'Rise of the Tomb Raider'

Tomb Raider for the past twenty years has been an icon for females ever since its introduction. Lara Croft became an archaeological inspiration, despite the overly disastrous and adventurous expeditions she experiences. I have recently finished Rise of the Tomb Raider (within an entire week), and find that there is no better game to celebrate Lara's '20th Birthday' with this game.Square Enix has made Lara into a character that people can relate to. Now, I wish I had rich parents and a legacy as big as the Croft family; I think we all do. But it's through her past that she is able to humble herself into the character that makes Tomb Raider so believable. Lara is not a hero, and she recognizes that within the first game. This is not the typical character trope of cocky hero that is eventually humbled and saves the day not because she can, but because it is her duty. Lara is already humble in the beginning, but is naive about the world around her. The previous Lara Croft games are wickedly fun, but lack the depth of who Lara is as a character, as a human being, and as an archaeologist. In the Tomb Raider game, her survival transforms her into a woman whose ignorant and childish veil of life is torn away from her. She is now a survivor. The ending of the first game doesn't leave us questioning of who she will become. We all know that she is going to take her knowledge and newly formed skills to continue her work and search for new adventures. However, what makes Rise of the Tomb Raider even better than its predecessor is a mixture of the game-play, Lara's character, and beauty.The game-play itself is a lot more complicated than the original Tomb Raider. Rise of the Tomb Raider offers a lot more variety of weapons, but a lot more time consuming to access those. The original offered simple looting and basics of crafting, while Rise of the Tomb Raider goes above and beyond to offer a bit more interesting and realistic aspect to crafting and survival. While the game could have gone further by adding Lara's comfort in the Siberian mountains and her hunger, making it much more realistic and surreal, the focus is more on crafting for weapons and tools that help Lara survive and ultimately defeat Trinity. Along with new weapons comes new gear that helps Lara traverse through ruins and making dangerous leaps across gorges. With rope swings to grappling hooks, the sequel provides a more creative approach to looting, crafting, exploring, and reaching new heights not available in the previous. With that said, the complexity of it can be a bit frustrating soon after playing Tomb Raider. The tombs, however, with their various puzzles are a great joy. While some are too easy, there's always one or two that makes me stumble and actually stop and think about the actions needed to ultimately raid the treasure in those tombs. The tombs in latest game are a bit more out of the box as well, requiring gamers to really think or continue the trial-and-error approach until they get it right. Some are simply far too easy of a tomb, which can be a bit of a reliever for certain tombs that are simplistically complicated. Lara's character is redefined with the approach of her father and those previous experiences. For those who know of Lara's past, this doesn't come as much surprise as we know Lara was very close with her father. Rise of the Tomb Raider does very well in creating this close tie and relationship with her father, but only if you look hard enough. For those doing a speed run of the game (skipping cinematic, etc.), they're not going to enjoy the story at all, or see Lara's development throughout it. It is only those who sit down at campfires and listen to Lara's commentary that they get a sense of Lara's feelings. With these, around the open world are also writings and recordings, sometimes of Lara's father. Not only do we get a sense of Lara, but we also get to know her father and the torment a single father, torn between work and family, experiences. Her father is the drive inside Lara's motivation, but also the pain that prevents her from moving on. Only later in the game does she realize her selfish ambition to make her father proud prevents the success and lives of those already in Siberia. Lara's character is not an issue, but supporting characters can be a bit of a downer. Jonah was a pretty cool guy in Tomb Raider, but in this game he just seems so clueless. After experiencing what he did on the Japanese island, using a .50 caliber machine gun to mow down a bunch of crazed insurgents, he fails to shoot Konstantine, a man who had threatened to kill Lara and all innocent life. While this makes Konstantine more of a threat to Lara and gives her more drive, why Jonah made the decision to cower is a bit uncertain. The story of Jacob is fairly obvious in the beginning. Anyone keeping along with the story can recognize his appearance to that of the Prophet along with his demeanor. While his character is more important to Lara using teamwork and moving away from her selfish agenda, I would have liked a bit more information and perhaps more personal missions between him and his daughter (instead of constantly getting separated). The graphics in Tomb Raider were spectacular. The graphics in Rise of the Tomb Raider are only better. The environment of cold Siberia, mixed with the history of Soviet Russia and the Prophet's people, creates a various culture and community that reinforces the struggle of power between Lara and Trinity. The way this game was designed was definitely an improvement from the first game.With all these in mind, I can think of no better game to celebrate Lara Croft's 20th Anniversary. I think we have come a long way from the original classics (both in character, clothing, design, and importance of the game). It moves away from simple raiding, killing, and seeing Lara in a skimpy outfit portrayed by Angelina Jolie. Lara Croft is now a loveable character, admired by both females and males alike, combining adventure with mystery and adventure. With Shadow of the Tomb Raider releasing later this year in 2018, I can only hope the game is improved to the fullest extent and Lara's character arc firmly established.