GAMES 11: Tomb Raider Preview
September 23rd, 2011 by Maitham
Tomb Raider is a well known series that started back in the 90′s. But with the years, the game stopped being original and fun. So Crystal Dynamics decided to take a different direction with the series. We were lucky enough to see this 25 mins demo of the new game. This title is a re-imagining of the tomb raider we all know. The demo was a portion of a vertical slice of the game that tells us where the game is headed.
The story of the game is a prequel to the previous titles. It take’s you through the first adventure Lara Croft ever took during which her plane crashes on a mysterious Island. When she wakes up, she finds herself held captive by the natives of the island. In the new game, we see a smart and resourceful Lara but also afraid and vulnerable unlike the Lara we know. The experiences she will go through in this game will shape her into the Lara we all know.The first part of the demo is the same one that was shown in E3 2011. It was sort of a tutorial level teaching you the game mechanics as Lara makes her way out of captivity. We will focus more on the second demo.
The demo is set in a part of the island during a rain storm. In this part, Lara meets Roth who was with her on the airplane. Roth was badly injured during an attack by wolves and Lara needs to get a first aid kit to help him. This is where the gameplay begins. You make your way to a cave up on a mountain by climbing and traversing the world in a very similar fashion to Uncharted games. The objects in the levels are very dynamic and some platforms you get to can collapse and change your approach to the same place. You can use “Survival Instinct” view to see objects that can be manipulated in the environment highlighted much like the Eagle Vision in Assassin’s Creed series. This view will also show you a location beacon and foot tracks to where you are suppose to go. After you get the first aid kit, you make your way out of the cave and encounter some wolves and this is where the game switches to quick time events. After finishing the object, we saw a little bit of the UI. in each area there will be a basecamp where you can access the UI. the UI is divided to 3 parts: Fast Track where you can travel from one basecamp to another, Survival Skills where you use experience points to upgrade skill, and finally the Salvage where you can craft new weapons and equipments.
Tomb Raider looks very promising and has a lot of potential. The sound design and music are both amazing and creates an astonishing atmosphere in this bleak island. The great graphics and lighting also adds to the great atmosphere. Unfortunately, there was no playable demo and we did not see any combat. But we trust Crystal Dynamics to make this game everything we hope for and not just another Uncharted clone.
Release: Fall 2012
