Shadow Of The Tomb Raider The ... !!LINK!!
Set roughly a year after the events of Rise of the Tomb Raider, its story follows Lara Croft as she ventures through the tropical regions of the Americas to the legendary city Paititi, battling the paramilitary organization Trinity and racing to stop a Mayan apocalypse she has unleashed. 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.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider The ...
Released as the final installment in Lara Croft's origin trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise going to the game's emphasis on challenge tombs and puzzles, although some felt that the series' gameplay had become stale and lacked innovation. While opening to slow sales, the game eventually shipped over 8.9 million copies worldwide.[6]
Like its predecessors, the game allows players to hunt wild animals, craft materials using resources collected, solve puzzles and seek out optional tombs and side quests. The game features larger tombs and more complex puzzles compared to previous installments in the reboot series.[9] Players have the option to tailor their gameplay experience as exploration, puzzles and combat have their own difficulty settings.[8] An Immersion Mode enables players to hear the background conversations of the locals in their native languages; when turned off the conversations are heard in the players' chosen voice over language.[10]
In 2015, months since the events of Rise of the Tomb Raider,[11] Lara Croft (Camilla Luddington) and her friend Jonah Maiava (Earl Baylon) have dedicated themselves to stopping the activities of paramilitary organization Trinity. The two track a cell to Cozumel in Mexico, led by Pedro Dominguez (Carlos Leal), the head of Trinity's High Council. At Trinity's excavation site, Lara discovers a temple containing the Dagger of Chak Chel and references to a hidden city. Murals adorning the walls allude to the Silver Box of Ix Chel and warn of "the Cleansing", a Mayan apocalypse culminating in a permanent solar eclipse. Lara ignores the warnings and takes the Dagger to prevent Trinity from acquiring it. Dominguez catches her and reveals that by taking the Dagger, Lara has triggered the Cleansing. He takes the Dagger, intending to unite it with the Box to stop the Cleansing and use the power it grants him to remake the world in his image. Lara and Jonah escape a tsunami that destroys Cozumel and foreshadows the coming apocalypse.
Lara and Jonah find a secret catacomb beneath the mission leading to Lopez's tomb and the Box. Amaru intercepts them and forces Lara to surrender the Box. He admits that he ordered her father's death to prevent him from finding Paititi and revealing it to the world. Lara tries to persuade Amaru to use the ritual to benefit the world. He refuses, as the Cleansing will only affect Paititi. He leaves Lara and Jonah to escape the third cataclysm, a massive earthquake that causes a landslide.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider released several chapters of downloadable content that expanded on the game's narrative. Each of these chapters run parallel to the main storyline and focus on an additional tomb. Lara uncovers the source of Mayan influence in Peru and solves the mystery of a missing oil worker; locates an artefact to bolster Unuratu's rebellion, but finds a secret that could threaten it; confronts her worst fears as she searches for a potent weapon; learns of a tragedy that shaped Amaru's decision to join Trinity; aids a splinter group of rebels taken by the Cult of Kukulkan; investigates a disturbance at a local temple that turns into a trap laid by Trinity; and learns the fate of the Yaaxil that survived the battle with Trinity.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was designed to evolve the narrative and gameplay elements of Lara Croft; in the 2013 reboot she was portrayed as a hunted survivor, Rise of the Tomb Raider revealed her beginning to pursue her own goals, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider was designed to show her mastering the environment. The story closes off the rebooted origin story, with Lara becoming "the tomb raider she was always meant to be".[17] Narrative director Jason Dozois defined this as being Lara's ultimate "tomb raider" persona within the reboot timeline rather than a return to the character of Lara from games prior to 2013:[18]
"We regard Lara as a classic timeless character. It's not a period piece. It's always set now, so we have to use the sensibilities of today. The reboot has been about bringing a more grounded version of Lara. Becoming the Tomb Raider is becoming this ultimate expression of this survivor timeline, and what that means for us is becoming more responsible with the use of archaeology, it's not just about possessing an object, going into a tomb, everything crumbles, and then leaving. It's about learning that archaeology is also culture, and history, and language, and that involves people".[18]
