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[Dance Inferno]

Okei, played a few hours of the PS3 version yesterday at my university, so here are some quick impressions (this will be messy):

(I'll preface this by my tastes on similar games - I loved the original Tomb Raider trilogy back in the day, particularly 2. Didn't enjoy 4, Chronicles, AoD or Legend. Enjoyed Anniversary and Underworld. Liked Uncharted 1, adore Uncharted 2, disappointed in Uncharted 3).


It looks wonderful. Like, really. I'm playing on the PS3 version, so I'm not sure about the Xbox version, but it runs well (few framerate dips here and there, minor). I'm honestly extremely impressed with the graphical quality. The island is extremely atmospheric. Rain soaks the environments, thunderstorms and lightning strikes illuminate dank alcoves and caves, and Lara's model herself is extremely detailed. I'm excited to see this game on the PC.

It's Uncharted. I don't like to redact it as such, but I mean it as a compliment. Will individuals who enjoy the early Tomb Raider's a lot be disappointed? Hard to say. I love them, yet I can accept this is a different type of game now. Regardless, it's not 'Uncharted-lite'. It is of equal quality (surpassing Uncharted 3 for myself, as I was greatly disappointed in that after the second game). Early game focuses on survival - finding shelter and camp, learning to use your equipment and bow, etc. Each section you enter is more like a large hub. They are all connected, however, and hide secret treasures, diaries (voiced) and tombs (yay!). You will go off the beaten path, more so than you ever did in the Uncharted series.

The gun(bow)play is smooth. Extremely smooth. The scramble motion (circle button) is a great feature which adds to the sense of tension and uncertainty. There is cover, but it's not sticky, you merely approach some form of cover and Lara will align herself correctly. Very easy to move in and out without getting stuck like in Gears or Uncharted.

There are upgrade paths. You can reinforce your bow strings for faster shooting speed, create stronger axe's, etc. There are also skill points, which allow you to upgrade either your survival instincts (scavenging for food, supplies), your hunter abilities (combat abilities) and personal or strength or such (health, etc).

The story is engaging so far. As I said, I'm only about 4 hours in, but so far there has been ample amounts of mystery and intrigue about the island, it's inhabitants and the supporting cast. The music and sound effects are phenomenal. I'm a bit of a sound freak, so I'm usually greatly disappointed in games that don't take full advantage of these areas. Not so with this. I advise anyone to play with headphones, as little details such as dripping stalactites in caves add so much to the atmosphere.

That's all. Apologies for the info dump, it's the best I could do right now. Any questions about the early hours and I'll try my best to answer.

Damn you. Now you're making me want to buy this game. An open-world Uncharted sounds heavenly right about now.

 

[Alpende]

I'm going to wait for a price drop. I've bought too many singeplayer games for full price that I regret. I know it has multiplayer but I play this game for the singleplayer.

 

[ekim]

This game will get a lot of high scores.

I predict a metascore between 88-91% based on what i've seen so far.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Ever heard of ethics?

Ethics, smethics. These bros are making Lara Croft cry. Are you a bad enough dude to stop them and kill some deer in the process?

 

[OwlyKnees]

So OwlyKnees, you mention finding hidden things in the world. How good is that for expanding the story or lore of the world? Tell us who used to live there, how the enemies set up camp there, the bones of Swiss Family Robinson, etc? I didn't play games like Metroid Prime or Dishonored for such things, but they gave added enjoyment to be sure rather than it being just another game world.

Yeah, all those things are present. As I said, you'll recover artefacts, diaries and notes, all of which are fully voiced by their respective owners or Lara.

 

[G-Fex]

I'm not sure if you're actually being serious. Most people do not deserve to die and if this game is aiming to provide a coherent serious treatment of character growth through lethal trials and tribulations, it should depict the violence in a sensible and rational manner instead of the childish and inane idea that murder is intrinsically justified if a person is attacked.

Um...what?

Why do those guys deserve to live for?

