Tomb Raider (Reboot) Review

As everyone should know by now (if you don’t already) late 2012’s Tomb Raider is a reboot of the classic action platformer series. Started on the Playstation, and PC in 1996. Tomb Raider has followed the adventures of Lara Croft who much like Indiana Jones is an archaeologist. An archaeologist who often stumbles into danger throughout her adventures.

The reboot attempts to show Lara Croft’s evolution from a capable yet self doubting woman to the confident action hero fans have come to expect. The story centers around Lara’s crew searching for the mysterious island of Yamatai for historical evidence of a kingdom that is said to have existed on it. During the search the crew is stuck in a violent storm, and shipwrecked. They find that the island was not only the one they were looking for, but it has also been overrun by a dangerous cult. Lara has to solve the mystery of the endless storm that has trapped everyone on the island, save her fellow travelers, and defeat the sinister cult.

Things really become bleak when it turns out that the cult seeks out Lara’s friend  to use as a vessel for the soul of the ancient deity they follow. Moreover, her other crew members find themselves under constant assault, the threat of being abducted, and tortured. Afraid, yet determined, Lara faces up to her fears in order to save the proverbial day.

The storyline is a pretty interesting one, even if it isn’t completely original. Throughout the game Lara discovers clues, artifacts, and historical evidence that tie everything together pretty nicely. There are some moments that come off as cliché’ or contrived. There are moments that are even quite predictable. But on the whole you will come away entertained. The theatrical feel is expanded when you are playing the game. The graphics are enough to give anyone pause. Player models have some of the best texture work seen over the last few years. Little details on clothing, accessories, items, and effects really display how painstakingly hard the developer’s art department worked on this title.

The sound effects are on par with the graphics, featuring some wonderful voice acting not only for the main characters during the cut scenes, but for every character. Guard banter is right out of a serial movie. The score accents the action, and adventure very nicely giving the game the Hollywood blockbuster movie vibe that it is obviously going for. Gunshots, wild animals, weather, are all other elements of sound that are exemplary in performance here.

The way the game plays is where some of the confusion will kick in. Tomb Raider’s world works much like a Metroid game. Every stage has multiple paths in, and out. These paths interconnect to each other so going off the beaten path, and discovering new things is indeed possible. There are also hidden alcoves in nearly every section that hide some lost tomb in a giant room. Each of these rooms is essentially a puzzle section. Solving these puzzles, and collecting the rewards gives players some back story, as well as a reason to go back, and replay sections that they might have missed. Much like the Metroid series, there are certain areas that require certain items to get into. Adding another reason for you to want to explore the island.

There are campfires in every level too. These work a lot like the save rooms in Metroid Prime or Super Metroid, where you can essentially have a checkpoint save. It is here you can also level up Lara, and her arsenal. As you go through the campaign you will find new weapons, search for salvage (either by solving an easy puzzle, or smashing a crate open) or taking out enemies, and searching their bodies. When in a campfire area Lara can upgrade her weapons, abilities, and items using the salvaged gears collected. There are also skill points she can use to buff certain attributes up. Much in the way modern military shooters allow in multiplayer. Campfires also allow for fast travel between areas.

Where the identity crisis kicks in however is oddly enough, in its story. The story unfortunately pushes the play experience into a linear one. Pressing a button will pull up a gray look to everything, and highlight where you need to go next, along with clues on how to get there. Instinctively, most of the people who play this will end up taking these paths. Solving a puzzle, going into a shootout section, then getting some more of the story. In a lot of ways it’s a missed opportunity. Instead of feeling like an open world you can explore at your own pace, you will end up feeling like you’ve been playing another linear third person shooter.

Thankfully, the shooting is never dull or repetitive. This is in part because of not only the well done mechanics, but because of the variety. Players can take a stealth approach, sometimes completely avoiding a firefight. Or they can go in all guns blazing. Weapons, and take downs feel satisfying. Stealthily taking down enemies from behind will bring up a Quick Time Event, that will keep enemy suspicion down if you are successful. Sadly, the game does have a bit too many QTE sections in certain theatrical areas of the story. They’re not implemented poorly, but there are a number of times you may wish you could skip them. The timing on some of them leave no room for error either. So you may find yourself replaying some of them several times before you’re allowed to progress.

