Randomly Mine: Port of The Tomb Raider

There's no winning with this franchise.

At least for me. I didn't grow up with Tomb Raider. Knew of its existence of course. Everybody knows name Lara Croft, she's an icon whose reach extends far beyond the gaming industry. But like many, I've grown up with the developer Crystal Dynamics in charge of the brand, and find them... frustrating.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider's a game that's brought the worst out of me in Discord Vent Calls. Not because it's bad, but because it's safe. It feels as such that everything is done to maintain order. That the player is a dangerous entity, and must not be trusted for they could forsake Crystal's precious script. 

Manage to escape guards during a Combat Sequence? The only jump out of an arena is locked off. Not by rocks, laser grids, or Big Foots ass.

Just an invisible wall.

Found a piece of the environment the designer didn't verify? Lara forgets to climb.

Want to Tomb Raid in Tomb Raider? Go do that somewhere off the critical path.

So here's the options.

The Classics.

Finally experiencing a little bit of the Original, I'm rather marveled by how unique and compelling this game's atmosphere truly is, which is why I recommended it. This feels like Raiding Tombs, and not Dungeon Crawling, as most games with this environment. Lara does descend but not to some horrible monstrosity, but something beautiful.

You don't fight hordes of human enemies, but the occasion group of wild animals.

I think the term grand is more applicable here than epic. The latter typically demands thunderous set-pieces, huge explosions, and pounding music, things that the latest games have in high frequency. Whereas this game's grand structure, is mostly played with ambiance. It's relaxing, while also being challenging.

But of course, this is a game during a time when how to do 3D Platforming was still being discovered, one infuriating death at at time. The tank controls aren't what makes this game rage inducing, it's the delay in jumping, especially as so many jumps require precision to make.

And obviously, despite an amazing browser based Source Port, Open Lara, being available, there's nothing you can do about this game's dated presentation.

The Reimaginings.

These were the games I tried back in the day, and thought were okay...
And that's what they are. Okay at best. Busted at worst.

Something these games nail, particularly Underworld, is the move-set. Lara is extremely capable and unlike most heroes, not just in combat. Jumping wall to wall is one of the most satisfying moves in the game, especially against this Trilogy's most gorgeous backdrops. If there's something Crystal Dynamics have never had issue with, is making a world look awe-inspiring.

Character models, weapons, and cutscenes?

That's less successful.

What I believe is the biggest problem with this series is how much it takes things from the Original trilogy that should've evolved. Lara looked the way she did on the PS1 (confirmed by developers) because it was the 64-bit Era. A time when Half Life made headlines for characters with animated lips. Recreating that PS1 look in HD only spawned an uncanny valley.

The biggest problem with these games though, is the inconsistency during gameplay. Something I've really come to appreciate about Core's classics, is the action-button. Whenever you're near a ledge, hold onto that button, and Lara grabs it. Doesn't matter if you've put yourself in a bad spot, an impossible jump, or a guaranteed fall to certain death, you and Lara are always on the same page (granted, not when jumping).

But here, there's so many times when the absolute only reason you're not able to do something, is because the developers didn't account for it.

The Reboots

Which brings us to today.

The issue of Crystal's hand bitch-slapping anybody with the audacity to use their own creativity continues. Though, understandably so. This trilogy will go down as one of the most expensive in gaming history. The 2013 reboot had a budget of $100 Million, and the last game in the series, Shadow, is said by Eidos Montreal to have cost about as much. This is also, just in development, not taking into account the immense marketing campaigns.

When someone's pumping that much money into a series of games, it's extremely unlikely that they're going to experiment. Nor retain what made the series unique in premise, style, or character. Each installment's about saving the world, Lara committing genocide, and promising a return to form that never comes.

Now that the Trilogy is supposedly over, perhaps the studio can be more public with what the development of these games were like, having taken the series to such a high in production so rapidly.

And that's not say there's things I don't like about the Reboots. Lara's design is spot-on, the dark tone has potential, and the art-team are unquestionably brilliant. Each installment, especially Shadow, is a feast for the eyes technically and artistically. There's definitely elements to retain, even certain things in Lara's move-set, like being able to run up walls.

What has me pondering about this franchise so much in the last few days however, is the fascinating prospect of a series that's existed for 23 Years, and has yet to reach its potential.