Game Babble: Tomb Raider Reboot

Lara Croft. Strong. Smart. Sexy. 

Ask a gamer what comes to mind when they think of her and the common thread would be that she is appealing. In just about every way possible, she's managed to capture the attention of a majority of the gaming community who have followed her into tombs since 1996. She has been to just about every part of the globe, driven just about every vehicle, fired just about every weapon, has died, has returned and now she's reborn as something we have not yet seen Lara Croft as.

A human being.

Lara has always managed to be something of a symbol. She carries a power within her that inspires women. No longer are we the damsels in distress, the ones fawning over the genius of a man, carrying their equipment while they set out to explore and discover. Lara blazed ahead as someone who could take care of herself and achieve success in whatever she put her mind to. She could overcome the odds and still manage to do so without having to butch up.

But the British explorer has always been perfect. She may struggle, but she never really gets any grit underneath her fingernails. As awesome as it is to have a woman represented as something more than a submissive sex toy, she's always seemed a little out of reach for me.

Cue the reboot.

The latest Tomb Raider sets out to show us what shaped Laura into being the all-but-fearless badass we have grown up with. She's on her very first expedition and along with the crew of the Endurance is off to find the lost kingdom of Yamatai. While Laura is not the lead archaeologist, the crew knows her well and trusts her judgement and so when she points them into the worst possible direction on instinct, they follow.

And the boat sinks. Nice one Laura.

And that's where the game starts off. Laura is separated from her crew and they need to all get together and leave the island they wash up on. Of course things are never that easy.

So how does one became "fearless"? You overcome your fears. How do you do that? By being immersed in them and having to find your way out. The game goes to just about every level to shake Laura - and by extension you. Laura is terrified and with good reason. She has to fend for herself and, like anyone of us may be in that situation, she doesn't truly believe that she can do it.

In one of the earliest cutscenes the player watches Laura begging someone to come get her; to find her and save her. The idea of surviving on her own, of trudging off into the unknown, hips swinging, doesn't come into her mind at all. I think this in particular is something that I admired. Laura does have some advantages, some survival training, but she is forced into trying circumstances simply because there isn't any other option. There isn't anyone else able or available to perform whatever task needs to be performed at that particular time.

Laura grows through the game much like a blade gets sharpened on a whetstone. Painfully.

I was really scared to buy this game without hearing from anyone else how it was. Not being as deep into the Tomb Raider series, I was already not completely sold on the idea that this game was going to be worth R600 (and tthat's with a pre-order discount). It's a lot of money. I'm still waiting for Far Cry 3 to come down on its price and I've been itching to get my hands on it.

Stinginess aside. The biggest reason for my hesitance was this:

Those of you who have been following the build up to the game's release may instantly know what my reluctance was about. In one of the trailers, it shows Mister Baddie shown in the screenshot above seemingly very interested in his young, beautiful, female captive. Laura fights him off, grabs his gun and shoots him. He becomes her very first kill and she understandably freaks out about it.

The problem being that it brought up a rather painful question: Should rape be portrayed in games? The reason for that question was naturally the interest Mister Baddie showed. Even from the picture above, it hardly seems as if he's just about to stop with his hand on her shoulder

It caused an uproar. The idea that Laura would have to fight off this dude from raping and then killing her. It's stomach turning. It's revolting. Bring the pitchforks. I'll take the lead.

Fortunately, the trailer was incredibly misleading.

I've played past this point. Let me give you a spoiler. You see Mister Baddie's hand? That hand has a massive fascination with squeezing the life out of Laura, and not slipping any lower as the trailer implied. I've purposefully missed the fighting cues to see what would happen. The furthest he goes is to trail his hand down her arm, then he grabs her throat - just like he does when you miss any of the cues . In no instant is there an idea that he's going to take her. The only explanation I can give for the 'tenderness' in his touch is his love for killing.

So if you're like me and were willing to tear things apart with your bare hands. Stay calm and rest assured. There are no dodgy scenes besides the occasional strangling, being shot, knifed, falling to one’s death or being crushed by boulders. Oh and a lot of corpses, skulls and body parts.

Hope that puts you at ease. ;)

I have to say, I'm impressed. I didn't think I was going to be. I was hoping for a good game, but was cautious to get too excited about it. Naturally I failed. Thankfully the game didn't let me down. The scenery is breathtaking. The music is good.

The acting... oh my word, the acting! These actors are making magic in a room that gives them virtually nothing to go on. They're utterly brilliant. The script is also superb. I haven't had a moment where I felt like asking what the writers had been smoking when they cooked up the dialogues. Everything is relevant, whether you take the time to listen to it or not. Nothing is trite. Nothing is cliche. The creators really did good on this one.

I'm about halfway into the game according to the percentage of completion the game gives me, but I think I'm a little further in terms of story. And it has been a hell of a ride. I've cringed and freaked out (I don't like heights), I've gasped and snarled (softly, the dogs were sleeping), I've laughed as Laura did some snarling of her own.

I'm enjoying every bit of this game.

From a story side, I'm extremely curious to see where it's going to end off. I love the character progression thus far, I love themes that get seeded into the story. I'll admit it. I'm hooked. I'm not devoted. But I'm hooked.

I'm not going to go into gameplay and what not. I might do that in a later post... maybe. I can tell you the only problem I've had with the game is finding a flaw worth mentioning. Yes. I'm having trouble finding fault. Imagine that.