Raycevick Recommendations: July 2018

Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001)

I know what you're thinking. 

Ray, how could you possibly recommend a video game movie?

I thought the same, until watching it just recently, and had some of the most fun I've had with a movie in a long time. Because while Tomb Raider is filled with dumb-moments, bad accents, and terrible CGI, it really is a video-game put onto the big-screen.

Everything is paced like a cutscene, platforming section, or quick-time event. The characters are written in such a way that while over the top, is actually compelling and unique. Lara being the most obvious example.

Ms. Croft is a lot more than just sexy here. She displays a range of emotions from thrilled, intrigued, scared, sad, and curious rather than a one note toughie.

It's a movie to watch with friends who'll be grinning and laughing the whole way through from one awesome action setpiece to the next.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition

I mentioned this game in my most recent video but without a full recommendation, because Midnight Club 3 is an excellent racer, but not just for fans of the genre.

Mostly because it's gameplay isn't like a traditional racer. Tracks aren't closed off, and vehicles behave more like characters than machines. They can go into bullet time to make impossible bends. They can rotate in mid-air for the perfect landing. And they can shove traffic and competitors off road with the force.

But the real beauty of the game is it takes elements that would ordinarily be left to a physics system or handling model and gives it directly to the player. The game has some laughable rubberbanding AI - especially with the cops - and frustrating events, but as I said in my video...

What makes it frustrating is also what makes it engaging.

Steep

In fairness, I'm not dozens of hours into this game. So perhaps as I continue, it'll become repetitive and boring. But as it currently stands, I'm really pleased with Steep, and surprisingly, because of how it uses the world.

You see, in something like Ghost Recon Wildlands, the gameplay and world is a sandbox, but the missions are not, which causes everything to clash. Whereas in Steep, the gameplay of racing to get the best times or achieving the highest score, lends itself to the type of iterative improvement of your ability that can lead to you and friends playing the same event dozens if not hundreds of times.

It's a game that can be as relaxing or intense as you want it to be, which is what you'd want in a game that involves snowboarding.