Do you guys have the 360 version to test as well?
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Rise of the Tomb Raider - Review Thread
- Thread starter bananafactory
- Start date
Do you guys have the 360 version to test as well?
Seriously...
I never thought of professional reviewers playing games this way since I figured they'd want to get the game over with so they could get their review done.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
Yeah, didn't Sony say that a big part of the point of the Uncharted and Last Of Us Remasters was for PS4 players who hadn't played the previous games due to console exclusion? And those weren't even ports from the same generation. People really overestimate how much hurt feelings actually affect purchasing decisions. If the game is good, the demand is there, and people are bored of playing Uncharted 4, it will sell.
skLaFarebear
Member
If there's one thing you can respect about Brad, its that when he gets into a game, he really gets into it.
Brad only reviews about four games a year, so he can take his time.
CaviarMeths
Member
I love this crap. The fewer cutscenes I have to watch, the better. In fact, the entire story could be told through audio logs and notebooks and I'd be 100% OK with that.
Also giant bomb doesn't have to have a huge team nor do they have to review every game. They allow themselves to play the games they want, and for longer.
Guess you must be a fan of MGS V then.
You are misunderstanding why people are complaining about tiered releases. It's about marketing, word of mouth, and momentum.
Dee Dah Dave
Member
Seems to be solid. Gonna be tough waiting it out. I can see me cracking around Christmas hols and buying it on Xbox.
Industrialist
Member
There have been plenty of spoiler-free streams going on for the last week. Main reason being that Microsoft/SE were super-specific about what could be shown and what couldn't.
If you're going to sites where you feel that way about the reviewers, stop going to those sites. Reviewers are gamers first and foremost. They get paid for what they do but generally they're people who enjoy playing games. Or at least they should be.
Ah, I guess I'm still kinda new to Giant Bomb. Only been watching their Quick Looks for a couple years now.maybe I should give them some money...
Anyways, his review was..."reassuring?" I'm started to get hyped to play this game, and I only started caring about it yesterday.
Yeah, from what I understood that's why all the stuff that started popping up last week was more or less the same areas and things from early on in the game...
I tended to think overly heavy embargo stuff was annoying, but I guess this was a good thing?
It's almost never properly implemented. It's always some tape lying around and then some guy talking into it for no reason. The context of this type of storytelling is almost always bullshit.
"This will be my final entry. I am out of food blah blah blah. And there's a monster near me.. WAAAH."
CaviarMeths
Member
Haven't played it, but my understanding of the series is that it's extraordinarily cutscene-heavy. Is MGSV different in that regard?
Hmm well, poorly written story is bad regardless of how it`s delivered. I guess I just prefer the "less is more" approach when it comes to video game storytelling. A great atmosphere and solid lore will trump traditional narrative for me.
El-Pistolero
Member
This site is generally on point (there are exceptions, of course, but they tend to raise valid points and abstain from assigning perfect notes left and right).
The North American gaming press is incredibly generous by comparison...
Industrialist
Member
You can say that again.
Gamekult's Scores
For 685 reviews, this publication has graded:
4%higher than the average critic
1%same as the average critic
95%lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 14.8 points lower than other critics.
Average Game review score: 59
RickyRozay
Member
any mention of performance in any of these reviews?
CaviarMeths
Member
I feel like there should be a tool for giving an "adjusted score" for AAA games. Almost no American reviewers will dare score anything lower than 7 unless it's an unmitigated shit show.
To be fair, what Ms. Sarkeesian does isn't really consumer review. I'd call it more "industry review." It's review, but from a different perspective. It's not really intended to influence your purchasing decisions the way other reviews are.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I found the FemFreq review to be quite informative, actually. Since I already played TR2013, it told me all I needed to know.
Dangansona
Member
NullPointer
Member
In MGS V you can play while listening, which is helpful. Sounds like you have to stare at an image of a tape recorder in the menu to listen to these, which is the worst possible way to go imho.
Want to see this reviewed from an old school fan. Watched Gamespot's video review and while the words all spoke of more tombs and more complicated tombs, most of the footage was headshots and takedowns, so there was a disconnect there.
Expected the game to look great, as the first one did, but it looks amazing.
bananafactory
Banned
Anita has generally not focused much on the gameplay element of games - she's more interested in social critique.
That's fine - there's a million other sites to tell you how the shooting feels
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
Nitpick: Anita didn't review TR, Carolyn Petit did. ^^ I agree with the rest though.
Alpha Phoenix
Member
I figure I will make do with Tomb Raider while Fallout 4 is fixed, or until a GOTY is out in 2017.
Romars202129
Member
It has far less, but oddly enough it''s still probably has way more than most games.
crock7owu10
Neo Member
32 reviews up on OpenCritic: http://opencritic.com/#!game/1517/rise-of-the-tomb-raider
Early distribution (will be updated!)
THIS. YASS.
I mean, I don't know what people expected with respect to the tombs. They're still going to be the small optional piss-easy puzzle areas to get some reward. They're not the meat of the new Tomb Raider games at all.
This sequel is just more of the same of the first game with bigger areas and maybe some improvements in combat design. They didn't hear the cries of people who wanted more puzzles and less action because all the positives were about the combat and the open areas so they did more of that and kept the tombs the same.
