Hey Hey Brandon Smith, 9/7/22, Fast Sunday\Good morning! I understand your TV is broken. I’m so sorry. You mentioned it in your last 2 letters. I had Covid the first week of July and had aftereffects for the rest of the month. Blah. I decided I was sick and tired of being anxious and depressed so I finally had enough motivation to start biking to the FSC and back each day! Yay! And it has made an amazing difference. I have more energy and I am only one tenth as Anxious and Depressed. I have not been motivated to look you up a girlfriend from the Ukraine, post you pictures of anyone, nor find you a new TV tube. Sorry. @ Next. I thought I had read all of the books written by Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game) but that was 10 or 20 years ago. Looks like he has continued writing. He is an amazing author. I love his books. QUESTION: Is there any way I can share books with you? I used to really enjoy that. @ I invited my sons Louis(2kids) and Robert(2kids) to Tuesday Night Steel, Shooting range out south of Purgatory Jail. Neither were interested this week. I wasn’t either but I like to consider the EQ activities. The EQ did a golf scramble at 6:30 Saturday morning and I invited them again. Robert said yes so we did it. It has been more than 10 years since either of us golfed. 20 years ago he was 18 and had enjoyed a number of summers of golf with $1 price in the heat of the day! :) @ It took me about 4 holes to relax and start enjoying. Kent Perkins -EQPres and Matt Felt -bishopric, were our partners. My first 4 drives went sideways! I was so out of practice! As I think back on it now it makes me smile. It was so fun! How often do elders spend 3 hours together in close proximity? Matt Felt and his wife both have teaching certificates. Matt is subbing while he retools to Utah licensure. He is a secondary history teacher and coached both boys and girls soccer in CA. Taylor, his daughter is newly called on our ward temple and FH committee. I have had her over to the FSC for training along with Nathaniel Johnson and BrendaF and LloydS two Thursday nights in a row. @ I arrived at the golf club 20 minutes early in the early morning dark and was so relieved when other cars started showing up. I didn’t know how much it would cost, if I would be in shape to play or pull muscles, or if I would get sunburned. It cost $45 for the two of us. I was in OK physical shape. And we were done by 9:45 so no sunburn. In my mind it was a huge adventure! Memories, memories, memories. @@ Fluff: I got to babysit Grace 8yo, from noon to 6 on Friday. Lincoln 11yo, was there too but doesn’t take much supervising. I told Grace about planning on golfing the next morning and she wanted to try it. She even carried out a heavy golf club bag the belonged to Marylee. (Bonnie’s sister that passed away this summer) I got out the putter and surprise. . . it was left handed! So we used a 4 iron instead. There were about 4 steps I had forgotten, that I needed to teach to Grace about hitting the ball. I taught her how to swing a bat and hit a ball last summer or the summer before. :) Yep, I’m proud. @@@So Brandon, 9 days ago I called 2 and texted 4. My backdoor neighbor was able to help: 8/26/22 Friday · 7:05 PMCurious.\I have a bad stomach ache that started at 1pm.\I don't have any pepto bismol and would like to treat myself.\Do you have any?-V1We've got alka selser we also have. Omeprazole it's an anti acid medication over the counter. I'd be happy to bring it over2\Do you think it could be food poisoning?-mPass them over the fence?-V3On my way where I feed the bird's\4Are you having diarrhea? We have immodiam AD\WE ALSO HAVE PEDIALITENo diarrhea.-vI'll report back in an hour.-v5VERN. we're here please keep us updated\6Vern are you ok please let me know if you need anythingThx Mike. I remember the time you brought a lost dog home with a big swollen infected ear. You have a soft heart.\You will hear from me at 8:30-V7Hang in there. We're here for you\8Honestly anything for you-m9How you feeling?-mPain is down to 5 out of 10.-vIt is not 8:30 yet.-VPain continuing to decrease. Thx.-v10We're Here if you need anything seriously Please let us know-m11How are you now. Is there anything we're can do for you ? Anything. Call at any hour-mSaturday · 10:18 AM12Good morning 🌞. How are you feeling today. Hopefully better. Let me know if you need anything.-mAll better.-v13So glad. We'll always be here for you. We love you Vern.-m @@ I included that Brandon because the Stauffers no longer attend church but I numbered his 10 text message because he was so obsequious! I just wanted to be left alone and I kept having to answer him. :) ha@ At 9 pm I went and got Pepto bismol from Walmart. I have not had to open it yet. It was a strange stomach pain. @@Here is some wiki stuff on : Rise of the Tomb Raider is a 2015 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Microsoft Studios and Square Enix's European subsidiary. The game is the eleventh main entry in the Tomb Raider series, the sequel to the 2013's Tomb Raider, and is the second installment in the Survivor trilogy. Its story follows Lara Croft as she ventures into Siberia in search of the legendary city of Kitezh while battling the paramilitary organization Trinity, which intends to uncover the city's promise of immortality. Lara must traverse the environment and combat enemies with firearms and stealth as she explores semi-open hubs. In these hubs she can raid challenge tombs to unlock new rewards, complete side missions, and scavenge for resources which can be used to craft useful materials.
