Lara Croft has always been a strange icon in video games.

Few of her actual games have gotten much attention, but Angelina Jolie has made sure everyone knows the character. “Tomb Raider” takes a big risk by ditching the traditional Lara in the hopes of developing a more relatable heroine.

The reboot shows Lara as a young archaeology student searching for the mythical island of Yamatai. Located in the South Pacific, the island was said to be the home of Himiko, the Sun Queen, who happens to be an ancestor of one of Lara’s friends on the expedition.

Upon approaching the island, a freak storm hits and Lara’s ship crashes, scattering the crew. It isn’t long before the group is captured by the Sun Queen’s cult. Lara must rescue them with Roth, an old friend of her father’s who serves as her mentor.

Most of the gameplay feels like “Uncharted,” which is strange because “Uncharted” clearly cribbed many of the tricks of old “Tomb Raider” games, but quickly rose to become the king of cinematic, third-person shooting and climbing. Nothing could top their action set pieces, but luckily, “Tomb Raider” doesn’t try to. Lara has much more open environment to navigate around, and she constantly gets new gear, like rope arrows that help her access new areas. It actually feels a lot like “Batman: Arkham Asylum,” and goes a long way toward making Lara feel like an explorer, rather than just an action hero.

It helps that Yamatai is also a beautiful place. The island features ruins from almost every era – from ancient pagodas to Japanese World War II bunkers – and there’s a lot of detail in the outdoor vistas and skull-strewn caves. The console version slows down a bit when the action gets heavy, but otherwise, it all runs smoothly. The character animation is top notch with really emotive faces, and Lara’s frequent limping looks believable.

Lara’s survival, however, is less believable. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a tough one and earns every kill. But her method for discovering new areas is generally to fall about 50 feet through the floor. It’s thrilling, but it seems to run counter to the goal of creating a more realistic, vulnerable Croft. Combat, however, ramps up very well, from stealthy bow-and-arrow attacks to chaotic gunplay. Even if it happens a little fast, it really feels like Lara is learning to fight back.

She also earns experience points that let her learn new skills throughout her adventure, like the ability to perform new melee attacks or spot collectibles through walls. There are plenty of interesting collectibles in the game, giving you good reason to go back and explore cleared areas. Fully voiced diary entries from every time period give new perspectives to the island’s mysteries, and optional tomb missions offer interesting puzzles.

The online multiplayer option is reasonably full-featured, with “Call of Duty”-style perks and unlockables, but it seems tacked on. The climbing adds an interesting touch, but once again, “Uncharted” does basically the same thing, even allowing you to shoot mid-climb. In the reboot, it just feels a little clumsy. That said, it certainly isn’t bad enough to detract from the overall package.

Crystal Dynamics has done a great job humanizing a character who has always seemed a little stiff. Better yet, it made a great action-adventure with a lot of meat. If this is how “Tomb Raider” will be from now on, count me in.

Published on March 17, 2013 at 9:19 pm

Contact Isaac: ikdavis@syr.edu