Rest Time Reviews: Tomb Raider

Rest Time Reviews is a series about games for those with limited time to play games. Rather than placing an emphasis on a game's graphics or controls, I focus on whether or not a game is literally a waste of time. This time we'll be looking at Tomb Raider.

Tomb Raider is a game series dating back to the mid-90s. On March 5th, this extensive series was subject to a reboot on consoles and PC, letting gamers learn about Lara Croft when she was just an archaeologist and experience her growth in to the deadly Tomb Raider we know today. I was never a fan of the series, and I was quite skeptical when my brother-in-law told me I was required to play it.


Gameplay
The entire time I play the game, I had very few frustrations about how the game handled. The only time I felt like I died because of the game design was during a few climbing elements that required jumping. However, there was always a checkpoint nearby so that I didn't waste much time getting back.

As for the actual design, I really enjoyed it. Despite its linearity, you can hardly tell you're being led down a path. The environments are beautiful and diverse, with an appropriate mix of awe-inspiring nature sitting just outside a cave filled with horrific images.

The combat is about what you'd expect in a third-person adventure. The guns never felt perfect from a design perspective, but there is enough cover that you are rarely at a disadvantage even during a multi-enemy gunfight. The only time I felt frustrated by how the guns handled was during one of the games few swarm events where my cover was limited to two rows of columns, and their geometry left me exposed when I should have been protected. It's a very minor complaint compared to all the other enjoyable firefights, but it is the sequence that killed me the most.

In addition to guns, there are also numerous occasions for stealth kills. I love this in games because it has a greater element of risk, and when executed well it adds a whole new dimension to how a game is played. While TR isn't meant to be a stealth game, Lara's fragile nature almost requires thinning down your enemies before actually engaging them. While not perfect by any means, my stealth kills always felt rewarding and I never felt cheated by sloppy AI or mechanics.

Story
The story handled itself rather well. You start the game as a bright-eyed archaeologist, but things quickly go awry when a freak storm shipwrecks you on an island filled with dark secrets. A bit cheesy? You bet, but it works. Being a total nerd for lore and backstory, I appreciated that you could go through the game only watching cutscenes, or delve deeper in to the story with numerous collectibles.

I won't give much away, but the only real complaint I had is that there were several items I wish they'd explored more. The core story is told well, but there are enemies and locations that are never fully explained. You can attribute it to the mysteries of the island, but I just don't think they had time to address everything.

I think the crowning achievement of TR's story is that of Lara herself. While she's never a helpless child, she quickly finds herself thrown in to a nightmare and left to die. She suffers a wicked injury early on, and must survive against man, nature, and gravity (seriously, nearly every action sequence ends with the thud of her body falling from something).

You can feel how overwhelmed she is at the beginning, and there are subtle points in the story where she must become a stronger person. Lara's voice actress was well-chosen, and adds a level of humanity to the character that few games can achieve. I also appreciated that this wasn't a "girl power" story; Lara represents an "everyman" without falling victim to cliches, and it has made her become one of my favorite video game characters to date.

Time Management
Now for the important stuff. How well does this use your time? The short answer is that from the time you gain control of Lara until the credits roll, you are always doing something. If you only play the story, you'll get a mix of combat, exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving that all flow perfectly from one to the next. The longest you'll spend walking somewhere with nothing to do is probably 15 seconds, and even then the path's atmosphere gives you something to look at, or gives you a feeling of dread, so that you won't even realize that nothing is happening in the game.

Despite there always being something to do, the environments are enormous and full of things to explore. Getting from A to B is filled with unique platforming opportunities, often with a touch of combat and light puzzle solving. For those who want to spend a bit of time exploring, the game of packed with collectibles. Some unlock bits of story, while others are used for the game's crafting mechanic.

Upgrading is also very smooth. You have a handful of items in the game that you can upgrade as you go. When you have an item to upgrade, you simply navigate to the weapon and choose from one of the upgrades (damage, accuracy, ammo, etc). In addition, the game features a skill tree that lets you improve Lara. Like weapons, these are mostly bare-bones boosts and include things like improved weapon handling, improvements to stealth, and skills to aid in collecting items. I never agonized over which skill to pick, because the game very quickly lets you figure out what playstyle you want, and from there you just continue progressing down your chosen trees.

In addition to not wasting time, you're also very rare subjected to back tracking during the main quest. Other than returning to a checkpoint when I died, I only remember 1 or 2 instances where I was going down a path twice. The game's linearity is a huge boost here, because it lets everything in the game feel new by slightly altering your path to an objective that might be near an area you'd previously visited.

Overall, I can safely say I never felt the game dragging. There's one area that comes dangerously close, but that's because it took place in a tightly-packed town where all the buildings looked the same and the story wasn't progressing very much. Still, I was always fighting or exploring, the game just lingered there a smidge too long.

Time Sinks
While I like a game that uses my time well, I also appreciate a designer letting me cut break loose and experience optional areas or collect items. Tomb Raider, unsurprisingly, loves giving this to me. Every main path has several nooks to explore, or an alternative path with goodies to grab, or something to return to when you have an upgraded item.

There are also several tombs that you should explore, even if you don't plan on collecting anything else. The puzzles are usually well designed, and almost always require several attempts before you've figured out each step to solving the puzzle and getting to the big shiny chest. While these are fun, I will warn you that there's a good deal of wasted time as you make your way to the tomb, often requiring you to slowly shuffle your way through a generic cave until you come upon a room, only to take the exact same path back once you're done.

At first I figured this was meant to show how out-of-the-way these locations are, until you realize that the area has been visited by the island's inhabitants before. There are always torches lit (which is forgivable on its own) and usually an indication that someone may have been there 5 minutes ago. It's not enough to really mar the game, but it often caused an audible sigh as I pushed forward on the thumbstick and watched Lara creep along.

Overall Impressions
This game is a must-play for any fan of adventure games. If you only have an hour to play every day, it will always be an hour well spent. You will often tell yourself "5 more minutes," but be warned that you'll spend several hours saying that. Tomb Raider grabs your attention from the start and refuses to give you an opportunity to be bored. Outside of the collectibles I don't think there's much replay value here, so consider that when debating between renting or buying.


Let me know what you guys think of this layout. Are there any crucial areas you feel I should add?

Also, don't forget about my Warmachine/Hordes faction dice giveaway coming up. These things are going to be awesome and you don't want to miss out!

See you tomorrow!