Tomb Raider vs Fallout 4: Which One To Play First?

He became obsessed with the idea of immortality, specifically the Divine Source that’s said to be located in the lost city of Kitezh in Siberia, and like father like daughter, Lara risks everything by going after this power. Why are the Crofts such a huge threat to them? Literally, I can’t remember anything about him. “Crystal Dynamics has heard you loud and clear”. But the biggest problem is Lara herself. Once an artifact is found it usually contains a narrated snippet to go along with it, which only enriches the game’s already great story.

Interestingly, as either a nod to Uncharted 2 or a statement to how Lara is not a character to be ogled at anymore, the bulk of the game takes place in Russian Federation, which means she’s mostly wearing suitably warm, puffy winter outfits. This time, however, it is not her sexuality that impresses us, but rather her maturity.

For the most part of Rise’s enemy encounters, Lara embraces her new position as the gun-toting lovechild of Ellen Ripley and Indiana Jones.

What seems like a swipe at the game’s inspiration turns out to be a compliment in the end.

The biggest missed opportunity here is to continue fleshing Lara out as a character.

It goes without saying, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a much better game than its predecessor. A victim of fate, of other people’s aggression, of her own uninspired previous playable incarnations. Meanwhile the sounds, music, and voice acting are nothing to slouch off either, really making you feel like you’re smack in the middle of a Hollywood blockbuster. Because hey, the Uncharted games are quite possibly the high-point in recent interactive cinematic adventure.

The game isn’t just about physical exploration of a map. There’s a lot of stock bearded white henchmen in every scene, proving that there’s clearly a few shuffling around of assets from cutscene to cutscene. Lara’s new face looks fine.

Lara’s newly improved abilities are a direct reflection of how much effort you put into exploring the gameworld. It wasn’t an unqualified narrative success, but I loved Tomb Raider’s horror-soaked vibe, with Lara stranded and spelunking on a mysterious Japanese island. The balance between survival, in terms of facing off against an army of foes as well as giant killer snow bears, and exploration, in the form of archaeology-by-the-way-of Lara being genuinely excited when she comes across an ancient trinket or mural. However, most of these tombs are optional, and most can only be completed if players return to old areas with new gear. There are three different categories of skills with “brawler, ” “hunter” and “survivor.” Brawler is the more offense oriented skillset where you can learn how to quickly kill an enemy after successfully dodging an attack or being able to assassinate someone from above. Instead of knowing where you are immediately when engaging in combat, it’s all determined from an enemy’s perspective.

Rise of the Tomb Raider has its flaws, then, and is very much a predictable sequel. Gaining experience unlocks meaningful progression in her abilities that can increase her resistance to damage, melee combat and proficiency with weapons.

The question that should be asked perhaps is this – If Crystal Dynamics can still produce games of this quality on old hardware, what is the excuse for other developers? Nevertheless, tombs are no longer compulsory, although the puzzles you will find there are the most intriguing. I’m not so sure.

One of the my least favorite things in the Tomb Raider reboot were times when Lara would be pinned down and forced to shoot it out with waves upon waves of enemies. The game throws enemies at you in a more tactical way. In a way, you can think of these cards in a similar way to the “skulls” from Halo, but these cards are far more diverse, and there is a total of 64 of them that can be acquired. The opening sequence, set high along the ice-covered rocks of a Siberian mountaintop complete with an impressive sense of scale, is as tense as you might expect from having to keep Lara from plunging 5000 metres to her death. Furthermore, there’s an added degree of verticality to the game, which allows you to sidestep combat altogether by ziplining across rooftops or climbing trees. “So, resources you acquire from animals now have a direct correlation with things you can craft”. It’s also a really gorgeous game, with few technical issues throughout.

Another thing that Crystal Dynamics addressed this time around is the lack of puzzles.

The same can’t be said for the game’s stealth. A good example of this is the monoliths that you will discover. And it’s this sense of confidence that is worth taking note of. “I still get a strong sinking feeling in my stomach when I’ve misjudged a jump and watch Lara careening towards a splat”. Again, it’s not so bad considering how much more thought has gone into the combat.

The story found in Rise of the Tomb Raider is average, but good enough to make you want to push forward through the game. You can fast travel from base camp to base camp, but unless I was changing from one area to another it never felt like a fast-travel was necessary.

Rise of the Tomb Raider tweaks the gameplay formula established in its 2013 predecessor.

Wal-Mart and GameStop will begin selling Rise of the Tomb Raider for $59.99 tonight. Lara’s linguistic skills can now be leveled. I was never frustrated with the platforming sections and the puzzles that needed solving weren’t too hard, nor too easy. Behind the depth of Lara’s character and the emotionally charged story, Rise of the Tomb Raider is the series at its very best.

And then there are the tombs. It’s unfortunate, that just like in the previous game, this content is shoved off to the side and not highlighted as it should be.

Since Lara is a tomb raider by name, there are plenty of actual tombs to discover.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the most stunning games I have ever played.

One of the things that you get from doing all of this is credits. These missions can be custom built by players and shared. This seems to take the game a decade back and a few players might not be tempted to try it at all.

Rise of the Tomb Raider will feel extremely familiar to anyone who played the 2013 reboot, but that isn’t to say that nothing’s changed. She has interactions with a lot of different characters in the game, with Jacob and Ana being standouts.