Tomb Raider - Out 05/03/2013 for X360/PS3/PC

[turbojet]

So after watching a full playthrough of this game, I'll just say this: the marketing fucked up. It is nothing like the trailers show. Is it more gruesome compared to the others, yes. Is Lara running around on the island fearful of the "rapists and men on the island?" No. It's the opposite actually. They are afraid of her. And she knows it, too as she taunts them as well about how one person just keeps wiping out entire camps of them.

 

A bad dude: Oh Crap, she is still alive?

Lara Croft (yelling): Yes, I'm still alive, ya bastards!

 

A soon to be dead bad dude: Holy crap she has a grenade launcher! Run!

Lara Croft: Yes, RUN! There is nowhere you can hide from me!

 

And the man who did attempt to rape her? Not just a dude straight from Blazing Saddles. He has an entire subplot after Lara offs him where his brothers are pissed that she killed the dude and she has to kill them as well. There is no helpless Lara Croft in. And fact, this game is what Uncharted 3 should have been instead of a rehash of Uncharted 2. And about the "I hate tombs" scene. There is some context needed there. The tomb that she is in is not a typical tomb. It is a literal grave. I mean dead bodies all over. Yes, she hates tombs full of dead bodies. Anybody would.  And another thing, this game is so similar to Uncharted and the previous Tomb Raiders as well that it is ridiculous.

 

There are platforming puzzles galore, many sequences in which you are not just surviving in caves, and the bit of survival horror in the game is just in the beginning. This has been one of the most misleading marketing campaigns of all time.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So in other words, they created flames where they could have avoided it, and for all the legitimate reasons people were turned off of the game, it's marketing served only to exaggerate those reasons into disgust?

 

At least they didn't insult the fans directly? (or did they?)

[Your Vest Friend]

I fucking knew it. 

[Pelly <3's U]

Eh at this point I'm almost thinking they sparked up controversy for publicity sake

[Conando]

I always considered this possibility. Not entirely surprised they built up the stupid part of the game rather than the actual meat of the game that is similar to the previous entries in the series. From what I've been reading, the first hour or so does go in line with so much ridiculous shit happening that it DOES border on torture porn but, then it finds its center and chills the hell out. I don't know WHAT they hoped to accomplish by marketing the game like that, though. I know people say any publicity is good publicity but, come on.

[Vec]

So all this outburst was basically started because of a misleading publicity campaign?

[Conando]

Basically they created this whole sexist image for the game when most of it is about Lara kicking the shit out of every single dude on the island. At least, this is what I'm getting from it.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Seriously...what the hell is this? The age of shit PR? First DmC, now this?

 

What else needs to be added to the list, because I swear it's like we're in a sad age of advertising.

[Emmett L. Brown]

So after watching a full playthrough of this game, I'll just say this: the marketing fucked up. It is nothing like the trailers show. Is it more gruesome compared to the others, yes. Is Lara running around on the island fearful of the "rapists and men on the island?" No. It's the opposite actually. They are afraid of her. And she knows it, too as she taunts them as well about how one person just keeps wiping out entire camps of them.

 

A bad dude: Oh Crap, she is still alive?

Lara Croft (yelling): Yes, I'm still alive, ya bastards!

 

A soon to be dead bad dude: Holy crap she has a grenade launcher! Run!

Lara Croft: Yes, RUN! There is nowhere you can hide from me!

 

And the man who did attempt to rape her? Not just a dude straight from Blazing Saddles. He has an entire subplot after Lara offs him where his brothers are pissed that she killed the dude and she has to kill them as well. There is no helpless Lara Croft in. And fact, this game is what Uncharted 3 should have been instead of a rehash of Uncharted 2. And about the "I hate tombs" scene. There is some context needed there. The tomb that she is in is not a typical tomb. It is a literal grave. I mean dead bodies all over. Yes, she hates tombs full of dead bodies. Anybody would.  And another thing, this game is so similar to Uncharted and the previous Tomb Raiders as well that it is ridiculous.

