Wild creatures of the night scavenge amidst the foliage of the island jungle and scriptural monstrosities slither through its undergrowth.
She awoke alone with an agonizing pan in her sides. She had survived the waters of the Devil's Triangle, but not without injury. A young shipwrecked Lara Croft takes her first steps through the wilderness and begins her journey of self-discovery.
Crystal Dynamic's upcoming Tomb Raider reboot will showcase a clumsy and inexperienced Croft, as she becomes a survivor and an amateur adventurer. The new game will release on March 5 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC. Several video game publications have had an opportunity to test drive the new game and here is what they are saying:
Jeffrey Wilson of PCMag.com has played a recent build of the new game and described Lara's latest adventure as much different from previous entries in the franchise.
He explains a sequence where Lara Croft traverses through an enemy camp, while her hands are tied. According to Wilson, the player is tasked with remaining unseen and must avoid detection by heavily armed-guards. This section of the game ends with a quick time event, where Lara must disarm one of the guards.
Wilson writes, "This is where the new Tomb Raider differs from the older series entries. Lara, in years past, would have simply moved on to another combat sequence, but in Tomb Raider 2013 she feels the impact of taking a human life. She breaks down a bit, and though the sequence wasn't as impactful as I would've liked, it did humanize the character. Lara's no longer just a pair with guns, which is a welcome change."
PCGamer's Rich McCormick explains how Lara struggles with nearly everything in the early goings of the game. McCormick writes that these moments are there to create tension, but that they ultimately fall short.
McCormick writes, "Sometimes, Lara slips and tumbles as I'm pressing the thumbstick forward: collapsing into a heap after diving past a falling rock, missing a handhold halfway up a radio mast. It's meant to feel thrilling, moments of near-death to keep the pulse racing. It succeeds instead in frustrating me. I can see the obvious coming, but I can't avoid it."
According to McCormick, the game is similar to the PlayStation 3's Uncharted series, but it features a much darker narrative. He writes, "Crystal Dynamics want players to guide Lara through adversity, to help her find her strength and will to survive. Her predicament looks harrowing, but such is the lack of meaningful interaction, she might do just fine without your help."
PCMag's Wilson is much more upbeat about the new game and writes that fans of the series do not need to worry that the game will change as dramatically as Capcom and Ninja Theory's reboot of the Devil May Cry series.
"Tomb Raider feels very much like a fresh start-a fresh start that manages to keep the essence of the character and series, Wilson writes. "Franchise fans need not fear that Tomb Raider will suffer DmC's fate."
You can check out PCMag's preview here and PC Gamer UK's preview here.
Tomb Raider will release on March 5, 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Check out five facts about Lara's latest game here. Learn more about Lara Croft's personal journey here and here. Find out about Lara's inability to swim here. Learn more about Tomb Raider's multiplayer mode here.
