2013's Tomb Raider vs. Rise of the Tomb Raider
So I just completed the newest installment in the recently revived Tomb Raider franchise. I had a mountain of fun playing through the game despite my initial hesitation. While I would have preferred playing on PS4 (I can't tell you how many times I embarrassingly made Lara jump with the A button when prompted to hit X), the experience was altogether quite enjoyable.
I did notice a compulsive tendency to compare the original reboot with the latest release, and I can say (with a little unexplained guilt) that I feel torn. Don't misunderstand. I meant everything I wrote about enjoying Rise of the Tomb Raider. But after such a strong performance from the first game, some of Rise's elements seemed to fall just a bit short of my expectations. Perhaps this is the same feeling that others claim to have about Uncharted 3?
So I decided about a week ago to write a post upon my completion (and I mean 100% completion) of the game. In this post, my intention is to take the elements necessary for a successful game and compare how well these elements are executed in Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider respectively. The elements I've chosen to consider are story, character development, gameplay mechanics, environment, and the replay value. Normally when comparing games, I would also include graphics, music, and voice acting, but since all of these are essentially the same (or marginally different at best), I chose not to compare these at all.
As always, there are some spoilers beyond this point. If you want to play these games without any backstory or knowledge of their plots, skip to the conclusion.
Story
Tomb Raider (2013)
Two years ago, we experienced Lara's origin story. Here is a woman who wants to break new archaeological ground (pun intended) and reveal the secrets of Yamatai. What was supposed to be an academic journey revealing the ancestry of her best friend quickly turns south as she enters a waking nightmare she cannot escape. Everything the player goes through in the story is necessary for survival, the stakes feel high, and it all feels very personal.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Intended to feel quite personal once again, Rise of the Tomb Raider relies heavily on Lara's quest to salvage her father's honor and save her family name. Despite the trauma experienced on the island of Yamatai, Lara immerses herself once again in legends and myths, eventually traveling halfway around the world to find the "divine source", an artifact that grants immortality. Unfortunately, this does not feel quite as personal as the first game (regardless of the inclusion of Lara's family in the main plot), perhaps because the whole thing seems a bit unnecessary. Throughout the game, I felt myself questioning why Lara would even put herself in a position to experience the same pain she just experienced on Yamatai. Defending the Croft name years after her father was shamed just didn't feel like a good enough reason.
Perhaps some of my reluctance to enjoy Rise's story comes from the impression left on me by this trailer, released at E3 2014:
Now that is the game I was expecting. So when I criticize the story, it is not because it was bad. It simply wasn't what I wanted or expected out of this game. I think if the game had focused more on a phoenix rising from the ashes sort of theme, it would have struck me as much more meaningful.
Character Development
Tomb Raider
I've already touched on the fact that Lara remains very much the reluctant hero through most of her origin story. Her character development was excellently executed. Additionally, many of the characters surrounding her in Tomb Raider are interesting, memorable, and dynamic with the exception of one or two somewhat one-dimensional characters. You have the capable father figure Roth, the unfortunately flat personality of damsel in distress Sam, the "betray-whoever" mentality of Whitman, the mega-geek Alex (my favorite), the fearless fighter Grim, the loyal teddy bear Jonah, and the rough and tough unsociable Reyes.
In addition to her expedition team, Lara meets the insane villain Mathias, a man who has survived 30 years stranded on Yamatai and has spent the abundance of time building up a disturbing cult, its members purposely cultivated to serve as Mathias's own private army.
All in all, the characterization and development of protagonist Lara are both strong in Tomb Raider with a few minor shortcomings here and there.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
As stated above, Lara's progression from traumatized and reluctant hero to capable and willing explorer seemed rather rushed in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Perhaps they decided to pretend the announcement trailer never happened. If this is the case, Lara's lack of hesitation when faced with another adventure is startling. Why would she not pause at least a little when faced with the daunting task of trekking through enemy territory filled with wild animals and murderers and explosions and injury and overwhelmingly terrible odds? To me, Lara came off as a little bit crazy in a less than understandable way here.
In my mind I can see instead a woman who feels conflicted about herself. She witnessed terrible things on Yamatai and--let's face it--she did terrible things on Yamatai. She killed to survive and save her friends. With good reason of course, but still the guilt lingers within her.
I can also imagine that within that conflict is a little bit of pride. She is strong and capable. She was good at it. She was an amazingly effective explorer, survivor, and fighter.
I am reminded of a scene in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood where Kimblee approaches sniper Riza Hawkeye while at war. He asks her a question that shakes her down to the core because it makes her feel so inhuman.
And it is Lara's own pride in her skills that I think would be fascinating to see her wrestle with in Rise of the Tomb Raider. She wants to continue on with her pursuit of discovery. But her chosen path will no doubt result in enemies that she must defend against. It would have been fascinating to see her realize that Yamatai was not an isolated scar that would fade over time; rather, it was something she must actively run from or else openly embrace. And wouldn't it be an interesting moment in Tomb Raider lore when she finally decides upon the latter?