 

There are platforming puzzles galore, many sequences in which you are not just surviving in caves, and the bit of survival horror in the game is just in the beginning. This has been one of the most misleading marketing campaigns of all time.

This single post actually made me want to play this game.

 

And that's really sad, because EVERYTHING the PR department has offered on this game has made me want to shun it like the plague. I really look forward to more post-release impressions now.

[Stacy]

I was led to believe that this game wasn't marketed as a rapists hunt Lara just one PR guy fucked up at a press meeting and that was it? 

 

People jumping to conclusions again?

Edited March 3, 2013 by BW199148

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

And to think we had a whole multi-page debate on the issue of how they were showing this game off, only for it to be the exact opposite of everything people were shunning it for.

 

At the end of the day, neither side was in the right, but the advertisers were more in the wrong: how the hell are people suppose to know any of that when you show them something else that confirms everything they've been saying? How the hell are people suppose to know you weren't trying to backpedal over the presentation of the game when your words lead straight to the point that people are criticizing?

 

Rule # (insert number): False Advertising can work against you, even if it gets you attention.

 

At this point, this is just another lesson of what not to do, on top of the other points we've made.

[Stacy]

And to think we had a whole multi-page debate on the issue of how they were showing this game off, only for it to be the exact opposite of everything people were shunning it for.

 

At the end of the day, neither side was in the right, but the advertisers were more in the wrong: how the hell are people suppose to know any of that when you show them something else that confirms everything they've been saying? How the hell are people suppose to know you weren't trying to backpedal over the presentation of the game when your words lead straight to the point that people are criticizing?

 

Rule # (insert number): False Advertising can work against you, even if it gets you attention.

 

At this point, this is just another lesson of what not to do, on top of the other points we've made.

 

What false advertising? Apart that one PR meeting. All the PR for this game has been pretty good from what I have read in the magazines and seen on net.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

What false advertising? Apart that one PR meeting. All the PR for this game has been pretty good from what I have read in the magazines and seen on net.

The one's that further sparked this discussion and led to criticism over the things such as the "attempted rape" getting as blown up as it was mentioned or them wanting to portray a Lara that the gamer's wanted to "protect". Or did that not cause a spark of controversy over the game?

[turbojet]

Here is how to put it in perspective.

 

Everything shown in the game was literally the first hour in the game. I'm going to put a massive spoiler so anyone legit interested in the game might not open up.

 

Towards the end of the game, Lara faces, to what could only be described as,an army of Undead Samurai Zombies. Her response?

 

Lara Croft: Let's see what you got then?

 

And then she precedes to kick their collective asses when everyone else on the island feared these people.

 

As for the survivors or the bad guys, they have somewhat legitimate reason to be acting like they're acting. They are trapped on the island and have been for years. Every time someone attempts to escape by vessel or plane, a mysterious storm appears and takes down said escape route. So they figured that there was some supernatural shit going on. Then they meet the Stormguard, who are undead samurai zombies who serve to protect a goddess named Himiko. She is essentially a goddess who won't let anyone escape because she needs her next vessel and that's were Sam, she was mentioned in the trailers, comes in as she is not only a woman, but Japanese as well. The survivors assume Japanese girl: Japanese Goddess::This is the reincarnation the goddess wanted.

 

It is never a question that Lara does not love adventure. It is a question that she does not believe supernatural fairy tails that myths project and when confronted by one, she starts reconsidering every adventure that her father spoke of. She is truly an archaeologist looking for logic. At the end of the game, after she finally gets her trademark dual pistols, she has her father's journal full of his adventures in which it is clear that she does not gain her sense of adventure because of a traumatic experience. She gains it because now that she has seen the supernatural, she wants to see what else is untrue.

Edited March 3, 2013 by turbojet

[Stacy]

The one's that further sparked this discussion and led to criticism over the things such as the "attempted rape" getting as blown up as it was mentioned or them wanting to portray a Lara that the gamer's wanted to "protect". Or did that not cause a spark of controversy over the game?

