Review: Tomb Raider V Remastered

I'll be honest, after finishing Tomb Raider IV, I had to take a break - something that didn't happen with the first three Tomb Raider games (even after I'd been playing them almost daily for a whole year). But after a couple months' rest period, I started to feel that itch to go exploring tombs again.

There's really no way to describe this game's premise without spoiling the end of the last game, so... fair warning. After her adventures in Egypt, Lara turns up missing and is presumed dead. So, a few of her closest confidantes gather after her funeral, and swap stories (the butler talks!), chronicling some of Lara's past adventures (that we haven't seen yet, despite their involving such high profile artifacts as the Philosopher's Stone and the Spear of Destiny).

Although tied together by this framing story, the individual chapters stand alone, allowing for considerable more variety (and alternate outfits!) than the last game. That said, I'm surprised you can't tackle them in the order of your choosing - like the middle chapters in Tomb Raider III - especially considering that you don't carry over your equipment from one chapter to the next. It's not like there's even a particularly climactic final boss in the last chapter!

As for new mechanics, there isn't much to speak of. Other than being able to "search" shelves for hidden pickups, the one shiny new gameplay mechanic is tightrope walking (oh, and swinging on the parallel bars - I almost forgot about that). Which is pretty neat, but honestly very tedious to navigate, so I'm not in love with it. There is a very late game addition of a grappling gun, used to create your own swinging ropes. It's a cool idea - I feel like they could have done a lot more with it. But again, swinging on ropes is a pretty clunky way of getting around.

In this game, secrets come in the form of golden roses hidden throughout the levels - like the dragon statues in Tomb Raider II. Bats and rats have been demoted from regular enemies you can shoot and kill to health draining hazards like the locusts and beetles from the last game. In addition to simply outrunning them, you can crouch down to avoid the bats (sorta), and climb obstacles or dive underwater to avoid the rats.

Now, let me direct some comments toward each of the four chapters. You start out on the streets of Rome, with only a cursory tutorial segment (which, to its credit, is entirely optional). These aren't the most compelling introductory stages (compared to, e.g., the snow-capped Andes, the Great Wall of China, or the jungles of India) - they're like a cross between Venice and Cairo, and those weren't among the most exciting locations Lara's visited. Pierre and Larson (whom you squared off against in the first game) make an appearance, but it puts a spotlight on the bad CGI in the FMVs (especially contrasted with the remastered in-game graphics) and even worse voiceovers.

Call me a spoilsport - I have no problem with the overt sexualization baked into Lara's original design - but the banter (I won't call it "witty") feels really inappropriate for two parties who are firing deadly weapons at each other. And when Lara tricks Pierre into saving her life, only to leave him to fall to his "death"... I like Lara's bad-ass attitude; I don't need her to become the simpering victim some players have accused her of being in later incarnations of the series. But I think there's a way to do it that doesn't involve making the hero act like a cartoon villain.

The second chapter puts Lara on a Russian submarine - but it's only a pale imitation of the Maria Doria levels from Tomb Raider II. I like the submarine's three-dimensional, maze-like layout. Portions of these levels emphasize stealth, which is a nonstandard tactic for Lara. The strong resemblance of the snowy shipyard docks to the setting of Metal Gear Solid (released two years prior) should have tipped me off, but I wish the game had telegraphed in some way that you have to slowly walk up behind a cook and whack him with a crowbar (used like a key and not a weapon) to advance through the level.

In the third chapter, we get another chance to control a teenage Lara in pigtails, as she navigates a haunted island. These are the most memorable levels in the game (it's telling that, even though I only ever played this game once before, so little of it is familiar to me). It's basically "the Halloween episode" of Tomb Raider. And the fact that teenage Lara is never given any weapons really enhances the survival horror aspect, as you're chased around by imps and werewolves and merrows and headless horsemen.

The final chapter channels Mission: Impossible, as Lara dons her catsuit and infiltrates the high-rise headquarters of a tech conglomerate that she has some personal business with (partly tying back to the events of the last game). These levels, while urban-oriented like the London levels from Tomb Raider III, are actually fairly fun. I don't even mind the stealth tactics this time around - you can silence your weapon and head-shot the guards, while navigating through the air ducts, tiptoeing around lasers in order to avoid setting off alarms. The only major drawback is the super cringey tech assistant who's always talking into Lara's ear.

