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Old 30-04-19, 18:56   #1
Maverin
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Default The classics combat was extremely easy

Unpopular opinion incoming:

I think that all the classics ranging from TR1 up till Chronicles are extremely easy when it comes to the combat. I've always been playing the games pistols only and no-scratch challenge, even as a child I never used anything besides the pistols and never used any medipacks because I was scared I'd run out of them once I reached the tougher enemies at the final stages. However, as time passed I just adapted that playstyle permanently and never used what I had been saving up all that time anyway.

That's why I decided to replay the games again, but this time as intended: using medipacks, using all the weapons and just play with the flow. Everyone is always talking about how hard these games are but surely you're not talking about the combat? I've never played games easier than these ones really, and I'm not saying this to brag. Almost all the enemies have very low HP and weapons hit really hard. You are basically being bombarded with ammunition and medipacks in every level and the A.I. is so plainly coded that you can outwit them almost all the time. These games are one of the best puzzle games out there, and that's where they shine and where the difficulty lies. But combat? Absolutely not.

What are your opinions? Do you feel differently and why? Genuinely curious
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Old 30-04-19, 19:11   #2
NoahCrofRaider
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I agree. This is why I personally still feel like the reboot's combat is much more challenging and requires more thought, and I don't say that just because I'm a noob sometimes when it comes to third-person shooters.

Nonetheless, the classics' gameplay is tons of fun and having the loads of appealing weapons is such a great reward.
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Old 30-04-19, 20:07   #3
Samz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maverin View Post
Unpopular opinion incoming:

I think that all the classics ranging from TR1 up till Chronicles are extremely easy when it comes to the combat. I've always been playing the games pistols only and no-scratch challenge, even as a child I never used anything besides the pistols and never used any medipacks because I was scared I'd run out of them once I reached the tougher enemies at the final stages. However, as time passed I just adapted that playstyle permanently and never used what I had been saving up all that time anyway.

That's why I decided to replay the games again, but this time as intended: using medipacks, using all the weapons and just play with the flow. Everyone is always talking about how hard these games are but surely you're not talking about the combat? I've never played games easier than these ones really, and I'm not saying this to brag. Almost all the enemies have very low HP and weapons hit really hard. You are basically being bombarded with ammunition and medipacks in every level and the A.I. is so plainly coded that you can outwit them almost all the time. These games are one of the best puzzle games out there, and that's where they shine and where the difficulty lies. But combat? Absolutely not.

What are your opinions? Do you feel differently and why? Genuinely curious
I found the Atlanteans kicked my ass sometimes.

As well as dying alot in TR2 on my current playthrough because I thought it'd be fun to kill the monks and now I'm trying to make every medpack last as long as possible due to constantly being out of them.

TR3's combat difficulty basically boils down to when you do Nevada and how good you are at finding secrets.

AOD has a risk/reward element with how damage scales according to distance, since getting close saves ammo but can mean a single Cabal trooper can kill Lara in a single burst sometimes and stealth kills require Lara to actually get behind the person while slowly walking rather than the magically completely silent headshot that's an industry standard for some reason nowadays.

Its admittingly not super difficult since alot of the difficulty comes from them having traps/difficult platforming (More things pretty much missing from the Reboots.) but 2013 is one of the easiest TPS games ever so it still ends up way easier than most of the classics.
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Old 01-05-19, 00:33   #4
JoelCaesar
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Absolutely. Except for maybe the latter levels of TRII and TRIII you can certainly kill every enemy with only using the dual pistols. The combat in TRIV and TRC was probably the easiest. You are right in saying that the challenge comes from the puzzles and exploration rather than combat.
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Old 01-05-19, 00:55   #5
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I don't think that's an unpopular opinion. Combat in the classics is easy because it's automatic.

A combination of Legend's acrobatic combat (I unabashedly love how Lara jumps off enemies in slow motion), with the new manual aim shooting would be ideal.
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Old 01-05-19, 04:31   #6
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I like to think the classics' combat was easy because it was not the most important aspect of the game. The classics derived their difficulty from the puzzles, the environment, the traps and the player's inventory and wits.

Enemies were just there to push you towards those other aspects, sometimes literally *flashbacks of all levels with chasms and flying enemies*

Other times, enemies were there to mess up your perfect inventory, whether by taking your weapons (Natla's Mines, Nevada, Offshore Rig), obstructing your access to some items (enemies who block a secret's location) or just plain taking them (I'm looking at you, damned medipack-stealing monkeys!).
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Old 02-05-19, 08:06   #7
dg1995
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Yeah. Because combat was not the main aspect.

TR keeps giving you too much ammunition and health packs.

But in TR 3, Bossfights were harder because every bossfight was like a puzzle.(Bossfights were good imo)
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Old 03-05-19, 01:23   #8
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I still remember getting killed by bats in TR1 - it was all about figuring out the controls. Which is still true on Android, my first time using a Playstation controller...

Naw, "combat" was always a breeze in the classics, except the boss fights in TR3! I still find them quite hard actually, all the jumping, if only on my fingers (Oops, I mean Legend, not TR3).

It's the jumps/non-grabs that usually kill you, even though you pressed all the keys in the right sequence (not true, usually).

Last edited by GnautKrax; 03-05-19 at 01:29.
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Old 06-05-19, 02:12   #9
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I think it's a fundamental game-play flaw combined with AI limitations.

TR levels are huge and most of the game-play is exploring little corners and hidden rooms. Going out of your way exploring new area's should be rewarded, but placing 30 secrets in one level makes them completely meaningless, thus some extra ammo or medipacks are giving for the easier-to-find area's. However, because the levels are so huge, it's easy to build quite a collection of stuff over the game.

As for the combat in the classics, it should be used as a way to give some variation to the exploring and break repetitiveness, not to replace it. So there can only be a limited number of enemies. Giving the enemies extra health makes the combat only drag on, while increased damage can make it unfair for newer players (classics should have a difficulty mode). Worst part is that all the enemies can be divided in two groups: close combat and ranged.

I think...
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