LARA’S LATEST QUEST IS FITTING FINALE TO HER BLOCKBUSTER TRILOGY
SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER PS4/XBOX ONE
IT OFTEN feels like there has been a million Tomb Raider games. But it’s been a joy to play the recent trilogy ending with this, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Lara Croft starts the end of her tale in Mexico and removes an ancient dagger from a tomb, intent on not allowing Pedro Dominguez from paramilitary organisation Trinity to use it for himself.
By doing so, she sets off a cataclysmic Mayan apocalypse which includes a solar eclipse and a tsunami which kills thousands.
With her friend Jonah, they pursue Dominguez – who now has the dagger – to the Hidden City of Paititi, which is found in the opening few hours of gameplay.
The town itself is a bustling burgh where many of the locals are not sure why you’re there, which will be made clear.
The wider city area is positively bulging with tombs and caves, both under water and above, which are great fun to explore.
Progression through the game brings the ability to upgrade Lara’s skills that are split into three categories – combat, exploration and the gathering of resource.
Every time you upgrade, it feels like it means something and a definite improvement is felt almost right away.
One thing that is widely apparent is the fact that now, Lara is a trained killer and has taken a leaf from Schwarzenegger’s Commando film when it comes to “all hell breaking loose”.
The amount of bad guys she has to take care of throughout what used to be an exploration game feels very different but better for it.
One thing that should be pointed out though – almost every enemy within the game can be taken out using the new stealth mode that Lara can pull off as if she were Arnie himself.
Using it, she applies full camouflage with the mud all around her and sinks into a foliagecovered wall waiting on her next victim. Climbing and swimming – like the other games in this trilogy – are your main ways of movement and can also prove tricky but when sections are pulled off and you look back to see the expertly designed and beautiful backdrop of scenery, it makes it all worth while.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the best game in the franchise so it will be interesting to see where they go next.
STEPHEN MCKEOWN