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Comparing Uncharted and Tomb Raider

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VanCityGamer

Member
With the release of Uncharted: Lost Legacy just around the corner, I started to reflect a bit on the Uncharted series. In doing so, It's tough not to compare it to the rebooted Tomb Raider series.

How do you think they compare? Which series do you prefer and why?

They come out really even to me. Uncharted has the significantly better characters and writing. Meanwhile, I appreciate Tomb Raider's more open gameplay approach and the presence of tomb puzzles. I also enjoy the upgradeable weapons and abilities in that series. Gunplay in the two most recent entries is similar, but I'd give a slight edge to Uncharted 4. Graphically, it also gets a slight edge but they're very close. That said, I I enjoyed Rise of the Tomb Raider more than Uncharted 4 overall since the pace was too slow in Uncharted 4. Too much walking around and climbing. Rise of the Tomb Raider's tombs were fun to explore, and it had an excellent balance of thrilling set pieces, gun fights, and exploration. It also has the better collectibles and reasons to explore the environments.

Here is how I would rate each game out of 10:
Uncharted 2: 9.5
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 9.2
Tomb Raider (2013): 9.1
Uncharted 3: 9.0
Uncharted 4: 8.7
Uncharted: 8.5

How would you rate each game?
 
Uncharted was inspired by Tomb Raider and then Tomb Raider got inspired by Uncharted.
Uncharted>Tomb Raider

Though I enjoyed Tomb Raider reboot more than say Uncharted 3.

Uncharted 2>Uncharted 4> Tomb Raider Reboot> Uncharted 3>RoTR>Uncharted 1
 
Ummmm.... Rise of the Tomb Raider is not better than TR Reboot.... Rise has amazing graphics and that's pretty much it. I don't hate that game but it's true.

Uncharted games have their problems but they are mostly enjoyable.

Oh and one more thing.

Nathan Drake was written very well.

Lara Croft IS NOT written well at all. She has NOOO personality and it's a shame.
 
I just finished the Uncharted games and I was truly shocked how bad the first one was, 2 was much better, but it still had these terrible escape sequences and bad shootouts, 3 was good but weaker than 2. 4 is just fantastic imo.
I would put the 2 TR games around UC 2.

UC4
UC2-TR
RotTR
UC3
UC
 
Really did not like the Tomb Raider reboot, and I've got Rise lying around somewhere without ever having played it. I also feel like comparing the two is kind of impossible. Sure, they're similar, but I feel like Uncharted tries to go for the cinematic thing really hard, while Tomb Raider is still an action-adventure game first and foremost. At any rate, they were completely different experiences to me.
 
I like the new Tomb Raider games but the writing and characters are really bad. Still, even if that aspect wasn't bad, I doubt they'd even be on par with the really great characters and writing of the Uncharted series. Even that bland, generic British baddie from UC3 is a better written character than any character from new Tomb Raider.

Outside of that, I had tons of fun with both series.

My ranking:

1- UC2
2- UC4
3- Tomb Raider 2013
4- Rise of TR (haven't finished it yet tho)
5- UC3
6- UC1
 
Personally I vastly liked the Uncharted series more than Tomb Raider. Tomb raider the new one feels like a Lara death simulator at times. Too man grisly deaths and this is coming from a God of War fan. Nate is more relatable than Lara and the uncharted series feels like a summer action film. Not forgetting the uncharted cast is far better than anyone in Tomb raider. I can only name Lara and that's it. The secondary characters are not as good as Uncharted and the banter with the characters especially Sully is very good. And the set pieces in Uncharted are better and more epic than what i've played in Tomb raider.

Mediking said:
Ummmm.... Rise of the Tomb Raider is not better than TR Reboot.... Rise has amazing graphics and that's pretty much it. I don't hate that game but it's true.

Uncharted games have their problems but they are mostly enjoyable.

Oh and one more thing.

Nathan Drake was written very well.

Lara Croft IS NOT written well at all. She has NOOO personality and it's a shame.
Click to expand...

I'd go one further and say the whole rebooted series have no personalty. I'm not as invested in the story and character as i was with the uncharted series.
 
