Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered - PC Review

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered by developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Aspyr—PC (Steam) review written by Valerie with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

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The year was 1996 when I first heard about Tomb Raider. I didn't have a Playstation, nor was I any sort of adept at using those controllers. However I did enjoy watching my friend play them on his PS and I was thoroughly entranced! Lara Croft is a fictional British archeologist who searches for lost artifacts. The Tomb Raider, as Lara is called, goes exploring tombs and ruins, solves puzzles, navigates hostile environments that are filled with traps, and fights enemies along the way while hunting artifacts. Now this was definitely my kind of game!

When I finally bought one of them on Steam years later, I still find the game as fun as it was when all I did was watch my friend play it. I had even gone to the movies and I have definitely read some of the comics, but none of that compares to actually playing the games themselves. The games are where the story began and continues on with the latest release: Tomb Raider Reloaded (2023) for mobile.

This past while I got my wish to play the remastered versions of Tomb Raider IV, V, and VI! I definitely love what they've done for the graphics as my old computer's graphics card wasn't up to snuff to render the original versions way back when. That and it still takes me quite a bit to master the keyboard and mouse moves to play!

So, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered from Crystal Dynamics and Aspyr is a three-game collection that features Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles, and Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. They boast improved visuals, modern control options, Photo Mode, trophies and achievements, and a lot more to augment your gameplay. 

In playing the game I still love the puzzles to solve, however my many dunks in the drink made for a challenging time to continue on. I finally figured that out by finding the 'closest' ledge to pull myself up out of the water in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. However, I am still having a hard time progressing in Chronicles. I want to get to any of the puzzles and I am constantly distracted by the instructions on how to get from floor to ledge, or ledge to ledge.

I tried out the Photo mode in Chronicles and found some nice settings for lining up a good photo, but, that's about it. Is there another purpose for this feature? I don't know.

I was definitely surprised that Angel of Darkness didn't crash as it did that so often in the original that I never finished that one. Suffice to say I am on the road to completion in this version, however I reiterate that the controls seem to get the best of me even with the Modern version setting.

The games are still the same, though, and with the little changes it is still a fun time to play. I wish this remaster had an extra room or two with relics or even extra weapons and another additional puzzle to solve. Also, to have Lara's dashing abilities to be smoother. I still fight with keeping in mind the key combinations to make Lara dash, roll, and hang from ledges. Well, I can still say I am adept at finding those med packs!

So, if you want a good time in the tombs and ruins searching for relics and artifacts with smoother graphics, then Tomb Raider IV - VI Remastered has you covered.

Score: 6 / 10 

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Marvel's Avengers - PS4 Review

Marvel's Avengers by developer Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and publisher Square Enix—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Nick with a purchased copy.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Flashier than Thor’s lighting bolts, Marvel’s Avengers brings together top-notch voice talent and talented developers for an adventure that knows how to set up major set pieces, but often feels flat during the lulls between. The adventure is undeniably entertaining, especially in its primary campaign – however the endgame (pun intended) has plenty of room for improvement.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Marvel’s Avengers is that is suffers from a bit of an identity crisis – which is actually pretty thematically on-point given the superhero theme of it all. It wants to tell a story, it wants to be bombastic and exciting, it wants to offer you a reason to keep playing after the campaign draws to an end, and by and large it hits all of those points – just some better than others.

Things open with a fairly typical but no less effective story that sees Kamala Khan attempting to pull the Avengers back together after an event called A-Day. I know there have been some grumbles questioning this choice, but I think having Kamala at the center of the narrative works beautifully here. She’s fresh to those who have been watching the exploits of Cap, Thor, Iron Man and so on via the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last decade. She’s also a bit more relatable as a one-time awkward teenager who is struggling to find her place in the world. I suspect there are a lot more gamers who can relate to that than Tony Stark the billionaire genius, or a thunder god or an enhanced soldier out of time. Those are all perfectly good stories, but the characters are less relatable to the average person I suspect.

