Tomb Raider, an almost perfect exercise in mediocrity.

I came to Tomb Raider willing it to be good and it is very clear that the developers really tried. Unfortunately, the latest entry in the franchise comes up short in almost every way.






This review is written so much later than the release of the game because when it launched on PC it was rendered unplayable with graphical bugs. With that in mind I almost decided to knock another a star off the rating but I wanted to give Tomb Raider its dues.

In spite of the miasma that occurred before the games launch, I came to Crystal Dynamics latest attempt at making Tomb Raider relevant with high hopes. As a big fan of both Legend and Anniversary and knowing the direction they wanted to take with the reboot I felt like they could be on to something special. I am usually resilient to hyperbole and my inflated expectations of the game speak to just how much I wanted Crystal Dynamics to make good on their promises. 

Lara's latest adventure involves a lot of exploding

I loved the Uncharted series, with Uncharted 2 being one of my favourite games of this generation. The promise of Uncharted style bombast combined with that nostalgia hit from raidin' tombs made me peaked my interest. Unfortunately, I quickly reach the crux of my problem with Tomb Raider - it simply isn't Uncharted. The game itself in a vacuum is fine, maybe even pushing good if the game had come out in 2007. The love and care the team put into trying to make this Uncharted style game really shows. The highs are delivered with fantastic aplomb in some moments almost rival those in the Uncharted series. Almost is the key word in every sentence I would use to describe tomb raider. 

The combat is satisfying, especially with the bow

It also had the misfortune of being released when almost everyone was beginning to sour on this style of gameplay. The words ludonarrative dissonance were thrown around a lot back in 2011 when Uncharted 3 came out. Despite the disconnect between the characters, story and the gameplay mechanics the game tries its bes to toe the line.

While I don't expect every game to be Braid, and I understand that in the pursuit of fun sometimes you have to shoot guys, a lot. Lara's latest adventure promised to address this issue, trying to make you feel a real impact from the story. They made all the right moves and the beginning of the game really almost sells it. The shakiness and the limited time she can hold the bow taught for before loosing an arrow was not only a clever mechanic it also really helped build tension.

 My personal favourite moment in the game was as I tentatively lined up the perfect shot only to loose focus and accidentally sent the arrow flying into a wall, giving away my position. The attempt at creating something different that had more meaning and impact is admirable. Unfortunately, this time, Crystal Dynamics just didn't stick the landing.

Lara goes through an awful lot in a small space of time

The story they tell is paper thin but interesting in places.The notion of trying to weave it in and out with the mechanics is a welcome addition that just manages to fall flat. To try and emphasise just how tough it is for Lara they decided that she has to get beaten up, a lot. This adds a neat dynamic the first time it happens, it seems a bit over the top the second and by the time the game is through it is simply corny. When Lara takes yet another devastating injury to her side towards the end of the game she essentially brushes it off and carries on. It wasn't supposed to play in that manner it was supposed to be dramatic and tense but it just made me cringe.

The game world is very well realised, despite the bugs

The game itself is gorgeous, graphically it was stunning with meticulously drawn environments and a bright colour pallet. The graphics do a great job of drawing you in and helping immerse you in Lara's world. My machine started to really have problems with the tressFX, especially in the more effect heavy scenes so I ended up turning it off to keep the framerate up. I really didn't want to turn it off though, it genuinely added a lot to the look and feel of the game and Lara. 

The world is well realised and the side areas they clumsily try and encourage you to explore are all pretty well done. It was a shame the optional tombs were both optional and so sparse.

Raiding tombs is exactly what I came for to Tomb Raider for and they were some of the best parts of the game.

The light RPG mechanics add some depth but don't quite hit

The light RPG mechanics that go along with the game are clumsily implemented. Hunting for items to make the game easier is boring and a lazy way to try and encourage players to explore. As the game went on I fought off my OCD impulses to find everything in every area and  began to enjoy myself much more for it. It is a shame that content was gated in this way as I have no intention of ever going back to look for it. The multiplayer also feels tacked on and deeply unsatisfying I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who wasn't a complete masochist.

Despite a gossamer story and various developers writing lots of cheques that the game simply wasn't ever going to cash I still can't fault Tomb Raider too much. Plenty of it was done well, it even did some things fantastically but mostly it was simply okay. Lots of things made me want to hate the game as I played it but I simply couldn't. It was a game that was made with at least a modicum of heart by developers who really cared about delivering the fans something they deserved. Did they reach any of their lofty goals? No, not really, but does it really matter in the scheme of things? 

