Well, it'd be easy to throw some arbitrary metrics in there. Damage taken in this level, time taken. Look to the DN3D and DOOM XBLA ports (combo of kills/items/secretes/time). Once you add combos in there it becomes some boss milk method of attract everyone in an area and then go apeshit--so avoid that if the game isn't built for it. I think every game should have something like that. It doesn't take a long time to implement. It does require balancing for it to be at all worthwhile, though.
I don't remember how the scoring worked in NG. But yes, that's the issue with these kind of things, you need to do certain things to prevent lameness. One way would be to eliminate points on all backtracking/resetting encounters, etc
Last edited by Joust Williams; 10 Mar 2013 at 02:46 PM.
I think it was Metal Slug that started scores at like 1000 points but continuing added 1 point, so you basically had a built-in metric that showed how many times that person used a continue without wiping their score. I thought that was a neat idea, even though I do prefer wiping the score at continues.
The message I wish I could send is that not all games are worth the same amount of money.
Games these days for the most part are either $15 or $60. Why isn't there a $40 tier? Tomb Raider could have launched at $40 and I would have bought it. They could have saved substantial development budget by not making a multiplayer mode. I thought multi was just fine, but if I'm playing a competitive multiplayer game for any length of time, it's just not going to be Tomb Raider or Uncharted or Bioshock 2 or Mass Effect 3.
That's a very fair point. I literally never touched the multi in TR, BioShock 2, or ME3. I probably wouldn't have in Uncharted 2 either, except that the Platinum was very easily attainable with minimal multiplayer participation. I also don't pay $60 for anything, so I'm pretty much already in the sweet spot you're describing.
There is a 40 dollar tier because that's what I paid for it. On consoles, you have far more problems pricing at 40, not the least of which is that there's a huge chunk of royalty $ just for being able to be on the system.
- I also rented the game from Redbox, although it was a 1-day rental period starting Friday and ending Saturday. Beat the game at 100% on Normal difficulty, with an estimated play time of about 18 hours.
- Quick background: the original Tomb Raider somehow caught my eye leading up to its late 1996 release, got a copy as a gift that Christmas, played through it and really enjoyed it a great deal. The environments, the platforming, the tense action, the puzzles, all sort of blew my mind at the time. As my posts in this and other threads attest, initially I was very excited for this new game, but that interest diminished in the wake of the reveals of the tacked-on multiplayer and optional, simple tombs.
- Tomb Raider is outstanding. Great, great game. Having a single-player narrative grab you and not let go, with such an incredibly high level of production and quality throughout, in that way it really reminds me of Portal 2 (which came out around this time two years ago). Of course the story/script and puzzles are much better in Portal 2, while the platforming and combat are better in Tomb Raider, but it reached that same level of excellence imo. Such that, to the earlier posts by Korly and Chux, I do very much look forward to re-playing this as I have - and will again - the aforementioned Portal 2.
- The new Tomb Raider doesn't abandon the old Tomb Raider. Obviously it's not the same form as it was before, but the spirit is still there. The environments are more modern most of the time and not quite as punishing, but the platforming remains the central element. There is still that essence of discovery and problem-solving, though neither reach the high of the original game. When you open the treasure chest in an optional tomb, it triggers an animation that is intentionally classic Lara Croft. And while this is a new origin story, there's a moment near the end of the game that is a huge nod to the old (and maybe new again) character.
- THE VERTICALITY. The verticality in this game is tremendous imo, they nailed it, they build amazing environments around it, and that's a immense part of keeping that spirit alive. The island is fantastic.
- The platforming feels great, as does the combat. The bow is the first weapon you get and essentially the signature weapon throughout the game, it's great to use and was my preferred weapon of choice for the vast majority of the game. (As someone longing for some great bow-and-arrow gameplay in games, this has been fantastic!) The game's probably easier if you use the assault rifle and/or shotgun more, although I didn't find Normal difficulty too challenging at all.
- The story isn't the most amazing thing, and you're likely to foresee a few events happening in advance, but that said it's very good and very well executed. I've noticed criticism about how quickly and abruptly Lara turns into the killer she is later in the game, and while that's certainly true in terms of the proficiency of her actions (especially when there's so many enemies at times later in the game), I didn't find much of a problem with it story-wise and character-wise. All things told, they nailed this new origin story.
- Because of the setting and the story developments of the island, there's naturally comparisons to Lost, but Tomb Raider blows it out of the water.
- Obviously the PC version is the best, but I was pleasantly surprised of how well the Xbox 360 version looks and runs. It's stunning and I can't recall a single moment where the game suffered any kind of hitch in performance during my playing time. Very impressed.
- Bit surprised that there's a very small Metroid-like element in needing future items/weapons for certain portions of the environment, but it's to a much lesser extent than the Batman: Arkham games for example, and the game does a really good job of not making you backtrack.
- I definitely recommend finding and going through all of the optional tombs. There's not that many of them and they are quite simple in terms of complexity, but I found they still added quite a bit to the experience and atmosphere of the game. Plus I'm sure you get at least one weapon upgrade part from one of the tomb treasure chests. The Hall of Ascension Tomb in particular is stunning.
- I also recommend finding the documents, as they add a huge amount of backstory for the island and various inhabitants of the island. They're quite significant, especially as you're playing along.
- If you have the time and the initiative, find all the GPS caches as doing so unlocks a secret document that I found to be pretty awesome. Also, I dug the environment-specific challenges quite a bit.
- Didn't touch the multiplayer, don't care about it. But it does have achievements tied to it, for those interested.
- Despite having beaten it as detailed above, I'll very likely purchase Tomb Raider soon as it's such an outstanding game and deserving of purchase and support. Looking forward to replaying it on Hard difficulty.
Hints
- Click in the left stick to switch your aim positioning between left and right. I didn't discover this until well into the game.
- You might want to unlock the XP boosting skills early on the game. I didn't, though I did with the salvage boosting skills. Still unlocked every skill and weapon by the end of the game.
Side note
This was actually my first rental with Redbox, and am quite pleased with it. Getting the chance to play a brand new game for $2 is good stuff, and I'll definitely be doing more of it. Their site says they'll have Bioshock Infinite upon its week of release, as well as DmC the week after, will rent both.
Originally Posted by Joust Williams
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