KOCHI: Rise of the Tomb Raider released for the PS4 this week (the Xbox version out few months back), the second in the refurbished version of the long existing Tomb Raider series. Lara Croft has all the elements of a great game: a strong female protagonist, a scenic map and historical treasures that rivals even Uncharted, all this in a Survival game mode — and as much as it pains me to acquiesce, it could’ve been better.
There are several strong points: the sinister music and the undertone of the supernatural gives the game a dark, mature feel — like you are inside the house of a Dementor. The elements of nature are starkly highlighted more than other characters and combat, since this game deals with Lara Croft’s survival in a friendless island. The new series aimed at bringing out a more humanistic version of Lara, a welcome reform, compared to the yesteryear sexist version of the Raider.
The survival genre is a sort of Woman vs. Wild version of Croft — she scavenges for food and utilities to upgrade her primitive weapons, discovers new areas in the island, sets up camps — all while searching for her missing friends and the ominous mystery that surrounds the island’s environment. There are also some mildly interesting puzzle sequences and some satisfying zip-lining. But the gaping inconsistencies in the story dampen the effect of the game’s environment.
Lara expresses her hesitation for physically injuring another person, but the game finds every possible excuse to introduce fight sequences — you end up shooting every enemy soldier behind doorways and boulders. Heck, even the Assassins’ Creed and Hitman can be played completely with lesser kills. Even Batman doesn’t kill! Having taken the ‘risk’ to make a survival game with a female lead, they could’ve added a little more melodrama to the characters, and maybe some stealth sequences.
Yet I refuse to let Lara’s game down — there are options of building skills and open-exploration, unlike its direct rival Uncharted’s no-choice linear plotline. Playing the game leaves you in a pit of loneliness and melancholy — and I’d say that impact speaks more than none at all.
(This economics graduate spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)