The major set pieces here are absolutely gorgeous, rife with big action, towering buildings and scenic landscapes that are absolutely worth experiencing. That the myriad Avengers also manage to play quite differently from one another is also a huge win. Sure, there have been a lot of comic book based video games over the years, but most of the time the differences are relatively minimal. In Marvel vs Capcom you have different types of attacks, and in games like Ultimate Alliance you may have different skills that vary from ranged to melee, or healing factor versus the ability to fly, but those differences feel more like a palette swap after getting the hang of the different characters in Marvel’s Avengers. There is a world of difference in handling Black Window’s nimble skillset versus just how weighty Thor’s attacks play out.

With video game voice acting veterans such as Nolan North, Troy Baker and Laura Bailey (to name some – there’s plenty of other notables in the cast), it should come as no surprise that characters sound fantastic. The motion capture and line delivery are impactful and make the cut scenes and banter something genuinely entertaining. This helps to drive the story forward and kept me invested in what was happening. Where things started to come off of the rails a bit for me were introduction of multiplayer and the looter loop gameplay that are meant to keep gamers invested long after the core story concludes.

Look – I get it. I see exactly what Crystal Dynamics was going for here. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that games that focus on a storyline tend to hit the bargain bins far more quickly than those that have additional content and online modes. The publisher makes a lot less money if people beat the game and trade it into Gamestop within the first few weeks, than if they hold onto it for several months instead. To that end, what the developers were trying to do with their endgame that turns into a rather repetitious grind to unlock more cosmetics and costumes. I did have some fun working with my son towards some of the cooler, more iconic character missions, but the connectivity is definitely a bit laggy, and that choppiness is a detractor from the overall experience. It will get better, I’m sure – but I tried to give it a week and change from the release to see if it would be addressed and so far it’s still a pretty inconsistent experience.

That is part of what makes Marvel’s Avengers so hard to judge at the moment. The core combat with its brawler / juggling style is a good deal of fun and the presentation is top-notch to help support an enjoyable story. It’s just hard for me to get invested in the endgame content right now. It feels like this portion of the game is just not fully baked yet. I know there are plans to treat this like a living game, which no doubt means we’ll see tons of patches, improvements and there has already been a lot of discussion about the upcoming DLC packs. Because this somewhat incomplete feeling multiplayer gets embedded into the single player campaign, the core campaign suffers for it a bit.

Right now Marvel’s Avengers is an enjoyable single player experience. Where it starts to show some cracks is in the multiplayer / endgame missions that add nothing significant to the narrative and still has room to improve. That is the game plan for this title, as the developers have laid out a road map of DLC and things to come, but that only gives the impression that the games is not yet fully baked in the end.

Score: 6.75 / 10

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Tomb Raider: Legend - Retro Reflections

Tomb Raider revolutionized gaming in the nineties with three dimensional environments and challenging, complex action. Its protagonist became an iconic character, appeared in many sequels and even starred in her own movies. However, the series started to lose its originality after its initial huge success. Angel of Darkness, the first Tomb Raider for the 128 bit consoles, was not what people expected. Then, Legend came out and showed that you should never underestimate Lara Croft.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider - Xbox One Review

The Tomb Raider reboot was a breath of fresh air that allowed Lara to go on new adventures while telling us more about the character. We got to know her better, learned what made her tick and we enjoyed the adventure quite a bit when it released. Rise of the Tomb Raider? Simply put, it does just about everything better than the original.

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Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris - PS4 Review

I had originally thought that with the reboot of the Tomb Raider series it would have been the end of the older version of Lara Croft. This was a character that had been with gamers throughout various console generations and is still very recognizable. I still have not played the Tomb Raider reboot (I do plan on it soon) but It seems like the older Croft is not ready to lay down her pistols as the top down Action Puzzler Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light recently received a new adventure with the follow up title Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris.

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