Of course, Lara is not the only character in Rise of the Tomb Raider. You have the Remnants, a people hidden from history. To be honest, I found them slightly boring with the exception of Jacob. He was a little more complex, mysterious, and witty than most characters in the franchise. While I did anticipate how his character would factor in later in the game with very little surprise, I still enjoyed his interactions with Lara.
There is also the organization of Trinity.
Compared to the Solarii cult in the first game, Trinity enemies were roughly the same except for one thing: their motivation. The Solarii were motivated by a sick sort of initiation and brainwashing process. I mean, come on. They were in a cult and were being manipulated.
But Trinity came off as more of religious zealots, and I wasn't quite sure why any of them joined the organization in the first place. I guess there was kind of a reference to the Crusades, but with two made up religions battling it out, it didn't really feel real. Not to mention, for much of the early stages of the game, I felt distracted by my own contemplation of the developer's purpose. Were they trying to make a statement about religion? Were they trying to make the Remnants look like Christians, all the while doing a terrible job of it? I wasn't quite sure what to make of it (and it actually took me a long time to realize I was supposed to be helping the Remnants) because I viewed the characters in the game through the lens of both sides being wrong.
Gameplay Mechanics
Tomb Raider
Let's face it. The reboot has amazing mechanics. Everything feels really fluid. While the gameplay could be described as formulaic (hunt, scavenge, climb, raid, fight, loot, repeat), it never feels old. The game does a good job of disguising the repeating formula by giving logical reasons every step of the way.
One of my favorite aspects of Tomb Raider is the increasing diversity of Lara's arsenal. I enjoyed approaching every new area with the option of taking everyone out carefully with my bow and arrow, silently and quickly using my suppressor-equipped handgun, powerfully with my rifle, or up close and personal with my shotgun.
Not only does Lara's weaponry become more deadly as the game goes on, but Lara becomes a more effective combatant as well. Working through the game's skill tree is amazingly fun. By the time I unlocked everything, I felt strong and well-prepared for the final fight.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
And here is where Rise of the Tomb Raider really shines. The sequel takes everything the first game did well and makes it better.
Hunting is incredibly satisfying. A greater diversity of animals are available compared to the previous game. Bears and predatory felines make the player's heart beat a little faster and provide some added variety.
Poison arrows, a combat knife, and hollow point bullets are added to Lara's arsenal. Each weapon type also has multiple options to choose from and improvements made within a weapon class are applied to all similar weapons.
A crafting system has been added for greater control over combat. Explosives and distracting devices can be quickly whipped up with a quick hold of the right trigger. Special ammo (arrows, incendiary shotgun shells, hollow points, and grenades) can also be crafted on the run. Bodies and radios can also be rigged with traps for enemies.
In addition to weapon improvements, Lara receives a rebreather to allow extended time underwater. She also converts her climbing ax into a grapple for increased ease traversing the environments. Arrows can now be used for climbing as well. These additions all make movement throughout the world much more flexible and interesting.
Missions have been included in the game. Similar to challenges, missions present Lara with a specific goal that runs parallel to the main plot. The beauty of the mission system lies in the fact that instead of being rewarded with only experience, successfully completed missions result in a physical reward for Lara (e.g. weapons, outfits, money, etc.).
A shop was also included in the game, allowing the player to make purchases using ancient Byzantine coins found in tombs and throughout each new area. This provided a little more incentive to explore each area thoroughly in order to find enough coins for the next shiny new toy.
Environments
Tomb Raider
When I found out this game would take place on an island, I figured the setting would be slightly limited. Not bad, just limited. I was surprised to see that the game had everything from expansive beaches to snowy mountains, ancient Japanese cities to makeshift metal shanty towns. Each new chapter was fresh and vibrantly diverse.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
While the environments in Rise of the Tomb Raider were well put together, they did not stir up the same feelings of awe, nor did they have quite the variety found in Tomb Raider. To be fair, there were some striking locations. The glacial caverns were beautiful, and the lost city was properly gloomy and haunting.
Replay Value
Tomb Raider
The 2013 reboot has a lot going for it. I spent many hours collecting everything, scrounging up trophies, and (sadly) trying the pretty much broken multiplayer. But once I collected everything, the game was utterly and thoroughly beaten. There wasn't much more to do.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Similarly to Tomb Raider, I achieved 100% completion on the campaign. But the good news is that Rise of the Tomb Raider has a challenge mode with lots of rewards to reap. Additionally, accomplishments in game provide currency to be spent on cards that have different effects in challenge mode. So while I have beaten the game, there are still more enemies to defeat, animals to hunt, and ruins to climb.
Verdict
Tomb Raider
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Rise of the Tomb Raider
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Story
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X
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Character Development
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X
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Gameplay Mechanics
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X
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Environments
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X
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Replay Value
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X
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While I certainly agree with the reviews that Rise of the Tomb Raider is a successful sequel to the series with its improvements to gameplay, I would argue that the first game boasted a stronger story, more impressive characters, and more imaginative environments. What do you think? Feel free to comment below sharing your Tomb Raider experiences!
