Rise of the Tomb Raider
was a timed exclusive for the Xbox One, which has recently made its
way to the PS4. However, PS4 players can benefit from getting all the
DLC included, a VR mode (for those of you who are moneybags) and all
outfits, including an extra exclusive one.
But is it worth
getting?
In a word, yes.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very
similar to the predecessor game that rebooted the franchise. Climbing
mountains and icy walls with your axe, swooping down ziplines and
murdering endangered species all make a return. The crafting system
of the previous game has been deepened, with more options for making
your own ammunition, enhancing weaponry (some mods carry across all
weapons of a certain type, so you won’t spend all your time
upgrading pistol A only to then get pistol B and have to start over)
and giving yourself more storage space for crafting materials or
ammo.
In gunfights I have the
combat prowess of a drunk in a cat flap, which makes me a bit wary of
assessing such things. My approach, where possible (and it’s often
possible) is to snipe enemies with a bow and arrow (which couples
nicely with the colour-system where enemies are yellow if other
enemies can’t see them and red if they’re in line of sight of
their allies). On the default setting I found the combat relatively
easy, so those of you who are skilled at shooting may want to bump it
up.
You’ll be able to get
the vast majority of extra skills (upon levelling up) by the time you
finish the main game and these can fit nicely with your playstyle.
One I especially liked was a slight change to the targeting system
whereby a different symbol was used for a headshot. Others increase
damage resistance, improve special ammunition types etc etc.
There’s also a large
variety of outfits. As well as the cosmetic changes some offer
bonuses to gameplay. A significant number (16 or so) are immediately
available. Others are acquired by story progression, beating certain
challenges or being bought (with in-game currency). There’s a
really nice mix of hot or cold weather, urban or adventurous, and
modern or old-fashioned armour.
There is also a lot of
side content, ranging from finding optional tombs (bit larger and
seemingly more frequent than the previous game), to smashing laptops,
helping out other people and so on. There’s a really nice mix of
extra content and you do get some bonuses for completion (expedition
cards, credits, or tools that help you in-game).
Story
Tomb Raider, over the
decades, has always had a slightly predictable approach to stories.
Lara has Daddy issues, ancient treasure, massacre wildlife etc.
In her latest quest to
find beautiful, long-lost archaeological sites and then utterly
destroy them, Lara’s in Siberia. After a largely cinematic
prologue, you get a short but sweet introduction to the mechanics of
the game. Lara, being nuts, has gone to a lost city in the desert. In
Syria. After destroying a priceless historical site, the action
shifts back to Siberia.
She’s chasing an
artefact her father (of course) was after, taken by a Prophet from
Constantinople into the middle of nowhere, to a city called Kitezh.
As you may have guessed, Lara’s not the only one after the
treasure. [As an aside, the Byzantine flavour to the story and relics
you discover is something I really liked].
Stories have never been
the strong point of Tomb Raider, and whilst there aren’t many
surprises along the way the story does hold up. That’s largely due
to the strength of the additional characters and the backstory for
Kitezh, which holds up well.
Graphics
The graphics look
great. Not only close up, but distant vistas of icy mountains or
desert cities, in snowstorms or at night, the world looks fantastic.
Sheets of ice and light flooding through windows look very
atmospheric, and all the outfits (mentioned above) feature in the
cut-scenes so there’s no weird disjointedness of giving Lara a
Siberian ranger outfit only to discover when she has a chat with
someone she’s changed her top.
If I were being utterly
finickity, maybe fire could be a little better and likewise the large
ammunition that gets used very late in the main campaign (you’ll
know it when you see it, as you get some very fun toys to play with
at that stage). Generally, though, environments and characters look
great.
Sound
Camilla Luddington,
Lara’s voice (and motion) actress is
on top form, backed up by good performances all round. I especially
liked Jacob’s voice. It would’ve been easy for him to come across
as a bit of a damp rag, but instead he’s like a mix of Father of
the Year and a universally popular political leader.
The
music blends well into the game, and sound effects are good too. I
especially enjoyed the sound of dragging a man below the ice as the
final gasping bubbles of air escape his lungs, but that might just be
me.
Longevity
and replayability
Obviously
this’ll vary depending on how much side-content you digest in the
main campaign and whether (and how much) you indulge Croft Manor and
the Expeditions (and, if you partake in multi-player stuff, that
too). For me, the main campaign took perhaps 25-30 hours.
The
individual areas are nice and large and, overall the game is
substantially bigger than the reboot predecessor.
I
went through Croft Manor, and must admit, even as someone who liked
collecting documents and relics in the main game, I found it pretty
boring. I’ve only had a quick go with Expeditions and I think
they’ll add a bit more replayability. The Baba Yaga DLC (included
in the main game) is the best of the DLC/extra modes. Fairly beefy in
size and good fun.
This
won’t apply to most people, but at some point I’ll likely replay
it in German (playing videogames auf Deutsch is how I stop mine going
100% rusty). There are also many other language options available (a
few more for audio, a lot more for text). This is likely limited to
the European edition.
I cannot comment on the VR as I'm just a poor boy from a poor family.
Bugs and Other Issues
Very few. The only real
problem I had was the 1.04 patch which meant your game crashed after
15 seconds. However, the crashing no longer happens (bit perplexed
why, as there’s been no 1.05 patch, but the game runs fine).
It can also be irksome
when you’re hunting for relics to hear Lara repeat the same bloody
advice over and over when you press R3 for survival instincts. Not
that I’m some sort of compulsive collecting completionist lunatic.
Conclusion
I’ve played a number
of Tomb Raider games over the years, probably between half and a
third of all the games in the franchise. This is my favourite, by a
long distance. Great gameplay, enough game to sink your teeth into
without feeling the portions are too small, and a plethora of
additional modes and features. My only gripe would be a lack of a
camera mode, which would fit very nicely here.
Score? 9/10.
Thaddeus
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