Development of Rise of the Tomb Raider closely followed the conclusion of development of the 2013 reboot. Player feedback was considered during development, with the team reducing the number of quick time events and introducing more puzzles and challenge tombs. The team traveled to several locations in Turkey, including Cappadocia, Istanbul and Ephesus, to design Kitezh. Rhianna Pratchett returned as the game's writer while Bobby Tahouri replaced Jason Graves as the game's composer. Camilla Luddington returned to provide voice and motion-capture work for Lara. Powered by the Foundation engine, the game was also developed by Eidos-Montréal and Nixxes Software.
Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced at E3 2014 by Microsoft Studios. It was revealed as a timed exclusive for Xbox 360 and Xbox One at Gamescom 2014, which sparked criticism from the gaming press and community. The game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its graphics, gameplay, characterization, and abundance of content; however, some reviewers felt that the game did not take enough risks. As of November 2021, the game had sold around 11.8 million copies. Several downloadable story and content additions have been released for digital purchase. Square Enix released the game for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 in 2016. A sequel, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was released in September 2018.\Gameplay[edit]\Rise of the Tomb Raider is a third-person action-adventure game in which players control Lara Croft, who is on a quest to discover the legendary city of Kitezh. Combat is a major gameplay mechanic; Lara has a large variety of weapons at her disposal (including assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols), some of which have an alternate firing mode.[1] Players may also utilize stealth to progress through portions of the game, using bows and arrows to take out enemies, creating distractions to draw enemy attention away from Lara, or hiding in bushes to evade enemies. Lara can use the environment to fight enemies, shooting explosive barrels, tearing down rope-wrapped structures with rope arrows, or ambushing enemies from high ground.[2] She can also use her ice axe and combat knife to engage in melee combat with enemies.[3] Completing objectives and side content and eliminating enemies give players experience points (XP). When players collect sufficient XP they level up, receiving a skill point, which can be spent on the game's three skill trees: Brawler, Hunter and Survivor.[1] Brawler enhances Lara's efficiency with weapons, giving her abilities such as retrieving arrows from corpses and a steady aim, as well as boosting her resilience against attack and unlocks new combat skills, such as dodge kill. Hunter gives her an advantage when dealing with the environments and animals. Survivor covers a wide range of skills such as creating incendiary bombs and setting booby traps.[4] Lara learns new languages, enabling her to discover relics (such as coins) which can be traded for new equipment.[5]\The game has semi-open hubs for players to explore. In the hubs are items for Lara to collect, including crafting materials and survival caches. These items and collectibles such as relics and documents can be revealed to players using Survival Instinct, a vision mode which highlights items of interest.[1] By collecting the materials, players can craft items with the game's crafting menu; Lara can craft ammunition, poisoned arrows (using death-cap mushrooms), and Molotov cocktails and hand grenades from cans and bottles.[6] The open areas are filled with wildlife, which can be hunted to collect more resources.[1] Players can discover and explore challenge tombs for new skills and outfits. Lara's outfit, which affects her combat performance, can be changed at base camps.[1] The camps allow Lara to change her weapon loadouts,[1] and are fast travel points which allow players to explore a previously-searched area.[7] The game has side missions and challenges which may give players new equipment,[8][9] and players navigate intricate environments to progress. Lara can use her ice axe to climb certain surfaces (such as cliffs and glaciers)[10] and her rope arrows to create ziplines[11] to access difficult-to-reach areas,[6] and can climb trees and swim.[12] Players solve puzzles during the game, in its main campaign and optional content. The puzzles, based on in-game physics,[13] often connect; players must solve connecting puzzles to solve a larger one.[12]\Unlike the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, Rise of the Tomb Raider lacks a multiplayer mode. It introduces Expeditions, which allow players to replay the game with new constraints and requirements. The game has four modes: Chapter Replay, Chapter Replay Elite, Score Attack, and Remnant Resistance. Chapter Replay and Chapter Replay Elite allow players to replay any level, and Elite allows them to bring already-acquired skills and weapons to the level. Score Attack introduces score combo chains to the game.[14] Remnant Resistance allows players to create custom scenarios, which can be shared with other players. By completing Expeditions, players earn credits which can then be used to purchase digital collectible cards to modify the gameplay.[6] Common cards may be used only once, and foil cards can be used repeatedly. The cards can also be purchased in microtransactions.[15]
Plot[edit]Camilla Luddington provided the voice and motion capture for Lara Croft in Rise of the Tomb Raider.
