NYCC: Hands-on Tomb Raider

[Aaron Sylvester]

As I said, if you don't like the character, nobody is forcing her down anybody's throat. I liked her as she was. The fanbase wasn't crying out for a frail, whiny, scared girl, crying over killing poor little animals and fighting off smelly aggressors. If they wanted to write a different character, they should have created a different character, rather than lie about it.

The devs already stated that this is supposed to be a sort of stepping stone for her character development, something that helps her become who she is (or was?).

So far Lara's been nothing more than a pair of tits who shoots people/monsters and takes their stuff. For many that's enough, but that's not the case with the current devs. Now we get to see a different side of things, now we get to see how she reacts to being the victim of assault and having to survive.

Every great character has had a time to show their weakness, a time when they were powerless, and how they rose above it. After so many games in this franchise isn't it about damn time we see something different? What's wrong with a female character showing her frail, whiny, scared side for the first time? What's wrong with her showing some actual emotion to make her seem more human?

Anyway, different character would've been more difficult to advertise and publicize. With Lara they've already got a fanbase to guarantee some sales.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Why does every (female) character have to fit into that very narrow idea? Why can't she just be strong?

Stop. What the hell was that? Seriously, what the hell was that? I'm referring to what you sneaked into the brackets there, the bit that I bolded. Care to explain where you got that from in my post?

I can't help feeling that all this has all to do with the fact she's a woman. Since when was it expected that male protagonists show weakness and emotions? Never. That's when.

Again, stop. What the hell is this? Where are you pulling this from? Are you really that sexist?

I had a rising suspicion you were one of those goddamn feminazis who try to crowbar "oooh she's a woman" into every discussion, ironically coming off as a total misogynist by indirectly demeaning women despite nobody else saying anything of the sort.

I have the same expectations for male characters as well, I've seen my share of strong male protagonists who have gone through tough times and been the victim, in the end coming out as more of a badass than ever. I find it to be an important step in character development regardless of gender.

But I'm not even going to bother explaining any further because you'll try to warp whatever I with "ooh it's because she's a woman!" again.

These forums are seriously going paranoid with the whole feminism vs gaming discussions that have spread like shit hitting the fan, can't even have a straight thread without some feminazi desperately trying to crowbar feminism/misogyny into the discussion.

 

[Michael Brockbanks]

I'd love to see all these well crafted male characters that were abused in their youth and turned into strong characters. I really would.

I'm pretty sure Alucard wasn't hugged enough as a child...

To be fair, I'm inclined to agree with RL's main point (which has admittedly been lost somewhat in accusation and hyperbole) that it seems any strong female protagonist has to be given some kind of backstory that starts her out as a simpering wreck before she can become a badass. Just look at Metroid: Other M.

It's difficult to think of any female lead who is simply a kick-ass hero, no strings attached. And by the same token, it's difficult to think of any male lead who had to survive abuse and victimisation before becoming the hero.

I'm not saying we should see a young Nathan Drake forced into his first kill when fighting off a rapist, but nor are we likely to see his as a young, naive underdog, forced through despairing circumstances to become a survivalist.

What was unique about Lara Croft in terms of female protagonists was she was not some innocent expert, defending herself when necessary to secure the secrets of the ancients; she was an action junky hunting the secrets of the ancients purely for the danger and thrills that came with the territory.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

I played this today at NYC comic con. Alot of cut scenes. funky smelling headset. I ran around in the woods...jumped into a rock. It was kinda of clunky still, but they made it very well know it is still a beta version.

 

[Milanezi]

I bought the first and second Tomb Raider, it was fun, and being a kid, seeing that it worked on my PC back then was all I cared about. When I developed a level of, let's call it "gaming understanding", and got my hands on much better games, I realized I actually didn't like Tomb Raider at all, it sucked on many different levels. Those latest ones, i've played them a bit, didn't really enjoy them either. Be that as it may, THIS reboot did catch my attention, I am definitely looking forward to it. I just don't get the naysayers that criticize the game on terms of "it should be a new IP", it seems to me that the idea wasn't about creating a brand new series from scratch, but recovering those few bits that survived the dramatic downfall of the original series (shit we even had a comic book crossover with WITCHBLADE!), and restoring it to a new generation of gaming experience. Reboots, in my opinion, are only bound to retain the essence and the important characters, EVERYTHING else can be radically changed, that's not to say the reboot will work, cinema has proven us otherwise much more than once. Anyway, the few good memories I had from Tomb Raider, which was that exploring/surviving essence (which got distorted into badass hitgirl/demon hunter along the way), seems to be present in the game's footage and videos so far, only embodied in much more "human", though maybe still not believable (but if you want believable, you'll have a very boring game, no matter what game it is), Lara Croft.