Not-So-Mith'd Opportunity: Random Banter # 222

[Rawhide]

It's set up for a sequel, kinda hope they make one.

[LaZodiac]

It's set up for a sequel, kinda hope they make one.

T...they did? Rise of the Tombraider exists. There are two modern Tombraider games.

[Rawhide]

I just checked, there is a sequel in production. Not very far along yet though.

[Anonymouswizard]

Operating on the assumption you mean the first of the new era ones: yeah that's a pretty solid take to have on the series. It's kinda the most basic of the "modern games have a bow and crafting system" style games, and the extreme graphic violence that borders on feeling exploitative is weird, but overall the game seems Fine.

(I'm not saying you can't have violence happen in women led media, just that a lot of the violence is a little uncomfortably presented)

I didn't really like it. I saw Tomb Raider and expected puzzle platforming with relatively realistic mechanics (sorry, I'm just so used to the original games that I expect their delayed committed jumping and slow acceleration). Instead I got what felt like a standard stealth shooter with occasional cases of admittedly fun platforming (although annoyingly without the challenge of committed jumps), but it felt like I'd have to do 20+ minutes of shooting for five minutes of platforming.

The original Tomb Raider was the first game I played (the second was Baldur's Gate), so I have incredibly strong opinions about the series. Ands I don't like the direction the new games took.

[Rawhide]

You're talking about the games. I'm talking about the movie.

[Anonymouswizard]

You're talking about the games. I'm talking about the movie.

Didn't they make a sequel? I remember two of those films from my youth.

[Fyraltari]

Didn't they make a sequel? I remember two of those films from my youth.

Spoiler: Yup

Show

[FinnLassie]

Wasn't there a reboot film that already came out?

[LaZodiac]

You're talking about the games. I'm talking about the movie.

This is one of those things you should specify, Rawhide.

Wasn't there a reboot film that already came out?

Yeah, based on the game I was talking about.

The fact that Tomb Raider has persisted as an IP despite basically literally every piece of media involving it being kinda ****ty is a testament to how many people want Uncharted But With A Girl.

[Fyraltari]

The fact that Tomb Raider has persisted as an IP despite basically literally every piece of media involving it being kinda ****ty is a testament to how many people want Uncharted But With A Girl.

Aren't some of the games good? Also, I thought Uncharted was Tomb Raider But With A Boy.

[LaZodiac]

Aren't some of the games good? Also, I thought Uncharted was Tomb Raider But With A Boy.

The modern two are good. And true, but I'm just trying to get across the idea of "ancient area exploring shooter gameplay with a lovable rogue protagonist and vague, unsure-if-real supernatural stuff" in as easy a way as possible.

[FinnLassie]

Yeah, based on the game I was talking about.

Yeah, I assumed that he was talking about the reboot film since it's the most relevant time wise.

[Anonymouswizard]

The modern two are good.

I very much disagree, the original trilogy is still the best (although they went downhill from 4, despite me having a soft spot for Angel of Darkness*).

Now the new games aren't bad, they're certainly better than the AoD to Underworld dark age. Buy I think they compare to the originals despite the far less clunky controls. I don't even like the origin story aspect, although part of that is just the original game introducing Lara Croft perfectly.

Plus who remembers when raiding tombs was the main activity of this series? I mean Angel of Darkness is also guilty of this, but that game is bad and I'm a person for liking it. I didn't buy a game called Man Hunter, hey bank to raiding those tombs girl! (Ideally by platforming.)

* It just came out at the right time to be up there with Jak and Dater in my nostalgia collection.

[Razade]

A good number of the earlier Tomb Raider games were good. It didn't persist for as long as it did to earn two reboots because all the games were bad. Tomb Raider (the first) received pretty much universal acclaim when it released and is still considered a standout for the PS1. You should take into account that the first Tomb Raider came out in 1996. Tomb Raider 2 still sits at an 85% on Metacritic and was pretty well received when it was released, most giving it a rating in the 80's range or comparable on whatever scales they used. An 8 or B or what have you.

