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Author Topic:   TR MOVIE: Thumbs Up or Down?
David Troska
Junior Member

Posts: 19
From:Bronx, New York, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 06-16-2001 06:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Troska   Click Here to Email David Troska     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just got back from seeing the movie (as I suppose most of you probably did.) So what did you all think?

I give it a thumbs up, even though the plot had a million loopholes (but who goes to a movie like this for the plot anyway?)
Great set design, good action sequences, perfect attitude. Certainly not as good as Raiders of The Lost Ark, but very enjoyable, and better than "The Mummy Returns."

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aktrekker
Member

Posts: 222
From:WA, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 06-16-2001 07:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for aktrekker   Click Here to Email aktrekker     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I thought it was pretty good. But I see the same shortcomings you do. I would like to get everyone's opinion, so please read on.

In previous threads, an unofficial survey has been taken asking which TR game is everyone's favorite. Most who answered prefer TR1 - 3. Very few preferred TR4. Some preferred TR5, but if a further survey was made, I think it would be because of the VCI/Red Alert levels.
So what happened after TR3 that made it less likable? The games were bigger, the graphics and sound better, the animations better and more varied. So what happened?
In my opinion, it was the introduction of the supernatural - skeletons, mummies, ghosts, gods. Lara started out as an adventurer, but has been turned into a ghost buster. That is not what Lara is about, not who she is. Am I the only person who feels this way?
I think Eidos/Core needs to get Lara back to being an adventurer. Whether in the Antarctic, jungles, pyramids, undersea, or the city, that is what Lara does best -- not fighting demons.
And getting back to the movie, I think that was the problem. While I could handle the statues animating (it looked pretty good), that bit with the time control and stuff just got too strange. I don't think it is who Lara is. It seemed to turn it into a Relic Hunter movie, not Tomb Raider.

Opinions?

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fairchild
Member

Posts: 60
From:
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 06-16-2001 08:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for fairchild     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
hello, first thanks for the heartfelt
opinions on the TombRaider mystique.
(& the movie)yeah, fun---

I'm of the opinion that the first 3 games
followed much closer to the genre of the
"pulp action heroine" of Lara; you know,
2 guns blazing & a loose bra strap...
since then ,there have been bright
moments (of certain levels)--but strangely,
the overall feel of the series is *off*

man, it's just really hard to learn that your favorite (example) Sherlock Holmes is now
the "16 yr old Sherlock"; that certainly didn't help. it was a few unwise decisions,
pretty soon, the the whole thing gets out of hand...

for all TR fans, of course(no matter what
they do w/ TR6)we'll always remember her as
the TombRaider/ the adventurer----

& that's why we enjoy building TR levels.
if weary of Egyptian or high rise/high Tek
levels; just drop Lara back into some
Aztec world, 'raiding Tombs & kicking
Dino arses----

so, there is something to be said for
"character development","themes",
or "genres" in PC storytelling.
just as a novel or a movie, you strive
to "overexagerate" your character w/
each new installment---

that's difficult to do! we must give
credit due for their efforts; I'm not
sure I'd have handled it differently.
still, i miss the old TombRaider style
Lara; ---oh well!

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mirai
Member

Posts: 94
From:Tokyo, Japan
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 06-16-2001 10:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mirai     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
as someone working for video game companies
for 15 years, I would say it can be something far more deeper than that. It also depends how your brain reacts to input.
It's about NUANCE.

There is something very 'right-brain'
about Tomb Raider whereas Doom and Halflife are 'Left-brain'.

Added to that after TR3 LA you lost the genius designers:

1. Music of NATHAN McCREE (I worked on a product with him last year)
2. Pete Cambell level design
3. The original designer of TR1
4. The original creators of the background
soundscapes.

You lost atmosphere, bigtime!

Just by changing sound FX and the game interface you can lose Atmosphere.

See HALFLIFE for amazing atmos.

I hated the Commodore 64 looking interface from Tr4 onwards. Bring back the circular 3D one!

Tr5 REALLY lost nearly everything that was cool about TR. It sold out to bad opinion.

Basically it is all about
DESIGN SENSE.

Check out my new level soon, and you'll understand. I am hacking everything to make it look like and feel like Tr3.

MIRAI

ps. I also prefer the chunky Playstation
feel to the high quality but plastic feel of the PC (in Tr 4 & 5)

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David Troska
Junior Member

Posts: 19
From:Bronx, New York, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 06-17-2001 12:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Troska   Click Here to Email David Troska     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Getting back to what aktrekker said, I actually liked TR4 the best. For me, the supernatural stuff worked, and it was the only game in the series that had a coherent plot. Actually, the plot of Last Revelation was superior to that of the film.

The problem with the skeletons and zombies, is that they don't work in a movie unless they're done exceptionally well. It's far too easy for them to look cheesy. I think most of us have a greater suspension of disbelief when playing games than we do while watching a movie.

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