Tomb Raider Will Struggle Against Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception

By Neal "NeoMahi" Evans

Looking back upon my older gaming days, specifically the 32-Bit era, I remember the Sega Saturn. It was the follow-up to our Sega Genesis and we didn't yet have a PlayStation, though I knew I wanted one. I distinctly remember hanging out at my buddies apartment everyday after school as he showed off his one-hundred plus PSOne gaming collection in what I believe was a motivational push to show me what the PlayStation was capable of pushing my interest further and further convincing me to get me on the bandwagon.

There were two games I can remember him showing me. The first being Resident Evil 2, which I was instantly sold on, and the second was Tomb Raider. Its as though it were yesterday. I'm sitting on the floor glaring at this 32-inch massive television watching this woman with a massive chest running through a house leaping all over the place like some French acrobat and then, the screen went black and she suddenly appears ready to take a dip in the pool as my buddy leaps into the pool, swims around and dives. He then hands me the controller and says "You wanna try?" I remember having the camera mastered as I'd played Resident Evil 2 several times at his home but, I also remember I couldn't get my head around the control scheme. Never before had I played a 3D game it as it was so new taking advantage of 3D space. I know for a fact that I was blown away by its style and, at the time, how graphically amazing it was.

I firmly believe that Tomb Raider has had just as much an influence on gaming not only then but, upon the future of gaming which is today, as games like God of War, Gears of War, Halo and Zelda do today. I'll readily admit in the same breath however, that Tomb Raider as a game has never actually been able to sell me though. I've played Tomb Raider and began Tomb Raider: Underworld and Underworld felt so broken to me or so glitchy, that I couldn't get myself to finish it. Then, Eidos come out and announce they're working on a Tomb Raider Reboot and I simply looked at it and told myself "Yeah right. There's no way you can bring back Tomb Raider." That is until at this years E3, when I finally saw Tomb Raider in action at Microsoft's E3 Press Conference. I then became a believer and knew I had to have this game. Now, as time has passed, I've asked myself, is this really a game that can compete against Uncharted? Has Tomb Raider become a shadow?

Looking back on Tomb Raiders past, Crystal Dynamics was much more different than it is today. Believe it or not, a large chunk of Crystal Dynamics are now under the employ of Naughty Dog including its Co-President Evan Wells whom had joined the ranks during Jak & Daxter's development having been working under former Co-Presidents Jon Gavin and Jason Rubin. Over time, Naughty Dog's team became filled with veteran developers from Crystal Dynamics including its beloved Creative Director Amy Hennig whom had studied writing and film in southern California and it seems she had brought with her Gordon Hunt whom she had previously worked with during the Legacy of Kain project. Even Richard Lemarchend, whom was Crystal Dynamics Lead Programmer worked his way over to Naughty Dog becoming a Lead Game Designer with Naughty Dog. 

When you look at this sort of transition and structure, its no wonder that Naughty Dogs next big franchise, Uncharted, is so much like Tomb Raider. When you take that team and couple it with technology Naughty Dog had been working on for years, that graphical style and finely tweaked gameplay gives Uncharted what it is. Thusly, to say Uncharted is a ripoff of Tomb Raider may not be so accurate. So, when we look at the new Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider's reboot is simply taking back that gameplay that was once synonymous with Crystal Dynamics.  This again begs the question, can Crystal Dynamics new take on the Tomb Raider franchise compete with Uncharted?

Well, when you look at it from a sales perspective, it should be a no brainer. Since the beginning of time, though Tomb Raider has always been synonymous with the PlayStation brand, it has never exactly been exclusive to the PlayStation. During those 32-Bit era days, I could play Tomb Raider on the Sega Saturn just as easily. Tomb Raider has lived on as a multiplatform title.  Uncharted however, has not as Naughty Dog are owned by Sony and develop exclusively for the PlayStation brand.

I was actually surprised this year as Crystal Dynamics made their way on stage at Microsoft's E3 Press Conference to show off the first gameplay footage of Tomb Raider rather than Sony's E3 Press Conference where that genre and gameplay style is again, synonymous especially with the impact Uncharted has had lately. But, at the same time, I wasn't all that surprised as Microsoft were fully aware Uncharted was making its big debut at Sony's E3 and felt they'd needed something to match that and Tomb Raider was their game. Perhaps Crystal Dynamics had approached Sony concerning the matter and Sony apologetically declined stating the bill was full and Uncharted 3 was already scheduled. But, perhaps Sony asked Crystal Dynamics to make an appearance to further that reputation but Crystal Dynamics had to respectfully decline as Microsoft had already signed them.

I wouldn't put it past Microsoft to put some extra money, effort and advertising behind Tomb Raider for the Xbox 360 to advertise that Xbox 360 offers that same gaming experience on Xbox 360 as a way to draw PlayStation gamers to their platform but, it would have to be some amazing exclusive content as both Uncharted and Tomb Raider are available still on the PlayStation 3. Therefore, because of the multiplatform nature of the game, its clear Tomb Raider will sell a lot of copies when compared to Uncharted but will the quality and experience be on par with what Uncharted offers and can Crystal Dynamics take all that back to their home ice?