 

Where did I said that it wasn't controversial? Rosenberg's comments were stupid and misleading but I don't see how equals the entire marketing of the game.

 

Not to mention these sources are nearly a year old now and Crystal Dynamic have done more promotion since then.

 

From what I have read they have put a lot of empathises on survival and Lara adapting to her situation on the island. Apparently the first hour of gameplay focuses on this and towards the end of the game Lara has adapted and is hardened by her experiences.

 

I don't think at any point that this game was going to be "Lara runs around the island helpless to the Benny Hill Theme with male psychopaths wanting rape her at every turn with knives and forks in their hands".  

 

Even at the showing of Gameplay at E3 showed Lara using her bow and guns on her enemies. 

 

Critics have said that at times the game feels at odds with itself in portraying Lara as being a reluctant killer and going total badass. But I have read that the Game gives players different opportunities to deal with Lara's enemies and can chose to avoid combat.  

 

Here is the first 30 minutes of the game. Don't watch if don't want the game to be spoiled:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urJXgoZgk2E

 

EDIT: Found better footage without annoying commentary. Sorry about that.

Edited March 3, 2013 by BW199148

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Where did I said that it wasn't controversial?

You implied it right when you challenged me on my point on how it's advertising of these materials that lead to it.

 

Rosenberg's comments were stupid and misleading but I don't see how equals the entire marketing of the game.

It wasn't the entire marketing, it was the one that led the discussions of sexism and the criticism they got for it. What in the world do you think I was talking about?

 

Not to mention these sources are nearly a year old now and Crystal Dynamic have done more promotion since then.

And that stopped the discussion of the other parts of the game being used as examples before this point in this particular topic when?

From what I have read they have put a lot of empathises on survival and Lara adapting to her situation on the island. Apparently the first hour of gameplay focuses on this and towards the end of the game Lara has adapted and is hardened by her experiences.

 

I don't think at any point that this game was going to be "Lara runs around the island helpless to the Benny Hill Theme with male psychopaths wanting rape her at every turn with knives and forks in their hands".  

Yeah, we know that now, hence why I said it shot them in the foot when they made it seem like that in the past.

 

Not to mention that last sentence is a very insensitive exaggeration of people's criticism were. Generalizing things like that doesn't get you anything but more heat that you probably wouldn't have wanted.

Edited March 3, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Stacy]

You implied it right when you challenged me on my point on how it's advertising of these materials that lead to it.

 

It wasn't the entire marketing, it was the one that led the discussions of sexism and the criticism they got for it. What in the world do you think I was talking about?

 

Challeged you? I didn't challenge you I got the impression that people implied that this game was marketed entirely on Lara being a damsel in distress initially that may have been the case or impression. When for what I have seen I get the impression the game promotion and marketing focused on Lara adapting and surviving on an mysterious island. While you still focus on some bad PR from last year. Maybe you should of tried to look for some other sources instead of the same thing all the time. You have not even tried to see it from a different angle.

 

 

Not to mention that last sentence is a very insensitive exaggeration of people's criticism were. Generalizing things like that doesn't get you anything but more heat that you probably wouldn't have wanted.

 

I was being sarcastic and tubrojet did say that his initial impressions of this game were:

 

Is Lara running around on the island fearful of the "rapists and men on the island?"

 

You are right their has been controversy as this topic clearly proves. From some people all I have is seen is negativity and some of you have not even tried to find some positive aspects of the game even when others have tried to show you and you brushed them off as "dissenters".

Edited March 3, 2013 by BW199148

[turbojet]

I always considered this possibility. Not entirely surprised they built up the stupid part of the game rather than the actual meat of the game that is similar to the previous entries in the series. From what I've been reading, the first hour or so does go in line with so much ridiculous shit happening that it DOES border on torture porn but, then it finds its center and chills the hell out. I don't know WHAT they hoped to accomplish by marketing the game like that, though. I know people say any publicity is good publicity but, come on.