They should be killed off.

Give me some reason they shouldn't.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

The platforming is mostly automatic, but satisfying. Movements such as jumping, then hitting an additional button to lodge your pickaxe is fun, but hardly challenging.

How "automatic" is the platforming? Is it something like Enslaved/Uncharted, something like PoP 2008 (where the input buffer was so big that you didn't even have to get the timing right) or rather something like previous Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider games?

Um...what?

Why do those guys deserve to live for?

They should be killed off.

Give me some reason they shouldn't.

Tell that to their wives and kids... you monster!

My problem isn't exactly that you're killing lots of enemies - it's videogame after all. My problem is that a young teenage girl is brutally killing tons of mercenaries (again, we're talking about things like axe to the skull or stabbing someone in the neck with an arrow). If they wanted to turn the game into a shooter with lots of human enemies being murdered in various gory ways they shouldn't choose a young inexperienced girl for a protagonist.

 

[codhand]

so the embargo is up, but no one is posting reviews? is the embargo really up?

 

[tiny raptor]

I'm not sure if you're actually being serious. Most people do not deserve to die and if this game is aiming to provide a coherent serious treatment of character growth through lethal trials and tribulations, it should depict the violence in a sensible and rational manner instead of the childish and inane idea that murder is intrinsically justified if a person is attacked.

There are other ways of solving apparent conflicts that doesn't necessarily require taking the lives of other (fictional) human beings. Lara could have used stealth, persuasion, distraction, etc. to avoid the conflicts. Or she could incapacitate the other people instead of brutally murdering them.

Even at that, the presentation is too hyperbolic to justify the murders. Pick axe to the skull or shotgun to the face are not necessary ways of dealing with lethal situations. Instead, these over-the-top methods are more akin to a grindhouse film than something grounded or realistic with emotional weight.

I don't think you get it. These island inhabitants are savage and cruel. They don't care about Lara's life or the lives of her team members. They aren't open to negotiation. You can't bake them a cake to get them to behave.

The kills are unrealistic, granted. But the intensity of the kill is not the way to define whether something is murder or not. Just think about it. Do you think that any killing on an island would be gentle or soft? It's all going to be brutal.

 

[Lime]

Ethics, smethics. These bros are making Lara Croft cry. Are you a bad enough dude to stop them and kill some deer in the process?

haha. Yeah, that's the thing. If this is equivalent to Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, then I will have hard time taking the narrative or characters seriously.

Um...what?

Why do those guys deserve to live for?

They should be killed off.

Give me some reason they shouldn't.

Okay, you were just trolling.

 

[ekim]

so the embargo is up, but no one is posting reviews? is the embargo really up?

nope 7am PST afaik. so in ~2 hours.

 

[Fezzan]

This game will get a lot of high scores.

$ound$ $trange, I wonder why that I$.

 

[Dance Inferno]

I'm going to wait for a price drop. I've bought too many singeplayer games for full price that I regret. I know it has multiplayer but I play this game for the singleplayer.

This right here is why publishers force developers to put multiplayer in their games.

 

[OwlyKnees]

How "automatic" is the platforming? Is it something like Enslaved/Uncharted, something like PoP 2008 (where the input buffer was so big that you didn't even have to get the timing right) or rather something like previous Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider games?

Uncharted/Enslaved. You'll jump, move along, jump off. In addition, I'd say it's more comparable to the Uncharted multiplayer. A little freedom for making your own kind of jumps, but still automatically guided.

 

[G-Fex]

haha. Yeah, that's the thing. If this is equivalent to Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, then I will have hard time taking the narrative or characters seriously.



Okay, you were just trolling.

Okay what's your genius plan? Tie them up and leave them in front of the police station?

Bad guys...should die.

 

[tiny raptor]

Uncharted/Enslaved. You'll jump, move along, jump off. In addition, I'd say it's more comparable to the Uncharted multiplayer. A little freedom for making your own kind of jumps, but still automatically guided.

That sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, anyone else feeling it?

 

[OwlyKnees]

That sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, anyone else feeling it?

It's been clear since early game footage that this was the case. You don't have to like it, but I'm hardly saying anything revelatory.

 

[KenOD]

In the strictly legal man-made law sense, yeah. But we were talking about it in the moral sense.

Ever heard of ethics?

While I was talking about The Jungle Book. http://youtu.be/QHZrlrBLLm4

Of course it's quite wrong in real life the way it's presented as straight fact, but then that's why so many games like Uncharted pretend it's heroes aren't killing thousands of people every adventure they take.

I would personally want a game with only a few dozen enemies and 95% of the game is about pure survival on an island and exploring it's secrets. The only fighting if you choose to run into their camp, get caught in one of their traps, and at the end when rescue is coming. Alas, I'll take what I can get for now and go back to Lost in Blue or wait patiently for a Far Cry 3 mod to be finished.

Yeah, all those things are present. As I said, you'll recover artefacts, diaries and notes, all of which are fully voiced by their respective owners or Lara.

Good to hear. Thanks for all your info.

 

[Pachterballs]

Uhm, yes?

lmao. so savage.

not sure what to make of it.

its like Last House on the left with Lara Croft

 

[tiny raptor]

It's been clear since early game footage that this was the case. You don't have to like it, but I'm hardly saying anything revelatory.

Uh, no. If it wasn't new, the question wouldn't have been asked so many times in the first place. From the videos I've been seeing, you at least had to line up your jumps correctly. It has looked akin to Tomb Raider Legend.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

No pre-load on steam?

 

[ZombieFred]

Does anyone know what time the embargo is lifted today? I can see this being around the 90s in Metacritic. It's just a shame that the marketing for this game has been a complete disaster for trying to get their point across. However, at least they have been careful on what they have shown and avoided a lot of spoilers for this game.

 

[tiny raptor]

Of course it's quite wrong in real life the way it's presented as straight fact, but then that's why so many games like Uncharted pretend it's heroes aren't killing thousands of people every adventure they take.

What?

 

[Dance Inferno]

Uhm, yes?

Ugh. After playing Spec Ops, stuff like this just makes me shake my head in disgust.

 

[OwlyKnees]

Uh, no. If it wasn't new, the question wouldn't have been asked so many times in the first place. From the videos I've been seeing, you at least had to line up your jumps correctly. It has looked akin to Tomb Raider Legend.

Nope, not seeing it.

The majority of platforming footage shows the automatic, sticky jumps in action.

 

[tiny raptor]

Nope, not seeing it.

The majority of platforming footage shows the automatic, sticky jumps in action.

Nope. Not the platforming. Watch the IGN live demo again. They even fell a few times.

 

[Lime]

I don't think you get it. These island inhabitants are savage and cruel. They don't care about Lara's life or the lives of her team members. They aren't open to negotiation. You can't bake them a cake to get them to behave.

You don't necessarily have to bake them a cake or nit them a sweater - you're making a false conclusion on what I'm stating.

I'm saying that it is possible to avoid killing other people in a video game through other means. It could be stealth, it could be distraction, it could be dialogue persuasion. There are even many genres that could serve as inspiration for such type of mechanics. These mechanics do not clash with the intended tone of then narrative as violently as brutally taking the lives of other people.

Okay what's your genius plan? Tie them up and leave them in front of the police station?

See above.

Bad guys...should die.

No, they shouldn't and you are not morally capable of determining who should and shouldn't die.

While I was talking about The Jungle Book. http://youtu.be/QHZrlrBLLm4

Of course it's quite wrong in real life the way it's presented as straight fact, but then that's why so many games like Uncharted pretend it's heroes aren't killing thousands of people every adventure they take.

