Rise of the Tomb Raider unfolds in a valley haunted by echoes of older times. Abandoned Soviet structures dot the landscape, while bygone kingdoms lie dormant beneath the ground. Even the current inhabitants, long sheltered from the outside world, still hunt and gather as their ancestors did. For Lara Croft, a person intent on escaping the past, this is not a comforting place.
The Game
Rise of the Tomb Raider anchors Lara’s story with its own believable characters and emotional weight. Lara refuses to acknowledge her father’s death, opting instead to seek the Divine Source, the object that could stave off death–and grief–for good. Even the villains have compelling reasons for pursuing the otherworldly power. Crystal Dynamics doesn’t use magic as a storytelling crutch, though; it injects mystical elements in a way that makes sense within the world they occupy. From the outset, the game prepares you for this, and maintains a subtle undercurrent throughout. Throughout the game, cutscenes are succinct, but not without substance. They don’t belabor the narrative with monologues and grandiose asides, but still manage to build character and establish tone. The villains, despite their megalomaniacal beliefs, have personal intentions. Lara, with clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, is somewhat broken, and it shows in her words: “I haven’t slowed down enough to ask whether any of this is real Rise of the Tomb Raider is also now available on PlayStation 4 in the form of the 20 Year Celebration edition. Even now, playing through it one year after I originally beat it, it’s hard to put down. The Siberian wilderness is just as detailed and gorgeous as it is on Xbox One, and I didn’t notice many differences in the character nuances, either. The 20 Year Celebration also grants access to Rise of the Tomb Raider’s DLC, including the Croft Manor section and Endurance mode, additions that flesh out Lara’s backstory and drop you into the wild to fend for your life, respectively. One year after it released on Xbox One, Rise of the Tomb Raider is still a journey well worth taking. As a third person adventure game, the game excels as game play and story shares the space, supplementing each other.
Watch the video review by gamespot below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOGscigoYcc
