TOMB RAIDER

Adored one day, forgotten the next day life video game character is not always easy. The longevity of Lara Croft with Tomb Raider appeared in 1996, this impressive title.

But after his first year make fame and fortune, heroin designed by Core Design has undergone many passages vacuum. Takeover by Crystal Dynamics, she managed to get back into the race in mid-2000, but competition from youngsters more in tune with the times, the new Prince of Persia Nathan Drake, has largely overshadowed the victorious return .

For his first Tomb Raider since the acquisition of Eidos, Square Enix has decided to wipe the slate clean in every sense, with a dedicated young years of Lara Croft reboot, when the famous archaeologist a little snack neck was still a young graduate full of doubts. A successful comeback?

OH GOD! OH SHIT! OH GOD!

The "new" adventures of Lara Croft start off Japan in an area known for its weather similarities with the Bermuda Triangle. Still a beginner, our young archaeologist on board the Endurance accompanied by an expedition led by the spirited Dr. Whitman and started in pursuit of Yamatai, an Asian civilization which is now extinct and lost track. Alas, the misnamed Endurance broke in two in favor of a storm and the clique of scientists fail, fortunately unharmed, on an island that seems deserted. But Lara will soon discover that the unfriendly locals, Solarii have already taken up residence on this piece of rock.

In fact, his first contact with the local population will take the form of a full pear bread. When she awakens, separated from his companions, is to be found hung upside down like a ham, three meters above the ground, in other pieces of meat that costs a little less company. A few swings and a beautiful fall enough to free him, then a long hallway and a half-dozen QTE to escape from the underground cave where he had been imprisoned and find the open air, hands unfortunately also empty the stomach. But it will not take him long to find a match and make a fire, and a bow to hunt rabbits and cut its prey even grass, spraying blood on the screen. The tone is set.


LARA outraged LARA BROKEN BUT LARA RELEASED

Subsequent events will gradually confirm this change, the transformation of a fearful aristocrat killing machine, ready to plant cool an ice ax in the skull of an assailant. This is the life of a hero video game certainly, but Tomb Raider managed to make this change palpable, to stage a brilliant way this very gradual rise in power. The arsenal, first Lara will soon get their hands on the arc, also very nice to use, then firearms well rusty, an ingenious system of upgrades will gradually transform in deadly toys.

It will be the same physical abilities. Potted the early hours, just able to jump up (or almost), it will quickly learn to zip down 30m to rush about in wall by the sheer force of his ax, or to establish "bridges" rope improvised greatly facilitate his life. Especially the young Lara will put aside a priori and discover that kill Russian mercenaries, it is not dirty. Again, an XP system will give the player the choice of weapons, to the lady of fierce shotgun, a specialist in picking raspberries (yes) or an accomplished archer - the choice of the brave. We will, whatever happens, far from RPG, but the system works pretty well and is fun to somehow shape our heroine to our style of play

With a strange phenomenon of mimicry, Tomb Raider will marry the gradual rise of his heroine. The first few hours of play, bundled up in a sort of endless tutorial, and give the player a feeling of helplessness quite unpleasant. Camouflaged in rainforest along the corridor were surveyed fades away for the benefit of many, short and often unnecessary scenes, regularly interspersed with QTE surprises uninteresting. One wonders then Lara Croft icon Bi-Bop generation, is therefore in 2013 a mere rehash just missed the youngster Uncharted?


I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS

Fortunately, if Tomb Raider confirm later in the adventure (and much better way) the influence that it had on the series of Naughty Dog, he manages to quickly detach and follow its own way. Permanently installed on the island where Lara has failed, the game will make us discover the area through the hubs interesting dimensions in which the exploration will - finally - not only on the narrative. Often in environments as wide as high, then take pleasure in gallivanting platform to platform, to engage in frenzied ziplines that will land us in battle, or otherwise use the different elements of decor to offer some stealth kills that are good for XP.

Let there be no mistake, the dimensions of these hubs, as well as our freedom of action, do not have much to do with Far Cry. Much of the exploration itself, the treetops to the depths of the darkest bowels, will be needed for tracking down countless collectibles offered by the game, still rewarded with experience or parts equipment. Optional tombs, well hidden and not recommended for the claustrophobic, which with their parts-puzzles (unfortunately a little small) can be seen as a tribute by the most conservative fans of the series is even found. But for an action-adventure extravaganza, very staged and framed in very game theory, the game offers many sided rather nice that far from killing the pace or dilute the adventure, give it instead a strong identity.


"SAM? SAM! SAM!" (X10)

We begin to dream of what might have been given if Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider had not played as Uncharted. Because to sell us the touching story of a young heiress mutating into survivor to save his family and the triumph of archeology, the studio did not find anything better than the dive regularly in the most unlikely situations, while straight out of the brain of a Michael Bay great night. In the same game, Lara Croft is moved to tears by cutting a steak doe the same animal, trembling kills his first man and is found, almost without transition or to jump from roof to roof, end tile end tile, sowing death grenade while a gigantic temple is literally crumbling under his feet - when she was not climbing with a poor ax, 100m ice cliff collapsing miserably all around it, or it does not put on a parachute in an emergency before a base jump quite involuntary. In short, Lara 2013 has undergone some transfusions Drake before coming and if the result is spectacular, fun and well done on the whole, it may surprise - and probably divide.

But to convince the most reluctant, Crystal Dynamics has managed to make the effort it takes. Very successful artistically, technically developed, Tomb Raider is a game that is fun to see. Under pouring rain, surrounded by explosions or large flakes, or hosted by a sunrise after a cold night, we treat for the eyes and without the frame rate there is much to complain about. Lara also is animated to perfection: she jumps like a kid, short and stops smoothly, rests quietly on a wall when she gets too close, and play bow or shotgun with the same gusto. What a shame, really, that his incessant whining and first degree foolproof make it so unbearable - like the rest of the cast, moreover, without strong relief.


LARA FIELD

Adventure solo, rich and varied, as has the good fortune to be long enough for such a little stingy game explosions and intricately carved scripting - expect 12-15 hours digging a minimum, and probably ten advancing without asking too many questions. Driven by the urgent desire to do like everyone else, Square Enix has provided more multiplayer, told Eidos Montreal, and has four game modes: deathmatch, team deathmatch, and Cry for Help Rescue. These two modes, which are played per game, against the survivors and Solarii with different objectives.

In Rescue, Survivors will bring back medipacks without getting cranium by Solarii enthusiasts melee. Cry for Help in a little more convincing, Survivors must activate scattered across the map radio stations, while Solarii will enjoy the frag to get their batteries. Played on solo inspired by the adventure with zip lines and the whole shebang cards, multiplayer also offers a system upgrades, unfortunately not completely shared between the different factions. Very handy ... But one in the other, despite the agility that allows characters to trudge around the multi offers only average sensations, and ultimately not memorable experience. We say it has at least the merit of being there.