The new TR games, from what I've seen, are way more like Uncharted 1 in terms of the balance of action to puzzles. Which is a shame but that is what people are playing them for and not for the puzzles.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
You can still tell the story through the character as you play her. It does not have to be one or the other, this is 2015 almost 2016. Audio tapes IMO, are so cheap and dated.
I still can't believe sites give out perfect scores in this day and age. They are far too common for AAA games it is almost nauseating.
NullPointer
Member
Well that's what I'm trying to get a handle on. The Videogamer review talks about the first game's tombs being five minute puzzles while the new ones are larger, more complicated and are more like thirty minute puzzles. And Brad from Giant Bomb mentioned in the recent Bombcast that he did more actual tomb raiding in the first two hours of the new game then he had in the 2013 game altogether. So that's all promising.
There are 9 optional challenge tombs. 10 if you count a forced one in the main story. They are bigger, more varied, take longer to complete, and in more tomb like environments. They are also better hidden and have some traps and some trickier platforming than anything in the reboot before reaching the tomb. They are still small though and difficulty will vary on player by player basis and whether or not you use survival instincts. They have listened at least a bit an it is an improvement on the reboot. The Reboot was mostly slow walks through a cave into small mostly samey looking dens with a simple 1-2 step puzzle. Having caves and crypts to explore in addition to these is nice as well. They don't have puzzles but they hold some nice rewards and material as well.
There are also 4 main story "tombs" this time with some nested puzzles but they of course are also filled with combat and explosions. Still it has better puzzle design than the Reboots main campaign and some actual tomb like environments. The last hub is in particular is amazing looking. I was just hoping for more parts like Syria tomb in the main story with little to no combat. Still the pacing is in no way like Uncharted one if you choose to engage in any of the optional content.
Nope. I'd definitely consider stuff like Halo, Sonic, etc to be system sellers if I were forced to name some. I was just pointing out that it's easy to argue against pretty much everything being a system seller, because you can basically set your own metric. Look...
"Halo CE wasn't a system seller, because most people didn't buy an Xbox to play it. They bought PS2's."
And they don't make their livelihoods from writing.
Huh, well, that does sound better and more promising but I still firmly believe the focus is definitely more on the combat (otherwise why keep the skill tree and all of that stuff if you take away action stuff etc etc) but obviously I haven't played it, only seen bits and pieces of it.
Certainly would be better to have a more critical eye from someone who played the TR of old.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I like to think of as Uncharted, minus all the personality and the flair for set-piece moments, but with better combat and puzzles.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Better than expected. Really looking forward to playing this
Yeah the main story certainly is still very combat focused but the tombs are an improvement even if a small one. I don't think any of the tombs will take 30 minutes to complete though. 10-15 maybe instead of 5. The puzzles are still clever at times even if easy and some spans multiple rooms or much larger spaces than the side tombs in the reboot.
NullPointer
Member
I read there that the tombs "largely feel superfluous and unnecessary". And then I read the Giant Bomb review:
And I don't know what to believe.
SolidSnakex
Member
The issue isn't whether PS4 fans will care, it's whether they'll know that it even exists by that time. Late ports rarely have any sort of marketing behind them. They're just dumped out months after the initial release to very little fanfare or press buzz. You know what's likely releasing next year around the time that this will on the PS4? Games like Gran Turismo Sport, FFXV, Horizon, Amy Hennig's Star Wars game, then yearly releases like CoD, AC etc. All of which are going to have gigantic marketing campaigns. TR really won't be garnering much of any press buzz because all of the attention will be on all of the other big games during next years holiday season, and because they've already reviewed it before.
Industrialist
Member
Not even remotely true.
There's FAR less combat and a few more puzzles and tombs.
I reckon I could get through the whole game using the bow and arrow if I really had to. There's also ways of dealing with the combat sections that don't require going in all guns blazing.
Is it?
Compared to "clear this section of all enemies...now here's Lara saying something for ten seconds...now clear THIS section of all enemies" over and over, which is what the first game provided, Rise of the Tomb Raider isn't even comparable in terms of how much combat there is.
Take a look at score attack to see how few enemies there are. You can complete some of the sections (which are portions of the campaign) without taking any weapons!
I think the take-away is that tombs are better than 2013 murder simulator reboot, but they are still not as good nor as prominent as in the original Tomb Raider series.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
If they're optional, I suppose you could argue they are unnecessary. I mean there's legit unnecessary to complete the game.
I think both those reviews essentially are noting that the tombs off the critical parth are indeed optional. Where their opinions diverge is in the value of including this content on the side instead of integrating it tightly in the main story
One review finds that this means they are superfluous to the story, which is true. The other review finds that they are worthwhile side content which can unlock you a useful but not exactly necessary skill for use in the game, which also seems accurate.
One review finds that this means they are superfluous to the story, which is true. The other review finds that they are worthwhile side content which can unlock you a useful but not exactly necessary skill for use in the game, which also seems accurate.
It sounds like the right decision too. Making them optional means that you can make them complex without worrying about what customers will do if they can't figure out to beat them. Instead of giving up on the game and selling it, they can still complete the game while those with more patience and problem solving abilities can stick to it to get whatever they reward.