Review
Played on: Xbox OneReleased: 2015
Bigger and better, they're the words that often follow a sequel. A cliche, perhaps, and not always for the better, considering how large games are these days. However, for Rise Of The Tomb Raider it hits the nail on the head. I really enjoyed the TR reboot in 2013, scoring it a whopping six stars. Amazingly enough, this game surpasses it in every way. Read my TR2013 review here and 2014's Definitive Edition review here.
To make it clear, if you're a fan of the classic old-style TR and did not enjoy the previous reboot, then this title will do nothing for you. However, before you dismiss it entirely, it goes more classic TR than the previous release, with more rewarding exploring. It's less about being stranded and surviving, and more about raiding tombs as an adventurer. ROTTR has returned to it's roots, the introduction of Lara's beginning was done in the previous title, this time it's about rising the Tomb Raider up to her old self.
Let's take look at Lara's latest!
To give a perspective on how this game, from the first minute, pulls the player right in and holds a firm grip on your attention, proving strongly, that it's worth every penny you spent buying it and how much grander it is compared to TR2013's dark and dungeon-like introduction. We need only look at the first hours being played:
First, we climb a huge mountain, dangerously crossing a glacier and preventing yourself from falling down to your certain death, in a dense snow storm. Swiftly the game switches over to a boiling desert, in Syria, via a cutscene depicting the incredible motion and face expressions of an in-game cutscene, at Richard Crofts, Lara's fathers, apartment.
In Syria, we're introduced to a whole palace ruin, carved in stone on a mountainside. Traversing it's tight, dusty and scary tunnels beneath, before discovering our first tomb. Ruins of an ancient civilisation, beautifully lit by sunlight from the cracks in the roof, set in the middle of a flooded cave.
Then, once again, it shifts back to icy Siberia. Returning to a snowy and open landscape, following a treacherous glacier climb, where you're left cold and isolated. You end up having to make up a camp fire and hunt animals to survive the night!
The sheer variation in these couple of hours alone, is incredible and it's literally one of the best first hours of any game I've played. Setting the bar sky high, and thankfully, keeps it risen throughout it's 45 hours of playtime. That's right, it's a huge sequel if you plan to collect and explore everything, making the last TR look small in comparison.
The open areas are larger and there's more of them, though, luckily it strikes a perfect mix of open and restricted environments. Saving the game from falling into just another open world release. Every spot, on each map, feels detailed and well thought through.
"...it's literally one of the best first hours of any game I've played."
There's not just more land to traverse, there's loads more things to do. There's a deeper level system, there are abilities to earn, stuff to buy, gun parts to find, lots of buried treasures, languages to decipher and a bunch of hidden tombs. Exhausted? How about animals to hunt and crates of resources for crafting ammo, bombs, pouches, outfits and arrows at campfires?! At times, I felt I was playing an RPG, not the latest adventures of Lara.
Exploring the hidden tombs and simply giving you XP, like in the previous game, ROTTR gives Lara new abilities to master. Making exploring more rewarding, and being an actual Tomb Raider pays off. Speaking of these hidden tombs, I felt they were cleverly implemented this time around. Their locations often wander quite a distance off from the main map, feel naturally like they belong there are and more complex to solve.
Avoid the tombs, however, and you're missing out on some of the finest Tomb Raider moments this title offers. They really bring back the nostalgia of the older releases. Without the time consuming, try and fail, frustration they brought to players back in the 90's. Call gamers today lazy, but retrying and failing challenges, with hardly any save points, isn't something they need to experience in a far longer game like this.
ROTTR's story presentation feels improved, accompanying the larger game size, it's more bold and grand. Yet, it sadly contains some typical Hollywood cliches. I really appreciated the set pieces at Lara's mansion, filling in the back story further and giving variation to talking scenes. There's definitely more dialogue going on and a movie quality watching it. There's tons of extra stories to dig into too, with old manuscripts, radio conversations and diaries explaining deeper.
That said, some of the turns the story takes towards the end, the whole hidden village of people, is a bit far fetched. It becomes even more so towards the end, when you awaken an ancient civilisation.
ROTTR's gameplay has a perfect balance going on, between exploration, fighting, action, traversing and surviving the actual environment. It shifts, subtly, between them, back and forth, never leaving the player tired of repetitive tasks, a perfectly balanced title if I ever saw one. For veteran Tomb Raider players, there's more exploration to do this time around too.
Sure, it might not always keep it's framerate solid, and yes, it keeps itself close to the formula of TR2013, but the whole package just comes together as one of this years best releases. It takes familiar elements and goes an extra mile with them. It's just quality, through and through, and it keeps you engaged for hours on end.
Not only is it this years best release for me, it's also be one of my favourite Tomb Raiders of all time. Yes, it's that good.
Update: This game received a Xbox One X patch, offering new graphics options: Full 4K@30fps, almost no AA and jaggy on the edges, checkerboarded 4K@30fps, more effects and upscaled, a softer 4K and 1080p@60fps, my preferred setting, for smooth and responsive gameplay.
ROTTR's gameplay has a perfect balance going on, between exploration, fighting, action, traversing and surviving the actual environment. It shifts, subtly, between them, back and forth, never leaving the player tired of repetitive tasks, a perfectly balanced title if I ever saw one. For veteran Tomb Raider players, there's more exploration to do this time around too.
Sure, it might not always keep it's framerate solid, and yes, it keeps itself close to the formula of TR2013, but the whole package just comes together as one of this years best releases. It takes familiar elements and goes an extra mile with them. It's just quality, through and through, and it keeps you engaged for hours on end.
Not only is it this years best release for me, it's also be one of my favourite Tomb Raiders of all time. Yes, it's that good.