I would personally want a game with only a few dozen enemies and 95% of the game is about pure survival on an island and exploring it's secrets. The only fighting if you choose to run into their camp, get caught in one of their traps, and at the end when rescue is coming. Alas, I'll take what I can get for now and go back to Lost in Blue or wait patiently for a Far Cry 3 mod to be finished.

I can respect that. I just wish games would be more reflective on what they present.

 

[Pachterballs]

the savagery of the kills in TR... I mean when they did it in TLOU, they kind of contextualised it and its in a new franchise that sort of establishes tone. Tomb Raider? I'm all for violence in games but man, oh wow.

thats just terrible. Im shocked/

 

[Mr_Zombie]

Uncharted/Enslaved. You'll jump, move along, jump off. In addition, I'd say it's more comparable to the Uncharted multiplayer. A little freedom for making your own kind of jumps, but still automatically guided.

Shame that they decided to not release a demo version of the game; without trying the game beforehand I won't risk buying it until a serious pricedrop.

 

[Andrew.]

Where's the OT?

 

[mxgt]

Uncharted/Enslaved. You'll jump, move along, jump off. In addition, I'd say it's more comparable to the Uncharted multiplayer. A little freedom for making your own kind of jumps, but still automatically guided.

I knew this would be the case but it still sucks to hear. So awful.

 

[OwlyKnees]

Nope. Not the platforming. Watch the IGN live demo again. They even fell a few times.

We'll agree to disagree.

 

[I'm an expert]

Shame that they decided to not release a demo version of the game; without trying the game beforehand I won't risk buying it until a serious pricedrop.

In two weeks it'll be 39.99, in four weeks 29.99. You'll still be in time for the water cooler talk.

 

[MikeE21286]

it's very funny how vocal everyone has rallied against the game (similar to DmC) and how they both are seemingly going to turn out to be great games

 

[sublimit]

Shame that they decided to not release a demo version of the game; without trying the game beforehand I won't risk buying it until a serious pricedrop.

That's what rentals are for.

 

[TheMagician]

I feel less in control of Lara than I did in the original Tomb Raider. Next gen.

 

[tiny raptor]

You don't necessarily have to bake them a cake or nit them a sweater - you're making a false conclusion on what I'm stating.

You mentioned persuasion, mine was meant to be a humorous example. Lighten up.

I'm saying that it is possible to avoid killing other people in a video game through other means. It could be stealth, it could be distraction, it could be dialogue persuasion. There are even many genres that could serve as inspiration for such type of mechanics. These mechanics do not clash as violently as brutally taking the lives of other people.

Taking the lives of other people...hahaha. That's funny. These guys signed away their lives away when they started taking innocent people hostage and openly attacking Lara and her team. Seriously, how are you not getting this? This is like a hostage situation where the hostage takers do not listen to reason. They have the advantage, this is their island.

Sucks for you that there isn't an option for you to sneak around them in this game. I don't mean that in the mocking sense. But meanwhile I'll be wrecking the bad guys, and I won't feel an ounce of regret over it.

 

[G-Fex]

You don't necessarily have to bake them a cake or nit them a sweater - you're making a false conclusion on what I'm stating.

I'm saying that it is possible to avoid killing other people in a video game through other means. It could be stealth, it could be distraction, it could be dialogue persuasion. There are even many genres that could serve as inspiration for such type of mechanics. These mechanics do not clash with the intended tone of then narrative as violently as brutally taking the lives of other people.



See above.



No, they shouldn't and you are not morally capable of determining who should and shouldn't die.

Says who? You? You can't stop me Lime.

 

[tiny raptor]

We'll agree to disagree.

I feel like you must just be talking about the climbing. Because with that, yes, the footage shown looks automatic. But wasn't the climbing always automatic in TR games?

Seriously, it looks no different from Legend. Unless something drastic changed from what we saw in the IGN live demo, or I'm just not understanding what you mean with auto platforming.

 

[KenOD]

Well that's a shame about the platforming. As long as it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the rest of the game or I have to fight it constantly, I can learn to deal with it.

What?