Amy Hennig's original Uncharted 4
Uncharted 3
Uncharted 2
Uncharted 4
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Uncharted


The dialogue, characters, and story in the Tomb Raider games are just painful. Gameplay is basically a wash, but for whatever reason the Tomb Raider games had a lot of input lag on every platform I played them on.
 
this wont end well

with that said, my biggest issues with Tomb Raid Reboot and RotTR are the story and the characters. Its all so boring and meaningless, they didnt really drove me through a playthrough, Uncharted beats them to the ground on these aspects, which is very important to my taste. Drake and his crew are fun, charming and deliver interesting dramatic moments, on the other hand I dont even remember the names of Tomb Raider cast other than Lara. Like, I have no doubt that Chloe will be way more enjoyable as a protagonist on TLL that Lara was on the two games.

I will say they have better design in some points, the more open areas work great for combat and puzzles, and they definitely inspired Uncharted 4 and now The Lost Legacy in that aspect.

But still, Uncharted took that action adventure crown from classic TR and never gave back after the reboot. Ranking them would prob be like

Uncharted 4
Uncharted 2
Rise Of The Tomb Raider/Uncharted 3
Tomb Raider
Uncharted
 
Tomb Raider is good but I personally think it's not even a contest which series is the better one. Uncharted is best in class (2+3+4). All those are 10's in my book, Tomb Raider is around 8.
 
Eh.... as for how I'd rank them:

UC1
TR(2013)
ROTTR

Haven't played UC4, don't like 2 and couldn't power through 3. TR and ROTTR tried real hard to be Uncharted which bugged me. They try to emulate a series that copied a bit from them and come off as a weird copy cat that fails, miserably, at the things it's trying to emulate.
 
Uncharted has better story, characters and presentation and that helps me in seeing those games through the end. Gameplay is a toss up but tomb raider might be objectively better. Personally I am fine with uncharted gameplay as it is serviceable. I tried the tomb raider reboot but couldn't bother past the first 30 minutes as the story and characters just didn't grab me.
 
I like almost everything in UC much more, from gameplay to story to characters. In comparison, I was largely bored with TR2013 and have not been remotely motivated to pick up ROTR.
 
Prefer Tomb Raider a little more gameplay wise, Uncharted for the story/settings. I like both a lot to be honest, find it difficult to pick a definitive choice out of the two.
 
TR games are at their absolute worst when they try to emulate Uncharted(Set pieces, writting/story, interactive cutscenes and combat), and this only got worse in the second game.
Exploration and puzzles/tombs went from good to better. The rest (crafting etc.) is fine, but it always felt little more than filler with how little relevance it has to main game.

Basically the games would be objectively better if focused on exploration and drop the story elements alltogeher, but probably harder to sell to modern audiences.

Uncharted has virtually no exploring(4 Was a step in right direction) and brain dead puzzles, but it actually tells fun stories and production values are spectacular, and there's little to no filler in the games (3 being the worst in that regard).

I don't touch multiplayer in either so no idea how that holds up.
 
I feel Uncharted is better crafted in terms of characters, animation, and just the way Naughty Dog makes them so human. I think in terms of challenge, Uncharted likely gets the nod as the series does tend to throw a variety of different enemy types at you in a given moment. Moreso at least then TR.

The one area I feel TR wins out is weapon feel. I simply enjoy using the firearms and bow more in TR then Uncharted.
 
I like Uncharted better, but I still think the new Tomb Raider games are pretty good. It's true that they wear Uncharted's influence on their sleeve, and I wouldn't mind if they went in a direction that more closely resembled the classic TR formula in the future, but for now, they accomplish what they set out to do fairly well.

It'd never happen, but I think it'd be pretty cool to see some sort of crossover between the two franchises some day, perhaps as some sort of DLC or standalone expansion to a game in either series. Make it like a coop game or something.
 
LegendX48 said:
Eh.... as for how I'd rank them:

UC1
TR(2013)
ROTTR

Haven't played UC4, don't like 2 and couldn't power through 3. TR and ROTTR tried real hard to be Uncharted which bugged me. They try to emulate a series that copied a bit from them and come off as a weird copy cat that fails, miserably, at the things it's trying to emulate.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Some very uncommon opinions here.

Most of all, I don't know that I've ever seen someone say they didn't like Uncharted 2. Why??
 
My favorite parts in TR and Rise was unsurprisingly, exploring old and abandoned tombs, everything else was meh.
Edit: Actually in Rise of TR reading the scrolls and the reveal was pretty interesting.


