Combat ruins this game

[Anonymous No.7778761]

Finished TR1 a while back. It was great. The weakest point was the combat because Lara's controls and combat abilities aren't able to effectively deal with humans especially. But, the combat segments were few and sprinkled throughout the slow and methodical exploration segments, which is where the controls and the game itself really shine.

Hungry for more, I fired up TR2 the other night. The first level was good. Then I get to Venice and all the sudden I'm playing what feels like a really shitty action game. It's impossible to deal with human enemies without taking significant damage. They can shoot you with perfect accuracy even as you are flipping through the air. Many of the enemies also spawn when you are most vulnerable, like just as you turn a corner or enter an area where there isn't much room to move around. The only tactical options available are to jump around while holding down the fire button and hope that Lara locks on to the enemy and he drops before you lose too much health. If I'm missing something here, please tell me because otherwise this is horrible design. They built an engine that does slow methodical exploration and puzzle solving extremely well, and yet they decided to make fast-paced combat a major focus even though the game is absolute shit at that.

My question is about the rest of the games in the original series--TR3, Last Revelation, and Chronicles. Do they get better in regards to combat? I'm hoping for something closer to the experience of TR1. If they still focus on combat and face-paced action, did they at least make changes to the game engine to better deal with those situations?

[Anonymous No.7778784]

>>7778761
Guys with bats, flamethrowers, and throwing stars - do what you're doing. Hold down fire and jump around, keeping your distance.
Most guys with guns - They have the same aiming abilities as Lara, but they lack her ability to maintain a lock after losing line of sight and they're slower at drawing their guns, so the best tactic is to stay on your feet, close the distance and roll behind them.
For more annoyingly-placed guys with guns - just use the grenade launcher you can get on level 1

[Anonymous No.7778796]

>>7778761
you just need to learn how to control lara while shooting at shit, that's all. Need more practice, it's not an easy game since all the conplex movements, but how you combine them to finish the level is the backbone of the game itself.

Also, if you're hoping the next games will be better or at least, be as the same quality as the first one you are wrong. With each new game, new and more combinations were introduced, but this won't work until you practice a lot with the controls (and that envolves how to do the combat).

[Anonymous No.7779060]

>>7778784
>stay on your feet, close the distance and roll behind them
Thanks for the tip. I think this clip shows the tactic you're describing. I'll try it next time.

[Anonymous No.7779073]

yeah, that's why enemies have health drops this time around

[Anonymous No.7779078]

>>7778796
why the fuck did the japs pluralize the name

[Anonymous No.7779086]

>>7779078
technically you do encounter other "tomb raiders" in the game. regardless of the name, that cover is way better than what we got here

[Anonymous No.7779213]

I learned this by watching the cpu play the TR2 demo, so I don't think it was ever mentioned elsewhere. It's impossible to completely negate human enemy damage, but one maneuver that helps immensely, is to run towards them, jump over their head and turn around mid-air (should be the roll button).

Don't worry about the other games being as combat-heavy as TR2. TR3 and TR5 both have sections with many human enemies, but nowhere as annoying as in TR2.

[Anonymous No.7779228]

>>7779086
looks pretty half assed to me desu

[Anonymous No.7779240]

>>7778796
>>7779228
ASS.

They should have just put her butt as the cover, but you could still see some of the tomb in the background. I mean why even pretend it's anything else at that point.

[Anonymous No.7780147]

>>7779213
>TR3 and TR5 both have sections with many human enemies, but nowhere as annoying as in TR2
Good to know.

As an aside, I restarted the game because I missed the dinosaur part in the first level. This time I used the weapons cheat for shits and gigs. Blowing up a T-rex into a bunch of flying chunks with the grenade launcher is awesome. Highly recommended.

[Anonymous No.7780161]

>>7778761
Yeah, why does it take like 15 bullets to kill a fucking bird in this game? The bats in TR1 die in one or two hits.

