The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Okay, now I must admit going into this as an established fan of the Tomb Raider video game, but a big part of me was ready to crucify it. After all, how could a ccg capture the same feel and style of the Playstation game? And given that the video game is a solitary experience, I looked even dimmer upon the game.

All I can say is that I'm entirely glad I gave the ccg a chance!

It not only retained all the same atmosphere, mood and exploratory thrills of it's predecessor, but also added fresh new elements to boot! Let's look at a few aspects individually....

THE CARDS:

When I first heard about this project, one of my first mental questions was, "I wonder if they're just going to use clips from the game instead of killer artwork?". The answer is YES. Normally, this hurts a game in my opinion (ever see the Killer Instinct ccg? Ickk!). But the fine people at Precedence used the graphics to perfectly simulate the various nuances of the original. The pictures are very clear and concise, which (in my opinion) added greatly to the look. Instead of hampering the game, it helped keep me "in the game". We were constantly saying, "Wow! I could just SEE that happening in the video game!".

THE RULES:

The rules are very easy to pick up and the rulebook makes it even easier to jump right in by teaching you a preliminary solo rule system. And once you finish that, they carefully guide you through the regular game, offering several scenarios for beginning players, each one adding in more rules. This method was one of the best sets of "training wheels" I've ever seen in gaming.

The game system flows rapidly and you never feel left out while the other players are doing their turn. The reason for this is two-fold. 1) players don't do the entire turn before the next player. Rather, the players take turns with each phase of the turn and 2) you can pull off nasty surprises while the opponents are doing their actions. I like a lot of interaction in a ccg, so naturally this aspect made me quite happy.

Players control various versions of Lara Croft or another tomb raider from the video game trilogy. The tomb raiders explore every nook and cranny of a "dungeon" (made up from Location cards), searching for the treasure room. But they aren't a team....far from it! Instead, the players try to screw each other at every turn by stymying them with numerous traps, enemy creatures and random occurances. It's head to head action!

Several other ccg's have attempted a location-based discovery system in the past(Bane Master and Ruins World come to mind), but none of them have ever made it sing like Tomb Raider!

And let's discuss game balance. I think TR's balance is what really strikes me most. In every game we've played, it has been a neck-and-neck, down-to-the-wire affair, with the winner sqeaking out a last-second victory by way of wits,luck or firepower. The drama is outstanding....which is rare in a ccg.

The design team covered every base when trying to keep the game dramatic and video game-esque. For example, when your Raider kicks the bucket, you aren't out of the game....you just lose all the cards in your hand, lose any unsaved items you've found and you go back to the beginning of the tomb (or to your last save point).

And another thing that sold me was the fact that this is a scenario driven ccg, ensuring that no two games will be alike. Heck, they even give you a BUNCH of tips for designing your very own scenarios. Add tothat the fact that it can be played as a campaign (i.e, a string of related "levels") and you have yourself a diverse game full of possibilities!

WHAT YOU GET:

Alright, soyou just shelled out your initial $10 for a starter kit....what did you just buy?

The answer: A LOT of stuff!

In a day and age where game companies tend to give you the bare minimums, Precedence pulled out all the stops and loaded you up with a whole slew of stuff!

First of all,you get a deck of 50 cards. They are all fixed, but the decks are ULTRA playable and will continue to be hellaciously useful even after you invest in a ton of booster packs.

Then,you get a butt-load of counters. Counters in a ccg? Yep! And boy are they handy.For example, certain cards allow you to "find" a secret exit in a given room. To accomodate this, they included a bunch of arrow counters, showing which way the exit goes (since the tomb is represented on a map built out of cards). They give you counters that I don't even know what they're used for....probably for card effects that I've not yet encountered. But in any case, they give you a more than ample supply of these different counters.

You also get a cool "depth tracker", which helps you keep track of how far into the dungeon you're going. Nothing fancy, but cool none the less.

They also provided you with a booster pack for you to add immediately to your collection.

Lastly, you get a little Lara figurine (to mark your location), two six-sided dice and the well-laid out rulebook.

Not shabby for a paltry 10 bucks!

OVER-ALL

As you can see, I really have no complaints with the Tomb Raider ccg. It maintained everything I loved about the video game and gave it a fresh new twist. For that alone, Precedence deserves a lot of credit.

Tomb Raider is a spectacular new entry into a market crowded with look-alike games. It's unique, exciting, suspenseful and best of all, enthralling from beginning to end!!

I can not recommend this product high enough!!

