Elegantly Wasted with Rise of the Tomb Raider

10:08 pm HelenLJohnson 0 Comments


I won’t lie, when I saw the new screenshots from ROTTR, I squee’ed a little. A whole month of Tomb Raider from Game Informer! Think of the stories! Think of the speculations! Most importantly, think of that cosplay goodness. The new t-shirts, new boots, new holster, new bow; I can hear the money leaving my bank account right now.

However, hold on there little bank account with your eBay password knowledge…something isn’t right. My relationship with this game is very different to Tomb Raider games previously, the problem being that right now I’m sat next to a PS4.

Whoops.

Yes, I was very annoyed when it was announced that ROTTR would be exclusive to the Xbox One, mainly because they let the all platform hype train leave the station with the the first teaser, then kicked off two thirds at the next stop. While I wouldn’t say I’m a complete Sony fangirl, I was even considering Xbox One before launch, I do prefer PlayStation simply because the controller fits better in my hands and my tastes seem to go with Sony exclusives more than Microsoft.

Until now then eh? Heh…..never mind….

I raged, of course I did. My Tumblr post was continually reposted that showed Lara shooting herself with an arrow. That was honestly how I felt, that the franchise was killing itself and the community. I have said to this day, that the Tomb Raider community is one of the most supportive and creative out there. I wondered what would happen to Katie’s Tomb Raider site now she couldn’t take PC screenshots or the millions of fans who were introduced to the franchise through the PlayStation One era and just kind of grew up with the relationship. I ranted on Twitter, there was no chance that I was going to make a Rise cosplay. It would just be wrong.
 The sad thing is, as all the rage calmed down after a few months and ROTTR became a timed exclusive (maybe), I kind of understand the business decision behind it. I know how badly games can be budgeted which has a knock on effect on future titles. I know that sometimes, the decision that is best for the business isn’t always the best for the game or the community. I hate that I am saying that, and my heart doesn’t want to accept it. We have to accept that games are a business, a large player in the entertainment industry. Of course I didn’t want Tomb Raider to be an exclusive, I certainly don’t like it, but I can understand why.

Move forward to the start of this month. I am putting in plans for my 2015 costumes and there is a glaring omission. I see screenshots and detailed breakdowns of the current Rise outfit and I want to make it; but how can I make something that I may not have the chance of playing? I’m pretty strict with my costume creation, I need to play the game before I make something so I can understand how the fabric may move and what happens in-game that may affect the look of the outfit. I also like to get into character even if I am not creating a skit for a masquerade; psychology and ideologies of a character feeds into the cosplay process. So it is safe to say, the cosplay side is having a bit of a battle with the Lara fangirl!

I can’t lie, I’m fascinated by what has come out so far; but it doesn’t feel the same as TR9 did and I don’t think it ever will even if Square Enix end up with the rights for PS4 and PC while Microsoft has XB1. Elegantly wasted perfectly describes how I feel at the moment in regards to ROTTR, what is being produced looks good and is very slickly done in comparison to last year. We even have a new film mentioned in the Yamatai gossip towers (with a whole host of potential issues that is irrelevant here). Yet it is still tied to it’s past mistakes.

However, let’s face it. It’s Tomb Raider, we’ve been through similar if not worse situations and we are still here after nearly 20 years. That has to count for something right?



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