Gameplay is extremely fleshed out, every little action has a reaction to either your surroundings or to Lara herself. Drawing your bow will creak slightly and Lara will hold her breath just slightly, harvesting an animal for meat will cause the screen to splatter with light cover of blood and Lara's groans at disgust add to the realism ect ect. However these acts can get a tiny bit annoying over time, even as Lara hardens to the horrible things surrounding her. Which brings me to the vocal acting.
Camilla Laddington makes her video game debut as Lara to which she does an amazing job. Being her first work on a video game is always tough and critics can be harsh, however she performed her role well. Regardless, this is a review and I must be honest. At points, her acting was extremely melodramatic (definition: overacting to push emotional progress) when it came to the normal gameplay. Screaming at thunder despite already been around it for a quarter of the game makes no sense and her constant breathing and staggering even when standing still isn't as effective as it could have been. Her supporting cast really fleshed out and helped create bonds/likability/plot guesses ect and further the storyline.
Graphics, sound effects and musical score are sublime, the scenary is not only frightful but also quite gorgeous, the destruction of the landscape, shelled out WW2 era planes and bunkers to the roaming mountains and forests in the mid of a storm. In true Square Enix fashion, every little step causes a sound effect, especially in the changing weather but the musical score is where the magic is. Music follows you everywhere you go, from the quiet sounds of violins and piano in the sunrise to the booming blast of drums in the heat of fire, the musical score truly adds much depth into the game.
This brings me to the storyline to which I can only describe in one word:
Predictable.
Granted, the beginning gameplay is very enjoyable and the tutorials are extremely helpful, even slowing down gameplay and cutscenes in the heat of the moment truly helps you out. And while the storyline is quite fleshed out and adds in drama, excitement and action, the beginning of the mystery is quite fun but slowly gets more and more predictable, even as I paused gameplay to yell at the screen "I bloody knew it!". The gameplay and furthering storyline does keep you drawn into playing the game, but if you're looking for one huge or many surprises, you won't find much. What confuses me more is the odd cutscenes at times. For example: Despite having a spike go through her side, you never see her directly apply medical care to it, however as she cuts herself later on, after finding a medpack she raps her arm but ignores her spike wound, which she continuously grabs from time to time.
Multiplayer, however, saves face. A evolved leveling system with an easy and plentiful customisation, the online matches feature little to no glitches and the community tends to be on the quiet side. If you're looking for some fun team action, or simply Team Deathmatch, or even Free For All, all the classic modes and more await.
In summery, Tomb Raider delivers what it promised: a well strung out gameplay and storyline of how Lara Croft became the survivalist, became the adventurer and even goes more in depth with her family history. The plot twists and ending is quite predictable to those who pay attention and the acting can be overdone at points, but if you're looking for a game that gives you awesome fight scenes, a slow but even leveling system in the Campaign and a game that draws you back, this might be the one for you.
Out of 10, I give Tomb Raider an 7/10
Good Points
+ Fleshed out gameplay
+ Utterly beautiful graphics & musical score
+ Sound effects are well thought out
+ Multiplayer is awesome
Bad Points
- Voice acting can be melodramatic
- Storyline is predictable
- Some cutscenes are extremely odd
- Some side characters overall pointless, never around
- Lara's heavy breathing = Not sure if me gusta...
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Tomb Raider is out now for the standard price of $90
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