Tomb Raider Wii

[...]

The only trouble is that when you need to hook your grapple onto something and pull it towards you you have to flick the nunchuk up to pull it and sometimes it doesn't quite work but again I personally don't think its anything too bad.

 

Well, I don't own TRA (yet...) but the grapple system in Metroid Prime 3 is exactly the same control method and I find that if you flick the nunchuck down for both throwing and pulling, it never fails. So try flicking the nunchuck down to pull instead of flicking up and you should see it working every time.

[Columnar]

I'll give it a go ...

 

Thanks!

[Columnar]

According Eurogamer, the next game 'Tomb Raider Underworld' has been pushed back to Q4 of this year (although I didn't expect it to be out this year anyway) and SCi have also announced Wii & DS versions (and PS2) of the game to go along with the previously announced PS3, PC & 360 versions.

[DCK]

That sounds rather good. This is an improvement in our treatment, and could make a decent game.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Do the monuments like the Hieroglyphics on the walls and statues look good? Do you feel immerse in the environment? You know what would be cool, an Ebdless Ocean type of game but on land TR style.

[Jamba]

Bad news

 

SCi's stock has just dropped by half. Gonna be a damn shame if they go under.

[K-project]

Bad news

 

SCi's stock has just dropped by half. Gonna be a damn shame if they go under.

 

Cripes, that is bad news.

 

I'm getting this for my birthday off the missus, and I'm really looking forward to it. I absolutely loved the original game (we both did), and I like what they've done with this update. They seem to have stayed really true to the atmosphere of the original. Along with Shenmue and the Mario and Zelda games, it's one of those few games that we both seem to enjoy. So yeah, should be good!

[K-project]

Turned up today, and the missus let me have an hour on it before I get it for my birthday. Played through to the T-Rex bit, and so far really impressed. It's very nice graphically I reckon - I can't imagine there's much between the Wii and the 360 versions (HD aside), as it's quite nice and detailed. There are a couple of moments when the frame rate dips, but it's nothing game killing, and I hear the other versions suffer with the same problem. But I like how they've incorporated the Wii controls. They take a bit of getting used to, but you will get used to them as really they aren't complicated, and they're certainly not a compromise. And +100 kudos points for the torch! Such a simple but effective idea.

 

So just a couple of weeks to go before I get a proper play of it without being rushed. It's a sod really, as I've got this now and NiGHTS is on it's way to me, and my Wii is about to be sent in to Nintendo to be fixed up with a drive issue. So I'm hoping I get it back before the end of the month.

[Cube]

I can't imagine there's much between the Wii and the 360 versions

 

 

Well, the 360 version doesn't look as good as the GameCube version of Legend.

[K-project]

Well, the 360 version doesn't look as good as the GameCube version of Legend.

 

Really? Oh right. I wouldn't know since I don't have access to a 360, but it's always presumed (with reason obviously) that 360 games look better than their Wii counterparts. On that score I thought it was worth mentioning that to me the Wii version looks lovely. Both me and the missus were big fans of the original, and this certainly elicited a couple of ooh's and aah's on the graphics front.

[blender]

Bad news

 

SCi's stock has just dropped by half. Gonna be a damn shame if they go under.

 

I hope they do go under or are taken over... their franchises will still exist but under a different owner (e.g. like eidos). Franchises usually improve with fresh blood and the need to justify an investment of the buying company. I hope a porn company buys the rights to TR

[...]

I ordered this on friday for roughly €27. Hope to have it by at least next friday.

 

K-project or anyone else, do you have any updated impressions?

[mariosmentor]

TBH it's mostly nostalgia that makes me play this game.

 

If you are a fan of the first game and play old gems like Goldeneye etc without complaint then the game is a great little piece of software.

 

Anybody new to the game, may have a little trouble adapting. But I still love it.

[...]

I only played a bit of the original back then and played about half of TR2. I'm not exactly new to it, but I'm not exactly a veteran either. We are acquainted.

 

But I like the fact that it's puzzle solving, you against the environment, in stead of just a shoot-em-up.

[mariosmentor]

You will enjoy it then. Have fun.

[Invisible Painting]

I think it's a very good game personally, but I loved Legend as well. There are a couple of gripes with it though for me (I.e. some of the Wii-mote controls just don't work, a button press works better sometimes (But the brush puzzles ect make very good use of it) but for things like pulling a lever in the PS2 version you press the button, on the Wii version you press the button and then hand gesture the remote down like a pull...Given that both involve pressing a button why not just stick with that? The 'press this button now' during the cut scenes (seen in so many games now) also are a bit unresponsive especially towards the end.)

 

And some segments are a lot shorter compared with the original as well. The Atlantis level is about half the length for example.

 

But overall, it's a good game. I like it and some bits are very well done, I'd just prefer it more if the controls were a little more 'traditional'.

