Videogame review: Lara Croft gets smaller bust, better gameplay for PS3

For gamers who grew up in the late 1990s, the first six “Tomb Raider” games developed by Core Design and the four sequels by Crystal Dynamics are at the heart of their love affair with everyone's favorite female archaeologist. 

 

And let’s not forget the comic books, novels, theme park rides and, of course, the movies. Specifically the stunning Angelina Jolie helped out by a few, ahem, minor enhancements (with the body double skills of Bond Girl Rachel Grant) in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and the sequel “The Cradle of Life.” 

 

I doubt few will contest Lara Croft's title of "Most Successful Human Virtual Game Heroine,” conferred by the Guinness Book of World Records. 

 

But now, the most iconic woman in gaming —unforgettable as much for her tomb raiding skills as for her, uhm, other assets— has "downsized", but for the better.

 

Outrageous rack not included 

 

So let me say this about the new 3rd-person “Tomb Raider” adventure game for PS3: smaller cup size, more awesomesauce. 

 

There may be less of Lara’s bust or juicy parts in short shorts but there is certainly more to love with this reboot. And I do mean you will love this game. In fact, I am confident enough to urge you to stop what you're reading and go out and buy the game. Do it. Then come back and continue scrolling down as you install.  

 

A vulnerable heroine and a compelling origin story make for fun times full of drama, pathos, and the brutal choices that make up Croft’s coming of age. “Uncharted’s” Nathan Drake has a strong contender to the adventure gaming throne. Accept no substitutes.    

   

We begin on a ship called Endurance, captained by Conrad Roth —a treasure hunter, outdoorsman of fifty odd years, and mentor to Lara— who was a close friend of the elder Croft. This team is on an archaeological mission, in search of the legendary island of Yamatai, fabled home of the Himiko, the Sun Queen. 

 

In an intuitive leap of faith, Lara proposes that this island has never been found because all the previous folks have been searching in the wrong place. To locate said lost island, they must head into the Dragon’s Triangle: sort of like’s Japan’s equivalent of the one in Bermuda. 

 

The rest of the cast protest and say the storms there are for the suicidal, but Roth vetoes them all. 

 

Of course, once they get into said Triangle, a hellacious storm beaches them and splits the ship in half, killing nearly everyone on board. Lara eventually finds herself separated from her team, captured by what seem to be very unfriendly locals (the Solari cultists), and eventually unravels the story of Yamatai. So, hooray Ms. Croft, you found the lost island. Too bad you can’t get off it and tell the world about it.  

 

A 2D supporting cast

 

I’m going to go right ahead and call a spade a spade and declare almost all of Lara’s companions boring. They’re caricatures, they’re 2D. Insert surfer dude cliché (Jonas), insert angry black woman formula (Reyes), cue in the academic greed monger (Whitman). With the probable exception of Samantha (Lara’s hot, Japanese bestie) I really wanted to shoot them all. 

 

Even Roth, Lara’s supposed mentor and surrogate father, could only mouth tired platitudes and rah-rahs along the lines of “You can do this, you’re a Croft.” Gee, thanks for the non-help, fake dad. 

 

Fortunately, the storytelling gets it right with Lara as a great mix of scared and courageous. You will learn to care about her and her feelings, especially since she is so clearly forced by necessity to do all this, even if there’s a slight narrative disconnect where Lara simply jumps to being the killer as she’s put through a baptism of blood.  

 

No, she’s not having a good time with all this aggressive archaeology. Not yet. In one cut scene, she even declares, “God, I hate tombs!” 

 

Whoever put Camilla Luddington in the role of Lara (which you’ve probably already seen from the “Last Hours of Tomb Raider” Youtube virals) deserves a pat on the back for a stroke of casting genius, and props to Ms Luddington as well for pulling off the portrayal of emotional depth and valorous breadth that this game required. 

 

To say that this game adds a whole new dimension to a beloved character is to understate the accomplishment; for some hardcore Tomb Raider fans, this is like the lost years of Jesus. 

 

Superb gameplay, irritating QTEs

 

Platforming here is actually better than in many games that make inventive use of tools to rappel, climb, slide, etc. In fact, it’s darn near flawless. And this is me just coming out of the “Assassin’s Creed 2” and “AC Brotherhood” games where the parkour is deeper and more complex, but also non-intuitive and can cause brain farts at the worst moments —causing the protagonist to plummet to certain death. 

 

Not so with "Tomb Raider". It even shows you where you need to go as subtly as it can without actual handholding (which would just be patronizing). Point being: if you actually mess up, it really IS your fault. Which is to say, the quick time events’ (or QTEs') timed button-presses are another matter entirely. 

 

And there are a lot of them integrated throughout the story and actual gameplay. Mind that these QTEs do help to move us along, but it always reminds us that this is not an open sandbox game but rather a linear, quasi one. 

 

Still, until they find a new way to move the story forward, then the QTE presses, coupled with the occasional puzzle-solving in tombs (and there are a measly seven tombs in all), made me feel both clever and dextrous. This is considering that I played through it all on Normal difficulty with a broken pinkie finger. 

 

The combat system is vaguely patterned after the GTA one, where Lara will automatically hide behind available cover, as long as you can move her there. It’s pretty well-balanced but doesn’t give you too many options as to how to move, except for a tap on the O button to scramble and dodge. My biggest complaint being the ambush combat scenarios where, often, you’ll need to fight off wave after wave of bad guys hurling dynamite and molotovs and wielding machetes, that just seems silly after a time as you endeavor to impale as many arrows into the bastards as possible. 

 

But I thought there would more of exploration, since, you know, Lara’s a budding archaeologist! 

 

Hey, girl, nice shot!

 

Where the combat gets it right is with the use of the bow. Which is such a joy to use, especially at higher levels where you get explosive arrows (cue “Rambo” theme) and penetrating arrows (cultists on kebab, anyone?). Get the headshot reticule for your bow right away, when you level up.   

Aside from this, the weapons will be useful not only for shooting baddies but also hunting animals for XP, scavenging around with the crates, and through the pockets of dead enemies. Survivalism is the key to better skills and an all around easier game, plus its RPG feats tree is as streamlined as it is minimalist. 

 

There are also a variety of guns to acquire, like an AK, a shotgun, and a pistol. The pistol, for me, comes a close second to the bow in terms of trigger happiness fun time since the AK rifle is hard to control without requisite upgrades and the shotgun just flat out doesn’t have any killing power even at a distance of near point blank. 

 

How can that unarmored cultist still be standing after two rounds of buckshot at six feet? C’mon!  

 

Speaking of armor, Lara’s spaghetti strap top holds up a little too well for all the wear and tear she goes through. Couldn’t I have picked up one of the DIY flak jackets from the cultists as part of the salvage routine? Perhaps I’d live longer as the bad guys are pretty adept at switching cover and relentlessly attempting hand-to-hand distance because —you know— they think that Lara’s “just a girl”; ergo, easy prey to a machete between the shoulder blades. 

 

Mystery and island beauty 

 

The island’s environment, down to the flora and fauna, is simply gorgeous. And I do mean jaw-droppingly beautiful. At Shipwreck Beach I stopped playing for five whole minuets and just walked around just marvelling at how the waves crashed, the sunlight dappling across the surf and ruined hulks in the maritime graveyard, the crabs crawling over rusted WW2 sputnik mines.  

 

Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have put a lot of love and detail into the graphics that shows on the character models as well. I hear the PC version has the best hair shimmer and movement out of all the platforms. 

 

At the heart of this beauty is the mystery of Yamatai island itself. As Lara pieces together its story, the unfolding myth is captivating and well-constructed for which we must credit lead writer Rhianna Pratchett (daughter of Terry Pratchett, who made the Discworld series of novels).

 

In the spirit of exploration and places still undiscovered, how do you isolate people in an age of shrinking globalization? Shipwreck them on what’s essentially Hotel California, where the wrath of an ancient goddess still holds magical sway, where said deity named Himiko uses storms to strand visitors, and anyone who tries to leave ends up washed back ashore, or fried with lightning. 

 

Speaking of which, such a concept will no doubt resonate with tropical Third World gamers who know why our storms are named after women. 

 

To this end, the developers went all out with the weather effects that are the tools of Himiko’s tantrums, from intensely buffeting winds (that make your controller rumble) to blinding hail that reduces visibility to zilch. 

 

Meaning to say, none of the fumbles will take away the grand, fun time that can be had on this 30 or so hours of a tour de force reboot – yes, it’s easy for veteran gamers, so set it to Hard.  

 

There’s a lot we still haven’t touched on but if you went ahead and took my advice the install is now finished and you’re ready to embark on your solo quest with Lady Croft into a contemporary heart of darkness. I envy you. 

 

I’ll leave you with two pieces of advice: ignore the passable, tacked-on multiplayer; and beware, oh be so aware, of The Oni. — TJD, GMA News All photos courtesy of Crystal Dynamics.