'Rise of the Tomb Raider' (Square Enix)
Rise of the Tomb Raider launches today on Xbox One. It's the best video game on Microsoft's new console, even if it is a little bizarre that it's an Xbox One exclusive.
Of course, it won't be that way forever. The game is coming to PC in early 2016, and PS4 in late 2016. But for now it's on Xbox only, and that makes it the best video game on Microsoft's newest console.
Perhaps comparing the goodness of Rise of the Tomb Raider's entirely single-player experience to a game like Halo 5's multiplayer-focused experience is impossible. For the solo gamers out there, the single-player game will be more fun. For the competitive multiplayer fans, blasting at one another is going to take top spot.
But just in terms of pure fun and excellent game design, I have to give the honors to Rise of the Tomb Raider. It's simply phenomenal. Everything from the graphics to the over-the-top action to the truly fantastic puzzling as you raid tombs is excellent.
In many ways, it's more of the same, of course. It's a great deal like its predecessor, Tomb Raider. But it improves on that game in just about every way. The puzzles are way better, and each tomb comes with a tangible reward to Lara Croft's development. Combat isn't quite as much a focus as before, either, even though yes, there's plenty of gunplay.
Level design is outstanding as well, and the game does something that many of its peers do not: It balances an open-world perfectly against the game's story, keeping up a nice pace while still allowing time for exploration and discovery.
Rise of the Tomb Raider also avoids the sense of repetitiveness that many open-world games sink into by moving the game from one open area to the next. You travel from an icy Siberian forest through ice tunnels to an old Soviet compound and then, once you've made your way across a deadly gorge, find yourself in a warm, geothermal valley. Each area is filled with secrets, from lost tombs to collectibles to animals to hunt to NPC quest-givers.
I won't say much more or spoil the story for you. Suffice to say, every moment I've spent with Rise of the Tomb Raider has been delightful. I can't say that about a lot of games. Delightful is a strong word, but it's the truth.
Too often, video games are tedious, repetitive affairs. Not so here. I give the game a glowing Buy on my Buy/Hold/Sell scale. This is one you don't want to miss. It's just a shame it's confined to one platform, even if only for the time being.
Read the official, scored Forbes Games review of Rise of the Tomb Raider here.