[...]

Received it yesterday, have played only the Croft Mansion thus far. Completed it but only found 6 of the 8 artifacts.

 

The game isn't perfect, but I like it. Tech nerds would hate it. The graphics are somewhat bad, ESPECIALLY the maze hedges which look like something out of the out of PS1 or Sega Saturn.... Lara has no textures that I can see. Water effects are also bad in my opinion and the frame rate drops a lot in open areas, more so if water is on the screen. And I've only played the mansion...

 

Ok, but I already knew all this, I'm not complaining, just telling it like it is.

The game has good puzzles, judging from the Mansion "training" level and promises to be an excelent adventure.

 

Wii controls work good too, I've not had problems. The grapple works every time, the flashlight works well and is an excelent feature. The gun sights are too sensitive, though, again something I already knew before buying the game. Don't the devs notice these things before completing games? I mean, don't they test the games and notice that the cursor just dances too much on the screen? When you lock on with Z, the sights remain "free aim". Since they are so sensitive, this is not so good. They could have used a system similar to The Godfather, where when you lock on with Z, you can also move your sights but only on the body of the targeted victim. No matter how far you move the wiimote, your cursor will always be on the targeted victim, so you can choose where to hit (face, arms, legs, etc), but you don't have to struggle to keep the sights on the victum. MP3 doesn't need this feature because the sensitivity is "right" in that one. But Godfather and TRA have too loose a sight.

 

Anyway, like I said, the game seems to promise a very good adventure, and if you can get past its shortcomings, which in the graphical department are a lot, it's a game worth having IMO.

 

I bought it through the "other sellers" link at Amazon UK, bought it new for £22/€27. I think it's an ok price. I wouldn't pay €50 or €60 for it.

[Hellfire]

"The graphics are somewhat bad, ESPECIALLY the maze hedges which look like something out of the out of PS1 or Sega Saturn.... Lara has no textures that I can see. Water effects are also bad in my opinion and the frame rate drops a lot in open areas, more so if water is on the screen."

Wow dude talk about exagerating! lol

Yeah it isn't very good technically, but it's a pretty cool game, although I didn't play much.

[...]

Hmm, I don't think I exaggerated there... Just said what I saw in the Mansion, those hedges do look like 32-bit era, I'm not kidding. I wish I were.

 

Anyway, the Peru level looks a lot better, I'll say that. The stone walls really look like stone, real solid, which is awesome. And the "feel" of the game is absolutely what I love in games. That sense of isolation and really exploring a world. I get that feeling in games like Metroid, Prince of Persia, REmake.

Plus, when you get further into the level, you start to hear an evil distant laugh that really creeps me out. Very very atmospheric.

 

But now I've had a bit more time with the game, let's "exaggerate" a bit about the aiming. The aiming is a fucking joke! As you will know, TR games have always used auto aim. Because Wii has an IR pointer, they decided to make the aiming manual in this one. Fine. Except they kept the same camera system as if the aim were automatic, the stupid ass bitches... So you sometimes (or most of the time) are locked onto an enemy and he gets offscreen.... If the aiming were automatic, like it's supposed to be with this camera, this would be no problem you would just keep shooting and know you hit it because you're Z-targeting, but no... it's manual, and of course, the fucking enemy is offscreen so how the fuck are you supposed to aim at it??? And this is what most reviews complain about, and I finally understand it, it had to happen to me first hand to understand it.

 

Christ, I can't stand this kind of stupidity from supposedly smart, creative people. Don't they test the games??

 

Thankfully, it seems the game is more about puzzle solving and exploration than fighting. But still, I am a bit afraid of when I will encounter a truly tough enemy, like the T-Rex or other boss. Something tells me the fights are going to be VERY frustrating...

[Invisible Painting]

Thankfully, it seems the game is more about puzzle solving and exploration than fighting. But still, I am a bit afraid of when I will encounter a truly tough enemy, like the T-Rex or other boss. Something tells me the fights are going to be VERY frustrating...

 

To be honest, you get used to it a bit, I hated the gun style at first. But by a couple of levels into it I was kinda used to it. It is a bit sensitive but you can get used to it fairly easily. You'll be fine by the later levels. But admittedly the way you described Godfather that does sound better

 

T-rex like bosses are actually easier in this game, due to the fact they treat it like a proper boss rather then just a really big enemy (although saying that this time round you can't just hide in a hole in the wall and shoot it till it's gone). But the T-rex and the torso on the last level are surprisingly easy...

[...]

But admittedly the way you described Godfather that does sound better

 

Buy it, it's worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I have advanced in the game and am completely in love with it!

I have completed the whole Peru part, next will be Greece.