I'll rephrase. Yes morally and ethically such brutal killing is wrong and it results in a disconnect for a lot of video games such as Uncharted. For terms of story and character delivery, we get Drake saying and acting as though he prefers not to shoot people and would avoid it if he could, between game play sections of killing dozens of men without any qualm or complaint.

If it was real life or if it was presented to me as a game that takes itself quite seriously and deal with actual realism of survival and an innocent lass I would be appalled rather than making a joke about the Disney adaptation of a Kipling story series, but instead it's another game of disconnect and media fantasy of survival and action fighting.

So, I'll just say that someone should make a Tale Spin version of Lara Croft as a joke and see if they can turn it into an awful meme for the board. It's just that serious to me.

 

[tiny raptor]

I'll rephrase. Yes morally and ethically such brutal killing is wrong

Well, obviously I disagree.

 

[KenOD]

Well, obviously I disagree.

Well see, now I'm just not going to feed you after midnight.

No wait, that's for the good one. You deserve something worse, let's say you have to play the ZX Spectrum Gremlins The Adventure. That'll teach you.

 

[Harlequin]

It's all very linear and scripted. All of that footage and nothing remotely Tomb Raider about it.

Also Penny Arcade or someone needs to do a comic about the bad guys painting everything that's interactive with glowing white paint.

You have seen the wolf and night hub, right? Those aren-linear or scripted.

 

[Lime]

You mentioned persuasion, mine was meant to be a humorous example. Lighten up.

Don't worry, I'm all cool. I thought my posts reflected that :/

Taking the lives of other people...hahaha. That's funny. These guys signed away their lives when they started taking innocent people hostage and openly attacking Lara and her team. Seriously, how are you not getting this? This is like a hostage situation where the hostage takers do not listen to reason. They have the advantage, this is their island.

Sucks for you that there isn't an option for you to sneak around them in this game. I don't mean that in the mocking sense. But meanwhile I'll be wrecking the bad guys, and I won't feel an ounce of regret over it.

I'm just saying there are major ethical implications when you take the life of another person. Actively killing other people because of their ethically questionable decisions is simply not justifiable in a moral sense. Therefore, a narrative that wants to be taken seriously needs to take such implications into account if it wants the viewer/player to take it seriously. Otherwise any dramatic weight the narrative might have will fall completely to the ground and is no better than a light-hearted grindhouse flick.

Says who? You? You can't stop me Lime.

Haha, good one. I think your avatar change fooled me.

 

[sublimit]

it's very funny how vocal everyone has rallied against the game (similar to DmC) and how they both are seemingly going to turn out to be great games

How did you came to that conclusion for TR?
Or is it a conclusion that you are going to adopt based on the positive reviews from people who never gave a shit about this franchise and big media corporations that have been on bed with SE from ever since this game was firstly shown?

 

[Heart Attack]

This game Bought a lot of high scores.

Fixed.

 

[Harlequin]

Nope, not seeing it.

The majority of platforming footage shows the automatic, sticky jumps in action.

You must be watching a different game, sweetie.

 

[Revven]

the savagery of the kills in TR... I mean when they did it in TLOU, they kind of contextualised it and its in a new franchise that sort of establishes tone. Tomb Raider? I'm all for violence in games but man, oh wow.

thats just terrible. Im shocked/

Yeah, they even (in Tomb Raider) say she's inexperienced; yet it appears to me she knows exactly what she's doing and makes no attempt to question her actions or remotely react to what she just did.

In TLoU there's (at least from what we've seen) some actual reactionary dialogue between Ellie and Joel. It's not just mindless killing like seen here in TR and in Uncharted.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Can't wait.

it's very funny how vocal everyone has rallied against the game (similar to DmC) and how they both are seemingly going to turn out to be great games

Gaf just hates reboots, even when they are 100% necessary for a franchise to continue.

 

[Andrew.]

This place is gonna go down in flames once those positive reviews start rolling in.

14 more minutes people....