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Old 22-06-21, 00:42   #1
charmedangelin
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Default Where do you currently stand with Tomb Raider and it's many eras?

Given all this time passing since Shadow released and the celebrations going on with TR25, where do you formally stand with the franchise as a whole? Where do you stand on the many eras that TR had?

Core Classic Era: I still love this era of TR the most, it's what got me into the franchise in the first place. TR3 is still my favorite TR game from this era and will forever remain my personal favorite in the entire franchise. Through the years I've come to see that the games had some flaws, especially in the later part of this era starting with TR4, but this era will always be timeless to me.

Crystal Classic Era (LAU): I always loved the LAU games, I still remember my excitement when I saw the trailer for TR Legend. It had felt like years had passed since AOD and I was thrilled to see TR return. I was especially happy that I could use her Duals again, given their absence in AOD. Anniversary really made me fall in love with this era though, definitely my favorite Crystal Classic game. Underworld was good too, but I feel like it was only good in certain parts. My biggest gripe though, especially with Legend and Underworld was always how short these games were. I wished they were properly long TR games.

Crystal Surviver (Reboot) Era: Now I have dragged this era through the mud the most. Despite how much I hated this era with a passion, when 2013 came out, I actually initially enjoyed it. Especially with 2013s ending I couldn't be more hyped for TR if I tried. What killed it for me was Rise, I remember hearing about how she wasn't going to be using her dual pistols and I didn't like the character regression she seemed to have in Rise. This my hate for the reboot came about. And I've endured many bans because of the many drama I got in because I just could not stand this era period. Then Shadow came out and I was hyped at first, but then saddened as it felt like more of the same. However after spending much time with the reboots and making friends on other social media platforms I came to appreciate it this era for what Crystal tried to do with it. I even went out and bought the reboot comics and was surprised as how much I actually enjoyed them. Currently I don't really have an issue with this era like I did before. It came and it went and it's a part of TR now. So currently I'm just as fine with the reboot era as I was with the LAU era.

I'm eager to see what Unified Era will bring and what your thoughts are.

Last edited by charmedangelin; 22-06-21 at 00:46.
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Old 22-06-21, 02:30   #2
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I've enjoyed all eras throughout the years, but my heart will always go with the Core classic era the most. My first TR experience was in 1999/2000, when I played TR1 for the first time on a PC demo disc, shortly after I was able to get my first PS1 with this game & then I got all the sequels as I was immediately hooked. I have to admit I didn't like AOD all that much when I first played it as the game felt so alien to me - but it was the first ever video game I completed in full. Now I consider AOD to have the best story & music in the franchise. These days, I play the classic games the most.

Favourite Core classic game(s): TR1, TR2 & TR4 (I still enjoy 3 & Chronicles though)

I was so hyped for Legend when it was coming out, I vividly remember watching the teaser trailers on the IGN & GameSpot sites back in the day. I think the highlight of the LAU era was seeing the Underworld teaser trailer for the first time, with Lara's Doppelgänger destroying Croft Manor. Although I'm not too keen on Underworld as a game, it had some nice moments but I much enjoy Legend as a whole game more.

Favourite LAU game: I love Legend, but it has to go to Anniversary.

I still enjoy the reboot games, it's not my favourite era & I'm not too keen on Lara's character (especially in Shadow) but I still think the games are enjoyable. In fact I think the reboot games provide a much deeper gameplay experience than the LAU games.

Favourite survivor reboot game: Rise of the Tomb Raider (as it felt the most polished, but Shadow had better tomb exploration overall)

In regards to the future unified era, I'm excited to see what will come out of it - but at the same time I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm learning to keep my expectations low.
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Old 22-06-21, 02:57   #3
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It keeps getting worse with each game, but I just can’t bring myself to look away... like with a car crash.
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Old 22-06-21, 03:08   #4
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I like the classic era with Core Lara but don't like the LAU era and don't have any experiences with the reboot Lara. I suspect that I would think less highly of the reboot era than the classic era but who's to say.
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Old 22-06-21, 03:53   #5
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I love the Classic series and is definitely my preferred era for both the gameplay and Lara's characterization. The level design is my favorite aspect of the Classic games. History was one of my favorite subjects in school and I liked how Lara visited different areas across the globe. I love how Lara is portrayed as a morally grey character. She reminds me of Dexter Morgan where she has her own moral compass when it comes to handling her business. TRI and TRII are my all time favorite games in the series, and TRIII and TRIV are not too far behind it. On the flip side, TRC and AOD are my least favorite games despite being from my favorite era.

