The Video Game Critic

So I've been playing this as my main game lately and gotten about halfway through. It's really hard to play this game without thinking about Uncharted the whole time. The games are so similar. If there's any real difference in gameplay, I'd say that Uncharted has a slightly stronger focus on gunfights and climbing, while Tomb Raider has a slightly stronger focus on exploration and puzzles.

But that's not a bad thing. Uncharted is one of the best series out there, and it took heavy influence from the Tomb Raider series when it debuted in 2007. But it was a big improvement from those tired, old Tomb Raider games. So it only makes sense that the Tomb Raider reboot would take heavy influence from Uncharted to improve the series. I have yet to decided whether I prefer TR2013 more or less than the Uncharted games .. to be determined .. but either way it's a worthy competitor.

I never paid attention to this Tomb Raider reboot in 2013 because the older games were never my cup of tea, so I figured the reboot was more of the same. Glad I'm giving it a shot. Thanks for the recommendation Retrology. And since you say it's one of your favorite games, now you'll have to find a way to try Uncharted 2 or 4 for comparison someday...

Retrology wrote:Critic was correct to give this an A+, it's one of the best games I've ever played and I'm blown away by it!

Finally beat this game a few weeks back. I completely agree with you and the VGC on your assessment of it. Incredible game, deserving of an A or A+ score, and the fact that it is around 7 years old doesn't impact the quality at all. I promised myself I would try to do a really quick playthrough.. but the exploration and RPG-light elements were so good that I couldn't help doing 100% on the game. The stories and characters were the only really dull part, although it did pick up a little bit at the very end. (I thought Lara's "from nobody to tomb raider" storyline would be compelling, but not really. As for the other characters, they could all drop dead and I couldn't care less..) Tons of great action sequences, although the most memorable sequence to me was the throwback dual pistol moment at the end. The retro gamer in me got a kick out of that.

This game has redeemed the Tomb Raider series a bit in my eyes (because I always thought it was overrated, even in the PS1 days).. although in fairness, this is nothing like the older Tomb Raider games. This new version of Tomb Raider is much closer to Uncharted than it is to prior Tomb Raiders. I was late to the Uncharted party, but I've definitely become a fan in recent years and played 3 of the games (UC2, UC4, and UC: Lost Legacy). To me, UC4 is definitely tops and one of the 5 or 10 best games of this generation. How does UC4 compare to Tomb Raider 2013? It's a very, very close call. Uncharted definitely wins when it comes to characters and story.. UC4's story is excellent, TR2013's story is passable at best. In terms of combat and gameplay, it's a much closer call. For me personally, I think I give a very slight edge there to TR2013, especially since the exploration and RPG elements fit my personal gaming tastes. Either way, the game was excellent and glad I played it. And Retrology - if you ever end up with a PS3 or PS4, you'll have to make it a point to try an Uncharted game.