Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Greyfox · 15-09-2018 3:47pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Firmly believe they're two of the worst AAA games I've played

Actually quite fond of the series, and though the Legend / Anniversary / Underworld games did a decent job (mostly) of capturing the essence of the original games without the clunkiness. The reboot came across to me as a miserable and misguided effort to make the series more 'serious'... but just came across as a weak copy of Uncharted..

Just bought the game on Amazon, I'd put the first 2 as two of the best AAA games of the last few years. The combat is superb with the bow and arrow kills particularly satisfying. Lara Croft is a much better character than in the old games as she's now got weaknesses and a much better voice actor. I think it's a better series than uncharted although that may be due to me getting fed up with uncharteds carry 2 weapons at a time system. I feel critics are been unfair, I wasn't expecting this game to innovate that much as it's the final part of a trilogy and other than the uncharted series there isn't any games out there that give a similar experience, also more of the same can be a good thing as long as games in a series arent been released every year, the days of yearly tombraider games is long over, I'd say it will be a very long wait for the next tomb raider game and it's at this point that big innovation and changes will be required.

wotzgoingon · 15-09-2018 5:41pm

Well picked it up today on Xbox One and was greeted to a 6.4GB update. Luckily they upgraded my area to 4G so I used my phone as I would be all day downloading that update on my DSL connection.

I didn't play far got to the very first base camp in the game which is in the second location. I will take my time playing it which will probably take me a while but hopefully I get a free day and get the notion to play for a long session and finish it before RDR 2 is released.

madcabbage · 15-09-2018 5:47pm

Would love to see this game on max settings / 4k. Game looks great even on medium / low.

Sephiroth_dude · 15-09-2018 8:38pm

The fight

with the Jaguar was disappointing to say the least I thought you might too at least her like the bear in rise.

Sephiroth_dude · 15-09-2018 8:55pm

wotzgoingon wrote: »

Well picked it up today on Xbox One and was greeted to a 6.4GB update. Luckily they upgraded my area to 4G so I used my phone as I would be all day downloading that update on my DSL connection.

I didn't play far got to the very first base camp in the game which is in the second location. I will take my time playing it which will probably take me a while but hopefully I get a free day and get the notion to play for a long session and finish it before RDR 2 is released.

Crikey, 4g is better than your DSL connection?

wotzgoingon · 15-09-2018 10:02pm

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Crikey, 4g is better than your DSL connection?

Yes, far, far, far better.

Joys of living out in the sticks.

But my phone line connection is more stable. The 4G can cut off and go down to low speeds but it is really good for downloading. Even though it can be unstable it downloads games pretty quick.

18-09-2018 9:46pm

I normally play at a desk and monitor but had the main TV free tonight and started this. It looks incredible in 4k even if you switch it to high frame rate mode.

The game gets straight down to business and it's business as usual really in terms of the game play in the first tomb etc. and have to say I'm 100% ok with that for the moment.

19-09-2018 5:13pm

Biggest issue I have with this so far is the flash light. There are placed it's clearly needed but the game decides when it wants to switch it on and off not you. Really annoying in some situations.

maximoose · 21-09-2018 2:42pm

XYCPF-TDMVV-XMTK4-HHXFQ-TDJHZ
T9TW2-T7X6P-PD4WH-M96P9-GMH6Z

Yellow shadow band resource packs for xbox one, got them free on the lucozade competition but seems you can only redeem one per account and I've already used one!

21-09-2018 4:52pm

Thanks, used the first one.

K.O.Kiki · 21-09-2018 6:38pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The first two (god why did I play the second one) are easily among the worst, most insipid AAA games I’ve ever played, so was pleased to see a few more critical ‘takes’ on this one floating around alongside the positive ones. Always felt the games got off easier than they deserved, allowing of course for the genuine differences in opinion.

Really hope they go a new direction now that this trilogy is done - hopefully away from this combat-heavy, grim-dark approach they’ve taken with these ones.

I recently started playing Tomb Raider Underworld and the 2nd level (Thailand) had a grand total of 0 human enemies.
And the level was fantastic in making me feel like I was exploring a real ruin!

Apart from the giant lizards but they were easy enough.

Kenjataimu · 21-09-2018 7:44pm

H82P-KPNT-JF28

PS4 - Lucozade Yellow shadow band resource pack

da gamer · 21-09-2018 9:04pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Firmly believe they're two of the worst AAA games I've played

Actually quite fond of the series, and though the Legend / Anniversary / Underworld games did a decent job (mostly) of capturing the essence of the original games without the clunkiness. The reboot came across to me as a miserable and misguided effort to make the series more 'serious'... but just came across as a weak copy of Uncharted with added psychotic Lara being physically punished at every opportunity. Was just boring IMO.

Why play the second one? Well I'd heard the game had improved the 'tomb raiding' aspects, and frankly I wanted to give my PC a graphical workout... so, yes, picked it up on sale. Sadly, the game was worse than feared, and if anything made my feelings about the first game even stronger than they'd been before. Terrible writing and storytelling; design too reliant on both semi-open world busywork and long stretches of repetitive combat; half-assed survival and scavenging mechanics; unengaging platforming and puzzling; and weak pseudo Metroidvania design (areas locked off until you unlock a certain item... with the game telling you exactly what item you need IIRC). No doubting the games have been carefully and expensively crafted (my PC did get that workout!)... but they're just kinda everything I hate about a lot of modern day game design.

Absolutely my fault for giving the second game a chance, TBH, and won't be doing the same with this one as I've firmly established they're not for me. I'm glad others enjoy them, but for me personally they're the poster child for the blandness and mediocrity of many AAA games these days. I should stress my threshold for 'worst AAA games I've played' is likely different than others... I go out of my way to avoid what I've heard are clunkers or disasters, so games that are competent but mediocre tend to be among the worst I've played in recent years.

