Rise of the Tomb Raider Reviews
Rise of the Tomb Raider is neither a revelation nor a revolution. However, it's still a gorgeous, solid and extremely fun action adventure experience. Even with its familiar platforming and combat, Rise of the Tomb Raider shouldn't be missed.
Rise of the Tomb Raider took aim at perfecting not just its own series, but modern action games as well, which is an ambitious undertaking to say the least. The past decade has seen the genre jump, shoot, and blow stuff up real good with games like Resident Evil 4, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Dead Space. Each redefined what a well-balanced 15-hour experience could be by delivering a compelling narrative, tight gameplay, and outstanding world building. Rise of the Tomb Raider bests even those classics with a character that resonates like no other. Even if it took nearly twenty years for that to happen, this is an adventure worth replaying with a hero who's unforgettable.
Crystal Dynamics have effortlessly done the impossible with Rise of the Tomb Raider, crafting a sequel that is superior to their reboot in every single way possible. It's a bigger, more expansive experience that has a captivating narrative, engrossing gameplay loops and an absolutely stunning presentation. Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best action games ever crafted, and a generational leap forward as the series looks towards the horizon. Lara Croft is in good hands.
While essentially a retread of its predecessor, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a magnificent adventure game, brilliantly combining action genres and letting you play the way you want to.
Crystal Dynamics has made a game that expertly rekindles memories of the series' triumphant past and yet still feels incredibly modern. A captivating romp that should cement Lara as a modern icon.
Lara Croft's latest adventure is a smart, alluring thrill-ride through Siberia.
The gameplay is the star here. Rise of The Tomb Raider does everything Tomb Raider did and does it better, taking a still-growing heroine into an unfamiliar location and unfolding its lethal mysteries as we grow to meet them. This is still not the game it could be, but it's remarkable how quickly Crystal Dynamics has taken a half-dead franchise and turned into one of the most vital experiences on the market today, true to its essential character while still feeling absolutely new. This is the new standard for third-person shooter/adventure games. I want another.
So is Rise of the Tomb Raider Microsoft's answer to Uncharted? Yes and no. It manages to capture the spirit of Sony's series albeit with a darker tone, but its let down by a short campaign and threadbare replayability. There simply isn't enough of a reason to go back to it once you're done. Wait for a discount or till it hits other platforms at a hopefully cheaper price before buying.
As a package Rise of the Tomb Raider is sublime pure Hollywood blockbuster entertainment with the only real negative that some could level is that the minute to minute gameplay presents very little that would be considered groundbreaking or new and at times it might feel similar to the previous iteration. This is really clutching at straws though. Looking at the package as a whole, as a cinematic adventure experience one of this stuff matters. Lara took it up a notch!
Whether you're facing off against giant bears or making a risky jump, Rise of the Tomb Raider is an adrenaline rush
Rise of the Tomb Raider feels like a confident improvement on its predecessor, giving players more tombs, better crafting and increased options for stealth.
The nit-picking aside, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a front runner for action game of the year, if not Game of the Year for 2015. The traversing in a platform adventure is the most fluid and seamless I've ever experienced, and the story gave me chills the more I unraveled, especially with the collectibles I found. It's a downright shame that Rise of the Tomb Raider releases the same day as Fallout 4, as this gem will unfortunately get mostly lost in the shuffle.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is an epic adventure, and it's a story well told and well played.
The story takes bigger risks, and is all the better for it. By no means is it perfect, but the negatives are so slight they don't really warrant full disclosure. This is a bigger, meatier sequel, one that improves on an already great game. And again, it gets the balance right. 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.
Ultimately, Rise of the Tomb Raider is definitely one of the best games released in 2015. It improves on its predecessor massively, and on basically every aspect of the game. It looks better, it plays better, it comes with more and better puzzles, a better story and a better Lara Croft to boot. While the Tomb Raider we got in 2013 wasn't by any means a bad game, I have no hesitation in saying that this is the game that finally does Lara Croft's glorious franchise justice.
A worthwhile follow-up to Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider is also an incremental improvement over its predecessor, with more spectacular sites to explore and sights to behold. And tombs! More tombs!
The old style Tomb Raider is never coming back, but this is a more satisfying compromise than the reboot and a fun alternative to the Uncharted series.
Rise of the Tomb Raider continues Crystal Dynamic's standard of excellence, and creates an introspective and engrossing journey that combines a compelling narrative with fluid, exciting gameplay. Lara Croft is back, better than ever, and this series definitely proves to be the best Tomb Raider experience around.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is not perfect, but the areas in which it lacks are relatively minor technical issues and the story does a great job of picking the player up to ensure that they jump right back into the action if they fall foul of a problem. Once you've beaten the campaign, you'll be tempted by the addictive Score Attack mode, as well as having an eye on playing through the whole thing again to pick up a few more achievements, something which - rarely these days - is no chore. The switch to a style of play that doesn't rely solely on raw firepower is the absolute key to the game's success and that, mixed with a plethora of action-packed adrenaline-boosting scenes, makes Lara's second return an absolute blast to play.
Rise won't have a difficult time standing out among the CODs, Halo 5s, Fallout 4s and MGS5s of the world.