 

Yes, I have fought the T-Rex and it wasn't that hard, you're right. Besides, I "discovered" a little trick that helps correct the shittiness of the devs' system of free aim. What I do is I press both Z and C at the same time. I just place my index finger right between the two buttons and press them both together.

For those who don't know the layout, Z is for targeting and C is to move the camera with the pointer. When you press both you are locked-on to an enemy and you can free aim AND you can move the camera, all at the same time! It corrects nearly all that is wrong with the camera and makes playing it on Wii a lot more satisfying. If no-one's ever done it before me (which I doubt ) I'll patent this discovery! :awesome:

 

The game reminds me a LOT of Prince of Persia, it's more about environmental puzzles than anything else. No music, either, except at key moments. The sense of immersion is complete. You truly feel like an explorer (with big tits) in uncharted territory. I've seen some videos of other console versions of the game and I noticed that the Wii version is darker in places. Places that are completely visible in other versions, are sometimes pitch black on Wii. This is because Wii is the only version that features the flashlight and this makes for great suspense as you walk down a pitch black corridor only illuminated by your flashlight beam (that goes where you point with the wiimote), hearing all sorts of ambient sounds (traps working in the distance, water flowing, the echo of your footsteps, your racing heartbeat (and Lara's too if she's low on health)).

 

I really urge anyone who hasn't played the game to get it. If you like Metroid and Prince of Persia, there is NO REASON for you to not like this. And any problem that the Wii version might have when it comes to combat can be resolved by holding down both Z and C.

 

 

 

Hmm, I did find one bug/glitch, though... I had missed picking up the Relic from the Mountain Caves (Level 1 of Peru), so when I finished all the Peru parts and unlocked the Replay Level option, I replayed that level in order to get the missing Relic. Except when I got there (I knew where it was) I couldn't get it! The Relic is inside a wall (this is different from all other versions) that you must break using your Wii-exclusive archeologic tool kit, but when I approached the wall crack no HUD appeared for me to use the kit. I don't know if this is true just for this particular Relic but if it's true for all Relics/Artifacts in the game, then it is a serious glitch! Because if you don't pick up the Relics/Artifacts on your first play through a level, then you can't go back to pick them up when you replay them! The Relics/Artifacts aren't essencial, they just unlock several extras (Relics in particular unlock alternate costumes for Lara) but it's still a major glitch, IMO.

[Gio001]

Buy it, it's worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I have advanced in the game and am completely in love with it!

I have completed the whole Peru part, next will be Greece.

 

Yes, I have fought the T-Rex and it wasn't that hard, you're right. Besides, I "discovered" a little trick that helps correct the shittiness of the devs' system of free aim. What I do is I press both Z and C at the same time. I just place my index finger right between the two buttons and press them both together.

For those who don't know the layout, Z is for targeting and C is to move the camera with the pointer. When you press both you are locked-on to an enemy and you can free aim AND you can move the camera, all at the same time! It corrects nearly all that is wrong with the camera and makes playing it on Wii a lot more satisfying. If no-one's ever done it before me (which I doubt ) I'll patent this discovery! :awesome:

 

The game reminds me a LOT of Prince of Persia, it's more about environmental puzzles than anything else. No music, either, except at key moments. The sense of immersion is complete. You truly feel like an explorer (with big tits) in uncharted territory. I've seen some videos of other console versions of the game and I noticed that the Wii version is darker in places. Places that are completely visible in other versions, are sometimes pitch black on Wii. This is because Wii is the only version that features the flashlight and this makes for great suspense as you walk down a pitch black corridor only illuminated by your flashlight beam (that goes where you point with the wiimote), hearing all sorts of ambient sounds (traps working in the distance, water flowing, the echo of your footsteps, your racing heartbeat (and Lara's too if she's low on health)).

 

I really urge anyone who hasn't played the game to get it. If you like Metroid and Prince of Persia, there is NO REASON for you to not like this. And any problem that the Wii version might have when it comes to combat can be resolved by holding down both Z and C.

 

 

 

Hmm, I did find one bug/glitch, though... I had missed picking up the Relic from the Mountain Caves (Level 1 of Peru), so when I finished all the Peru parts and unlocked the Replay Level option, I replayed that level in order to get the missing Relic. Except when I got there (I knew where it was) I couldn't get it! The Relic is inside a wall (this is different from all other versions) that you must break using your Wii-exclusive archeologic tool kit, but when I approached the wall crack no HUD appeared for me to use the kit. I don't know if this is true just for this particular Relic but if it's true for all Relics/Artifacts in the game, then it is a serious glitch! Because if you don't pick up the Relics/Artifacts on your first play through a level, then you can't go back to pick them up when you replay them! The Relics/Artifacts aren't essencial, they just unlock several extras (Relics in particular unlock alternate costumes for Lara) but it's still a major glitch, IMO.

 

Nice, informative post, you've convinced me to pick this up sometime.