One year after the events of Tomb Raider, archaeologist Lara Croft is struggling to explain her experience of the supernatural on Yamatai and is experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder. Looking for answers, she turns to her late father Lord Croft's research on the lost city of Kitezh and the promise of immortality. Ana, Lord Croft's partner, warns Lara that her father's obsession drove him to ruin and suicide. Lara ignores her and organizes an expedition to the Forgotten Cities in northwestern Syria, hoping to uncover the tomb of the Prophet of Constantinople, a key figure in the Kitezh legend. The tomb is empty, and Lara is interrupted by Trinity—an ancient order of knights turned paramilitary organization investigating the supernatural—and their task force leader, Konstantin. As she flees, Lara discovers a symbol etched into the tomb, which she links to a book on Russian religious history in her father's study at Croft Manor. She learns of an artifact called the Divine Source, said to be capable of granting immortality. After arguing with her friend Jonah Maiava regarding the artifact's existence, a Trinity assassin infiltrates the manor and steals the book, prompting the two to go to Siberia.
In Siberia, Lara and Jonah are separated by an avalanche. Continuing alone, Lara discovers that Trinity has made a Soviet-era installation a base of operations in their search for Kitezh. She is caught trying to retrieve the book and is imprisoned with Ana. Konstantin slowly strangles Ana in an attempt to force Lara into revealing what she knows. Upon realizing Lara does not know the whereabouts of the source, Ana reveals herself as a Trinity agent and that Konstantin is her brother. She asks Lara to join Trinity, but she refuses and is taken to the Gulag cells, where she meets a man named Jacob. Together they escape the Gulag with Trinity in pursuit. During the chase, Lara is incapacitated and nearly drowns, but Jacob saves her, and she later agrees to aid him and his people in repelling Trinity.
Upon reaching a valley of hot springs, Lara discovers that Jacob is the leader of its inhabitants, the Remnants, and that they are descendants of the Prophet's followers. Trinity repeatedly attacks the Remnant, justifying the slaughter as God's will. However, Lara discovers that Ana suffers a terminal illness and is seeking the Divine Source to cure herself. Jacob warns Lara that the Divine Source is real but not what she expects it to be. Lara remains undeterred and sets out to find the Atlas, an artifact that shows the way to Kitezh. Sofia, Jacob's daughter, warns Lara of the Deathless Ones, the immortal guardians of Kitezh. Lara finds the Atlas located in the archives beneath the ruins of a Cathedral, and is later reunited with Jonah, who was found by the Remnant and brought to the valley. After Lara discovers the path to Kitezh, Trinity forces return to the valley, take the Atlas and capture Jonah. Lara returns to the Gulag to find Jonah, but Konstantin mortally wounds him. Lara brings Jonah to Jacob, who heals him. Upon witnessing Jonah's rapid recovery, Lara realizes that Jacob is the Prophet, given immortality by the Divine Source.