Uncharted 4 is my favorite of the series now, because of the story it told/presented about the pirates alongside with Nathan and his bro looking for treasure.
 
The story and characters of Uncharted make it stand alone in comparison to a lot of games.

However, I would play the Tomb Raider reboot or Rise of the Tomb Raider over replaying any Uncharted game. Replaying the UC collection it was surprising how much I disliked the first and third games. Even UC4 with its amazing graphics and presentation, the combat toward the end was just not fun for me.

Edit: Ranking
Rise of the Tomb Raider>Tomb Raider Reboot>UC4>UC2>UC3>UC1
 
mindsale said:
Amy Hennig's original Uncharted 4
Uncharted 3
Uncharted 2
Uncharted 4
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Uncharted


The dialogue, characters, and story in the Tomb Raider games are just painful. Gameplay is basically a wash, but for whatever reason the Tomb Raider games had a lot of input lag on every platform I played them on.
Click to expand...

Care to share? We know next to nothing about her OG Uncharted 4.
 
I really tried to like the rebooted Tomb Raider games, but they felt like cheap versions of Uncharted to me.

The first Tomb Raider game I had to drag myself mid game onwards to finish it and Rise I stopped playing very early on and I haven't felt the desire to go back. There's something about both games that just doesn't click with me. I don't know if it's the atmosphere and how serious they take themselves while lacking an engaging narrative or interesting characters.

In contrast, Uncharted is one of my favorite franchises ever and I've really enjoyed all games. I didn't have as much fun with Uncharted 3 and Golden Abyss as I did with the others, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.
 
Here's OP's scale with my own perspective

Uncharted: 6
Uncharted 2: 9.5
Uncharted 3: 9
Uncharted 4: 9.5
Tomb Raider (2013): 9.8
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 9

All scores out of 10

Uncharted 1 is not a great game.
 
I like Uncharted more because it's easier to connect its story to its character - Drake acts like a fucking cartoon, which makes his murder puzzle solving adventures easier to swallow. It's like "Okay. This overgrown baby who has a puzzle fetish is going on adventures murdering everyone around him." It's silly, but the tone of fun adventure is consistent enough that makes me enjoy him as the cartoon that he is and become fond of him, if that makes sense.

Tomb Raider meanwhile feels...a little more disconnected? Like there's a story and there's gameplay that seems to actively make the story worse by virtue of existing. Like Lara's character arc would have been so much more fun for me if not for...well, the core gameplay sorta making me doubt the authenticity of it I suppose.

Both are great games, but I think Uncharted comes across like a tighter package because its tone is more consistent. That's what makes it personally more enjoyable for me.

Don't know about ranking each game individually though.
 
Heckler456 said:
Really did not like the Tomb Raider reboot, and I've got Rise lying around somewhere without ever having played it. I also feel like comparing the two is kind of impossible. Sure, they're similar, but I feel like Uncharted tries to go for the cinematic thing really hard, while Tomb Raider is still an action-adventure game first and foremost. At any rate, they were completely different experiences to me.
Click to expand...

Rise felt much more cinematic than the reboot to me, and that's when the comparison to Uncharted became relevant ; and it really doesn't do TR any favors, as the story and characters are complete trash. Everybody knows Uncharted does these much better.
Rise should have built up on the foundations of 2013 to achieve something great, instead it was more of the same with a fresh coat of paint and more cutscenes. And while it looked great on a technical level, I never had that "wow" moment in Rise you regularly get in Uncharted, because of the very bleak setting.

I think Uncharted 1 and 2 have aged very badly gameplay wise, so Tomb Raider has them beat on that. But that's it really.

Uncharted 4 is the complete package for me. I'm replaying it for the third time right now and the combat feels fantastic. Also the characters and dialogues are leagues ahead of Tomb Raider.
 
Mediking said:
Ummmm.... Rise of the Tomb Raider is not better than TR Reboot.... Rise has amazing graphics and that's pretty much it. I don't hate that game but it's true.

Uncharted games have their problems but they are mostly enjoyable.

Oh and one more thing.

Nathan Drake was written very well.

Lara Croft IS NOT written well at all. She has NOOO personality and it's a shame.
Click to expand...
People need to stop confusing "I don't like this personality" with "has no personality." Lara has a clear character growth from scared college student to survivor to hardened adventurer. Problem with TR is that Lara really has no characters to bounce off of for quiet moments outside of the father figure in the first game.
 
