Since it was first released in 1996, the Tomb Raider franchise has been known for an exciting brand of 3rd person shooter gameplay and a dynamic puzzle and exploration system. Players follow the exploits of Lara Croft, a female archeologist, as she explores tombs, solves puzzles, and survives hostiles while rendered in a fully realized three dimensional world. The original game was a certified hit, selling over 7 million copies to date and spawning eight direct sequels and anniversary editions prior to the reboot of the franchise with March 2013’s title of the same name, Tomb Raider.
Story Line
The new release of Tomb Raider introduces a reimaging of the main character’s origin story along with a change in the core gameplay from previous Tomb Raider versions. The new version of the game still follows the exploits of Lara Croft, but this time she is a much younger protagonist. Players will follow Lara Croft as she tries to survive being shipwrecked on the island of Yamatai while rescuing her friends and escaping from a violent cult of criminals.
The reboot of Tomb Raider is still a 3rd person perspective game in a fully realized 3d world and uses motion capture technology to model the character of Lara Croft and others. The gameplay features a quest model that most MMO gamers will recognize, the hub system. Players will locate a camp or town or building of some kind that will then serve as a central location to receive and turn in quests until the final breadcrumb quest leads the player to the next hub.
Questing
Quest types include exploration, action-adventure, and survival mechanics inside the main quest line and side quests will include actual tomb exploration. Players are expected to spend about 12 to 15 hours on the main quest line or campaign while the multiple side quests will extend the total playtime. This version of Tomb Raider is also the first version to include multiplayer game modes and support.
Tomb Raider was released on March 5th, 2013 and is currently priced at or around $49.00. Recommended system requirement are as follows:
System Specifications
OS: | Windows Vista, 7 or 8 |
Processor: | Quad Core: AMD Phenom II X4 955, Intel Core i5-750 |
Memory: | 4 Gb Ram |
Graphics: | DirectX 11 Graphics w/1Gb video Ram (AMD Radeon HD 5870, nVidita GTX 480) |
DirectX®: | Version 11 or Better |
Hard Drive: | 12 Gb Storage Space |
Other: | Broadband Internet connection |