With Trinity advancing on the glacier looming over Kitezh, Lara is forced to enter the city on a dangerous path. Reading journals written by a Trinity agent, Lara realizes the truth of Jacob's warning: the Divine Source bestows immortality at the cost of one's self. Trinity breaks through the ice and enters the chamber that houses the Divine Source. With aid from Sofia and the Remnant, Lara battles her way through Trinity towards the chamber. Konstantin ambushes Lara, but she mortally wounds him. Before he dies, Konstantin reveals that Lara's father did not commit suicide but was assassinated by Trinity. Lara enters the chamber but Ana has already retrieved the Divine Source. Jacob and Lara try to reason with Ana to no avail. As the Deathless Ones close in, Ana activates the Divine Source but is overwhelmed by its power, giving Lara a chance to pick it up and smash it to pieces, causing the Deathless Ones to perish. Jacob's immortality is lost, but he is happy his time has finally come. He assures Lara she has made a difference and peacefully disintegrates.
Two weeks later, at Croft Manor, Lara and Jonah overlook their next expedition. Lara vows to investigate more of the world's mysteries and thwart Trinity's plans. In a post-credits scene, two weeks before Lara and Jonah leave Siberia, Lara asks Ana if she killed her father. Ana denies it, admitting that Trinity gave her the order, but she couldn't kill him because she loved him. Before she can reveal anything else, she is killed by a sniper, who asks his unseen superior about killing Lara and is ordered to stand down for the time being.
If the player reloads their save file after finishing the game, Lara is seen telling Sofia about Jacob's passing.
Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch[edit]
In the Baba Yaga downloadable content, Lara investigates a disturbance in the Soviet mine. After fighting off a Trinity patrol, she finds a young girl, Nadia, hiding in a sawmill. Nadia confides in Lara about her search for her grandfather, Ivan. Ivan disappeared while trying to enter the Wicked Vale, a valley reportedly haunted by Baba Yaga, a witch in Slavic folklore. Ivan blames the witch for the death of his wife and wants to kill her. Lara is skeptical about Baba Yaga's existence but, since Nadia is injured, agrees to enter the Wicked Vale and find Ivan.
In the Vale, Lara is exposed to a rare pollen with potent hallucinogenic properties. After stumbling through a forest where she is tormented by visions of her father's suicide, she meets Baba Yaga and a pack of demonic wolves. Lara narrowly escapes with her life and finds herself in a small, Soviet-era outpost. She unearths evidence of a secret Soviet biological-weapons project which attempted to harness the pollen, which abruptly ended when the researchers—including Serafima, a biochemist imprisoned in a nearby gulag—succumbed to the hallucinations.
Lara deduces that Serafima weaponized the pollen, developed an antidote, and kept her research secret from the military. With Nadia's help, Lara synthesizes a necessary antidote from Serafima's recipe and returns to the Wicked Vale. Resisting the effects of the pollen, Lara finds the injured Ivan at the entrance to Baba Yaga's lair.
Unable to leave the Wicked Vale while Baba Yaga controls it, Lara battles the witch under the pollen's influence and destroys its source. Baba Yaga is revealed as Serafima, who was led to believe that her husband, Ivan, and daughter were dead and used the pollen to become Baba Yaga and torment her captors. With Ivan, Serafima, and Nadia reunited, Lara leaves the Wicked Vale.
Cold Darkness Awakened[edit]
In the Cold Darkness Awakened content, Lara enters a decommissioned Soviet weapons bunker, which has been breached by a Trinity patrol. Trinity has inadvertently released an unstable pathogen into the air, which causes the people it infects to regress to a zombie-like state. Men are particularly vulnerable since the virus stimulates testosterone and adrenalin production. The pathogen was created to create an army of unstoppable super-soldiers by a Soviet researcher, all of whose experiments failed. He died in the facility after accidentally releasing the pathogen, proud that he had created a weapon to defend his homeland. With Sofia and Nadia providing support from a helicopter, Lara tries to find the source of the pathogen before an enormous cloud is released into the atmosphere and contaminates the Remnant valley.
