the legacy “tomb raiding” experience. I have to say that Rise of the Tomb Raider does a great job in not over utilizing quick-time events and uses them as a means of transition between portions of the story. The rest of the game is the adventuring portion with RPG elements, similar to the 2013 release, where Lara will learn new languages, acquire items to better her gear, and even utilize a talent tree system to better her stats.
Fans of the 2013 game will be happy to hear that the hunting and gathering system has been improved in this game. Hunting animals is now enhanced by your talent tree options and is closer to a collect-a-thon once you are able to see the rares on your map. You are never tasked to do the hunts but the incentives are great and most hunts are exciting as well. A side piece to this is the simple and elegant crafting system whereby you can upgrade your items and make other devices for heals, poison, or explosives.
The gameplay around menu options and upgrades feels geared towards a console experience but it never broke my immersion.
Difficulty
In the initial starting sequence you are presented with several difficulty options, namely: Adventurer, Tomb Raider, Seasoned Raider, and Survivor. The list is in order of increasing difficulty. My playthrough was on the Tomb Raider mode and it was a great experience for my review.
The game doesn’t make failure a punishment by putting you directly back into the action of where you last were. I never felt overwhelmed by any one particular area.
If you decide the story is too easy there are typically always bonus areas to explore nearby that offer more of a challenge and further rewards.
Aesthetics
This game is beautiful. I was fortunate enough to play on a PC version where I could max out the details. Many of the segments lead the player off with a gorgeous setting around them or visible off in the distance. Many times I found myself not even moving but just having Lara sit off to the side while I looked at the scenery.
If you are looking for a game that brings photo realism to nature, this is one to consider.
Scenery isn’t everything though. The characters are well modeled and detailed as well. My favorite details were found early in the snow areas where you could see the trail you paced outlined in the snow, and even snowflakes in Lara’s hair.
Movement / Controls
Movement is very responsive. Lara appears to jerk around a bit during the action sequences, but that is due to the nature of quick-time button pressing animations. Overall Lara handles great, and aiming her weapon is simple and intuitive. The climbing movement is very reminiscent of early Assassin’s Creed. All in all, I had no issues controlling Lara.
Music
The music never really stood out to me unfortunately and is perhaps the only piece that I can really critique. While the game is good, I never had a moment where I felt that the music was adding to the atmosphere. Most of the time I couldn’t even tell there was music playing because the sound effects of the scene were so dominant, or the music was so subtle and quiet. That’s not to say there weren’t any good tracks; just far and few in-between.
Some good news though, towards the end of the game the music does pick up and I was more notably engaged by it as a result. However, I do wish it had been more of an experience throughout.
Story / Characters
The story continues a year after the events of Tomb Raider. Without giving too much away you will see some familiar faces and many new ones. The story is about Lara trying to explain some of the supernatural experiences she had from the previous game and dives into her father’s research once again in search of answers. The unfolding events take her to Syria and the rest unfolds from there. The story is definitely action-packed. I would be hard pressed to say the story is a great characteristic of the game as much as it a tool to progress you forward. I was never too attached to any of the characters. Except for maybe Jonah, and obviously Lara.
Nonetheless, it succeeds in advancing the Tomb Raider origin story and provides great adventures along the way.
The Final Word
A good game and definite successor to Crystal Dynamic’s last Tomb Raider game. It will enchant you with its detail and never bore you with its’ action sequences. A solid triple A game. Do not worry yourself with having not played the previous title. Picking this up blind is still worth it and will provide ample hours of solid tomb raiding.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
