Shadow of the tomb raider review
The camera lingers on sunset-yellow vistas and beautiful temples whenever Lara emerges from the jungle or a cave to discover some new marvel of the ancient world. Sending a poisoned arrow into the thigh of a guard from the jungle canopy before dropping down into the grass and picking off his panicking companions one by one is more interesting than pointing a pistol at them and pressing a button until they fall down.Īs a spectacle, Shadow of the Tomb Raider can compete with the best. Lara has “evolved” here from desperate survivor into a silent killer, which gives the player a welcome break from shooting things. Lara gets caught up in mudslides and earthquakes, scrambles from collapsing buildings and blows up attack helicopters, but instead of hiding behind cover with an assault rifle, more often she crouches unseen in long grass or presses herself against walls, hunting oblivious militiamen in the darkness. Like the first two Tomb Raider games in this modern trilogy by Crystal Dynamics – though this concluding entry was developed by a different studio, Eidos Montréal - Shadow of the Tomb Raider relegates slower-paced exploring, treasure-hunting and puzzling around ancient tombs to make way for high-adrenaline action-movie-style play. It is so silly that you can’t explain it without sounding ridiculous: Lara is chasing a secret militia organisation across the south American continent to prevent them from stealing a silver box and bringing about the end of the world. But it does Lara a disservice, turning her into a deadly mud-camouflaged jungle warrior without much interesting to say, pushed along by a plot that’s more concerned with prophecies and supernatural artefacts than with its main character.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider nails the former, with sumptuous South American locations to climb, dive and rappel around, ranging from ancient Inca cities and missionary crypts to modern-day Peruvian jungles and towns. Meanwhile, we'll look forward to this Tomb Raider emerging from the shadows again one day and taking her rightful spot back in the limelight.T here are two things I’ve always loved about Tomb Raider in all its incarnations over the years: beautiful, exciting and dangerous places to explore, and Lara Croft herself. Nevertheless, we're sure fans of the previous games will enjoy closing out the trilogy. The core mechanics are strong and locations are stunning, but the game's pacing and surprising lack of gunplay seems like a bit of a missed opportunity that makes the gaps in action even more apparent.
Meanwhile, the idea of speaking to numerous non-playable characters and quest-givers creates a whole bunch of human-geography for her to discover, alongside those lonely tombs, for a change. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an interesting step forward for Lara, and the stealth combat works well, although it's under-used. The game also features a photo mode – which is now becoming a gaming standard – so expect lots of lush backpacker-style snaps from your pals soon. You'll go from high-jungle canopies to mountain ranges, then down deep into collapsing caverns and dive into vibrant underwater areas. The game's locations are amazing and certainly the most beautiful our hero has ever visited.