The women plan to channel the pathogen from three towers into the central tower, detonating it and burning off the toxin. Lara shuts down each tower, collecting equipment, rescuing female prisoners, and eliminating waves of the infected Trinity soldiers before entering the core tower. While fighting off the infected soldiers, she triggers a catastrophic explosion and jumps from the tower to Nadia and Sofia's helicopter. Nadia and Lara watch the explosion as they fly to safety. Although the resulting fire burns the remaining pathogen, documents found in the facility indicate that the release was no accident; Trinity reactivated the facility to acquire a sample of the pathogen, and an agent of Trinity escaped with it before the bunker was destroyed.
Blood Ties and Lara's Nightmare[edit]
Blood Ties begins with Lara reading a note from her uncle, who says that since her mother disappeared, he is the rightful owner of the Croft estate. With trees working their way into the side of the house and the roof caving in, Lara's childhood home desperately needs repair. She finds her father's safe and searches the manor for its combination, hoping to find his will and thus prove her ownership. She finds artifacts from her past, and finally figures out the combination; however, the safe contains no proof of her ownership. Lara finds her mother's tomb under the main staircase, and with both her parents proven dead, their property passes to her, and she moves back in.
Lara's Nightmare is similar to Blood Ties, with Lara's uncle unwilling to give her the manor. She fights off hordes of zombies and skulls before finding the master key. Lara kills a large skull in the main hallway, ending her nightmare.
Development[edit]
Rise of the Tomb Raider was developed by Crystal Dynamics, with Eidos-Montréal providing support.[16] Development of the game began two weeks after the team finished polishing the 2013 reboot.[17] It was led by Noah Hughes and Brian Horton, the franchise's creative and game directors respectively.[18] Rhianna Pratchett returned as the game's writer,[19] and Camilla Luddington reprised her role as protagonist Lara Croft. Bobby Tahouri, known for his work on Game of Thrones, composed the soundtrack.[20] Development was completed on October 9, 2015, with Crystal Dynamics confirming that the game was declared gold (indicating that it was being prepared for duplication and release).[21]
Story and gameplay[edit]
When we think about what Lara's gone through, she's suffered through these traumatic events, seen friends die, and come out of the situation forever changed ... What she needs is a way to reconcile the pain that she has suffered and also the draw that she has, this compulsion, to discover more of these things now that she's just glimpsed them on Yamatai.—Game director Brian Horton on Lara's state after the 2013 reboot
One of the game's intentions was to craft a more "personal" experience for players, and the team wanted to explore the journey in which Lara becomes the tomb raider. She becomes determined to uncover more myths, and convinces the world that they are real at the end of the 2013 reboot; this became her major driving force in the sequel.[22][18] Although Lara must still struggle to survive, she is more confident and competent. The team tried to find a balance, making Lara more experienced and competent but vulnerable in crisis and appealing to players.[23] They hoped that in the story, players could see Lara's character progression.[24] To indicate her hunger for knowledge, the team adjusted the collectibles; players would learn new languages including: Greek, Mongolian and Russian; unlocking new content and upgrades.[17] The new crafting system reflects Lara's resourcefulness, and her ability to use the environment against her enemies highlights her intelligence.[25]
Rhianna Pratchett found Rise of the Tomb Raider more difficult to write than the 2013 reboot, figuring out Lara's initial mental state and character introduction. Its cast was significantly smaller than the reboot, so more screen time could be given to each character.[26] To help establish the game's tone and visuals, Crystal Dynamics developed a "rippomatic" (a collection of movie scenes). Films included Rambo: First Blood Part II, which inspired the team about the game's stealth mechanic; Terminator 2: Judgment Day, whose protagonist (Sarah Connor) and Lara Croft are "burdened with a truth that no one believes". The Edge and The Grey inspired game scenes in which Lara fought bears and wolves. Hanna and The Descent inspired the game's bows, arrows and pickaxe, and Aliens vs. Predator and The Day After Tomorrow helped the team conceive the game's tundra setting.[27]
They worked on improving the story's pacing, which Horton thought as important as the story itself. Several features with gameplay potential but not fitting its context, such as vehicles and an early scene in which Lara battled enemies in a jeep, were cut.[17] The team listened to player feedback about the original game and made gameplay adjustments, such as reducing the number of quick time events, expanding the hunting system, and increasing the significance of traversing and stealth.[25] Cinematic moments and action scenes, designed by an internal team known as OMS ("oh my shit"), were retained in the sequel.[22] The theme of survival remained the story's core, with the team modifying gameplay accordingly; the expanded crafting system required players to use the environments more.[24] However, Crystal Dynamics avoided making it a survival game; the team felt that it would discourage player exploration.[28] Like its predecessor, Rise of the Tomb Raider has a structure similar to metroidvania; the team wanted players to feel that Siberia is a living, dynamic world, and the game not merely a long sequence of events.[24] According to design director Michael Brinker, the team decided to make the game less "grindy" than other titles; players would not be forced to complete any optional content. The skill-upgrades system was overhauled to include more player options.[22]
