The Game Guru: Tomb Raider

Lara Croft is back. Over the years she has proven to be quite the adventurer, and this time around is no different, although she’s younger and less busty than before her debut in 1996.
“Tomb Raider” tells the story of how Lara Croft blossomed into the adventurer that she is. As the game begins, you find yourself on a ship, sailing to an ancient island on a research expedition. Within minutes the ship is sinking and you find yourself washed up on an island. From there, you are on the edge of your seat, never knowing what to expect next.
As much as I enjoyed the game, there are a few things I found myself scratching my head over. One of the first objectives in the game is to hunt a deer, and bring the meat back to camp so you can cook it and replenish your health. Never again during the game did I find myself killing any more animals to increase my health, which left me confused as to why they included it in the beginning.
The map, as large as it looks when you open it, is not openly accessible, which was highly disappointing to me. The only way to go from one area to the next is through a fast-travel option at campfires, which is slow and cumbersome. The whole thing seemed pretty linear. With a set route from point A to point B and crates to smash and ammo to grab along the way,  this game leaves out the need, or ability for any real exploration. To many gamers open world maps are one of the best parts of a game.
The amount of bodily harm inflicted on Lara is a little overkill to be believable. At one point, she falls onto rebar and punctures her abdomen, pulls it out and keeps going. Maybe the developers were just trying to make her out to be a super experienced adventurer when she is just some college girl on her first expedition. To top off the bodily harm, she slays lots of bad guys. Who knew so many bad dudes were on a small, lost island? Playing the role of a young naïve girl, I felt unsure about what may have been running through her head as she was mowing all these people down.
The weapon upgrade system was pretty good though. You collect upgrade parts along the way, and when you come to a camp, you can choose to upgrade your weapon.  Like fast travel, I felt like it was a real pain to try to get to a camp to upgrade. The weapons you collect and upgrade throughout the game include an assault rifle, a shotgun, a pistol, and a bow that fires both regular arrows, and flaming ones.
The truth is, for as many negatives as I found, I really did enjoy the game. The graphics are top notch, and I often found myself on the edge of my couch, not knowing what crazy, adrenalin-pumping action was going to happen next. I would recommend renting this game for a weekend from Redbox, or wait for it to be on the cheap rack.

THE GOOD: The game includes adrenalin inducing action, top notch graphics, and an intriguing storyline.

THE BAD: You must fast travel between locations. The game is fairly short and takes approximately six hours to finish. Also the game isn’t open map.