The lighting issues I've had in previous games seems to have improved. I am, however, beginning to notice the rise of the dramatic musical cue to warn the player of impending combat that ruined Tomb Raider Anniversary (among other things). Forced camera perspectives also seem to be becoming more prevalent, which is annoying and disorienting (even if you can usually disable them by tapping the look button). One thing that didn't bother me about this game was the absence of vehicles.

Owing to the fact that this game was created as an afterthought (the developers intended the last game to be the finale, but the publisher demanded another title), this game feels shorter and lighter than average (with no expansion level(s) to speak of). Which is honestly a relief after The Last Revelation - which was overlong and overcomplicated. I had more fun playing this game, but it doesn't rise to the level of any of the games in the original trilogy. Developed for the next generation platform, I'll be interested to give the next (and final) game in this collection a try, as I've never played it before.

Review: Tomb Raider IV Remastered

As teased in my review of Tomb Raider III, remastered versions of Tomb Raiders 4-6 were released in February, and I've just finished the first one - Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. This was the first Tomb Raider game I played retroactively - eight years after its initial release in 1999 - so I don't have the same nostalgia for it that I do for the first three games in the series. Whether or not it's a result of that bias, I feel that this game begins to step away from what made the classic Tomb Raider experience what it was, even as it self-consciously seems to take a step back and say, "we've sent Lara adventuring all across the globe, let's take her back to the pyramids and focus solely on that in this game." As such, the game takes place almost entirely in Egypt. Unfortunately, this translates to less diversity in level environments (although they do what they can within these constraints - including a level that takes place on a moving train, straight out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), and a conspicuous lack of alternate outfits - which may only be a superficial detail, but is one that has always enhanced my enjoyment of these games.

First impressions being what they are, The Last Revelation does not get off to a strong start. Although it sounds fun on paper, guiding a 16 year old Lara in pigtails through Angkor Wat is dragged down by what quickly becomes a tedious string of awkward dialogue, as mentor Werner Von Croy patronizingly instructs Lara in the most basic of maneuvers (that most players will have down pat by the fourth game in the series). Yet, frustratingly, he neglects to explain how to use the one new mechanic that is introduced (the rope swing). The fact that this tutorial sequence culminates in a satisfying opportunity to beat Werner in a race to the finish line doesn't redeem the unforgivable fact that none of it is skippable, and therefore - like sitting through a dry university lecture on archeology, punctuated by humorless jokes spoken with a bad accent ("is enough comedy"), and peppered with vaguely inappropriate innuendo - it must simply be endured every time you start a new game. I already miss Croft Manor.

I also miss the old three-ring inventory system. In this game, weapons and health pickups, key items, and system settings are all placed in a single row, causing you to spend an inordinate amount of time cycling back and forth in a game that - for no good reason - the developers decided to burden you with an overabundance of key items you must collect and hold onto for large portions of the game, that serve no function other than to take up inventory space until the moment you need to use them (which is more likely than not going to be the last level of the game). Exacerbating this problem is the new function of being able to combine inventory items - a good idea that's abused to the point of absurdity. For example, you're tasked with digging a hole, but instead of just giving you a shovel, you have to find a metal blade and a wooden handle and put it together yourself. Like, seriously - who takes their shovel apart?

What I do like is the ability to add a laser sight to certain weapons - including the crossbow, which is a welcome addition to Lara's armory - enabling you to hit targets with more accuracy. But other than being able to switch between regular and explosive-tipped arrows, I found little use for the different types of ammo available for some of the weapons. Also, target locking in this game is broken. You can no longer hold the button down and continue to track a target once it leaves your line of sight; you'll just start firing aimlessly, wasting your bullets. On the other hand, if you're locked onto a shambling mummy, and a bat or a scorpion rushes up to you, Lara will refuse to target the more imminent threat even if it's right in front of her face. I also don't like that you have to manually holster your weapons before lighting a glowstick (this game's version of a flare). And look mode is sluggish with your weapons drawn - too many times I've stumbled over a cliff thinking I would just be moving my head and not my whole body. It's always a risk when you add new mechanics, but there's no excuse for breaking something that's worked fine in the past.