After the developers listened to player feedback, the game emphasized tomb-raiding more than its predecessors.[29] According to Hughes, the team analyzed some of the older Tomb Raider titles and distilled their best features while incorporating the reboot's physics-based puzzles. They intended to add more ancient tombs, making players feel like real discoverers and inspiring awe. The tombs were made larger than the reboot, and water puzzles (featured in older Tomb Raider games) were included. The puzzles were often interconnected, with the team adopting a nested-puzzle approach.[12] Optional tombs were made more meaningful, giving players unique skills and items rather than just experience points.[17] The difficulty of each tomb slowly increases as players progress.[30]
Art and music[edit]The game world was designed to reflect Lara's distorted mental state, and the team introduced the concept of "ominous beauty" to achieve this. The color scheme was vibrant, reflecting the game's large scale. The team was inspired by other video games and fine art, including Russian realists.[17] They traveled to Yosemite National Park and several locations in Turkey, including Cappadocia, Istanbul and Ephesus, researching Byzantine culture and Greek architecture to design Syria and Kitezh.[31] The team took six months to create the game's snow technology (such as snow tracks and avalanches), which helped increase player immersion in the game. To add variety to its landscape, the team introduced the Oasis (with a dramatically-different look from Siberia).[23]
Bobby Tahouri's primary goal in composing the game's music was to support its narrative. Tahouri spoke to Crystal Dynamics in 2012 and contracted to write the score in late 2013, delighted to have more composition time than previous projects. He listened to the earlier games' soundtracks to "immerse [himself] in the Tomb Raider world". The soundtrack was recorded in Nashville by a 52-piece string-and-brass orchestra, including cello, woodwinds, dulcimer and a handpan developed by Saraz Musical Instruments. The Siberian music features an instrument similar to a gusli and low-pitched male singing. Dynamic Percussion System middleware creates music as the game is played.[32] Crystal Dynamics signed Karen O and guitarist David Pajo to produce the game's theme song, "I Shall Rise".[33]
The game features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack.[34]
Technology[edit]
Camilla Luddington voiced Lara and provided motion capture at a Los Angeles studio over a two-year period. According to the actress, one of the greatest challenges in voicing Lara was having to "yell over wind and snow".[35] Luddington trained for the role, with experts teaching her how to hold the weapons.[36] The team wanted to ensure that Lara's first game for the eighth generation of video game consoles looked good. Spraying Mova fluorescent paint on Luddington's face, they obtained 7,000 points of reference.[37] The team had difficulty developing Lara from motion capture, finding Luddington's footage too realistic, and tried to give the young Lara "subtle" facial expressions. They focused on Lara's physical details in cutscenes, where her muscles tensed as she climbed or her skin became blotchy from the cold. The studio used pose-based deformers to sculpt Lara's "exact shape" as she moved. The team also used wrinkle maps, allowing more natural, realistic movement for the character.[25]
Rise of the Tomb Raider was powered by the Foundation in-house game engine.[38] The team used global illumination and physics-based rendering to create light and shadows.[5] They used a Horizon WYSIWYG editor, editing text and graphics in a form closely resembling the finished product. The team adopted a "kit-bashing technique", quickly assembling a level with modules and rebuilding it until they were satisfied. To improve the game's graphical fidelity, the team partnered with Nixxes Software (which ported the Xbox 360 version).[22]
The end for now. Love Vern
By Justin Towell Contributions from Dave Meikleham, Joe Donnelly published June 23, 2022
The best Tomb Raider games since Lara Croft's arrival in 1996|Putting the best Tomb Raider games into any sort of order is no easy feat, given the vast number of caves, caverns and evil corporation headquarters Lara Croft has infiltrated over the years. Having first rolled out on the Sega Saturn way back in 1996, the intrepid archaeologist has made us laugh and cry on her myriad adventures – each jam-packed with more exploration, combat, and puzzle-work than you can shake a Scion artifact at. It's hard to believe Lara has been spectacularly spelunking for more than a quarter of a century now, but, equally, it's hard to picture the pantheon of video games greats without her in it. Without further ado, here at the 10 best Tomb Raider games of all time for you to sink a climbing axe into. \The best Tomb Raider games are...