I have mixed feelings about the LAU era. To me, the games from this era are all forgettable except for Legends. I love Legends and felt that it was a pretty good introduction for Crystal. Anniversary and Underworld, on the other hand, are so bland and forgettable that I haven't even touched them since they were first released. They are probably the most 2000's games ever. I do love Keeley Hawes as Lara though. I hate the family drama though and it's possibly worst than the Reboot games.

I like the Reboot era for the most part. Even though TR2013 strayed away from the original formula, I do think it was a good starting point for the new Lara. I like some of the new gameplay elements in the Reboot games like the documents and relics and the hidden tombs. I wish they would've expanded on these features and brought back more Classic elements in one of the sequels, preferably in Rise. I have mixed feelings about Reboot Lara, but my biggest complaint is how they dragged the origin story on for 3 whole games. I'm definitely looking forward to change after 3 similar playing games (same feelings I felt about the Classic and LAU games as well.).
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Old 22-06-21, 04:56   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by .snake. View Post
It keeps getting worse with each game, but I just can’t bring myself to look away... like with a car crash.
same
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Old 22-06-21, 05:35   #7
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I never felt too strongly about the TR franchise. They are all fun games, but I feel that they could have done so much more with the premise. They are kind of trying things which are waay outside the formula of The original games. I feel strongly against the hub locations in the reboot games And I felt that the larger environments in the Underworld felt too empty, while Legend was too corridor like. Lol, I mean is it really that hard to find a balance?

I kind of disliked the classics after TRII as well. All water related vehicles in the TRIII were a nightmare to control. AOD tried something different, but after the second half of the game it also deviated too much from the TR formula.

I really loved the Lost Artifact, and how colorful it was. Easter eggs in those levels were really fun too. Each era had something unique about it, and I like them for it. I loved the Thor's Hammer and the Excalibur but there could have been so much more to them.

Maybe they should go back to the First TR game and examine it a bit more? Because I feel that the first game has the perfect plot for a TR game. A vague myth about a lost city, three rulers, one of which is still alive, and an artifact that could bring back their lost race. They could do something with the mutants as well. Lara evolves from a simple adventurer to a legend, in one game. ( They more or less used this formula many times, and maybe sometimes cliche's are better?)

I am optimistic about the unified timeline.
I really feel that they could mix the best parts of all the TR games and create something unique and beautiful, while the using first TR games is used as a template, and re-introducing old plot lines that were done a bit poorly in the past.
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Old 22-06-21, 07:00   #8
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I have played all the main games, but honestly my heart stayed with Core's games. I like that version of Lara and I appreciate the replayability of the classics. Even though LAU were the ones I bought and played the moment they were released I never formed an especially high fondness of them. I'm still very sad that I missed the entire Core era, but I didn't even have internet back then so oh well, tough luck.

Another reason why I'm still a Core fan is simply because Core released a toolkit for custom levels. This made the classics so much more resilient since I can always get a classic experience, but in a completely new form. Maybe if LAU/Reboob had a modding kit I would have switched as well, but until then I'm still with Core.
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Old 22-06-21, 10:49   #9
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im currently sitting
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Old 22-06-21, 10:50   #10
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I don't necessarily hate any of the eras although the classics are my favourites and probably will always be.

At first I loved the LAU games, then started hating them and now I quite like them again. I have many issues with those games but they're still quite fun to play and I've especially come to like LAU Lara a lot even though I still prefer Classic Lara.

As for the Survivor era, my opinion of these games change a lot. I don't dislike any of them but in my opinion this era had so much potential but they ruined it starting with Rise. With Rise, they started going in a better direction gameplay wise but they pretty much ruined everything else, especially Lara's character and the story.

Sadly after a year about Shadow's release, I've realized how much I started caring less about the future of the series. Shadow just came and went and was very disappointing in a lot of areas. TR25 is terrible and it was one of the biggest turn offs for me about the series, seeing how TR was being treated. I don't really care much about TR25 anymore except AOD and Legend arts.

I am hopeful for the "unified era", it was a great decision but I can't help but feel like they're going to mess it up again in some way. I can say that the next game is either going to save my interest in the future of the series or it's going to ruin it completely.
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