Improvements in this game are few and far between. I glory at finally being able to shimmy and climb around corners, as well as perform an about face while hanging on the monkey bars. And being able to roll and drop off a ledge from a crouched position saves so much time compared to slowly rotating 180 degrees and backing out. That's about it. The binoculars were a novel idea, but seem to have limited use (in a few heavily contrived cases, there are clues hidden in dark, distant, out-of-reach corners). The traps are becoming excessively complex - I know they're trying to be creative, but it's beginning to stretch my suspension of disbelief. Also, some of them are so elaborate that it's not clear how to navigate them without simply soaking up a ton of damage - that's not so much a test of your agility/dexterity as it is a punishment device. On that note, the plagues of locusts (on the labyrinthine streets of a wartorn and apocalyptic Cairo) were less intrusive than I remember them being, but the beetle swarms that will rapidly ankle bite you to death were an absolute nightmare.

Once again, I have to complain about the lighting. You're given more than enough glowsticks (the biggest treasure in these tombs is going to be the recycling refund collected from all these spent glowsticks after Lara's done in there), but this isn't an atmospheric survival horror. Rooting around in the dark because there's not enough light to see anything isn't a good way to do "exploration". It's to the point where I've finally switched over to using the original graphics by default (partially for this reason, and partially because my folder already has almost 2,500 image files from the first three games, I'm not including screenshots with this review). Yes, the new graphics look amazing, but the lighting balance is out of whack. The only advantage is a new feature that causes item pickups to "glow" when you approach them (it's frustrating missing an item pickup you walked right over without seeing, because it camouflaged itself into the floor). But what's also frustrating is that you're no longer told how many pickups are in each level, making it effectively impossible for completionists and badge hunters to play this game without consulting a walkthrough.

On that subject, I won't hide the fact that I just wasn't invested in this game enough not to consult a walkthrough periodically. The dune buggy chase - and "buggy" is the right word for it - with its questionably racist machine-gun wielding desert nomads and irritating soundtrack, particularly tried my patience. And aside from the giant scorpions, and the fun of climbing up the side of the Great Pyramid (albeit on a dark and stormy night), the game's conclusion and final boss "fight" is somewhat of an anti-climax. I just didn't enjoy playing these levels enough to justify going back and forth through them repeatedly, just to find all the secrets, or to figure out the solutions to some of the really convoluted puzzles (I heard a rumor that the developers did this intentionally, to sell more strategy guides), which are in part inspired by the superficially non-linear nature of this game. For the first time in a Tomb Raider game, you can move (somewhat) freely back and forth between levels. There are restrictions (I wouldn't quite call it a Metroidvania-style game) - it's more like several "chapters" of connected levels that, in some cases, require a certain amount of backtracking between them.

Perhaps it's for that very reason, but I'm really incensed that there are fewer save slots than there are levels in this game. There's really no excuse for this. The way I play, I like to maintain a save file at the beginning of each level - kind of like a manual level select. But I can't do that here - and I didn't find that out until I got more than 3/4 of the way through the game, after it was already too late to strategically ration the slots available. Mercifully, the expansion to this game consists of just a single level. But unlike the other games, it feels like an afterthought, and not a carefully constructed labor of love that expands upon the core game (as before).

During the course of my play - which included a fair amount of time spent in a web browser looking at a walkthrough, or searching hopefully for commiseration from other players complaining about this game's many flaws - I was surprised to find a community of players who count it among their favorite titles in the series. So opinions will vary. But it's definitely not one of my favorites, and for me marks a significant downturn in the series. If you're looking for some classic Tomb Raider action, don't be fooled by the exclusively Egyptian setting. Any one of the first three Tomb Raider games would be a better time investment over this one. But fear not - I'm still committed to completing the next two titles.

Review: Tomb Raider III Remastered

Tomb Raider III is finished! I definitely was not expecting to spend most of the year playing these games - but I'm not complaining! It's been a lot of fun. Part of the reason there's so much time between reviews is that after I finish each game, I continue playing in order to pick up achievement badges. I paid attention this time, and I played an extra 40 hours across approximately five weeks, before moving on to the next game. (It's the curse of being a completionist).

Additionally, the reason this review is as late as it is, is partly because I spent more time than usual backtracking through the levels looking for secrets and missed pickups (in a few places it was a real headache, but I wanted the glory of accomplishing it without using a walkthrough), and partly because I was intending to wait until after I'd not only completed the full game plus the expansion levels, but also finished all my badge hunting so I could report my final progress, as this is the last game in the collection. But it turns out there were a bunch of hidden achievements that I missed, so now I have to go back through the games and play clean up - and I can't say how long that's gonna take.