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Tomb Raider
Author: David Hewitt Category: collectible card game Company/Publisher: Precedence Line: Tomb Raider Cost: $9.99 per starter Page count: 48 Capsule Review by Baby Cindi on 10/14/99. Genre tags: Modern_day	Okay, now I must admit going into this as an established fan of the Tomb Raider video game, but a big part of me was ready to crucify it. After all, how could a ccg capture the same feel and style of the Playstation game? And given that the video game is a solitary experience, I looked even dimmer upon the game. All I can say is that I'm entirely glad I gave the ccg a chance! It not only retained all the same atmosphere, mood and exploratory thrills of it's predecessor, but also added fresh new elements to boot! Let's look at a few aspects individually.... THE CARDS: When I first heard about this project, one of my first mental questions was, "I wonder if they're just going to use clips from the game instead of killer artwork?". The answer is YES. Normally, this hurts a game in my opinion (ever see the Killer Instinct ccg? Ickk!). But the fine people at Precedence used the graphics to perfectly simulate the various nuances of the original. The pictures are very clear and concise, which (in my opinion) added greatly to the look. Instead of hampering the game, it helped keep me "in the game". We were constantly saying, "Wow! I could just SEE that happening in the video game!". THE RULES: The rules are very easy to pick up and the rulebook makes it even easier to jump right in by teaching you a preliminary solo rule system. And once you finish that, they carefully guide you through the regular game, offering several scenarios for beginning players, each one adding in more rules. This method was one of the best sets of "training wheels" I've ever seen in gaming. The game system flows rapidly and you never feel left out while the other players are doing their turn. The reason for this is two-fold. 1) players don't do the entire turn before the next player. Rather, the players take turns with each phase of the turn and 2) you can pull off nasty surprises while the opponents are doing their actions. I like a lot of interaction in a ccg, so naturally this aspect made me quite happy. Players control various versions of Lara Croft or another tomb raider from the video game trilogy. The tomb raiders explore every nook and cranny of a "dungeon" (made up from Location cards), searching for the treasure room. But they aren't a team....far from it! Instead, the players try to screw each other at every turn by stymying them with numerous traps, enemy creatures and random occurances. It's head to head action! Several other ccg's have attempted a location-based discovery system in the past(Bane Master and Ruins World come to mind), but none of them have ever made it sing like Tomb Raider! And let's discuss game balance. I think TR's balance is what really strikes me most. In every game we've played, it has been a neck-and-neck, down-to-the-wire affair, with the winner sqeaking out a last-second victory by way of wits,luck or firepower. The drama is outstanding....which is rare in a ccg. The design team covered every base when trying to keep the game dramatic and video game-esque. For example, when your Raider kicks the bucket, you aren't out of the game....you just lose all the cards in your hand, lose any unsaved items you've found and you go back to the beginning of the tomb (or to your last save point). And another thing that sold me was the fact that this is a scenario driven ccg, ensuring that no two games will be alike. Heck, they even give you a BUNCH of tips for designing your very own scenarios. Add tothat the fact that it can be played as a campaign (i.e, a string of related "levels") and you have yourself a diverse game full of possibilities! WHAT YOU GET: Alright, soyou just shelled out your initial $10 for a starter kit....what did you just buy? The answer: A LOT of stuff! In a day and age where game companies tend to give you the bare minimums, Precedence pulled out all the stops and loaded you up with a whole slew of stuff! First of all,you get a deck of 50 cards. They are all fixed, but the decks are ULTRA playable and will continue to be hellaciously useful even after you invest in a ton of booster packs. Then,you get a butt-load of counters. Counters in a ccg? Yep! And boy are they handy.For example, certain cards allow you to "find" a secret exit in a given room. To accomodate this, they included a bunch of arrow counters, showing which way the exit goes (since the tomb is represented on a map built out of cards). They give you counters that I don't even know what they're used for....probably for card effects that I've not yet encountered. But in any case, they give you a more than ample supply of these different counters. You also get a cool "depth tracker", which helps you keep track of how far into the dungeon you're going. Nothing fancy, but cool none the less. They also provided you with a booster pack for you to add immediately to your collection. Lastly, you get a little Lara figurine (to mark your location), two six-sided dice and the well-laid out rulebook. Not shabby for a paltry 10 bucks! OVER-ALL As you can see, I really have no complaints with the Tomb Raider ccg. It maintained everything I loved about the video game and gave it a fresh new twist. For that alone, Precedence deserves a lot of credit. Tomb Raider is a spectacular new entry into a market crowded with look-alike games. It's unique, exciting, suspenseful and best of all, enthralling from beginning to end!! I can not recommend this product high enough!! Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)