f13.net

It's the only AAA game that got a huge discount, and I have to get it. At $12.50 a pop, it might seem like a sure hit. It's Lara Croft, and to be honest with you all, it's my first Tomb Raider game. Yes, really. I spent the first 30 mins looking for a nude mod that didn't work in DirectX 11, so yeah that's fucked. But let's talk about the gameplay, hmmm?

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/829607/daily/07/01.jpg)

God why have you forsaken me?

The first thirty minutes will be spent in QTE and establish a sense of player's vulnerability. Lara will start out very traumatized, and rightfully so. A sea expedition gone awry - shipwrecked in an island full of psychos - Lara must mash left and right to swing herself around... and mash left and right to climb a slippery slope, and mash E to kick away a psycho. Don't forget to hit F at the right timing or the fucking wolves will snack on Lara's neck.

I really hate QTE, but there's no excuse for a wolf to take up 4 QTE passes just to beat if you fail a bow shot from 2 metre (they give you auto-slowmotion but still!). The crafting is weak, with the universal currency of 'salvage' taking its place. How does killing a chicken contribute to a pistol mod? God knows, but that's how Tomb Raider upgrade system works. Sooner or later, the player would just slaughter every animal and human in his way to unlock the next upgrade.

The exploration is slightly better, but the 'open world' felt like a corridor at times. I do like the jumping and climbing exploration at some point. Vertical exploration is interesting. Climb on surfaces, grab a ledge, get up there, jump off to another roof, slip down a zip line, continue on. So forth.

HOW FUCKING EVER.

MOTION SICKNESS CLAIMS ME AFTER 1 HOUR DOING THAT.
AND SO I CANNOT SAY THIS IS FUN.
I WILL NOT CONTINUE PLAYING THIS GAME.
THANK YOU EVERYONE.
NOW I WILL TAKE PARACETAMOL AND DIAZEPAM.

Your mileage may vary, but I think I made a bad purchase decision.

This is actually the only 360 game I have purchased in the last two years, and I'm not disappointed at all - I actually sprinted through it.

I don't like crafting much usually, so the "easy-ness" of the system here doesn't bother. I'm normally not much of an explorer either, but did a fair bit here, even going back to 100% some areas.

Combat was ok, though much less acrobatic than previous iterations. However, killing dudes by slamming rocks into their faces is always fun.

The QTEs don't really bother me much. I had plenty of fun with it, and would play future entries.