GSQ8: Obscure pun raider

It occurs to me that the title of this issue’s sizable tribute to Tomb Raider (which I’m sorry to say is a heavily anecdotal and generally quite positive look-back, meaning the world will hate its guts) is probably a little too oblique for its own good, since the the thrust of the piece isn’t that Tomb Raider is a big ol’ Indiana Jones knockoff. Oh well!

13 thoughts on “GSQ8: Obscure pun raider

  1. I think only pt 3 had expendable save crystals. Pt 1 had save points.

    OTHERWISE

    I think this atrticle and game are sick. I liked the remake a few years ago as well. Aside from stupid QTE Trex. Prefer cheesing it in original.

  2. Typo patrol: Shadows of the empire isn’t completely bolded and the previous page button at the bottom reads “Sony takes the leasd.”

  3. I wanted to post this here because I know you’ll see it, Jeremy. I finished the latest GSQ a few days ago, and it has been my favorite issue that you have done yet. Great breadth of topics with good depth into many of them. Thanks for taking the time to make it for all of us.

  4. I attempted to play the Saturn version about a year ago, and gave up after an hour or so, because it literally felt like bashing my head against a brick wall trying to figure out the game mechanics and stiff controls. I can appreciate that other people enjoy it, but it’s just not for me. Much like the original Resident Evil games, it hasn’t aged well.

    But I did enjoy reading the article. Considering it was about a game series I’m rather indifferent towards, that’s saying something.

    • You might give TR Anniversary a go. It’s the same adventure and basic world/level design, but far more modern in execution.

      • I think I will, if or when I come across it. I do wonder what the reboot will be like, especially since everything I’ve seen or read about it so far has a distinctive lack of tombs or raiding.

  5. I’m a little confused about this statement:

    “Even Mario’s own extraordinary follow-ups sell a fraction of games that descend from Tomb Raider: Compare the relative popularity of Super Mario Galaxy 2 to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood”

    According to Ubisoft and Nintendo’s numbers, AC: B shipped 6.5 million units to Mario Galaxy 2’s 6.15 million units sold (as of Jan/Feb this year). Those seem to be fairly comparable numbers, especially considering that AC:B was sold on three platforms.

    • Hmm, really? When I checked numbers for this article (which was written at the beginning of the year) SMG2 was trailing pretty badly, but then again I compared it to ACII, which did a lot better (9 million sold, I think).

  6. This one, yeesh. It bothers me to a inappropriate degree that people regarded this game as better than SM64, a game that more or less encapsulates everything about gaming I enjoy in favor of a confusing, tedious plod through a series of dark rooms. The sequels were even more baffling to me, I always ended up getting stuck really early in the game and just giving up. I think what really stuck with people was that sense of immersion and believability about Tomb Raider that Mario never bothered with, some of us crave that. I generally don’t, I like the fantasy-world, “let’s jump in a painting and see where it goes” flavor of Mario games, I also like any game that isn’t chained down by the prerequisites of reality. In Mario, there is no “How did I get here? How does this make sense?” It simply is, whereas Tomb Raider was a display of things to come where everything is rational, even a dinosaur somehow makes sense. I remember the first time I died, I jumped off a ledge a short way and fell to my immediate death. That is absurd, not a man turning to metal or running around on flying islands.

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