Finally, Xbox exclusivity has ended and Rise of the Tomb Raider is now available to the PC market. If you own a PS3 you are completely out of luck as it won’t even launch on that platform and if you own a PS4 you are going to have to wait until Q4 2016 for this one. So if you own a Playstation you might as well get Lara’s brother Nathan Drake out and use him to fill up your time.
Lara Croft was first introduced on the PC in the 90s and has since filled our lives with action, adventure, and advantageous puzzles to solve. I recall playing the early titles and having a Prima Official Guide next to me in order to figure out the complexity of those puzzles. Thankfully, it is no longer necessary to have a guide next to you, these recent titles include a “survival instinct” that is much like Batman’s detective mode, thus providing an in-game guide to solve the puzzles along with dialog to give you clues. Even with these advantages, I found myself still stumped in certain areas of the game and having to really think about a way to solve the puzzle inside of the tomb or cave. I tip my hat to the makers of this game as they have made it challenging but not too crazy as to require a book like in previous versions.
MULTIPLAYER
The multiplayer function is pretty much non-existent in this title. Unfortunately. There is an entire community clamoring for some sort of multi-player in Tomb Raider. We all know it is possible with the success of her brother, Nathan Drake, in the Uncharted series.
GRAPHICS
Now, this is where your mileage may vary depending on the platform on which you are gaming. I played this on the Xbox One at CES 2016 and was very impressed by the graphics and the details that went into the game. One such detail is when Lara exits the water from swimming she squeezes all the water out of her hair. I can vouch for the PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider as well and can say that they have taken it above and beyond what other ports have done. It is incredibly beautiful at Ultra settings with many particle details. The caveat, you better have a gaming PC worth its weight in gold as it takes a mighty one to run at ultra. I felt that screenshots didn’t do this game justice so I have included a video review of this title found here.
SOUND
The sound on this title is the best that I’ve heard. Enemies and animals are brought to real life when the sound comes from directly behind you or from a distance in front of you. The game developers really paid close attention to detail on this aspect as well. The sound is great and will get you immersed in the game.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After the many Tomb Raiders, this has to be the best of all. This title features great graphics, sound, and gameplay. With the addition of Windows 10 and direct x12 this game, and other games, get a bump in speed and play-ability. This is very promising for PC gamers out there. That being said the replayability of Rise of the Tomb Raider is not very high due to the lack of multiplayer and after you have completed all the missions and collected all the items there is nothing else to do but wait for the next one.