Despite the Tomb Raider reboot franchise obviously being inspired by Uncharted, and both games being "third person action/adventure games with cover shooting, platforming and cinematic setpieces where you discover lost civilizations and ancient secrets", the two series don't actually feel that similar when you're playing. The Tomb Raiders have a sort of "overworld" that is a large connected hub area, which contains optional tombs as well as smaller areas that you go in just for scripted story missions. Uncharted is a more conventional video-game design with a series of levels you enter, complete, and then leave permanently. Tomb Raider also has other metagame aspects like equipment / crafting, base camps to discover and so on. UC4 opened up the combat arenas a little bit and there are a couple of levels where you can drive around a quasi open area and tackle objectives in a few orders, but for most of its runtime it's a strict rollercoaster. Tomb Raider is linear when you're completing a story mission but between them you have a lot more freedom. Both valid design decisions and both work, but they definitely feel different.

For me, Uncharted 2 is the best in that series, and I like the two Tomb Raiders about the same, maybe a small edge to RotTR. I enjoyed RotTR more than Uncharted 4, since I felt that the reduced focus on combat and increased focus on other areas of gameplay made it weaker than it otherwise would have been. For Tomb Raider, the series main weakness is basically that it's not that good at telling a story - the difference in quality of presentation between Uncharted and Tomb Raider is fairly sizeable. For me that's forgivable as long as you deliver in other areas, which I feel they did.

As a comparison, I'd probably say

UC2
RotTR
TR2013
UC4
UC3
.
.
Dog poop
UC1
 
I like both but definitely prefer Tomb Raider (haven't played Uncharted 4 yet)

I felt like Uncharted 1-3 had too many shooting segments for me (at least it felt like they had more than the TR games even though they're longer) & they got frustrating at times. I preferred the combat in TR overall, probably largely due to being able to use a bow rather than guns tbh
I guess I also prefer the more serious tone of TR & how brutal it can be. I also liked that the TR games are mostly set in one location so the whole game feels more interconnected & whilst Uncharted is better on the character front, I do really like 'new' Lara as a character

Uncharted 1-3 have kind of all blurred together for me so I actually just had to look up which is which. Feel like I enjoyed them all pretty equally though so my ranking would be:
Tomb Raider 2013 > ROTTR > Uncharted 1-3

I think I'll like Uncharted 4 more than 1-3 but less than ROTTR
 
mindsale said:
Amy Hennig's original Uncharted 4
Uncharted 3
Uncharted 2
Uncharted 4
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Uncharted


The dialogue, characters, and story in the Tomb Raider games are just painful. Gameplay is basically a wash, but for whatever reason the Tomb Raider games had a lot of input lag on every platform I played them on.
Click to expand...

It's so incredibly disappointing that we didn't get Henig's Uncharted 4. The teaser made it seem much darker and a sibling rivalry would've been more interesting than what we got.
 
Tomb Raider: 7/10
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 8/10
Uncharted 1: 7/10
Uncharted 2: 7/10
Uncharted 3: 8/10
Uncharted 4: 9/10
 
My personal order

1. Tombraider 2013 9.5

I love this game. Whatever it was just worked for me. I really like single location games and the minor Metroid Lite elements were a nice addition.

2. Uncharted 3. 9.1

I'm bias towards this entry because it was my first experience with the uncharted series. Its a wonderful game.

3. Uncharted 1 9.0

Did i mention that i am a succer for single location games. Well technically Uncharted 1 isnt that, but its pretty close. To me it also has the best story/writing out of any of the games in this list. It just lacks a bit of polish and those jetski sections are horrible.

4. Uncharted 2 8.0

Much of what people like about this game is that it in many ways realised the true potential of the Uncharted series. This led to UC3 seemingly feeling derivitive when it came out. Since i played UC3 first that was my expefience with uncharted 2

5. TIED Uncharted 4 and Rise of the Tombraider (N/A)

Got a similar length into both (probably 3-4 hours) and didn't feel the need to continue. Admittedly it was partly because at the time i had a launch model PS4 and it sounded like it was going to blow up when it ran CPU intensive games. However i didnt really like either enough to want to go back to either game.
 
