Where things go awry is with some of the controls. Remember asking yourself why a lion or tiger was in a long lost tomb and surviving no problem back in the early 1990s? Finding them in the jungle makes sense. This time, though, things make a little more sense. Early on, Lara is attacked by a jaguar deep in the forest, setting up a battle that takes us back all the way to the early games of Tomb Raider. The enemies, characters and creatures all encountered in the game have a true realistic feel to them.

I’m happy to see that Eidos Montreal didn’t mess with the formula there and stuck with the overall feel of Crystal Dynamics ’ creation. The layout of maps are carefully designed to ensure that basic exploration is easy to follow while finding treasure and hidden tombs prove to be a challenge, yet offer the same gorgeous visuals that will pull you in. Lara Croft’s journey in this new storyline features the same beautiful visuals that captured our attention from the first chapter. The third chapter is upon us, but Crystal Dynamics took a back seat to Eidos Montreal and the resulting product of Shadow of the Tomb Raider has taken one step forward but two steps backwards.īeating around the bush, this looks and feels like a Tomb Raider game from the start.

Crystal Dynamics ’ treatment of the new Lara Croft, a younger version still learning the true ropes of survival and exploration, has been a refreshing take on a series that still had potential and just needed a kickstart from the right group. The official reboot of the Tomb Raider series is now in its third chapter, with the prior two versions, Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider, being smashing successes.

Nexus shadow of the tomb raider