[Anonymous No.7780641]

Supposedly TR was criticized at the time for not having enough "action" and the combat was added into TR2 in response to that criticism. No idea if this is true. Haven't looked back at any gaming media from that time and all I remember from that era was a ton of positive hype around that game and locking that bitchass butler in the freezer in the demo.

[Anonymous No.7780656]

>>7779060
Wow that looks like shit, glad I never liked this series.

[Anonymous No.7781668]

>>7779060
I forgot how bad old games were.

[Anonymous No.7781670]

>>7780656
>>7781668
fuck off zoomers

[Anonymous No.7781672]

>>7781670
cope boomie

[Anonymous No.7782202]

Now that I've figured out combat, I'm having a lot more fun in this game. Still don't think combat is great but it isn't the disaster I figured it was before. Thanks putos

[Anonymous No.7782634]

>>7778761
TR2 is the worst of the first three in that regard
2 has some good levels that I wouldnt want you to miss (namely the first three or four, then the last ...five or so I think)
tr3 is the best of the first three, though 1 has some atmosphere the others never match
they each are good in their own ways

[Anonymous No.7783450]

>>7780656
>>7781668
samefag

[Anonymous No.7784557]

>>7782634
>TR2 is the worst of the first three in that regard
What about the other two PS1 TR games?
>2 has some good levels that I wouldnt want you to miss
>>7782634
I'm planning to stick with 2 until I finish it. Looks like a fairly long game especially because I'm consulting a guide sparingly which means I spend a good amount of time figuring out puzzles.

If I'm still having fun by the time I get into TR3, I may commit to playing through all the PS1 TR games. So far I'm having more fun than I did with more recent TR games or Uncharted's parkour bullshit. Those aforementioned games had better action but compared TR1/2 they lacked in exploration and atmosphere. Plus I enjoy the more methodical style gameplay of these early TR games.

[Anonymous No.7785783]

>>7778761
If it weren't for the Maria Doria levels, I would have to agree that Tomb Raider 2 isn't as good as 1, 3 or 4. Honestly I don't include Chronicles because that was more of an excuse to ship the level editor, and Angel of Darkness is on a completely different engine.

[Anonymous No.7785932]

>>7785783
the middle levels are the ones most people dont like

great wall, early venice, tibet and onwards are the good ones

[Anonymous No.7785971]

>>7785783
>Maria Doria levels
Just looked this up. Damnit I hate underwater levels. Lara's underwater controls are actually pretty decent but underwater stuff in 3D games give me the creeps. Thalassophobia or something

[Anonymous No.7786372]

>>7785971
you're gonna love 40 fathoms then

[Anonymous No.7786418]

I've looked at my playtimes here (not completion times), and TR3 was th longest one. Took me 38 hours to finish. The completion time shows 31, but I guess it doesn't count when you die and reload.

Anyway. If you're not using a guide, TR3 has a few cryptic as shit spots, like the beginning of Antarctica. I took two laps around the ship to find before finding how to climb onto it. There are also a few puzzles that can be solved by just taking damage: one I recall was a puzzle with two large holes. You had to push some boxes around in one of them, go to the other hole, pull a lever, run and climb into the other hole before the door closed. The thing is, you can just jump into the other hole instead of climing. You'll take some damage, but as long as you're at full health, you won't die.

[Anonymous No.7786435]

>>7782634
>tr3 is the best
top kek kid

[Anonymous No.7788360]

>>7786418
>If you're not using a guide, TR3 has a few cryptic as shit spots
Haven't played anything past TR2 yet (I'm op) but I got stuck in TR1 and even more so in TR2. It can be very satisfying finally finding that switch or figuring out how to maneuver into a certain area, making it worth the last 30 minutes spent wandering around thinking "wtf?" The problem is at my age I don't have much time for vidya and the time it would take me to get through a game like this without taking a peak at a guide or Youtube video every now and then would probably prevent me from ever finishing. Also my kids get bored watching Lara wander aimlessly around in the same area.