What I remember most about my first time playing Tomb Raider 3 (circa 1998), is that it was the point in the series when I switched to playing these games on PlayStation, since the bugs on the PC version (which had always been an issue, since the very first game) finally got to the point where it actively prevented me from playing. It was also the last Tomb Raider game I played - until the release of Tomb Raider Anniversary in 2007 rekindled my interest in the series.

Lotta new stuff introduced in this game. The graphics are smoother than ever - with square blocks split into triangles, for better gradation of terrain (i.e., changing slopes). Lara's got some new moves - ducking and crawling, navigating monkey bars, and sprinting - which means new areas to explore, and more places to hide things! The secrets are back to being managed like in the first game, with a top secret level at the end of the game you can only play if you find every secret in the game. New vehicles are hit-and-miss - the quadbike handles better than the snowmobile, but the kayak, while a super cool idea, is a nightmare to paddle. New weapons are (mostly) a plus - the rocket launcher offers an improvement over the grenade launcher, while the MP5 shoots so sporadically it's almost not worth using. But the real MVP is the Desert Eagle, with its power-packed punch. Flares die out faster this time, but there's more than enough of them to last you through the game (dark as it is).

Following from the last game, the ratio between tomb-y and urban environments is fairly evenly mixed. What's exciting is that, excepting the opening and closing chapters, the middle three locations can be tackled in any order you like! And to further enhance this feeling of nonlinearity, some of the levels feature branching paths toward the exit. You start out in the dense jungle of the Indian rainforest, and it's a sight to behold. Cheeky monkeys will try to run off with your item pickups if you don't stop them first. Swarms of flesh-eating piranha will teach you to think twice before diving into the swift-flowing currents of the Ganges. And tread lightly through the underbrush, for you'll regret succumbing to the venomous bite of the cobra. New for this game, getting poisoned won't require a special antidote, but it will force you to use a medipack before your life slowly drains out. And watch out for the quicksand!

Although the dusty environs of the Nevada desert offer some novelty, the Area 51 levels are largely industrial, recalling a drier version of the Oil Rig from TR2. Still, infiltrating the military complex is fun - avoiding tripwires, sneaking past guards, and stealing access passes is a different sort of skillset for Lara - and who can forget the big climax in the flying saucer? The South Pacific Islands are a dream. Although dinosaurs were relegated to a short (but memorable) cameo in TR2, Crash Site is basically a whole level that feels like Jurassic Park. Now there are Compys, and you can distract the T-Rex with your flares! Madubu Gorge is truly spectacular. Populated by wicked gremlins, it is marred only by the aforementioned frustration of navigating the kayak. Meanwhile, the London levels play like a grittier Venice. To be fair, having Lara slink about in a leather catsuit will fulfill any cat burglar fantasies you may have. Running across rooftops is a thrill, and the underground subway station effectively evokes a liminal atmosphere. But the history museum is the closest this game comes to ransacking the pyramids of Egypt - and it's a pale substitute.

Finally we come to Antarctica, which offers a sci-fi/horror vibe straight out of John Carpenter's The Thing, with a hint of H.P. Lovecraft. Exercise caution while swimming in the ice cold water, for you'll freeze long before you run out of breath! After two games with really memorable climactic levels (Atlantis, and the Temple of Xian), I didn't even remember The Lost City of Tinnos until after I started playing through it (highlights include the fighting arena, and the elemental challenges - not so much the glowing wasps). Far more memorable were the ship and the abandoned camp from a previous level, and the eerie mood of the mines (minus the frustrating mine cart sequences). I did like the final boss encounter, though - featuring the creepiest monster yet, seemingly inspired by the nightmare creature from Stephen King's IT (and I don't mean its clown persona).

For the first time in three games, I beat the game using only pistols on my first playthrough! The secret bonus level was fantastic - relatively short, but definitely a highlight. And the expansion levels (once again, played for my first time ever), were quite remarkable. You get to infiltrate a Scottish castle - with architecture that recalls the Great Wall of China from TR2, peppered with some Indian jungle flare - haunted by the black dog of folklore (with glowing, red eyes). Afterward, the Chunnel channels a blend of the urban and underground environments from Nevada and London, with a touch of the Maria Doria sprinkled in. It's worth noting that one secret in each level really goes all out to impress the player. I don't want to spoil the discovery, but I will say there's a surprise cameo by a beloved cryptid (I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I gasped audibly when it popped out at me!). And the zoo level was very imaginative.