Tomb Raider 3 saw a further decline, sitting at 76 on Metacritic. It was, like most sequels, a slow decline. A C rating is still pretty good for a game series from the late 90's/early 00's. Chronicles saw...less positive acclaim and The Angel of Darkness was more or less the nadir of the series...which was also the last game made in the IP for almost a decade. The first Reboot all got pretty decent reviews at the time. All in the 70 to 80s range. Not great reviews, not reviews that would keep the series a household name if there were other games out there at the time that filled its niche and didn't have a large breasted pin up model on the front cover of every game. But ya know. Not pure bubbling excrement. The Angel of Darkness is the lowest rated game in the first two series, and also one of the worst games by most publications.

The second reboot saw a lot more success. Not just because it pared down on the absurd wank fantasy aspects of its protagonist but the first game in its series, unhelpfully named Tomb Raider, was just a fun game. The story is crap, just crap, but the gameplay isn't. The gameplay is pretty much the best you're going to find for its genre. However the second game, like so many second games in the franchise before it, was a marked downslide in quality on both gameplay and story. Shadow of the Tomb Raider continues the trend that the other two series had, and not surprisingly the review grades are more or less identical. Starting off in the 90s, lowering to the 80s and then slipping to the 70s. If a fourth game is forthcoming for the newest reboot...one can only hope they don't follow the same trail where The Angel of Darkness leads.

What Tomb Raider has failed to do is break out from its video game roots. One, because Lara Croft is a boring character who in at least the first two incarnations is kind of a terrible person and two...video game movies historically are not well received so it has an uphill battle on pretty much both fronts. At least not in the West. Which is where they were marketed. I imagine you'd have an easier time making a Lara Croft: Tomb Raider series for Netflix or Amazon Prime than trying to go back to the silver screen. I'd watch a Tomb Raider show, I think honestly most video games that want a big screen treatment would probably be better served by being brought to the streaming screen. Same with book adaptions.

[Peelee]

This is one of those things you should specify, Rawhide.



Yeah, based on the game I was talking about.

The fact that Tomb Raider has persisted as an IP despite basically literally every piece of media involving it being kinda ****ty is a testament to how many people want Uncharted But With A Girl.

Your age is showing.

Tomb Raider came out 11 years before Uncharted. Maybe you meant Indiana Jones?

[Fyraltari]

Your age is showing.

Tomb Raider came out 11 years before Uncharted. Maybe you meant Indiana Jones?

Bah, Indiana Jones is just Tintin But With an American.

[Peelee]

Bah, Indiana Jones is just Tintin But With an American.

Nonsense. Tintin is an investigative reporter who looks into anything while Dr. Jones is an academic who occasionally does field research.

[Fyraltari]

Nonsense. Tintin is an investigative reporter who looks into anything while Dr. Jones is an academic who occasionally does field research.

Wait, they have jobs? They work?

Joking aside, Spielberg acknowledged that Tintin and Indiana Jones ahev a lot in common in terms of tone and structure. He discovered the comic book when reporters kept making comparisons to it when he was promoting Indiana Jones in Paris in 1981.

[Peelee]

Wait, they have jobs? They work?

Joking aside, Spielberg acknowledged that Tintin and Indiana Jones ahev a lot in common in terms of tone and structure. He discovered the comic book when reporters kept making comparisons to it when he was promoting Indiana Jones in Paris in 1981.

Oh, they totally do have tons in common, but Indiana Jones was specifically based on pulpy serials of the '40s. Tintin, in comparison, was... oh hey you're right he is American Tintin!

Oh, also, Raiders explicitly shows Dr. Jones teaching at his university!

[Fyraltari]

Oh, they totally do have tons in common, but Indiana Jones was specifically based on pulpy serials of the '40s. Tintin, in comparison, was... oh hey you're right he is American Tintin!

Oh, also, Raiders explicitly shows Dr. Jones teaching at his university!

"Okay, kids, lesson 1 is "do what I say, not what I do" Got it?"

And Tintin writes an article in Tintin in the land of the soviets but he loses it in an explosion or something.

[enderlord99]

Spoiler: Is he talking to Potter or Dresden{?}

Show

[Anonymouswizard]

Spoiler: Is he talking to Potter or Dresden{?}

Show

The hotlink isn't working, have you tried turning it off and then on again?

[DataNinja]

The hotlink isn't working, have you tried turning it off and then on again?

And by that, he means "not using imgur, because they've blocked hotlinks identified as coming from this forum", and not everyone uses an anonymizer.

[enderlord99]

The hotlink isn't working, have you tried turning it off and then on again?

Oh, right. Imgur no likey GitP.

I fix.