The main thing I took away from Tomb Raider is that it is not bad, it just isn't good. It was the game equivalent of a summer popcorn flick with Will Smith playing Lara Croft.  If it is on sale and you are looking for a mindless way to spend a weekend this could be a safe bet. If you want a bit more substance then maybe give it a miss. Tomb Raider is a labour of love, and while the thing it seems to love most is Uncharted, there are glimpses of promise. Despite my disappointment with the final result I am somehow still excited to see where Crystal Dynamics go next. 

The Binding of Isaac, a journey into the depths of procrastination

The Binding of Isaac's unique blend of understated gameplay and artistic sillyness come together to create a long lasting impression.

I know I'm a little bit late to the party but after investing an awful lot of my time into it I thought I would share my opinion of The Binding of Isaac.

So, I've spent more time than I would care to admit with Isaac and I am still nowhere near done with it. The game stands apart in a huge number of ways, there isn't another game like it.

Yes, that is 90 hours, ninety!

The thing it does best is the most esoteric of attributes, it makes you want more. The first outing since Super Meat Boy from Team Meat designer Edmund McMillen is a slow burn. When you first start out the game is borderline incomprehensible and infuriatingly difficult but it just gives you enough to want pick yourself up, dust yourself off, grit your teeth and try again.

I had so much fun fighting against the game to try and force it to show me its secrets. I don't particularly care for the themes and concepts explored in the game. If anything I found them more of a turn off than turn on, the art style is a little on the nose and if anything detracts from the core of the game by being controversial. The aesthetics are strong despite adding an additional layer to penetrate before you can begin to really enjoy it and although not to my taste, I wouldn't hold a grudge over them. 

Enjoy it you will! Once you get past the barriers to entry, as plentiful as they are, you will find that an extremely strong game lies underneath. Isaac is just ridiculously fun, the same tightness of control, focus of concept and punishing difficulty that made Super Meat Boy so addictive is reborn. 

The different characters add a unexpected
level of nuance to the game.

Isaac is to Zelda what Meat Boy was to Mario. The developers have absolutely understood what made the original Legend of Zelda so good, the ability to explore and discover all sorts of madness and nonsense populates the games world is so compelling you take the pain of the restarting. The horrible roguelike trope of "fuck you and all your progress" punishing your slightest mistake sucks you in further. All the difficulty in the world of course would make no odds without the iv that slowly drips all of the wonders the world is filled with. This is exactly what made the exploration and the adventure we took with Link so compelling. The slow and methodical nature you need to adopt to try and discover what is going on in the game is incredibly rewarding. Why there is a room with spikes in the middle and nothing else, why the doesn't the sword door open every time you pass it and how do I beat that guy who spits flies at you are questions that you will scream at the computer time and time again after dying at the hands of a spider on floor 1.

I really, really hate this guy.

Isaac is a perfect homage to all the games it is influenced by, understanding exactly what made the original experience good and focusing on this purity allows them to create a distilled pure version of what made those games so special. The developers seem to understand what people loved about Nintendo games better than Nintendo do.

The way the game is built lets you continue to explore new deeper levels and fight progressively more difficult final bosses as the player beats the game over and over, with the game simply becoming “harder” once the player has beaten it enough times. The great balance between gameplay and difficulty allows the game to always be balanced as the player improves, increasing its longevity.

The various items really make you feel powerful.

The multitude of pickups in the game make the gameplay really varied keeping it feeling fresh for as long as you want to keep playing. The random nature of drops also adds to that feeling of, "just one more go". The transformation that poor Isaac goes through as he picks up a number of bizarre items throughout the dungeon is not only genuinely funny but also helps you feel really powerful. Some combinations (The Mulligan and Technology 2 being my favourite) are so powerful that you will be able to tear through anything stood in your way. This is super satisfying as you can take revenge on any of the bosses with your own army of flies or with a laser than fills half the screen. This is very cathartic and the promise of the chance of picking up one of those magical combos keeps you coming back for more. 

The Binding of Isaac is a cut above the rest of the competition in terms of focus, clarity of vision and just sheer fun. It's a must play for anyone who likes fun and video games! It's a bargain at ten times the price, I can't name any AAA game in the last 2 years I have spent half the time with that I have with Isaac or one I've had half as much fun with.