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  • In the first instalment of the rebooted Tomb Raider, we saw a young Lara Croft use a bow

  • to fight mercenaries and a death army. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, we see a young Lara

  • Croftuse a bow to fight mercenaries and a death army. Huh.

  • While Rise of the Tomb Raider doesn't exactly break new ground with its gameplay mechanics

  • in fact, featuring the exact same weapons as the first, for us lovers of archaic weapons

  • in modern combat, the bow is back!

  • You can be forgiven if you get the feeling of déjà vu. We see Lara once again stranded

  • and alone, and the first thing she does is put together a bow made out of bunch of sticks.

  • This emergency tool is used to hunt, and is soon replaced by the recurve bow that is now

  • her trademark weapon. As the game progresses, Lara is able to swap out to the modern compound

  • bow or a horn bow, and various bonus packages unlock alternate skins.

  • Unlike the previous game, the selection of bows is more variedthough not significantly

  • game-altering. While the previous game had a linear progression anchored on the bow being

  • upgraded, all functions are applicable to all bows, which means you only need to use

  • the base recurve to get through the entire game. What has changed, however, is the differing

  • stats between each bow type. Compound bows are more powerful but slower to use, while

  • the recurve bows are faster but weaker.

  • The expanded crafting system also gives the player more options to upgrade their weapons,

  • with unique upgrades for different weapon types. As with the last game, the actual upgrades

  • are fairly tokenistic mentions that make some sense in increasing speed and damage, and

  • one really shouldn't look into the "how". Just think of it as action-game tropes rather

  • than realistic mechanics.

  • Once again, the bow sees extensive use as the main puzzle-solving tool. Very early in

  • the game, Lara regains use of rope arrows. Apart from creating ziplines for easier navigation

  • and pulling down barriers, there are many more puzzles that involve some creative thinking

  • and timing. This is actually one of the more unique gameplay elements of Tomb Raider made

  • possible using the bow, something that other gun-slinging adventure games don't really

  • capture. It makes each crypt a unique challenge, making you observe the environment more carefully

  • to come up with the right solution.

  • The game also introduces climbing arrows. Shot into soft wood and rock surfaces, these

  • arrows act as a platform for Lara to climb onto and leap from, and are easily identifiable.

  • An optional upgrade allows her to plant the arrows by hand, allowing her to traverse these

  • surfaces without having to lay out a path of arrows.

  • There are also a number of special arrows. Poison arrows create a cloud that instantly

  • kills most enemies, and stuns the really strong ones long enough for you to pepper them with

  • arrows. Explosive arrows do just that, with optional cluster bomb upgrade, and fire arrows,

  • whichhonestly don't do much in this game.

  • The combat application of the bow has been expanded significantly in this instalment.

  • As with the previous game, Lara starts with the bow but soon acquires the pistol and rifle,

  • giving players plenty of options. Combat, for the most part, is a fairly straightforward

  • affairaim for the head and win, and early on the bow doesn't seem that useful, given

  • its single shot and slow follow-up. That said, it is the only inherently stealthy weapon,

  • making it ideal for sentry takedowns, until you acquire the silencer upgrades for the other weapons.

  • A number of upgrades make the bow much better, if not the best combat weapon. Lara soon learns

  • the ancient technique ofuh, holding a spare arrow in the bow hand. And late in the game

  • this gets upgraded totwo arrows. While it sounds underwhelming, this does allow for

  • rapid follow-up shots, making up for one of the original weaknesses.

  • Things really take a powerful turn when you unlock the double and triple-shot skillsESPECIALLY

  • with the headshot upgrade. By zooming in and charging the shot, Lara is able to tag two

  • and later three targets, automatically hitting all targets within a small cone. The headshot

  • upgrade means all arrows will automatically hit the head for an instant kill, unless they are wearing helmets.

  • Thisis actually way too strong. The fact that you just need to wand over an enemy,

  • even a single enemy, for a guaranteed headshot kill makes combat a walk in the park. I love

  • bows and archery, but damn, this really makes the other weapons useless. Apart from some

  • combat sequences that push you to use shotguns for close quarters, or the heavily armoured

  • Deathless army that takes multiple headshots, every group of enemies is wiped out with the multi-shot skill.

  • Justholy crap. This is awesome.

  • Yeah, so, obviously I'm going to nitpick on a few things. I shouldn't need to say

  • this, but sometimes people do draw the wrong conclusions from video games. Anyway, the

  • multi-shot thing has to be mentioned as implausible. Its just too good, and you can't aim

  • two or three arrows and guide them into heads that easily. That's beyond even Assassin's

  • Creed levels of smart-arrow. While it is possible to shoot multiple arrows from a bow, the effect

  • is more akin to a shotgun, and each arrow has reduced penetration due to the energy

  • being divided.

  • As previously mentioned, you can't put cluster bombs on an arrow and expect it to fly well.

  • Putting Greek fire on a wooden bow with fur lining and drawing the flame to your hand

  • is really not good for you or the bow. Poison cloud arrows…I suppose could actually work

  • if you have a way to turn your poison arrow into a cloud. Real-life poison arrows are

  • based on the arrow point being coated rather than creating a big smoke cloud.

  • And climb arrows are just outright impossible. With enough grip strength, it may be possible

  • to jam an arrow into a wooden board and use it as a handhold, but to support the weight

  • of a person standing and jumping on it? It's a nifty gameplay mechanic, but don't try this in real life.

  • Just remember that this is a game and it's all about the gameplay, so don't get too

  • nasty about this. I'm totally fine with being able to do unrealistic things in a video game.

  • As a game, Rise of the Tomb Raider takes the new formula andkind of repeats it with

  • a colder setting. Not necessarily a bad thing, but nothing too amazing. For the subset of

  • us who like archery and video games, it's an interesting and creative adaptation of

  • the bow mostly for puzzle-solving rather than challenging combat. If anything, combat is

  • a little too easy with the new skills. If you're a toxophile gamer, this entry is

  • worth checking out if you're into the Tomb Raider franchise.

  • Thank you all for watching. This is NUSensei, and as usual, always aim for your best.

In the first instalment of the rebooted Tomb Raider, we saw a young Lara Croft use a bow

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