Dubai: The Xbox One exclusive Rise of the Tomb Raider manages to turn Crystal Dynamics’ reboot of the franchise into a thoroughly enjoyable homage to the games that took the 1990s by storm.
There’s an early sequence of platforming and puzzle-solving that’s a clear nod to the monastery sequence in the very first Tomb Raider game, and I found myself leaping, shimmying and shooting with a huge grin on my face.
It also draws very heavily on the 2013 reboot’s survival and skill-tree methodology, which adds some spice to the traditional Tomb Raider experience. Once again, the longbow is Lara’s first weapon, and once again gathering resources to craft upgrades and equipment is important.
And whereas the Lara of the reboot was a teenager who had to learn to toughen up, this version is older and already tough. The Lara Croft we know and love is back with a vengeance.
Reincarnation
Like the first of the movie spin-offs, the plot of Rise of the Tomb Raider has Lara trying to follow up on the research of her missing father (and a shuffle through his papers reveals Crystal Dynamics have gone with his name being Richard, as in the films, rather than the Henshingly of the original games).
In this case, her father was on the track of the secret of reincarnation, and Lara’s quest takes her to Syria, Siberia and elsewhere to find it.
Naturally there are bad guys after the secret — a mysterious ancient organisation known as Trinity — and they cross Lara’s path time and time again.
Crystal Dynamics have done an absolutely superb job of bringing us a very modern version of Tomb Raider while putting the franchise’s heritage as a puzzle-platformer right back at the heart of the game.
Rating: 9.5/10
