Ryan Scott, Executive Editor: Based on everything I've seen and heard about the impending Tomb Raider reboot, it's turned into a pretty hardcore adventure/survival game. Series heroine Lara Croft certainly looks like she's been through hell and back. What did you think of what you saw?
Gus Mastrapa, Contributing Editor: This is the first time I've been excited about Lara Croft in a long time. I know some diehard fans might have a tough time letting go of the statuesque, cool-and-collected heroine we all grew up with, but this fresh perspective feels like a good move. The main takeaway here is that this reboot is, essentially, Lara Croft's origin story. It's the incident that made her the woman that we love. And, like most origin stories, a lot of pain is in store for the protagonist. I can honestly say I look forward to watching Lara Croft go through this ordeal and come out the other end a badass.
Ryan Scott: Just what kind of ordeal are we talking about here? Some of that artwork -- Lara tending to a wound, with a giant bow slung across her back -- looks pretty crazy.
Gus Mastrapa: Here's the setup: Lara embarks on her first expedition to find the lost fleet of Kubla Khan with her fatherly mentor, Roth. But they're hit by a storm, and wind up stranded off the coast of Japan. The remote island they're on is a magnet for shipwrecks -- it's a place people don't seem to survive. The first sequence I saw found Lara in a series of seaside caves cluttered with loot scored from the wreckage of all those ships. The guy who collected all that loot comes after Lara, like a character from The Hills Have Eyes. He's filthy, wild-haired, and totally out to murder Lara. It's a far cry from the wild animals Croft used to fend off in her old PC games. I felt a real sense of menace here.
Ryan Scott: That sounds absolutely awesome. So what does the game play like? Are you just exploring and trying to figure out what the hell is going on? Or does it involve a lot of stealth, as you try to evade the crazy island native, or what?
Gus Mastrapa: Tomb Raider's play seems to evolve depending on the situation. In the same sequence I mentioned before, Lara finds herself in a tidal chamber full of flowing sea water. The room has a shark cage, torches, and a huge barricade Lara's got to get around. She must solve a physics-based environmental puzzle to escape and push the story forward. This bit felt the most like classic Tomb Raider, despite the fact that the puzzle was more about manipulating a lived-in world than pulling levers and pushing blocks. But once Lara solves the puzzle, she's thrown into an escape sequence where she's forced to run like hell as the cave collapses. When the aforementioned crazy dude tries to grab her and kill her, it triggers a quick-time event. And though I didn't see Lara doing much in the way of shooting, the bow slung across her back and dual pistols her buddy Roth uses suggest to me that the game has a firefight or two.
Ryan Scott: What else did you see? Does Lara have to kill animals or mend wounds or any other Metal Gear Solid 3-esque stuff that the concept art implies?
Gus Mastrapa: When Lara reunites with her mentor, she finds him fending off a wolf attack, both guns blazing. This felt like a Young Indiana Jones moment to me -- an event that lays the groundwork for future Lara. Roth winds up with a bite wound, so its up to Lara to help patch him up and call for help. Survival seems to be a big theme here. Lara can meet up with Roth at their base camp, craft tools and weapons out of stuff she's scrounged from the world, and even fast travel to other camps. Fast travel comes in handy, as the game features a big hub world -- a vast climbable mountain and surrounding environs filled with multiple paths, collectibles, and critical missions.
Ryan Scott: Sounds interesting. Any final thoughts here, based on what you saw? How do you think it will come across to lifelong Tomb Raider fans? And is it gonna get people interested in the series, if they weren't already?
Gus Mastrapa: I'm genuinely excited about this new approach. Lara Croft deserves a great origin story and a little bit of nuance. What's so exciting about this new game is that it portrays Lara as vulnerable and human. The Croft of old was a bit of superhero, which has its own appeal, but she was a little hard to relate to. A lot of work and thought went toward fleshing out Lara Croft here; from the way the character interacts with her environment (you'll notice her touch walls as she moves tentatively through tombs) or the way she simply expresses herself (young Lara uses a lot of emphatic arm gestures when she speaks), I get the feeling that this game will allow us to get to know and connect with Lara Croft in a way we never have before.
