Tomb Raider

Lara Croft. If you've heard that name before, you may recognize it from either the countless video games she's starred in or the comics and films that were inspired by said games. Many think of her to be an icon for women, though just as many disagree. She's seen as an amazing butt-kicker, a sex symbol, and a force to be reckoned with. If you're unfamiliar, she's an intelligent, beautiful, and athletic, English archaeologist who travels across the globe to venture into ancient, hazardous ruins. Most people who know of her, myself included, are used to seeing the fearless, invincible Lara who has been around since her first game debut in 1996, but that was all changed in early March of 2013 when a reboot of the game series, entitled only as Tomb Raider, hit the shelves. It was then that the fans of the video game series were able to see Lara Croft in a whole new light and realize that there's more to the brunette than what was originally thought.

The Story

Lara is ambitious and ready to make her mark on the world at the young age of 21-years-old, being part of an expedition team to find the lost kingdom of Yamatai and its previous ruler, the Sun Queen, Himiko, located somewhere off the coast of Japan. The expedition team consists of Samantha "Sam" Nishimura, Lara's best friend and an actual descendent of the island, Dr. James Whitman, a world-renowned archaeologist whose future is riding upon the success of their expedition, Joslyn Reyes, the feisty mechanic of their ship, the Endurance, Jonah Maiava, the ship's giant, yet gentle, cook, Alex Weiss, the Endurance's goofy electronics specialist, Angus "Grim" Grimaldi, the ship's surly helmsman, and Conrad Roth, a Royal Marine turned adventurer who is also a family friend of Lara's.

The expedition is almost a month underway when Lara tries to persuade her crewmates to change course and head into the Dragon's Triangle, which is in the opposite direction of where they were originally headed. After a heated argument between her and Dr. Whitman, Roth decides that heading east towards the triangle would be their best bet and the Endurance changes course. One night changes everything as a dangerous storm hits the ship, the weather conditions so horrible that it ultimately causes the Endurance to sink and makes all her crew abandon her.

After a series of traumatic events, Lara is on her own on the island, only having a walkie-talkie and her wits about her while she tries to search for the rest of the crew. Lara knows something isn't right when she finds a dead body hanging from a tree, and what's more, when she finds Sam with a strange man named Mathias; her suspicions are only confirmed when she finds that Mathias has taken Sam while Lara was passed out from exhaustion. Lara is then determined to save not only Sam, but the rest of the Endurance crew, and she must fight numerous survivor inhabitants of the island who work under Mathias as part of his cult, the Solarii Brotherhood, along with Queen Himiko's protectors, known as her Stormguard, and, of course, the island's natural dangers.

Once Lara and the other surviving crew members have made it off the island, the game comes to a close when Lara's told they'll be home shortly, only to reply with, "I'm not going home."

Gameplay

Tomb Raider is available for play on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Microsoft Windows, and is rated M for ages 17 and up in the United States as it has graphic violence, blood and gore, and strong language. You play as Lara throughout the entire game and have a wide variety of objectives to complete.

First and foremost, we have your weapons. As Lara goes through the game, she acquires more weapons as she visits new areas of the island. Your first acquired weapon is a makeshift bow that Lara takes from a dead body. At first you have no arrows to shoot, but scattered around the island are quivers with more ammo for Lara to restock with, the same going for the ammo the other weapons require. The second weapon to be found is a hand pistol, which she uses to make her very first human kill on the island. As the game goes on, Lara takes another weapon, a submachine gun from the World War II era, after killing a Solarii henchman. The next to be found is a shotgun, and after that, a grenade launcher, which Lara attaches to the submachine gun. Lara also comes by a climbing axe early on in the game to use when scaling cliff sides, but she is also able to use it to give her enemies a forceful blow to the head with. Throughout the game, you can continuously upgrade your weapons by using salvage points, making Lara a fearful adversary and a deadly killer.

Next we have salvage and XP. Both salvage and XP are things you can collect by doing various objectives throughout the game. Salvage are points you can earn by opening up salvage crates and, as stated earlier, you can upgrade your weapons with them. XP are experience points, and you can earn them by stealthily killing enemies, collecting certain items, and also completing side quests. With XP, you can buy and upgrade Lara's abilities. You can allow her to carry more ammunition, make her endure more attacks before she dies, and even allow her to earn bonus XP and salvage.

Unlike many of the previous Tomb Raider games, many feel that there weren't enough mental challenges, the side quests not being challenging enough for most players. In major parts of the island, there are tombs scattered around the area, seven of them in all. Lara is able to discover them, complete a puzzle, and is able to then raid the tomb and its valuables, earning many XP in the process. All tombs are optional to complete, though doing so allows the player to earn a one-hundred percent completion at the end of the game. Another thing for Lara to complete while venturing about the island, is finding relics, journals, and GPS caches that are scattered across each area. By collecting each of these, the player is able to collect more XP to use later in the game and also is able to understand more about Yamatai, its history, and also the Endurance crew.

A new feature never before seen in another Tomb Raider game is the multiplayer aspect. You are able to play as different characters, be it from the Endurance crew or even a Solarii soldier, and complete tasks with friends online. There are three different types of games that are playable in five different regions of the island, and many of the single-player aspects have been added to the multiplayer as well. The multiplayer part of the game is very interactive, but has, unfortunately, not been well received by many, some even going as far as to call it unnecessary.

Graphics

The game's graphics appear to be the best in any Tomb Raider game. The movement in the cut-scenes and also while playing are fluid and smooth, and the textures are very realistic. As the game progresses, Lara's character becomes more grungy and unkempt, her clothes tearing and hair becoming matted, adding to the realness of the game. The world of Yamatai is beautiful and each character is breathtakingly well designed. Tomb Raider's graphics are some of the best that I have ever seen in any video game.

Overall

This video game is one of the best that I have ever played. The storyline keeps your attention, the graphics are amazingly detailed, the characters are realistic, and the acting is spot on perfect; however, as a player of previous Tomb Raider games, I was saddened by the lack of challenges. Though even then, this game is undeniably hard to put down. After completing it once, I found myself stuck playing it over again and again. Tomb Raider's action packed, full of surprises, and is a game that you will not regret playing. For this game, I'll be rating it a 9.5/10.