A Prequel and Mixed Feelings

As someone who has played all previous Tomb Raider games I'm excited to hear the newest part in the series will be a prequel and feature a young Lara Croft on her first adventure - but also a bit frightened. Too clear are the memories of Tomb Raider IV and V, playing a young Lara Croft without any weapons. Granted, while many people hated the tutorial level at the beginning of Tomb Raider IV in Ankor Wat, I thought it was pretty neat. Playing a different looking Lara for a change was nice and having no weapons was compensated by intriguing puzzles and having to evade enemies, which were only wild boars and bats and the boars, though fast they were, could easily be outrun using sprint, then newly added to Lara's move set. The bats were a bit more frustrating because you were monkey-climbing, thus slow, and so had to take some damage - something the hardcore gamer will not accept, even if inevitable. But playing the young Lara in Part V?! Don't even get me started. Playing her in a tutorial level is one thing. But playing her mid-way through the game (which by the way was divided into episodes and resulted in the worst story in a Tomb Raider game ever)? On a rainy island? For several levels? In pursuit of her family-priest / friend / nanny? And facing supernatural enemies, which you couldn't kill even if you had weapons, and rabies-riven rats and bats - while diving and avoiding traps or just outright instant kills? And no weapons, a limited move set, and NO WEAPONS?

So yes, I hope this one turns out better. But I am optimistic. Young Lara shipwrecked on an island, alone (one of the central points to any good Tomb Raider game), fighting for survival, to ultimately become the adventurer we all know and love. Plus, I like the bow and arrow idea. And judging from the latest artwork she will also have a pistol. Definitely like the torch and hope it's going to be similar to the way Tomb Raider II and III used flares. Flares, they don't make 'em like they used to. Ever since Tomb Raider IV made them green and burning out quickly, it all went pretty much down hill from there. The ice pick seems like a cool multi-purpose device. It can be a melee weapon but also a tool for climbing and puzzles.

From the screenshots it's clear they've up-ed the graphics quite a bit. Thank you, Crystal Dynamics. This brings Tomb Raider finally up to par with the graphics of Uncharted. The dirty, gritty look with the pale and dark earth colors and the amazing character design. That was also what made Tomb Raider Underworld and its downloadable content one of the best games in the entire series. However, I don't want to take sides here. I love the Uncharted series just as much as I love Tomb Raider, both in their own way. Can't wait for Uncharted III to come out - the dynamics like fire and fluid simulations look awesome!

But back to Tomb Raider IX. The island, however, does remind me of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia 2 Warrior Within, which apart from being a bit to brutal for my taste but brilliantly designed nevertheless, could have been great if the soundtrack had had more than two songs. Granted there were some ambient themes, but come on, two Slipknot songs? Although the Prince of Persia games were awesome, besides greatly helping extend the Jade engine developed for Beyond Good and Evil (I wish Ubisoft would unfreeze part 2 and try to finish it; the trailer and leaked gameplay was so promising) and forged it into the engine that gave us Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia Warrior Within was the worst in the trilogy from Sands of Time leading up to Two Thrones. The dark and ominous atmosphere with the gothic look was cool the first level. After that it became quickly boring and then annoying - the only cool interruption of this depressing redundancy being the time traveling.

But let's stay positive. The screenshots and the artwork look very promising. Can't wait till more about other characters, enemies, the world, and the story is revealed.