The game also has a few multiplayer modes thrown in. One of them is the typical Team Deathmatch mode you’ve seen hundreds of times before. Another tasks one team with delivering supplies, with the opposite team trying to stop that team by killing them before they can complete their objective. The third is a variant of the second with one side exploring for parts to make an S.O.S. Beacon while the other tries to stop them. None of these will really hold your attention very long, as they aren’t going to have the focus of a competitive multiplayer shooter. As a result the multiplayer modes feel a little bit like a wasted effort.

Tomb Raider is worth checking out. It has an entertaining if derivative story. It has really fun shootouts, and stealth mechanics. It has some exploration for those who want it. Unfortunately, it isn’t as fleshed out, or as refined as it could have been. Hopefully, the upcoming sequel will allow exploration to deliver more of the narrative rather than linear storytelling.  Tomb Raider is still a really fun ride however. If you never got around to playing it before, you may want to  get around to it before the sequel hits.

Final Score 8 out of 10

Rise Of The Triad Review

The reboot of the late 90’s many shooter fans have prayed for is out now. It delivers the fast paced carnage, and exploration of the original game. But along the way are a few caveats.

PROS: Wonderful retelling of the original 1995 2.5D First Person Shooter.

CONS: Bugs, micro stuttering, and a lack of optimization.

WOW! THEY PULLED A DOOM II:  Four super secret retro stages!

To say there is a new Rise Of The Triad is nothing short of a miracle. Only a handful of people thought there could ever be another one. Especially seeing how Apogee/3DRealms was barely on life support after losing millions on Duke Nukem Forever, and then selling the rights to Gearbox who merely got it functional enough to sell to the unsuspecting public.  Many of us, if not all of us, figured Apogee was all but gone, and their backlog lost to history.

Enter Interceptor Entertainment, who managed to get Apogee’s blessing to reboot one of their more obscure releases. I’ve reviewed the original game so I won’t go gravely into it again here. But Rise Of The Triad was a really good game that did a lot with dated technology. So much so, that for awhile it actually hung with the big boys of the time.

Born of an abandoned sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, it brought jump pads, destructable environments,  and multiplayer staples like CTF to the table. It did a lot of amazing things with a then five year old engine. Things some newer releases hadn’t done. In short it was awesome. It grew a devoted cult following over the years. Ironic, seeing how ROTT’s villians are helmed by a murderous cult.

Interceptor is a small team spread out over the globe. The creation of the reboot is an interesting one because it is such an unorthodox one. Developers created the game through nearly two years of internet conferencing, uploading, assets, and involving community feedback. It’s something you rarely see in the creation of any sort of ambitious project by such a small team.

Overall, this did work to their advantage. Rise Of The Triad is crafted with love for the IP, and it shows. Stages are built with the spirit of the original in mind at every turn. But entirely on an Unreal 3 engine. No longer restricted to 90 degree tile set design, the developers built stages with more of a building block approach. The stages are almost entirely open to you. With the exception of searching for keys for certain areas, and stage outskirts you can pretty much go anywhere.

With the advent of the popularity of Half-Life, Call Of Duty, and other contemporary big games, campaigns became more of a linear, cinematic experience. One of going on rail like segments where you can see things happening, but can’t explore them. ROTT throws this out the window,  embracing it’s 1995 era fully.

Exploration is one of the best things about the game too, because it will lead to a lot of power ups, secrets, and in four cases, retro levels themed on the 1995 original’s graphics. You will want these power ups too because ROTT is challenging. Even on lower difficulty settings, you will find yourself realizing the odds are against you. Gone are the regenerating health bars of modern design, and returning are the bowls of priest porridge  from the old game.

