Crystal Dynamics showed off live gameplay footage on stage of the new Tomb Raider at the latest Microsoft press conference at E3 2012.
The game goes right back to before she was named a Tomb Raider, and offers a more intense, dark atmosphere whilst from what we’ve seen, a much better experience.
It showed quite varied gameplay. Cover it looks like plays at least a small part in the game; hiding yourself from enemies whilst you position yourself for a good shot.
Not least, because the game will most likely begin with only a bow and arrow that she has probably aquired. It even shows sequences of flame arrows, blowing up barrels of what looks like petrol, causing devistating damage, and flinging enemies left and right. Though she does also have a shotgun at hand by the looks of things, so other weapons will be available.
An interesting point I noticed, is that damage depends on where exactly you hit them. If you shoot them in the leg for example, they may fall or limp around. Whilst a hit to the head of course will kill them straight away. This differs from the likes of Uncharted which offers a more arcade experience to the shooting style gameplay, with many hits adding up to a kill.
Zip lines look like they will play some part to the moving around to different sections of the levels, and one part on the demo even shows a parachuting event after a horrifying fall down a waterfall and landing in a planes cockpit area with a huge drop below. The glass starts to break and she just manages to lift off a backpack from a hook just in time before falling deep into the abyss and pulling the cord.
The graphics engine on Tomb Raider seems to hold up very well with a lot of effects being shown off, including camera effects of cascading water on the lens, and god rays from the sun emitting through trees and other environments. If I’m not mistaken however; I did notice some slow down in the later sequences of the demo, but am I right?
Lara Croft will also change appearance throughout, gathering blood stains, and dirt whilst travelling offering yet some more realism.
Voice acting and lip syncing is also top notch from what I have seen so far. Very believeable, though I do wish they would tone down the screaming ever so slightly during falls/trips, etc
At the end of the demo, they also mention that the first DLC will be available first exclusively to the Microsoft 360 platform.
I’m sure we will be seeing more in the coming months, but for now, please write any comments you do have on Tomb Raider down below.