Absolute nonsense.

21-09-2018 11:56pm

I'm about 70% through it at the minute. Story wise it's fine very good even but I actually think it's the weakest of the 3 over all. They've reigned in the combat too much and swung the pendulum the other way towards the tombs while good I'm at the point of them all blurring into one between challenge tombs, crypts and main story and to a point where the skill trees and armors you can get become pointless. You're picking up or rather not because your pockets are full of resources that you have no use for because you haven't used any arrows etc.

The change in developers is very obvious there in that regard. For example there are skills on the tree for highlighting the animals heart and increasing the yield etc but you have no reason to draw a bow on an animal out side of an achievement so abundant are the resources you can simply pick up. The side missions are also totally unnecessary too and quite poor. It's like they had a meeting on how they had to figure out how to keep all the stuff from the last game and just didn't find a reason to have it there and put it in anyway. Even the traversal feels more forced that it should at times like in the last game I'm pretty sure my fire arrows could unlock some stuff but no this time you need to solve a puzzle to release oil and press a switch to release fire or craft a molotov because fire arrows just make a spark.

So yeah I've become way more critical of this since starting it

Sight808 · 22-09-2018 12:57pm

Agree with this, I don't mind having less combat in the game but it makes much of the skill irrelevant, such as scavenging for resources as I'm always maxed out. Makes the few encounters with enemies less impactful.

Still a great game, prefer it to the second one, but not a patch on the first.

ERG89 · 22-09-2018 2:24pm

https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1043250654595244032?s=19

z0oT · 22-09-2018 10:25pm

I'm about 5 hours into it having started it today.

It's good, more of the same, which isn't a bad thing. Looks gourgeous, especially on the PC with all the eye candy turned up, runs good too.

Story is a bit meh to be truthful, the 2013 was the best there I thought.

03-10-2018 11:13pm

Just finished this on NG+ on Deadly Obsession for the achievements. My advice is if you don't care about the trophies/achievements or do but value your blood pressure avoid it. It's the cheapest laziest way I've seen in a while for increasing difficulty.

They just took out the lara vision and checkpoints meaning you could go up to 45 minutes without one only do die due to the unreliable platforming mechanics. I didn't die once in combat but oh did I die from falling !!!!! :mad:

Playing on this mode really showed up so really terrible design in the skill trees and how the gear got used or more like didn't get used. They even give you new skills on NG+ which even the worst player wouldn't need. The special arrows never got used , the stealth sections could be brute forced with little risk and the shotgun ???? more like starting pistol for all the impact it had or consistency. Sometimes you could put 5 rounds into a guy to take him down others 2 and that was over all modes not just deadly obsession.

Sephiroth_dude · 04-10-2018 12:12am

Was this made by a different team from.the first two games?

Exclamation Marc · 04-10-2018 12:44am

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Was this made by a different team from.the first two games?

Yep Eidos Montreal took over from Crystal Dynamics as the game's lead developer for the third game.

Sephiroth_dude · 04-10-2018 9:09am

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

Yep Eidos Montreal took over from Crystal Dynamics as the game's lead developer for the third game.

No wonder it feels different.

Mickeroo · 04-10-2018 10:12am

I'm enjoying it well enough but something feels a bit off in the design. I'd say I'm near enoguh the end now and I haven't done a single challenge tomb yet whereas in the other two games I would have done a few along the way without having to consult guides or anything. This one more so than the previous two seems to be on rails and not encouraging the player to go explore all that much.

maximoose · 04-10-2018 10:32am

Mickeroo wrote: »

I'd say I'm near enoguh the end now and I haven't done a single challenge tomb whereas in the other two games I would have done a few along the way without having to consult guides or anything

Really? There's definitely some littered around the main areas from early on in the game, from the plane crash site on IIRC. There are some that you have to do a good bit of exploring to find but most I found naturally

Sephiroth_dude · 04-10-2018 1:16pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

I haven't done a single challenge tomb yet whereas in the other two games I would have done a few along the way without having to consult guides or anything. .

Same here!

04-10-2018 10:43pm

I saw this mentioned in the reviews thought maybe it was patched as in my runs it tells you there is one near by when you get close. You'd have to have just run to the main mission marker all the time and not done any exploration. Crypts and tombs even show up on the map once you've been near them I think.

On my DO NG+ run thats just what I did headed to the marker but even then I'd say I was told a few times of tombs near by.

Sephiroth_dude · 05-10-2018 1:44am

Is it just me or does Jonah look completely different in this game?

Exclamation Marc · 05-10-2018 2:51am

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Is it just me or does Jonah look completely different in this game?

You're not wrong there. Behold the 'evolution' of Jonah...

I think that the second iteration is the outlier funnily enough.

Sight808 · 13-10-2018 5:04pm

Finished it off earlier on PC. Overall I liked it, the story was good, graphics and sound were excellent.

Few things that did annoy me, the jumping mechanics are wonky as anything, particularly in the scripted events.

The skill tree didn't seem to make much of a difference, particularly the combat skills.

Did a number of tombs/crypts but won't go back to finish them.

Not as good as the first TR, but solid effort. If anyone is thinking of getting it I'd wait until it's lower in price.

wotzgoingon · 14-10-2018 6:52pm

Sight808 wrote: »

Not as good as the first TR, but solid effort. If anyone is thinking of getting it I'd wait until it's lower in price.

I don't agree. Admittedly I'm roughly near half way through and I am finding it really good.

wench · 15-10-2018 9:16pm

Sight808 wrote: »

Not as good as the first TR, but solid effort. If anyone is thinking of getting it I'd wait until it's lower in price.

There wasn't long to wait - now 34% off on steam

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

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