The first hour is pretty much the trailers except there are crucial bits missing not shown. Since it is the beginning, I guess I can tell you. Okay, the guy in the cave that she is running from kept saying, "I'm trying to help you." At first, I assumed that she was a stereotypical crazy just as Lara did, but as the game progresses, he may have been trying to help her as 1.) the people getting sacrificed were women, 2.)Lara really has no idea just what the hell is going on just as the player doesn't. In hindsight, that whole sequence may have been a take that to the interview,  wanting to protect Lara" and here we see her kicking the dude off in every attempt to actually want to. As for the entire pillage scene, Vlad(scary rapist guy) does not represent the majority of the survivalist folk as they note that the Russians, in general, are crazy even by their standards. As soon as Lara armed herself and started killing them off, they just want her dead and never hint of trying to rape, sexually assault any of the women(3). And to why they are doing so to begin with is solely for recruitment into their cult and potential sacrifices. They had no intention of killing everyone off for the sake of doing so. In fact, one of Lara's camp survives them by showing that he was no threat and he pretty much was never really held captive.

 

Why they didn't show more of the actual plot could be understood if you compared it to Uncharted. Most of that game, you really have no idea of the undead zombies and is pretty much a typical treasure hunting adventure in which you race to find the treasure before your competitors. In fact, when the penultimate chapter comes, you are thrown in a completely different loop and the game becomes more about "holy shit. zombies/yetis/something fucking weird!" The marketing of Tomb Raider didn't want to reveal too much, but the plot twist reveals itself after the first hour and the half of the game. So they were faced with a decision of breaking tradition when it comes to action adventure games, and show the supernatural in the marketing. Or just reveal just the first hour of the game which is hardly representational of the the next 14 hours. They wanted to keep the integrity of the story without spoiling too much.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Challeged you? I didn't challenge you I got the impression that people implied that this game was marketed entirely on Lara being a damsel in distress initially that may have been the case or impression. When for what I have seen I get the impression the game promotion and marketing focused on Lara adapting and surviving on an mysterious island. While you still focus on some bad PR from last year. Maybe you should of tried to look for some other sources instead of the same thing all the time. You have not even tried to see it from a different angle.

Actually, which was before I even sided with those who cried sexism VERY early in this topic dude. and were arguing like hell against the claim while wondering "what the hell were they talking about" before shit hit the fan further into the discussion, and you even gave some of our posts a like during the debate.

 

Being from last year isn't exactly relevant when it stirred this mess in the first place and still kept on until they released it showing otherwise.

Edited March 3, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Stacy]

Actually, which was before I even sided with those who cried sexism VERY early in this topic dude. and were arguing like hell against the claim while wondering "what the hell were they talking about" before shit hit the fan further into the discussion, and you even gave some of our posts a like during the debate.

 

Being from last year isn't exactly relevant when it stirred this mess in the first place and still kept on until they released it showing otherwise.

 

So why did you change your mind?   

 

Also that was nearly a year ago I have slept since then....

Edited March 3, 2013 by BW199148

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So why did you change your mind?   

Because Carbo managed to make sense of what Sean was failing to get across to me. And even then,  before the confirmations of the rape scene came to light and made me completely concede.

[Badnik Mechanic]

So basically the sum is.

 

PR Fuck up + Over hyped jump on the band-waggon people = A not so bad game that isn't as bad as either party made out to be?

[Stacy]

Because Carbo managed to make sense of what Sean was failing to get across to me. And even then,  before the confirmations of the rape scene came to light and made me completely concede.

 

But there is no rape scene. 

 

Should of stuck to your guns.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

So basically the sum is.

 

PR Fuck up + Over hyped jump on the band-waggon people = A not so bad game that isn't as bad as either party made out to be?

Pretty much...

But there is no rape scene. 

 

Should of stuck to your guns.

Maybe I should have said "attempted rape" instead, but you know what I'm talking about.

Edited March 3, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Stacy]

So basically the sum is.

 

PR Fuck up + Over hyped jump on the band-waggon people = A not so bad game that isn't as bad as either party made out to be?

 

Which band-wagon are referring to Hog?