I am a casual gamer– well, passionately casual. I love the games I play and I tend to get over-excited by them but I am not elite or even particularly skilled. I mostly play MMOs, and I have dabbled in RPGs. I never played any action adventure style games before, unless we count Atari Pitfall. Wait, we should definitely count Pitfall cause that game was BA in 1982. But since I am almost always behind the times, I only just recently discovered Tomb Raider.

I started off with Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) because my friend Alise streamed it and it looked like fun. I realised pretty quickly that it was going to be a LOT of fun and I should probably go back to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot game and start there in case there were story spoilers in the newer game. So I put Rise on hold and started Tomb Raider. Well, I enjoyed the 2013 game so much that I decided to dedicate one of my Comic-Con costumes this year to the character of Lara Croft. I made her signature necklace myself, as well as her makeshift bow, her quiver and her arrows. I painted and weathered the climbing axe (ordered from Etsy), and learned to apply realistic wounds to my face and body. I admit it is intimidating as a woman of a certain age and size to take on such an iconic beauty as Lara but really, it is one of the funnest cosplays I have done, so #NoRegrets!

Lara Croft is a Great Character

Far from the gratuitously busty sex symbol I was expecting, Lara turned out to be a strong, determined heroine who keeps adapting, growing, and keeping promises throughout some harrowing adventures. She gets thrown into some crazy situations that change her as a person. I really respect the character and her strong sense of morals, loyalty, and never-say-die attitude. The game has some tense and truly frightening moments, some heartbreak, and a lot of violence (like a lot more than I am used to in my usual selection of games; click here to see one of my many wildlife-related deaths, if you dare.) I found the story, the Indiana Jones style adventuring, the puzzles, and the fight mechanics really satisfying.

Here is a 1-minute video I made that captures some of what makes this game such a swashbuckling good time, there are LOTS of moments like these.

Next, I plan to do a full play through of Rise which should keep me busy until the next Lara Croft game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider releases September 14. I had a chance to play a 30 minute demo of Shadow at the Tomb Raider Experience in San Diego and I enjoyed some of the new features a lot. From what I hear, gameplay will be more challenging with the new game, so hopefully I will sufficiently hone my skills by then!