The setting and narrative took inspiration from Mayan, Aztec and Incan mythology, including its recurring focus on sun worship, sacrifice, and the ages of mankind.[23] The Mayan influence was chosen due to that culture's fixation on astronomy and dates.[24] During the initial design pitch, the designers wanted Lara to discover a real lost tomb with people living around it, a concept previously limited by the technology available at the time. During their research, they chose the city of Paititi due to its historic precedent over purely fictional locations such as El Dorado.[11] The culture of Paititi was based on the supposition that elements Aztec and Maya of Mesoamerican cultures could have migrated into Peru.[24] The culture and people of Paititi were based on historic accounts of the Maya, Aztec and Inca peoples. The clothing of the people were based on historic examples and accounts.[19][23] The team consulted historians to ensure their cultural depictions were accurate and respectful.[20]
The PC and Stadia ports were created by Nixxes Software.[2][3] A season pass gives players access to seven "paths" of downloadable content (DLC) which include new narratives, missions, tombs, weapons, outfits and skills.[32] None of these would contain additional story content, which was complete with the base release.[18] A version bundling together the main game and DLC, Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, was also released on November 4.[33] The Feral Interactive ports and Stadia version were based on this release.[4][33]
Brett Makedonski of Destructoid compared the game's themes to Uncharted and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, praised the graphics, platforming and tomb challenges, but criticized the story narrative. He is glad that the game rather avoids what the series is weak at (fighting).[37] Similarly, Caty McCarthy of USGamer enjoyed tombs, swimming and stealth, but disliked fighting.[44] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave a positive review, and said that the game managed to separate itself from other similar titles through the refined state of its mechanics and design.[38] Rachel Weber from GamesRadar also praised the game, calling it "the strongest entry in the rebooted trilogy" and saying that Shadow of the Tomb Raider stayed true to the character's strengths, and praised the implementation of challenge tombs.[40]
Lucy O'Brien of IGN said Shadow of the Tomb Raider offered a fitting conclusion to Lara Croft's origin trilogy, stating that the game's story manages to make a satisfying line between high-concept fun and grounded character exploration.[42] Michael Leri of Game Revolution praised the game's numerous challenge tombs and puzzles, praising the tombs as fun and challenging, and lauding the puzzles as the game's best feature.[41] Andy Kelly from PC Gamer (US) called it one of the best Tomb Raider games to date, pointing out its improved stealth combat and tomb exploration.[43]
Chris Plante of Polygon praised the character and gameplay progression throughout the trilogy, calling Shadow of the Tomb Raider "a refinement rather than revision" of the first two reboot titles, adding that the game was to be praised as it was the best version of the mechanics demonstrated in the previous two entries.[46] Conversely, VideoGamer's Josh Wise disliked the main storyline as being filled with padding and undermined by weak writing, though he praised the platforming and world design.[45] Edmond Tran of GameSpot also gave a mixed review, criticizing the game's side quests and Lara's character development while praising the story missions, graphics, environments and explorable tombs.[39]
Lara reaches Unuratu. Lara informs her that she has found another clue to the box's location, asking of the meaning of her tattoos, Unuratu reveals that they are linked to the last true emperor of Paititi, and the two make their way to the tomb to look for more clues. Making their way through the temple, they pass a mural which Unuratu explains shows that at the death of the sun, the box must be opened, and whoever opens will be tempted with a vision showing the most powerful desire. Lara asks Unuratu how she knows if she'll be able to resist temptation, to which she replied, she doesn't know, however the Crimson Fire will guide her telling her "When the Crimson Fire smokes, seek your mirror."
Reaching the tomb of the emperor, Lara finds a message left by Andreas Lopez, saying "The Heart of the Serpent is in the cup." The cult of Kukulkan attacks, and Unuratu is ambushed and fatally shot by Rourke. Before she dies, Unuratu urges Lara to resist the box's temptation. Lara fights off the squad sent by Rourke to kill her and escapes, informing Etzli of his mother's death. Etzli resolves to lead his people. Lara and Jonah leave by boat to continue their search for the box. While heading down the river, Lara and Jonah are attacked by a Trinity gunship, destroying their boat and separating them. Lara emerges on the bank nearby an oil refinery, killing a soldier who sets upon her. With no weapons except her knife, she tries to find Jonah. 041b061a72