While the Tomb Raider content we were exposed to at New York Comic-Con was not all that new – the hunting and gathering sequence was first revealed behind closed doors back at E3 – we were able to explore the area for ourselves this time instead of having a developer direct the action. True to form, the game seems to play every bit as good as it looks.
The demo began with Lara exploring a cliff-side area in search of fellow humans and the means for her own survival. As we got used to the controls, we marveled at some of the small touches (like Lara brushing her hand against a cliff wall when we instinctively hugged the surface rather than walk on the edge of the outcropping. We could have used a more subdued jump to match Lara’s brutalized physical state, but her Olympic-level leaping didn’t deter our immersion too much.
We also can’t fault Lara’s "always-on" agility since it fueled our favorite set-piece of the sequence: a scramble up the side of a downed plane serving as the only bridge across a wide chasm. As we rushed across the decrepit aircraft (even though we were pretty sure it was impossible for the plane to fall while crossing it) we had a few white-knuckle moments caused by quick button-mashing sequences that began whenever Lara lost her grip on the hanging steel.
When we hit land, things were a bit more subdued as we looked for camp (save a mudslide sequence that we didn’t seem to have any ability to avoid or exert much control during), though we thoroughly enjoyed finally arming Lara. After scaling a few outcroppings, we scaled an unstable tree with the hanging corpse of a hunter offering our best chance at equipping a bow and arrow. After acquiring the weapon, our next point of order was to find food. As it took us a few minutes to get used to the bow and arrow’s power mechanic (holding onto the fire button longer causes Lara to pull further back on the bow), we continually plugged our prey with projectiles, with the deer limping from escape multiple times before we finally subdued our dinner. When a worn and weary Lara apologized to the animal, we concurred.
As we made our way back to the camp, we were able to see the many upgrades available upon completion of tasks – more XP for kills, better salvaging from animal corpses, increased ammo, and the ability to survive greate falls – but unfortunately couldn’t put any of them into practice as the demo concluded. Still, our brief time with Lara Croft has us excited to see what Tomb Raider has in store when it releases early next year.
PUBLISHER: Square Enix • DEVELOPER: Crystal Dynamics • MULTIPLAYER: None • RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2013 • FOR FANS OF: Deer stalking, cliff-walking, animal talking
