After I know more about the game, I might give it a try when it hits PS4, but I'm not stoked about it right now...certainly not enough to warrant getting an Xbox One for it.
The 2013 reboot just clicks for me with the right mix of core gameplay loop and progression. My only real gripe with that game: QTEs. They are completely superfluous, badly designed in some spots (very bad feedback when you're getting them wrong), failure states that go through loading screens that take just that little bit too long and make you stare at needlessly horrible, hollow death scenes that border on torture porn. You want to present your visuals in a cinematic manner, fine, I'll look at that stuff, just make that QTE bullshit optional. Other than that, I'd just like more, larger tombs and puzzles that actually take some brains beyond trial-and-error.
I also wouldn't mind some larger/harder tombs. I enjoyed the optional tombs in TR, but they were all a bit too easy. And yeah I'm also not a fan of QTEs (not just in TR but in all games).
I had never played any Tomb Raider games until the 2013 reboot, and I thought it was great. It was like Uncharted, but with a girl! I'm actually really annoyed by the whole "X-Box Exclusive" for the sequel, because I would pick it up in a heartbeat.
That sums up a lot of the problems (but also positive qualities) with that game. It was definitely too much Uncharted for fans of the original games (puzzles practically brain-dead, LC becoming a mass murderer who kills hundreds of men during her first "adventure"). The only thing they showed some restraint with is not having LC spout one-liners during her killing sprees and OTT action sequences.
The funny thing is I remember the complaint being Uncharted was Tomb Raider with a man. Though if they're improving each other that's only a good thing. I remember the cutscene in Tomb Raider after Lara's first kill where she was devastated, after which I decided she would then throw herself off a cliff in remorse, but that wasn't a choice the game would let me choose as a viable option. Booooo!
The reboot has a lot of ludo-narrative dissonance going on for sure. On the one hand, they clearly want to show how young, naive LC has to struggle with the brutal realities of surviving (e.g. like they draw out that scene with the deer), her first human kill, etc - on the other hand, they have to have her turn around and murder roughly 98% of the island's population (and quite brutally so) over the course of the game because that's the game they wanted to make as well. There are some parts of the game where her arc to becoming a diamond-in-the-rough badass still worked for me, and I think Camilla Luddington did a fine job with the VO.
Yeah, I had my issues with it but overall it was an enjoyable game, done well. I hear the new one improves on it so it should be worthwhile.
So besides MGS5, Halo 1 and The Walking Dead S2, I also started playing Until Dawn earlier today. I finished the first two chapters.
Contemplating a new Steam purchase: either Transistor, Invisibles Inc., This War of Mine, or possibly The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. (They're all priced similarly.) Anyone have experience with any of these titles? I'm torn.
Loving the hell out of MGS5. I just love sneaking into bases, and pillaging them for all their resources, and Fulton extracting useful personnel. I get a kick out of it. Favorite weapons: Suppressed tranquilzer rifle, UN-ARC-NL assault rifle with non-lethal rounds (rarely have to use this one), WU Suppressed Tranq pistol, Decoy with voice chip (waiting to unlock the stun-bolt version). Basically, I like to play this game in that I don't kill if I don't have to. I think the rewards are greater for non-lethal approaches. Every now and then though, I do get a mean streak. Hey, how is Until Dawn? I've been intrigued by it, but wasn't sure on purchasing it just yet. Speaking of survival horror, definitely awaiting the HD remaster of Resident Evil Zero for PS4.
^ Yeah MGS5 is a lot of fun. It's basically the first MGS game I've ever played and I'm really enjoying it. Yeah, I also prefer a stealth approach... and you're right about Fulton extracting, it's awesome. I managed to extract a couple of tanks the other day. Now I'm just thinking how much fun it would be to drop one into a middle of an enemy base I'm enjoying Until Dawn so far. It starts off a bit slow, where you just get to know all the characters. But still, I like it. Speaking of having way too many games to play, the Uncharted collection is out next week.
It's really funny when you Fulton a captive. Instead of hearing abject fear and surprise, you hear: Wooo-hooooo!!! Or Yaaaa-hooooo!!! Or something like they're excited as hell...and of course, happy to be getting the hell out of there. I had that exact same thought! Great minds think alike...and so do ours. Yeah, since you can resupply right in the middle of hostile territory, I wonder if you can actually call a tank right down in the midst of your enemies? That would be hilarious! Right now, I'm taking on some Skulls snipers with an assault tank. I can usually get two of them before they start lobbing grenades at my tank....but before they destroy it, I'll Fulton it the hell out of there so I don't lose it. Then it really gets interesting. Yeah...I think I'll end up getting Until Dawn. And I already have the first three Uncharted games on PS3. Unless they are offering some major bonus content, I see no need to bring it up to PS4....just like The Last of Us. It's a great game, but I really don't see the need to just pick it up for the PS4. That said, I am eagerly awaiting Uncharted 4.
Yeah I love it when the person being Fulton extracted seems to enjoy it. I presume you could do that yeah... I really need to try it sometime. Are you talking about Traitors Caravan, the mission where you have to extract a truck from a convoy that's protected by two tanks? If yes... I blew up the first truck with C4 that I played on the ground. Then in all the chaos I Fulton extracted the second tank. And then I followed the truck to the first checkpoint where it stops. I sniped the driver and all the other soldiers (Quiet helped). Then I got close to the track so the Skulls showed up. Then I hid for a while and when they were on one side of the track, I approached it from the other side and Fulton Extracted it. Then I ran like crazy and called in my chopper to pick me up. I got a pretty good deal (35% off) on Until Dawn, so I decided to get it. I am a huge fan of the Uncharted games, so I can't wait to play them again. And it glorious 1080p this time. I also replayed The Last of Us on the PS4, but then I got it for like $15.
Ok....I'm well ahead of that point....but on that score, with the episode you're talking about, I ended up having to use an active camo to sneak up to the truck and Fulton it out of there. The Skulls were none the wiser. Then with the remaining time on my active camo, I low-crawled away from their vicinity, until I was sure I could not be spotted by them....when I was satisfied that I was out of their sight, I, too, ran like hell for the choppah!
Aha, ok then. Well like I said, I managed to get all of them on one side of the truck so I could sneak in and Fulton it from the other. Yeah I just got an XB1 (because of Rise of the Tomb Raider) and the MCC is the first (and so far the only) game I bought for it.