[factotum]

What Tomb Raider has failed to do is break out from its video game roots. One, because Lara Croft is a boring character who in at least the first two incarnations is kind of a terrible person and two...video game movies historically are not well received so it has an uphill battle on pretty much both fronts.

Video game movies are historically not well received because they're generally garbage. In cases where the video game story is actually good (which is a rarity in itself) the movie usually makes a poor attempt at transferring it to the big screen. In cases where the video game story isn't much cop, the movie doubles down on that. I mean, the Silent Hill movie they made a few years ago? It couldn't have missed the point of the game storyline more if it had been aiming in the opposite direction and the target was on another continent.

[Lacco]

Hold on now, what makes you think that I wouldn't be interested?

Good question. Do you like low-to-mid-magic human-centric worlds in RPGs? Do you like gritty realistic combat rules? Anti-heroes/jerks with heart of silver as companions? Would you like to attempt stop dark powers and two armies that are bound to lay siege to your city? Whrn you are surrounded by overwgelming odds, is your usual reaction "This will be glorious!"?

Also, sorry for not responding sooner. I have spent most of my day outside, in the heat so now willpower to type on cellphone.

[Bartmanhomer]

Good question. Do you like low-to-mid-magic human-centric worlds in RPGs? Do you like gritty realistic combat rules? Anti-heroes/jerks with heart of silver as companions? Would you like to attempt stop dark powers and two armies that are bound to lay siege to your city? Whrn you are surrounded by overwgelming odds, is your usual reaction "This will be glorious!"?

Also, sorry for not responding sooner. I have spent most of my day outside, in the heat so now willpower to type on cellphone.

All of them. So anyway last night a Facebook friend block me on Facebook because I'm not LGBT.

[HalfTangible]

My dude, get that looked at.

And I hope one day you're able to set yourself free of the shackles of "but Mom said" because the instant I decided to stop being my mother's slave is the instant I became a full human being.

I DID get it looked at. I told you about it.

It's not exactly a "but Mom said" thing here. My mother hasn't been able to walk properly since before I was born. Just before Easter she fell and broke her only good leg. She needs somebody around here to help, and it sure as **** ain't gonna be bro or dad. The latter spends most of the year on the other side of the planet for work, and the former might do what you asked him to, MAYBE, if you force him to and remind him six times and he doesn't have anything else planned that he never told you about (but probably not). So I'm stuck doing what I'm told until - at the very least - she regains the use of her legs.

And hopefully by then I'll be done with college and can get an actual job. UBER is good for side cash when you need something flexible but it's not something you can live off of.

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like one of those days...

And thanks for asking! After I finally started hearing with both ears my condition slipped back and I am still half-deaf but with additional discomfort of also being a involuntary mouth-breather. Which means my attempts to finally rejoin HEMA practice - during summer they practice in local park! - failed again. Kids are going through the "everything is mine!" phase (both of them at the same time), which means that at home I feel as something between peacekeeping soldier, tyrannical dictator and MMA referee, my wife is exhausted as she tries to get her photography career alive while taking care of the children and work... is work.

Still, your day sounded terrible. Is there anything we can do to make it better?

Photos of kittens? Or transcontinental ballistic cookie delivery?

No, I just needed to vent about it. Thanks for listening.

All of them. So anyway last night a Facebook friend block me on Facebook because I'm not LGBT.

Facebook still exists?

[Bartmanhomer]

I DID get it looked at. I told you about it.

It's not exactly a "but Mom said" thing here. My mother hasn't been able to walk properly since before I was born. Just before Easter she fell and broke her only good leg. She needs somebody around here to help, and it sure as **** ain't gonna be bro or dad. The latter spends most of the year on the other side of the planet for work, and the former might do what you asked him to, MAYBE, if you force him to and remind him six times and he doesn't have anything else planned that he never told you about (but probably not). So I'm stuck doing what I'm told until - at the very least - she regains the use of her legs.

And hopefully by then I'll be done with college and can get an actual job. UBER is good for side cash when you need something flexible but it's not something you can live off of.



No, I just needed to vent about it. Thanks for listening.



Facebook still exists?

Yes Facebook still exists. It's not dead unlike Myspace.

[FinnLassie]

Younger folks are steering away from Facebook, but I gotta say it's very active, at least in my experience, with people above the age of 22. I can't imagine leaving the platform, I've been on it for 10 years since teendom.