Forget everything you knew about Tomb Raider!

[Yggdrasil]

The first couple hours are amazing, hitting its peak when Lara kills her first person.  I was disappointed at the disconnect between Lara being emotionally distraught after killing her first person, and then going on to kill hundreds of people.

Tomb Raider raised a lot of comparisons to the Uncharted series, and both games show that tension of having very life-like and ordinary human characters killing hordes of bad guys. This is a constant tension, and I don't imagine that any one game developer has the magic bullet to just solve it. But how did you work around this? Or do you even see that as a tension that needs to be resolved?

"It is very difficult. I think it is all about the suspension of disbelief that you have when going into a game. It's very difficult to keep that good affable character when they're having to slaughter loads of people. But what we tried to do with Lara was at least have the first death count. As you say, she's uncomfortable with having to do what she needs to do. Those feelings start to bubble to the surface, and she does sort of push them away because she knows she can't think about what she's doing. It will incapacitate her if she does.

But, you know, it does bubble up. Mathias refers to it as well at the end. So what we tried to do there is give her a knowing-ness about what she's doing. Certainly with the first kill having a lot of impact. She went quite a long time without having a weapon. Then there was the bow, and then quite a long time without a gun. There is lots of kills after that. But you can't play the same card over and over again. Every kill cannot be like the first kill."

Source: Kill Screen

[Daedalus]

I think that what Tomb Raider did is a good first step.  I would be very interested in a game that only had a handful of kills in it.  Kills that had meaning and an emotional impact on the game.

What if instead of sending 20 guys at you with rifles they had more elaborate tombs?  I found the tombs to be a joke compared to what Assassins Creed has been making in their tombs.

The real question is "Does Tomb Raider NEED to have that combat mechanic?".  When you were done with Tomb Raider what did you think about the next day?  The assault rifle or the story and setting?  What if you just had a bow for hunting wildlife?  I really think there is possibility for some amazing innovation if developers will stray from what has always worked.

[DPB]

What if instead of sending 20 guys at you with rifles they had more elaborate tombs?  I found the tombs to be a joke compared to what Assassins Creed has been making in their tombs.

That's what the old games did, even the ones Crystal Dynamics made before were much more focused on exploring tombs than fighting waves of disposable mooks.

[Dice]

What if instead of sending 20 guys at you with rifles they had more elaborate tombs?  I found the tombs to be a joke compared to what Assassins Creed has been making in their tombs.

That's what the old games did, even the ones Crystal Dynamics made before were much more focused on exploring tombs than fighting waves of disposable mooks.

Man I loved the Ass Creed tomb sequences.  Assassin's raiding Indiana Jones turf was awesome.
Yeah, the Tombs in Tomb-freaking-Raider were usually hilarious 1 or 2 room places that end in her [gasping] (lit. subtitle) over treasure she skims some coins from the top.

[Yggdrasil]

Spoiled Games: TOMB RAIDER -- Rev3Games

"On this episode of Spoiled Games, we're breaking down the 2013 reboot of TOMB RAIDER, one of the most iconic game franchises of all time. How did Crystal Dynamics do in bringing Lara Croft into the modern era? Did the game lose the appeal of the original, or did it end up being better than any of its predecessors? And did it lay a solid foundation for the sequels to come? Find out what Adam Sessler and guests Kirk Hamilton and Tara Long have to say!"

[Klutz64]

Despite the whole "Under performed" thing, Tomb Raider is still getting a sequel! :D

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[Yggdrasil]

Square Enix's Tomb Raider studio hit by lay-offs -- Source: Siliconera

"The latest in Square Enix's ongoing troubles involve lay-offs at Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics, Kotaku are reporting. The staff that were laid off were not working on Tomb Raider, but on a new IP instead."