Recent reviews by Griffth

This game is definitely the high point in the "Survivor Trilogy".
It was pretty much taking everything that was great in the Tomb Raider 2013 reboot and improved on it.
Bigger open world, smoother and more polished gameplay and a lot of improvements overall.
Visually it was also a massive step up, in many categories even better looking than quite a few contemporary AAA games.
I hope the fourth Tomb Raider after the Reboot Trilogy can follow this success especially after I was disappointed in the Shadow sequel.

It's been nearly 12 year and I wanted to give the now titled "Survivor Trilogy" one... probably last play through.

Tomb Raider 2013 was likely my first "modern cinematic" game back then and I was partially annoyed but also enthralled.
Some hand holding and restricted movement felt somewhat annoying when I was previously used to complete "freedom" in older games. For example the "taking away" of controls when transitioning to cut scenes, forced walking and some other stuff like jumping and the character balancing itself on ropes. You are just pressing forward and the character walks itself over the rope. But for the longest time I don't have an issue with that anymore... if it is not overdone:
Shadow of the Tomb Raider for example had too much forced slow walking and too many slow transitions. Just pressing "forward" for up to 5 minutes is starting to get really annoying. I am here to play a game after all.

Now if it comes Tomb Raider 2013 itself... by now it is a bit rough around the edges and has a more wonky camera compared to its two sequels. Visuals also look dated by now. Not to a detrimental degree, but Rise just looks soo much better.

Apart from that it is still a great game. Gameplay Loop is still satisfying and mostly smooth.

TLDR: If you can live with the somewhat dated visuals I can definitely still recommend it

Fantastic sequel.
It looks great, it plays great and the PC port is also pretty great.

It definitely has aged in visuals and controls, but it is still quite playable.
Enjoyed it more than I expected or remembered.

Replayed due to the release of Space Marine 2 and now looking forward to that one as well.

Runs pretty good as well.
If you get it in a deep sale its still worth it, BUT it has aged.

333 Reviews for Rush Rally 3?
I had to ruin it!

The game is great btw, reminded me a lot of classic Colin McRae Rally games.

Is it a great Shadow Warrior sequel? Maybe not... depends on what you expect.
Is it a great game though? Hell yes.
Just be aware Flying Wild Hog reinvented the wheel again.

tldr:
1st game was quite a retro shooter
2nd game was a coop looter shooter
3rd game now is... primary a mix between DOOM Eternal and Titanfall 2 ( without mecha's ) adding their own twists.



Before I write more about the game I need to mention it has some stuttering between level transitions whether it's a cinematic or a new level.

Talking about cinematics this new game is really made to be cinematic experience. Looks like they wanted to go full AAA this time and started firing on all cylinders. It is a very story driven linear affair alternating between movie sequences, Titanfall 2 like parkour with exposition and finally DOOM Eternal alike battles in closed areas.
Kinda more like an FPS oriented Bloody Palace and less a full arena in my opinion. Like if you played Devil May Cry Bloody Palace or Devil Daggers where you have small areas... but not flat in this case and with some platforms and activate-able traps for the enemies. More small tight places and less actual bigger Arena Levels like DOOM.

EDIT - Completed and final words:
It is a great game and I am definitely more convinced that it is a blend of Cinematics, Titanfall 2 parkour with grappling hook and a FPS Bloody Palace in the vein of the DOOM Eternal gameplay!

If you can live with the new direction this game is a blast!

After too many Fast & Furious movies I couldn't help but laughing for 10min straight when the ending rolled.


Anyway, the game is a little gem. Never played the beloved original back then, only had a few glimpses at it at a friends place, so I can't really say how it compares. I saw a few reviews lamenting the changes, but no matter what, I enjoyed what I got.

It is fairly story heavy and very mission based. As probably everyone knows by now the open world is solely a background for the story and barely has a reason to be explored. You can even skip the driving to most missions. Driving physics are surprisingly fantastic, some race modes might have actually been a nice addition.

Missions are fairly straight forward, some more action heavy, some more stealth heavy. Maybe lost a bit of steam towards the end, I didn't like the prison that much as an example. But overall a great short package.

( don't open the steam overlay when the next mission is loading after you are done with the previous one, it caused my game to stop loading somehow )

Family is forever!

Tastes are different, I saw other reviewers preferring this over the previous two games. But personally it is the weakest entry in the Reboot Trilogy. The overall reception is not as high as the previous two games since the release as well and probably for a good reason.

But that doesn't necessary mean the game is overall actually bad.

Unlike the previous games which were developed solely by Crystal Dynamics this one was primary developed Eidos-Montréal. So their approach for a modern action game is different. Back then I dropped playing Shadow because I didn't like it that much.

But I recently played Guardians the Galaxy which was developed by Eidos-Montréal as well and it reminded me of Shadow. So I took a look at Shadow of the Tomb Raider again and remembered why I disliked it - but this time I completed it.

The games focus is a lot more on being a movie than a game, just like Guardians.

You can barely play 3 minutes without being interrupted by a cinematic moment, a cinematic transition, a cinematic walking simulator level segment, a cinematic quick time event or even pretty long full cinematic cutscenes. All of it to make this game as movie like as possible.

It really bothered me. The previous games, which I loved, had a lot more leeway to explore the world on your own terms, this one really holds your hands from the beginning to the end apart from a few exceptions.

As well it is more stealth focused compared to the previous games which them-self were more action focused. Towards the end there are even forced stealth sections where your guns are taken away.

Overall I didn't like the story as much as well, so I voted for a no. In the end I just wanted to be over with it and I probably will never return to the game.

If you play it I recommend to play it on the couch with a controller and some snacks like Guardians of the Galaxy, because there are long stretches where you have nothing to do but sit there and watch.

Could have been a good action adventure if they tried to focus just on that.
But half the game feels a like a tutorial to the loot game, which is really uninteresting tbh.
The open world missions felt especially boring and useless.

Maybe get it in a deep deep sale play the campaign and that's it.

Could have been great if they didn't abandon it mid development.
It's the closest thing to an Aliens game I ever wanted.
I hope one day they make a similar game.