Haven't played RotTR fully yet (only played for a couple of hours on a friend's XBO), and I won't bore you to death with the reasons I didn't like Tomb Raider 2013 (I've stated them before but it would be a hassle to find those posts), so let's just say I like Uncharted a lot more than Tomb Raider.
 
The TR games play a lot better while the Uncharted series tends to have much better production values and better writing altho still not great.
 
I tend to enjoy TR more than Uncharted, because I like upgrading stuff and unlocking abilities. The two games aren't nearly as similar as most of these discussions suggest. Uncharted is very good at being a well-written, linear cover shooter with amazing production values. I'm not knocking it, I've beaten all the original three games multiple times. They're great fun.

TR, on the other hand, has a different gameplay loop. That appeals to me even though the writing is pretty terrible.

But again, I don't know why this is always presented as an either/or--the games scratch different itches.
 
I guess I'd rate them:

1. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune / Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (8.5/10)
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (7.5-8/10)
3. Tomb Raider (2013) (7/10)
4. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (6/10)
5. Rise of the Tomb Raider (5/10)

The TReboot games' main problem when going up against Uncharted is that they borrowed the focus on story and the "cinematic" feeling without actually having good stories to back it up. That's the main reason why they're going to lose out in a comparison. (Uncharted 3 had a pretty bad story, too, so that's why it's a spot below TR2013.) Also, this is me rating the TReboot games as generic action shooters. If I were to rate them as Tomb Raider games, they'd probably be getting 2/10s :p.
 
Tomb Raider: 8/10
It came out of nowhere for me and was a complete surprise. If it had even half decent characters and writing in general, it'd be up with Uncharted 2 for me.

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 7/10
Was pretty much just more of the first, flaws and all. Kinda disappointed me honestly, still enjoyable, but expected bigger improvements.

Uncharted 1: 7/10
Great foundation to build on, but shows it's aged already. I imagine if I replay it again, it'd probably lose another point.

Uncharted 2: 10/10
Took my expectations and slapped me straight across the face, one of my all time favourites. Great characters, still unmatched set-pieces, near perfect pacing and just really fun to play.

Uncharted 3: 8/10
Similar to Rise, in that I was expecting more, it was just built from something that had less flaws (not shit writing, though outside of Drake and co, the writing wasn't great here either).

Uncharted 4: 9/10
By far the best playing out of the rest listed imo, just a damn shame they don't let the combat have much of the spotlight. Still loved my time with it though and thought it was a great send-off for Drake.
 
TR1, 2 and Anniversary>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Those garbage ass reboots

Uncharted 2 single player is an 8/10 to me.

I only like Uncharted 3 for its multiplayer and co-op.

Don't care about the other games in the series.
 
For me personally -

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 9.5/10
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider - 9.0/10
3. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - 9.0/10
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 8.5/10
5. Tomb Raider - 8.5/10
6. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - 8.5/10

Uncharted 2 is the best for me because it's an action packed Indiana Jones type game that doesn't let up from beginning to end. Also features the best two set pieces which still haven't been matched nor do I think that they ever will be.

Rise of the Tomb Raider's weak area is the story and characters but the treasure hunt stays front and center throughout the entire game. Loved all the RPG elements, the tombs, the collectables, the different languages in the game that you have to dissect, stealth is way better, gunplay is better and using the bow is just freaking awesome plus the big open areas have a meaning and purpose with side quests and activities.

Uncharted 3 was my second favorite game in the franchise simply because it stays on course of what the franchise is and that's the entire purpose to me. Once everything gets changed around, it loses it's purpose. Thankfully, U3 didn't do that.

Uncharted 4 was great but not in the 9+ range for so many reasons. The open areas are basically pointless because there's nothing to do in any of them. Only reason was to include the jeep which while cool and innovative turns out to be like the batmobile in Arkham Knight - overused and overstays it's welcome. The pirate story which should be the main focal point because after all, you're supposed to be a treasure hunter yet it gets pushed further and further into the background replaced by Sam who never should have been included in the first place and of course, the soap opera romance drama between Nate and Elena which thankfully has finally run it's course.

Tomb Raider and Uncharted round out my rankings. Both very good at the time but were easily surpassed by their respective sequels in every way.
 
I enjoy Uncharted much more. I hated RotR but TR 2013 was pretty good. Niether of them are close to Uncharted 1-4 for me though.
 
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