Looking at: Tomb Raider 2013

First Lady

this is Lara as we've never seen her before, and that's a good thing. 

Talk about games long enough and the topic will likely touch upon female characters in games. There's no denying the lack of great female protagonists in game, so much so that there's only a handful of notable names. Arguably the most controversial of these is Lara Croft, the short-shorts wearing, gun-wielding heroine of the long running Tomb Raider series.

Ms. Croft has one of the most turbulent histories of any hero, regardless of sex. Everything from her outfits, to fan-made modifications, to the actual quality of her games has been scrutinized over the years. Finally Lara got what every character fears most, a reboot in the form of a new origin story seeing her face her first challenges as a young adult.

Like most reboots, Tomb Raider13 would be a "departure" from the previous games. Thankfully, unlike Eidos' attempts to reboot Hitman, or whatever the fuck they call Thief, the Tomb Raider reboot is not only a great game, but one of the best in it's perspective series.

Dragon's Tooth

Lara often finds herself alone to reflect, for better or for worse.

Departure is the key word here, as TR13 is completely separated from the rest of the series, save of course for the heroine. Once again you strap on the boots of Lara Croft, this time in her early twenties, as she traverses some foreign land in search of treasure. At least, that's what the set up is.

In reality the expedition into a south Asian island chain known as the Dragon's Triangle, inspired by the real-world Devil's Sea. The place is supposedly cursed by ravenous storms that tear ships apart and, sure enough, Lara and co. find their ship... torn apart. Stranded on an island it quickly becomes apparent that all is not well, especially after making contact with the crazed gun wielding rape cult that inhabits the Japanese ruins.

The island itself is a pretty cool setting, littered with awesome vistas, ancient temples, and forgot Japanese war bunkers. There are leaps in the logic, but the world feels well constructed enough and transitions are believable most of the time. There is an odd amount of ancient wooden structures situated in/on cliffs, but these often contribute to the great action scenes, so it's sort of forgivable. Even better is there's a tonne of lore scattered around the island telling a variety of different stories about the various inhabitants, everyone from the ancient islanders, to WW2 vets, and even the insane cult you face down through the game. It's great world building and adds a lot of detail.

It's a world worth exploring too. While the game is decidedly linear, there's a lot of hidden rewards for exploring off the beaten path. Being a modern action game, there's also an RPG system where Lara can upgrade her equipment and abilities slowly over time using salvage scavenged from the world. It's a bit of a strange system, and there's some leaps in logic as this archaeology student MacGyver's an AK47 out of an old Japanese machinegun and some scrap metal.

Beaten and Battered

Despite the shift in tone, there's no shortage of tombs to raid.

TR13 is a much different game from it's predecessors when it comes to the tone and story. Whereas the earlier games were bubble-gum pop this is hard punk metal, screaming in defiance of it's own parentage. Lara and her friends are in a shitty situation and the game makes damn sure you know that as angry men swear and shoot at you. There's more then a few brushes with death and horrors far beyond any mummies from the first game. This is a gritty reboot in every sense of the world.

Even more terrifying is what the game is willing to do to Lara herself. There's no reverence for the character this time around, and she's far from invincible. Just getting through the story will beat the hell out of her. God help you if you fail one of the game's action sequences however, as your reward for this is seeing Lara get mutilated in ways that would make most horror games puke. She'll be stabbed, beaten, and generally tossed around like a ragdoll to an almost shocking degree. There's no doubt that TR13 is trying to distance itself from the old games, but it's almost shocking how far it goes with it.

The story itself is well told, with a small collection of characters. You're never confused as to what's happening and there's constant incentive to continue through as the situations get more and more ridiculous and the stakes get higher and higher. I guarantee there's at least a few dozen god-awful version of this script that came dangerously close to getting released, but thankfully what's on offer is well done and fits the game perfectly.

Scenic Vistas

Things rarely go well for Lara or her friends, and you'll be on the run throughout the game.

Graphically TR13 is pretty good looking. It does a great job of creating a real sense of place and mood on the island, and there's a lot of detail that makes each location feel more believable. There's a good variety of locals too, with forests, bunkers, ancient castles, and shanty towns all begging to be explored.

Character animations are awesome too, which is good considering how much stuff can be going on at once. There is the occasional strangeness, like getting caught on stairs, and Lara's "scramble" is almost hilarious in it's franticness, but it's all serviceable.

More over, the audio design is great. The voice over work is phenomenal, with every character delivering a lot of personality. Lara is the main star, and her newest VO actress has done a great job, especially considering all the shit the character goes through this time around. All of the main cast sound well done and believable, and enemies have enough unique dialogue that repeats are rare.

Survival of the fittest 

The constant shift in landscapes will keep you on your toes throughout the game.

TR13 seems like a game that wasn't really supposed to be as good as it is. Like I said, it's almost a guarantee that there are several late beta version of this game that are absolutely unplayable. It's a dark, gritty, mature reboot of a franchise best known for booty shorts and second rate platforming. There's no way this should've worked.

And yet, despite that TR13 hits it out of the park. The story is well told, the characters believable enough to care about, the action intense, hell even the platforming works better then the old ones. Tomb Raider 13's biggest issue isn't that anything in the game is bad, it's that it almost completely obsolete's all of it's predecessors with how great it is. Lara may have gone through some rough patches, but she back and better then ever.