Tomb Raider Forums  

Go Back   Tomb Raider Forums > Tomb Raider Series > Tomb Raider

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 10-05-16, 23:37   #1
Horus-Goddess
Member
 
Horus-Goddess's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,390
Default Tried TR2013 again after Rise did a 180 on my opinion

Well, since I've really enjoyed Rise of the TR, I decided to go back and try replaying TR2013. I really was not a huge fan of TR2013, in fact I had thought it'd be the last time I got a new TR game. I remembered the characters being awfully cliche, the game feeling on-rails at times, especially in the QTE department. I remember too much combat where the player is stuck in massive gunfights without choice in how to approach it... puzzles being too easy, the list goes on.

Playing it over again now, sadly I can't honestly say it's much better than I remember, though perhaps the story isn't as cringe-worthy as I remember it. Taken as a completely different game franchise, without any influence on my opinion from previous TRs, it is okay. Lara is just an ordinary girl thrown into hell and has to survive it. That much is easy enough to grasp. She finds her strength when put up against a wall and overcomes it and the challenges ahead.

The supporting cast are still rather cliche but not as annoying to me as I recall. While predictable, I can't say I ever outright hated any of them (although I'm rather annoyed by Whitman but that's sort of the point of his character).

As far as gameplay is concerned, it's like Rise on super-easy mode. Many areas are very linear especially in the beginning. The cave in the very beginning of the game is probably my least favourite part of the entire game, and really doesn't set the mood very well (at least for me). If it were a movie, then perhaps it gets the job done but as a game, it's extremely ... well, QTE heavy almost feels like an understatement. Gameplay like this makes me feel insulted as a gamer somehow. Like they feel they have to dumb down the game so much to where all we have to do is mash a few buttons at the given intervals (or just press forward to accomplish dangerous feats like the balancing act on the log beam in the beginning).

In these kinds of segments in games, not just new TR, it feels more like we're just along for the ride rather than actually playing it. To me the beauty of games is the experience, being in full control and interacting with the environment with what tools they give us.

The only segments of the game I really feel like I'm playing a game, are where they give me more than one linear route to take or explore. There are some hubs like this thankfully, but you have to generally clear out the rabble first (ie, massive gunfights in some cases). Shanty Town would have been a great hub base if not for the huge gunfight within it.

I don't generally mind combat heavy sequences in Rise, but that might be because there are fewer numbers of enemies to deal with at any given time (other than the end which always ramps up in these new TRs). There are some areas in 2013 that gives the player the option to stealth (which I prefer doing) but the ones where it's forced shootouts annoys me greatly. Lara having to single-handedly take out armies, especially in an origin story like this one, just seems extremely unlikely. I know it's a game, and combat was something they really wanted to focus on, but to me it doesn't really fit the narrative very well at all. But this is all something that's been criticised numerous times before here on the forums and in review sites.

If you go off the beaten path and into the puzzle tombs, things calm down quite a bit more and we're given some "alone time" which I've always preferred in TR games. That's usually my sanctuary, is the moments of quiet puzzle solving. I'm grateful CD included them, but as has been mentioned many times before, the puzzles are also extremely simple. I'd forgotten just how simple some of them were to be honest.

I'm just really not certain what changed so drastically between TR2013 and Rise that did a practical 180 in my opinion of the new game. I wanted to believe that perhaps I'd just been too harsh and misjudged the work done on the first reboot game, but sadly I'm just confirming it all over again. I'm not through the game to the end again yet, not sure I will at this point. Where with Rise I'm on my third playthrough after owning it just for a few weeks, and enjoy it immensely (technically my first playthrough was back in December on my Xbox360, only just bought it for PC last month).

Gameplay mechanics are much the same in Rise with many improvements. Puzzles are a bit smarter and take a bit longer to figure out than in 2013. Combat can be more varied and is more up to the player to decide how they want to approach it. The hubs also feel larger and the game feels less linear somehow (even though there are still many linear sections)... I'm really not sure what it is about it that's different enough to make me change my opinion so much.

If it means anything to reboot fans, I really do want to like TR2013 but I can't change the fact that I don't. But what I will say is I'm just glad they improved so much with Rise, as I would have been very disappointed if it was more of exactly the same. There's much more to it than just what I've mentioned here, but I feel that I've probably rambled more than enough!

I guess what I will ask is, is there anyone else who feels the same? What changed in Rise that you liked better or worse? How do you feel about the reboot games in general? Did you feel differently after playing Rise or is it just more of the same to you?

I don't know if I consider them true TR games, but I honestly don't think they are that bad. As a modern take on an older game series, it was a decent effort. Not perfect, and I think it could have been better, but it isn't the absolute worst.

I think the only thing I have to complain about is Lara's characterization/story lacking so much that the original had. She is so very different from the one I grew up with and love, but objectively, she also has good and admirable traits if I'm being completely honest. Everything else about my own preferences in gameplay is something that can always be improved (and they have improved upon it, in my opinion). So long as they keep improving, I don't forsee myself not at least enjoying the upcoming new games to some extent.

Last edited by Horus-Goddess; 11-05-16 at 04:47.
Horus-Goddess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 02:18   #2
pipermaru
Member
 
pipermaru's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,914
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Horus-Goddess View Post
I guess what I will ask is, is there anyone else who feels the same? What changed in Rise that you liked better or worse? How do you feel about the reboot games in general? Did you feel differently after playing Rise or is it just more of the same to you?
Yes, I feel the same.

