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Here we are, just into the third major installment of Tomb
Raider. Some people out there may have been waiting with breaths
baited, computers ready and a vacation scheduled from mid-November
through mid-February in order to devote their full attention to the
new release. While perhaps others of us (perhaps only me) anguish at
the thought of the needing to buy a new PC in order to just play it.
Whatever were your personal feelings toward this latest installment of
Tomb Raider, rumor mills have ground out word that there might be at
least another sequel down the road.
In Tomb Raider 3, we get a few more new outfits, new moves, new
vehicles, new enemy AI, use of triangles for 3-D rendering primitives,
more detailed textures, new water effects (including rippling,
transparency, and reflections), semi-transparent surfaces for lighting
effects, and a faster game engine. Most people are in agreement. All
these things are great. But are they the things that we really
wanted? For that matter, do we really know what we want? Are a
couple of changes of clothes and some cool new features enough to
justify our continued loyalty to the Tomb Raider franchise?
Ask yourself, "What was it about Tomb Raider that first drew me
in?" For some it may have been the gender or appearance of the main
character. You don't have to be proud of that fact but you can admit
it to yourself. For others, it may have been the game play (puzzle
solving and auto-targeting) or the, then revolutionary, third person
3-D perspective. When I downloaded that first demo, I found the game
interesting. I recognized the fact that Eidos/CORE had broken new
ground and would perhaps start a new revolution in 3-D video gaming.
I had strongly disliked the Wolfenstein-3D genre of shooter games, and
I was pleased that Tomb Raider offered a blend of puzzle solving and
action. The fact that the guns were auto-targeting told me that the
point of the game wasn't to sharpen your shooting skills but rather
the purpose of enemies were merely to be an added level of difficulty
to the puzzle-solving.
All that was fine and dandy, but none of that was really
compelling to me. Even after the demo, the hype, and the
advertisements, I was not inclined to purchase the game for
myself. The thing that hooked me was a combination of the above
reasons but also a good deal of one other thing: plot. If left
to the demo alone I would never have gone out and purchased a copy of
the game. When I finished watching the first full motion video (FMV)
sequence at the beginning of the game, I was sold.
You're welcome to disagree with me. Some people tell me, "If I
wanted plot, I would go to see a movie." Maybe you haven't realized
the value of the plot to this game. What you have been given is a
motivation, a goal, and a sympathetic main character. No, not that
you feel sympathy for the character, but that you can somehow identify
with the character and share her motives. I realized how important
the plot was to the Tomb Raider games when I played the "Unfinished
Business" add-on levels to the original Tomb Raider. There are no
cut-scenes or FMV's in these add-on levels, so without any plot, I'm
left wondering, "Why am I here?" and "What am I looking for?" If
these thoughts didn't cross your mind, then you probably invented some
reason for Lara's activities in your head (like I did) without
consciously realizing you did so. Well, friend, what you've just done
is added plot to that level.
From what I gather from the opinions of Tomb Raider players. Most
agree that new game effects and new locations are great, but with each
successive sequel, it seems that the number of criticisms increase
rather than decrease. When the original Tomb Raider came out, I
remember seeing nothing but accolades from the press as well as from
the players. There's no doubt the original game was a hit. Everyone
knew that there would be sequels, because how can you go wrong with a
winning equation? Well, you can if you are using the wrong
variables. Let Tomb Raider raid tombs. Give people more motivation
at the outset of a level so they have some inkling of a motivation.
Provide more and longer high quality FMV sequences at the ends of
areas as a sort of reward for completing that stage. Core needs to
remember their roots and find out what made the original Tomb Raider
game a success.
There's no knowing what is true and what rumor at this point.
Some say that there will be an extra year's gap between this next
release of the next Tomb Raider installment. Others have said that
the next installment will have a completely redesigned game engine,
and they will be developing the code from ground up. Tell you the
truth, I think I could have been quite happy to purchase every
subsequent sequel if Core/Eidos simply continued to use the TR2 or TR3
game engine.
I believe that Core Design can continue to make stellar games in
the Tomb Raider series so long as they invested their energy in
building a gripping plot and designing beautiful and challenging
levels that plot. Developing plot means taking the time to write a
story-line, render FMVs and program cut-scenes, hire voice actors to
play out those sequences. These are the two primary areas that
contribute to great a game play experience in the Tomb Raider. Core
can continue to refine the game engine all they want, but we, as the
consumer, could keep the computer hardware or game consoles that we
currently own and continue to drop our money in their pockets, rather
than into the pockets of the hardware manufacturers.
However, If indeed it is the graphics and visual effects that will
sell Tomb Raider to you, then the critics are completely right: the
Tomb Raider game engine has aged for far too long and it's high time
for a rewrite. But keep in mind that you will likely need new
hardware in order have the processing power to run the new engine
which would allow you to play a FMV quality Lara Croft in the game.
But if not, then maybe you also share my feelings that Eidos and Core
need to remember that they won't be making any money off my computer
purchases, and the more money I dump into getting new hardware, the
less I'll have to buy their new games.
Perhaps Core Design can learn from the Japanese automobile
manufacturers: the product has already been invented. There isn't
anything revolutionary you can do with it. Now it's just a matter of
producing the best and most refined (ie. doesn't crash, doesn't pause,
doesn't cut out) version of that product for the same money or
less. Yes, Core, listen to your customers and take their advice, but
listen to the right ones.
As always, you're welcome to disagree or share your opinions with
me at ichou@trinity.westhost.com.
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