Gadgetory

what's up internet kevin here with TLD bringing you our review of the new tomb raider now prequels and reboots have been a really big running theme this year and tomb raider is no exception as actually running just a little bit of both while the lara we play in this game is considered to be the same one as in the original series this game takes place a number of years beforehand featuring a younger much less experienced main character who's forced to learn all the skills she'll need on the spot in order to survive all the ordeals presented in the game now this concept is a little misleading because while at first the game does give you some survival tones and there's a constant feeling of always being injured and having to survive different catastrophes there really isn't a whole lot in terms of actual survival game mechanics this game is a lot more in common with more action platformer titles like uncharted than with more survival oriented mechanics the basic idea for the plotline in this one is that laura is still studying in college goes on a trip with friends and a professor to try and find a lost island off the coast of japan hit some heavy storms and is now stuck on that same mystical Island supposedly unlivable and filled with a bunch of mad men trying to kill both her and her friends the game has you playing as Lara exploring the island in a linear fashion collecting weapons and gadgets to fight off your enemies and make Island exploration easier all while avoiding numerous dangers and surprisingly gruesome deaths that really help to turn up the grim tone of your situation the Lara does seem to have an odd pension to shake off injuries that would normally be more permanent like walking off a bear trap as you've survived challenges and kill enemies Lara gains experience and salvage that can improve our combat and exploration abilities as well as upgrade her weapons for more damage accuracy less recoil and occasionally special options like first fire or zooming one thing I have to congratulate this game on is having actual platforming challenges there's been a lot of games in recent years that claim to be 3d platformers but really don't do much outside of just having to climb a wall or take a really indirect route to get through a level Tomb Raider on the other hand has moments where you're really not sure where to head to next to properly navigate and will require some degree of puzzle solving and timing to properly get across large chasms or ancient ruins that are falling apart where this really shows is in the game side tombs minisite quests that require Lara to properly time different platforming mechanics in order to seize the tombs treasure they did a great job of adding actual platforming challenges to the game that they were also entirely too short only having a single room and puzzle apiece I can't help but feel one of the biggest things this game missed out on design-wise was having far more complex side bedrooms like these to really add to its overall time and challenge factor alongside the platforming the game's main form of action is in the form of a third-person shooter having Lara switch between four different weapons a bow pistol assault rifle and shotgun combat is fast paced if i'll be at a little unrealistic in terms of how quickly Lara becomes an expert killer and just how many bad guys can be stuck on an island that needs doing outside of outright gunning enemies down laura has a number of other options including stealth attacks melee strikes and dodge counters for tougher enemies one thing that I really liked about the game's combat is just the little details they added to it especially enemy dialogue which ranges from giving tactical knowledge to Lara or just being downright hilarious like cursing and responds to you giving your first assault rifle the campaign is fairly well balanced between both its action and exploration segments but it's only really huge weakness being the fact that its overall way too short even when you attempt to get one hundred percent completion in the game by finding all the little different collectibles and completing all the side tombs the game still only has about 12 hours max to offer which isn't terribly short but it's short enough to make you feel wanting in the end especially considering the pacing of the game now the one huge glaring flaw in this game and one that is partly responsible for its overall lack of content in the single-player game is the fact that multiplayer is even a thing in this title basically take the game single-player combat segments tack on a class customization system and throw yourself into matches with not very well-balanced combat mechanics or level design there's a few interesting ideas here like ziplines and less direct routes with platforming segments but overall the experience is just awkward and feels uninteresting especially after coming down from the single-player game if anything playing it just makes you think of how much time and resources could have been spent on adding more content to single-player it is hopefully a lesson they will learn we're working on a sequel personally I've just gotten really tired of games adding multiplayer segments out of some kind of sense they have to in order to boost sales only to see the single-player modes result it's happened before and some series have learned from this mistake already like dead space 3 and bioshock infinite the wave yet to see how bioshock single player turns out point being multiplayer should never be added simply because there's a demographic for it especially in the case of shooters where there's so many out there now that many tacked on once filled just unoriginal or an interesting compared to alternative choices the problem with adding attacked on multiplayer mode aside the single-player campaign does offer an excellent 3d action platformer which not only has actual platforming mechanics but also a solid combat system and an interesting albeit short story line while multiplayer was completely unnecessary in the game sense of physics is just a bit off at times it's not enough to sour the overall experience and I have to say that while I was a bit skeptical but how much I'd like the game when I first started it it wasn't way over in the end and I was hooked the entire time I played the single-player campaign well that's our review of Tomb Raider for the xbox 360 ps3 and pc you guys want check out the game for yourself make sure to check out the link in description for pricing and availability if you've yet to do so make sure to subscribe to stay up to date on all of our latest reviews and unboxings as well as follow me on twitter at TL the underscore Kevin if you enjoyed this video make sure to like it as it is the easiest way to help at the channel and is always appreciated until next time i'm kevin for TLD and thanks for watching