Natla's Mines total lack of gameplay balance

[Wiltmeister]

TRA is the greatest Tomb Raider game out, imo - I played the original and was amazed by that; now I'm playing this game and had the same awe and excitement from the start (wasn't taken at first but when I put it into Stereo 3D it blew me away completely)

... however...

... great lack of consistent playtesting on the ascending level where the demons come out of the walls and you have to do the timed jumps and grapples!!! Yes, we all know it's possible and no doubt "easy" for some of you legendary gamers out there but what I'm complaining about is the complete lack of consistency and difficulty curve leading up to it.

Prior to that section the game is almost a breeze (not quite, but I'm speaking comparatively). This part really sux and has brought one of the most awesome games down markedly imo - going from wonderment, interest and excitement to hair-tearing frustration in the space of a single screen is a sign of very poor design... :mad2:

[qwerty]

TRA is the greatest Tomb Raider game out, imo - I played the original and was amazed by that; now I'm playing this game and had the same awe and excitement from the start (wasn't taken at first but when I put it into Stereo 3D it blew me away completely)

... however...

... great lack of consistent playtesting on the ascending level where the demons come out of the walls and you have to do the timed jumps and grapples!!! Yes, we all know it's possible and no doubt "easy" for some of you legendary gamers out there but what I'm complaining about is the complete lack of consistency and difficulty curve leading up to it.

Prior to that section the game is almost a breeze (not quite, but I'm speaking comparatively). This part really sux and has brought one of the most awesome games down markedly imo - going from wonderment, interest and excitement to hair-tearing frustration in the space of a single screen is a sign of very poor design... :mad2:
what the h**** are u talking about?so what do u want a game being linear and easy to solve?then play super mario.i loved the game and the part with the jumps was reaaly great and difficult and a challenge to me.AND tra had great sales if u wana know.to sum up:ur not mature enough to play tra if u think that way

[Wiltmeister]

What are you, a complete wad? Go back to school and learn how to read - I didn't say it should be EASY I said the difficulty curve should be CONSISTENT. Of course it had good sales you fool - I said it was an awesome game from the start. English is obviously not your second language - so don't comment in it until you learn how to read it properly.

[qwerty]

whatever english is not really my second language u see and i dont know what consistence is but the main thing here is this:these forums are not only for americans or generally for people having first language english and you should make your point clearer in order for other simple "mortals" to understand you.i dont care about what u have to say really (its only f**** complaints after all:lol: )cause tra was ******* great and u are not a real gamer(surely not a tr fun) thinking this way(i am gonna search my dictionery aboutabout your f**** nonsenses):rasp:

[Veppie]

whatever english is not really my second language u see and i dont know what consistence is but the main thing here is this:these forums are not only for americans or generally for people having first language english and you should make your point clearer in order for other simple "mortals" to understand you.i dont care about what u have to say really (its only f**** complaints after all:lol: )cause tra was ******* great and u are not a real gamer(surely not a tr fun) thinking this way(i am gonna search my dictionery aboutabout your f**** nonsenses):rasp:

The OP is just starting a discussion, not really complaining (not complaining at all actually) He's just frustrated about some level in TRA.
English is not my first language either and I think the OP is right saying that you should read more carefully or take a few lessons. I say this because the only way you express yourself is with the F-word and thats not suitable for the younger people who also read these forums.

And please do search in your dictionary, that way tou will learn this language faster. Next time use it before you start posting. thank you.

[Rexie]

whatever english is not really my second language u see and i dont know what consistence is but the main thing here is this:these forums are not only for americans or generally for people having first language english and you should make your point clearer in order for other simple "mortals" to understand you.i dont care about what u have to say really (its only f**** complaints after all:lol: )cause tra was ******* great and u are not a real gamer(surely not a tr fun) thinking this way(i am gonna search my dictionery aboutabout your f**** nonsenses):rasp:

lemme get this straight, because you hate TRA does it mean that you're not a TR fan? I'm sorry, but that made me laugh. I dispise TRA, but I adore games 1-6, and that doesin't make me a TR fan?

Now, saying that if you don't like TRA you're not a real gamer, is beyond my wildest imagination. TRA was horrible compaired to games like Alone In The Dark, Contra, Lair, Mirrors Edge and the list goes on and on.