I think TR2013 is technically a excellent game, but very flawed in its concept. Not only because it's not remotely similar to Tomb Raider, but because the game fails to convey its main themes and motifs (survival, innocence lost, fragility) into the gameplay. The mechanics don't complement the story at all. The level design, platforming and puzzles are very simplistic and uninspired.

Rise improved everything. The level design, the platforming, the puzzles, the combat, the exploration, the acting, the writing... they're all superior. But when it comes to variety, character development within the story (as in: you can see Lara growing during the game in front of your eyes) and art style, I still prefer the reboot.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the reboot era. They're good games, but in the last years I've been distancing myself more and more from AAA gaming. It's just not that interesting to me anymore. I don't see creativity and innovation there at all, and I prefer indie games.

And I also question a lot of creative decisions from CD and Square Enix when it comes to their new vision of Tomb Raider. I've been rambling about this for years, but I do think they made a mistake trying to reboot the series while still using the popular imaginary for Lara Croft as a PR strategy. That's why 6 years after the first reboot picture we still have people wanting "Classic Lara back" when they're clearly going somewhere else with the franchise. This is what happens when you create a brand new product using the image of another to promote it. I don't blame them, though.

I didn't play TR2013 again, but I watched some walkthroughs (watching walkthroughs help me to sleep ) and I see how much they listened to the fans and the critics while crafting Rise. I hope they still continue to be receptive to the feedback and improve the next game. Honestly, what really needs improving now are small details. The tone, the acting, the styling, the difficulty. And that's relatively easy to do without compromising their vision.

Last edited by pipermaru; 11-05-16 at 03:43.
pipermaru is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 02:30   #3
Dream
Member
 
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 2,042
Default

I'm really glad you're enjoying rise.

For me I played the reboot with optimism and was excited only to be dreadfully disappointed.
For rise, I borrowed and I tried hard to like it and get over my anger with the reboot.
I ****ing tried, but its just the same old thing and lara's personality combined with looking completely and utterly different with the terrible writing (IMO) I just couldn't get rid of the feeling that if the game and lara had different names, Nobody would be none the wiser that it was a tomb raider.
I still feel angry and bitter that my hero has been reduced to what she is now but whatever I guess, Boo hoo for me.

I knew rise was going to suck for me and honestly? Sometimes I hate being right. I'm just sad about it honestly.

Last edited by Dream; 11-05-16 at 02:33.
Dream is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 03:34   #4
Shark_Blade
Member
 
Shark_Blade's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 36,597
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dream View Post
I'm really glad you're enjoying rise.

For me I played the reboot with optimism and was excited only to be dreadfully disappointed.
For rise, I borrowed and I tried hard to like it and get over my anger with the reboot.
I ****ing tried, but its just the same old thing and lara's personality combined with looking completely and utterly different with the terrible writing (IMO) I just couldn't get rid of the feeling that if the game and lara had different names, Nobody would be none the wiser that it was a tomb raider.
I still feel angry and bitter that my hero has been reduced to what she is now but whatever I guess, Boo hoo for me.

I knew rise was going to suck for me and honestly? Sometimes I hate being right. I'm just sad about it honestly.
I feel the same. I couldn't even bother to finish the game at all, the heavy shooting at the last levels are so boring. This is the first TR that I never finish tbh.
Shark_Blade is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 09:13   #5
Heidi_w_
Member
 
Heidi_w_'s Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 2,730
Default

For me it was Lara's characterization in Survivor that drew me into the TR franchise -- I'd never been all that interested in her prior to that. I guess in that sense I was able to play Survivor (and Rise) without having a preconception of what had come before -- to an extent anyway (even though I'd never personally played the classics I'd seen them played enough to know what they entailed).

As with any reboot, some fans will be unhappy while others will be thrilled. I'm lucky enough to be part of the latter
Heidi_w_ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 12:19   #6
Lara_Fan1
Member
 
Lara_Fan1's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 15,258
Default

^

You like a game, I really fail to see how luck plays a part in that.
Lara_Fan1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 13:20   #7
ESCachuli
Member
 
ESCachuli's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 3,271
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lara_Fan1 View Post
^

You like a game, I really fail to see how luck plays a part in that.
Well, he likes the game and he is lucky because next game is gonna be similar to the games he likes.

I don't like the direction of the saga, so he is luckier than me.
ESCachuli is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 13:22   #8
Trenton
Member
 
Trenton's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 19,214
Default

^^I'm thinking it probably is a case of luck or fortune if a games series gets completely overhauled and rebooted and those changes just happens to be exactly the things you enjoy in a game. IDK.
Trenton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 14:07   #9
Chamayoo
Member
 
Chamayoo's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 10,492
Default

I feel exactly the same. Exactly !
Chamayoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-16, 15:48   #10
Heidi_w_
Member
 
Heidi_w_'s Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 2,730
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lara_Fan1 View Post
You like a game, I really fail to see how luck plays a part in that.
Lucky, fortunate enough, blessed, etc, whatever you want to call it. I've never been one to succumb to the negativity bias, so I tend to channel my energies to things I like -- things I don't like I generally walk away from and hardly give them a second thought.

So, yeah, I'm intensely grateful this incarnation of Lara appeals to me on so many levels; I'd like to see CD take a few more narrative risks (the originally planned opening to Rise would've been so awesome, for one), but on the whole I'm really happy with the direction the games are going.
Heidi_w_ is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT. The time now is 10:38.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Tomb Raider Forums is not owned or operated by CDE Entertainment Ltd.
Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are trademarks of CDE Entertainment Ltd.