What impressed me most with Tomb Raider is the interaction in the game. Through the E3 demo, it was very well paced allowing you to sort of take in the environment at man points, Lara would have to relight her lamp to see through the dark and soggy cave. I got a much better feel for the game and felt more immersed. It was clear Lara was injured and in a massive amount of pain. You would use those Shenmue-type button commands to interact with object and when enemies would appear, you would interact with button prompts to break free and escape. The game felt like Tomb Raider in a Resident Evil 5 sort moments and had a much better feel.

Its clear that the game is going to rely heavily on its emotion engine and its unique feature but the game most certainly borrows a lot from Uncharted reliant on the Uncharted style and success to carry Tomb Raiders gaming experience and the Tomb Raider name to draw the crowd. Crystal Dynamics denies their game is like Uncharted as Uncharted is more story driven  and their game is more about choice and gameplay. But, with Tomb Raider, I sense some Heavy Rain in there where Crystal Dynamics is really going to try and screw with your head to make you feel for this heroine in distress and her predicament.

Its clear what Crystal Dynamics is shooting for with this reboot. The game maintains its character and gameplay style yet, its a much darker and more gritty style of experience which draws in a larger crowd, I think, than what Tomb Raider has originally pulled into their games and this could be what does Tomb Raider in. For me, this is an excellent sort of game. As a big fan of Uncharted and its style, this is what draws me to Tomb Raider. It just may have buckled down and pulled out all the stops, fixed the glitches and refined the gameplay. They've finally toned down Croft a little bit at she's beginning to look a bit more human, though still rather busty keep the guys looking, and much of her animations it seems Crystal Dynamics have torn another page from Naughty Dogs book on character animation and a much more natural flow to the characters. These coupled with that dark gritty feeling make this game an instant must play but, that's pretty much it. For those whom are gamers like me, this is a perfect fit and they'll love it to the bitter end. For those that aren't well, that's where Uncharted comes in.

A while back, it was thought to have been that Sony had marketed their PS3 Exclusive Heavy Rain to the wrong crowd and that the game should have been catered to women. I suppose Sony took that to heart and tossed that into its Uncharted franchise. Uncharted was clearly penned by a woman whom has read a lot of romance novels, watched many classic films of that same nature but, had that interest in Indiana Jones at the same time. Having penned her script with experience in Hollywood film style writing, it simply had to make it to the hands of gamers that were all about developing the sort of game that they themselves would want to play. Mix that with Naughty Dogs reputation of colorful and vibrant environments and a fantastic musical score by none other than Greg Edmonsen and you've constructed a masterpiece. Any whom have played PS3 exclusives like Heavy Rain, Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4, that musical score even adds to that powerful emotional feel that you get in games that really grip you and cause you feel sorry for characters like Ethan Mars, or the intense battle of Metal Gear Solid, or rushing feeling of Uncharted. Its key in having an excellent score to your game. Watching Jacinto fall to the Locust horde in Gears of War is simply nothing without the masterful mind of Steve Jablonsky. An absolute necessary. That sort of feel has to show in your story penned to its best an reliant on that story. If the story is intriguing to keep the gamer hooked, the gameplay will excellent work side-by-side with it. If the story is no good, in todays gaming world, it simply won't cut it and reviews of games from critical gaming sites who critique those experiences need that.

Part of Uncharted's sales power spawns from the fact that it appeals to a much larger or more vast audience. Penned by Amy Hennig, Uncharted pulls a 'Nintendo' pulling in the interest of the female fanbase written by this genius who reads and views pretty the same content with the same interests in what she wants in a story with a powerful narrative. All she then has to do in pull in the gamer. Naughty Dog's team of game and level designers, animators and crew focus on the core content of the game spicing it up with outstanding gameplay, high speed chases and explosions.

Its also worth mentioning content of the games themselves. While things in California may have changed, the gaming industry remains dedicated to paring the right content to the right consumers. The ESRB remains that balance and I whole-heartedly feel that Uncharted's success comes from that balance. Uncharted delivers an engaging, intense, action packed drama while keeping it within reason, the ESRB dubbing the games packaging with a 'T' rating placing the game on store shelves virtually making the game available to any gamer the gamers mother apt to picking the game up for their child upon positive recommendation from the store clerk.

With Tomb Raider, it may have been that way back on the PlayStation, Sega Saturn or Dreamcast. Tomb Raiders attempt to bring more realism to the series is excellent for gamers like you and I but, having that 'M' rating stamped on the packaging isn't going to have the same effect and is thus much more limiting leaving Tomb Raider playable to its core gamers.

We've yet to hear more on Tomb Raider and Uncharted 3 has yet to receive its final rating for the ESRB board. but, I'm willing to bet Uncharted will follow suit in keeping itself accessible by as many it can while delivering a stellar experience. As an Uncharted fan, and seeing the direction Tomb Raider is going, if it can maintain that vision of quality and interactivity, it will keep me clinched to it until the day I'm able to bring it home as for me being the gamer I am like many, this is the game Tomb Raider needs to be. But, from what I know and have seen, Tomb Raider has quite the fight ahead of itself and Uncharted 3 will be giving it a run for its money and force Crystal Dynamics to really produce something amazing. For Tomb Raider, this is do or die. For Uncharted, its a matter of maintaining pace and continuing to please the crowd.

For all things Tomb Raider, all things Uncharted and all things gaming, keeping checking back as we keep you inside the X-Gaming Zone right here at XZONE.