The Devolution of Lara Croft; A Review of Tomb Raider (2013).

Since the birth of Tomb Raider in 1996, we have seen Lara attempt to battle new heights, as the infamous archaeologists daughter returns in the reboot of the much loved gaming franchise.

[All Screenshots From Personal Gameplay. Image Rights Owned By Crystal Dynamics]

Aptly named the same as it's predecessor, the game, developed by Crystal Dynamics, acts as a prequel to the previous original series, aiming to take us back to the core of Lara's journey of self discovery; from timid teen to hardcore heroine. With awards for Most Anticipated Game of the Year (*Digital Spy) and Best Action Game (*IGN, 2011) under it's belt, I expected something utterly mind blowing following the anticlimax of Tomb Raider: Underworld.

After the events of the shipwrecked Endurance, Lara is thrown in at the deep end throughout her mission to regroup with survivors and escape the cursed island of Yamatai, Japan. But first she must battle the dreaded cult of Himiko as she is captured by satanic worshippers of the so called "Sun Queen". A storyline which was shrouded in potential, yet slowly became generic and predictable (with the odd occasional false scare, of course). It somewhat dragged at times and I found myself more admiring the scenery than the actual game itself. 

It seems to be a recurring theme to any Tomb Raider game that Lara moves any which way without warning, and particularly in this game, when it came to jumping during quick fire situations, my luck wasn't much better. The main problem, however, was when it came to combat. I was more inclined to use the axe as a weapon as it ensured better aim and maximum impact; plus I loved the brutality of the finishers. The race-against-time action sequences were also pretty rad, though having to "tap" and "mash" various buttons when being attacked was a mediocre feature the game could have done without but added to the overall sensory experience of a high stress, panicked situation. 

I found the attention given to puzzle solving, which has been a common and redeeming factor to all previous games, was deflected through the hunt for relics, documents and various other collective sets, which varied depending on level and included the opportunity to earn achievements (thank you, Steam). Though my craving was still left somewhat unsatisfied, what it lacked in puzzle solving was overshadowed by the 'optional' tombs, which altogether injected some of that Tomb Raider charm (despite the fact she claimed she hated them), but even then I found them simple and short lived and completely unrelated to the story arc.

Overall, it was a decent game, despite some of it's minor flaws. Tomb Raider, as a whole, is very much centered around acquiring skills for combat. You are given the opportunity to earn skill points and upgrade weapons by scavenging items that you can use at designated campsites. I found the 'fast travel' option an added bonus as it allows you to recover anything you may have missed first time round. Though I didn't enjoy it as a Tomb Raider game, it's enjoyable as a game in itself when you eventually learn to cut all cognitive ties to it's predecessors. 

Would I say it was a more successful reboot? Potentially. But I guarantee, it's a journey worth exploring.

Apocalypse Now.