Managing health, and ammo is a staple of arcade shooters. There is little difference here. Although the bullet weapons like the handgun or MP40 supply unlimited ammuntion, going up against tougher enemies proves that they’re not ideal. ROTT’s meatier weapons are all variants on the rocket launcher. On top of the stock one, classic favorites return like the Flame Wall, Split Missile, Drunk Missile,and Firebomb. Each has a secondary function now to put another spin on the classic gameplay.

These weapons are a must against bosses, or heavy enemies. Also returning to help you out, are the powerups. There’s the wings to allow you to fly for a short time, dog mode which helps you find certain secrets, bite bad guys, and barkblast an entire room of badguys into paste. Also returning is the classic  god powerup giving you the familiar yawning sound, invulnerability, and force lightning balls of the original.

Interceptor also brought back the joke powerups. Shroom mode impedes your movement, and Ball mode makes you ricochet off walls. Finally, the excalibat, an enchanted baseball bat that shoots baseballs, and the magic wand that shoots force lighning.

ROTT’s story is told through comic book panels at the beginning of the game, and through radio chatter between levels. The game is broken up into 5 levels across 4 episodes. At the end of each episode you’ll face a reimagined version of a boss from ROTT 1995. Most of these will be multipart affairs with multiple forms. It’s another way the game attempts to bridge the gap between old, and new conventions.

Multiplayer is also a very fun return to form for the arena shooter. Not since Unreal Tournament 3 has there been a deathmatch focused arcade style game where twitch skills are key. Of course there is some luck involved as the stock pistols don’t get you far, and starting near a pickup is ideal. But at the end of the match it’s those with the best hand, and eye cooirdination who can claim success. That is if they can stave off anyone who picked up god or wing powerups. This is Rise Of The Triad after all.

ROTT also includes an editor which is great news for those who wistfully remember making their own stages to share with friends, and other fans in this era of paid DLC maps, and micro transactions.

The original game was also heralded for it’s over the top, goofy violence. ROTT also doles this out in spades. Enemies spin around in flames. Enemies lose limbs or heads. In many cases they’ll explode. When this happens you’ll find the developers were so devoted to recreating gibs that they modelled individual organs. It never gets to the clown shoes level of Mortal Kombat 3’s fatalities. But it will certainly wow anybody who has fond memories of the original game.

Fond memories of the original’s soundtrack can be found with most of the fandom. This was another thing that was celebrated in the reboot. All of Lee Jackson’s classic chiptunes have been painstakingly covered in heavy metal. But the game also gives players the option to hear the original Jackson soundtrack instead. To their credit, the covers are awesome. Any hard rock fan who plays the game will find themselves jamming to the tunes inbetween waves of Triad soldiers. But those who aren’t big on loud guitar work will love turning on the original tunes.

ROTT isn’t a visual powerhouse, but it does have a lot of special effects, and graphics options for players to tweak. It goes out of it’s way to allow you to setup all of the various settings you’re accustomed to, and then some. Unfortunately it’s here where some of the game’s problems begin to come through.

As fun, exciting, and all around awesome as Rise Of The Triad is, the lack of optimization is disheartening. If you are on anything other than mid tier or higher intel, or nVidia hardware, expect to run into some micro stuttering. Setting the graphics options lower, honestly doesn’t help much unless your computer is honestly that old or running onboard video rather than a discrete card.

To it’s credit, Interceptor has been much better about fixing these issues than even many AAA developers. Since launch they have been working with community feedback on patching the game starting with it’s editor for mod makers. They’ve committed to releasing a stream of small patches, and updates to get the game working right for their customers.

But with that said, ROTT is still a product, and as such customers expect a game to work when they get it home, or get it installed on their computer.  Even if it is only $15.  If you are a die hard ROTT fan who still doesn’t have this game, you will probably be able to grin while bearing the periodic performance hitches. For those curious or on the fence, while the game is nowhere near as glitch filled or broken as something like Brink was in it’s launch you still may want to wait for a patch or two.

One can only hope the hitches are hashed out soon because the multiplayer has the potential to bring back UT or Quake style arena shooting to a new generation. The campaign is a fun, engaging affair that is one part Quake II, and two parts Return To Castle Wolfenstein.

Final Score: 7 out of 10 (When the problems are solved make it a 9)