10. Tomb Raider: Chronicles 9. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 8. Tomb Raider 3: Adventures of Lara Croft
7. Tomb Raider: Underworld\Formats: PC, PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS\Released: 2008\One of the best-looking games on Xbox 360, Underworld represents the pinnacle of second-phase Lara. In a post-Uncharted world, it was clear Lara and her newly reclaimed puzzling and platforming skills had learned a lot from Nathan Drake. In terms of gameplay, Underworld offers a tantalizing sense of freedom that while welcome, is never fully realized – an early underwater level hints at a less linear approach that doesn’t fully come to bear. Still, this is a slick, handsome adventure that kept Lara’s momentum ticking over following the success of Anniversary.
6. Tomb Raider 2Formats: PC, PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS\Released: 1997\Lara's first sequel is very similar to her initial outing, but passed up Saturn and affirmed PlayStation as the explorer's spiritual home. TR2 expands some of the original's concepts, like actually allowing you to ride vehicles (as opposed to just wistfully watching cut-scene Lara have all the fun), and allowing you to explore more outdoor environments. Ones with the actual sky, not just 'black'.\These days, it's a frustrating affair with too many instant deaths which force you to progress through trial and error. But there's an iOS port doing the rounds, with cleaned-up textures. If you’re a series fan, this stellar entry deserves a look if you’re longing for some retro raiding.
5. Tomb Raider: Legend\Formats: PC, PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo \Released: 2006\If it wasn’t for the success of Legend, there’s a good chance Lara’s terrific reboot trilogy would never have seen the light of day. Following Angel of Darkness’ disastrous release in 2003, the relic-pinching series looked all but dead. Once the dust had settled though, Crystal Dynamics bounced back with a prequel/part reboot that looked to remove the unfocused excess of AoD. \Placing more emphasis on puzzles and sharp platforming than its combat-heavy predecessor, Legend remains a confident reminder of what Lara is all about. Displaying the sort of streamlined setpiece spectacle that would ultimately put Lara fully back on the map in 2013, this is the game that started Ms. Croft’s deserved redemption.
4. Shadow of the Tomb Raider 3. Tomb Raider 2. Tomb Raider\Formats: PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Stadia \Released: 2013\After years in the wilderness, Crystal Dynamics brought the First Lady of Video Games back to relevance with an almighty bang. Wisely taking cues from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series, this brilliant reboot grounded the Tomb Raider universe, shunting aside campy fights with dinosaurs for gritty behind-the-shoulder shootouts with unhinged cultists. \While the story is forgettable, the downbeat setting is an absolute winner. Focused while also containing open-ended hub areas, the windswept island of Yamatai proves to be a brilliant setting. Throw in sturdy platforming and sharp shootouts, and 2013’s rebooted Raider stands tall as one of the greatest entries in Lara’s esteemed series. \
1. Rise of the Tomb Raider Formats: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Stadia, Mac\Released: 2015\The best Tomb Raider game ever made… and it’s not all that close. Building on the winning template of the 2013 reboot, Rise of the Tomb Raider doubles down on freedom and player choice. Expansive mini hubs dovetail beautifully with heavily choreographed set pieces to create a game that’s truly a master of all disciplines. Oh, and it also looks absolutely incredible. \Does the stiff story compare to the light-hearted, perfectly paced fun of Uncharted? Absolutely not. Still, Rise gives players more agency and freedom than any of Nate’s adventures, in a game where the quality of platforming, puzzles, and shootouts simply can’t be denied. \Forget everything that's going on in the world and lose yourself in the excitement and mystery of these best adventure games.Author:Justin Towell\Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy. https://www.gamesradar.com/best-tomb-raider-games/
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