Though I was fully prepared to close the book on Tomb Raider Remastered at this time, I have recently learned that remastered versions of the next three games are scheduled for release next February! I've only ever played 4 and 5 once (during that period when the release of Tomb Raider Anniversary rekindled my interest in the series), and 6 I've never played before! So I'm excited. Looks like it's gonna be another year of playing classic Tomb Raider for me. :-p

Review: Tomb Raider II Remastered

Logging upwards of a combined total of 160 hours of gameplay across two games over more than five months, it's taking me longer than I had anticipated (although that is by no means a bad thing), but I have finally completed the remastered version of Tomb Raider II!

While not as flawless a game from start to finish as Tomb Raider I, it's still an iconic classic, with a number of innovations (some that hit better than others). The traps are dialed up, Lara's got some new moves (including climbing ladders, wading in shallow water, riding ziplines, and launching precariously from springboards), as well as some new outfits (marvel at her wetsuit, and iconic bomber jacket). Flares are a welcome addition to light the many dark corners of this game (although I wish their light would show in camera mode), and I like the way secrets are newly implemented - three dragon statues (stone, jade, and gold) are located in every level; some of them are hard to find, while others lie in plain sight but require a mastery of Lara's agility to acquire. This time, I was able to find them all (AND collect every pickup in the game) on my first playthrough!

A valid criticism of this game is that it veers away from the dusty tombs Lara is known for raiding - it's less treasure hunting, and more infiltrating a secret society, with more urban environments, and a high encounter rate for goons and thugs. Aside from rats and dogs, there are long portions of this game where the only enemies you fight are human. Is it more difficult? Yeah. You're taking a lot more hits from long range gun damage, and sucking up a lot of health packs as a result. But I find I don't enjoy it as much. It's not as imaginative as the tigers and sharks and spiders (wait 'til you see the big one!) that attack you in the wild. However, I do like the addition of the harpoon gun - which you can shoot underwater. And using the grenade launcher to blow baddies into giblets may be gratuitous, but it's loads of fun!

To be fair, it's a novel experience careening through the canals of Venice in a motor boat (Lara's first vehicle!), and the Opera House is on par with (maybe even superior to) the Colosseum from Tomb Raider I. But my patience for vehicle travel began to wane when the snowmobile was introduced. Vehicles are reckless, and I tend to be methodical. You're blowing past a lot of scenery quickly, which is counterproductive to the aims of exploring your environment. Also, it tends to encourage long, simple passages instead of the intricate, criss-crossing architecture I like in these games.

On the other hand, the Maria Doria (an undersea shipwreck) is as cool as anything you can explore in any Tomb Raider game - the enormity of The Deck cannot be adequately conveyed by a screenshot. And the Tibetan levels return some of the atmosphere of Peru (while featuring the frightening introduction of the Yeti). I like how you can recruit the monks of Barkhang Monastery to help you fend off the mercenaries hunting you - but only if you aim your shots carefully!

Meanwhile, the run-up to the climax is truly unforgettable tomb raiding. The Temple of Xian is a sprawling underground fortress that feels suitably Indiana Jones-like, and is the epitome of what a great Tomb Raider level can be. The Floating Islands are wonderfully imaginative, leading to a spectacular final boss encounter. And as for the epilogue? Not to be crude, but (spoiler for the ending!) Lara wearing a bathrobe while defending herself during a home invasion fueled many an adolescent fantasy, once upon a time. Given how antagonistic Lara Croft's handlers are to the fabled nude code (for this game, they teased a button combination that, when entered, causes Lara to explode), you could almost forget that the character started out as a sex icon, back in the day when having a sex drive wasn't considered "problematic".

As a final note, the expansion levels (which I played for the first time) effectively combine industrial and snowy textures to construct a Russian outpost, although the atmosphere of these levels is (however appropriate) very bleak. The fun only really begins after you retrieve the Golden Mask. I appreciated the heavy touch of Midas, and the opportunity to explore Bigfoot's tree house. And the Vegas-themed secret bonus level was a hoot!

After I collect a few more badges, I'm looking forward to moving on to the exciting locations featured in Tomb Raider III - including jungles, tropical islands, Area 51, and Antarctica! I'll be sad when it's all done, though...