[Rai]

whatever english is not really my second language u see and i dont know what consistence is but the main thing here is this:these forums are not only for americans or generally for people having first language english and you should make your point clearer in order for other simple "mortals" to understand you.i dont care about what u have to say really (its only f**** complaints after all:lol: )cause tra was ******* great and u are not a real gamer(surely not a tr fun) thinking this way(i am gonna search my dictionery aboutabout your f**** nonsenses):rasp:

Wiltmeister was NOT complaining about the game. He/she is just having difficulty with the one level. All that is being said in the first post is that the difficulty level throughout the game is easier in comparison to that one level. I happen to agree. There were parts in TRA I found difficult, but that was mostly to do with figuring out what to do and how to do it. But once you'd managed to work it out, it was a breeze. The game's levels should have built up in difficulty, instead of just throwing the player into a panic at the end. But that level is hard for all the wrong reasons. You shouldn't dislocate your fingers trying to do it! :eek:

In the level mentioned, it is obvious what needs to be done, but the physical aspects of actually grappling and jumping to a timer is so so difficult and frustrating. A lot of people had a hard time in that level, does that mean they're not true' Tomb Raider fans as well? I am a Tomb Raider fan, I've played all the games, but I can honestly say that although there was far more things I liked than disliked, there were the odd parts I didn't like. Kazakhstan in TRL for example. Does that make me less of a fan? disliking one small aspect in a game does and should not spoil the whole game for a player.

English may not be your first or even second language, but may I suggest you read a post thoroughly before you start yelling or swearing and being downright rude to someone? Your language, as censored as it is, is totally uncalled for. Calm down and think before you post. If you have difficulty understanding someone, feel free to just ask - politely. ;)

[lara 4 ever]

what the h**** are u talking about?so what do u want a game being linear and easy to solve?then play super mario.i loved the game and the part with the jumps was reaaly great and difficult and a challenge to me.AND tra had great sales if u wana know.to sum up:ur not mature enough to play tra if u think that way

Hey! Take it easy, pal. This is a forum...**** Don't use such words!****

[Love2Raid]

@Wiltmeister: Those jumps drove me insane! :mad2: :mad2:
That part of the game was so much harder than the rest of it, I totally agree. But after like a gazillion checkpoint reloads I finally made it, and afterwards I thought of it as a nice challenge. It it weren't for this part, the game would be way to easy in my opinion.

You know, I never tried to beat the time trial of The Great Pyramid..........:lol:

[josh1122]

Think Rexie has TRA confused with AOD in terms of horrible games :lol:

[Rexie]

Think Rexie has TRA confused with AOD in terms of horrible games :lol:

What is that supposed to mean?

[Atlantis3735]

Well I love every single one of the Tomb Raiders.
And Anniversary is somewhere at the top of my list for best games ever!

Personally I liked the section that we are talking about, and it's in the Great Pyramid level not Natla's mines.

On the first time, it was quite difficult to perfect the required moves to proceed to the next level, but I liked it, and still do.

[rg_001100]

What is that supposed to mean?

Realise that AoD "lost it" every bit as much as (you think) Legend did... Legend just didn't "lose it" where it really counted...


In address to the OP... it would have been much better had the grapple controls been easy to use, and that would have been in line with the rest of the game, with its easy to use controls...

[Jurre]

... however...

... great lack of consistent playtesting on the ascending level where the demons come out of the walls and you have to do the timed jumps and grapples!!! Yes, we all know it's possible and no doubt "easy" for some of you legendary gamers out there but what I'm complaining about is the complete lack of consistency and difficulty curve leading up to it.

I understand what you mean and I agree with that: I've been stuck for 3 weeks at that one notorious great piramid jump and it took me about an hour to finish the rest of the game after that. So indeed the difficulty curve lacks consistency here.
However for me personaly its long been forgiven and forgotten because I don't have any troubles anymore when I do the jump now. I rarely die more than twice and most of the time not at all...

[Atlantis3735]

I think the best part about overcoming an obstacle you find difficult, is not just the relief of when you finish it, but when you come back to the obstacle, you are either so used to it, or much more relaxed, that you can handle it with ease.

[rg_001100]

I think the best part about overcoming an obstacle you find difficult, is not just the relief of when you finish it, but when you come back to the obstacle, you are either so used to it, or much more relaxed, that you can handle it with ease.

That's the good part with difficult puzzles, and bosses, etc.
But when you're struggling with the controls, it doesn't quite work as nicely as that. I'm comfortable with the new control scheme of TR:L/TRA, but I still struggle with wall runs. I'm not sure how many people there are who didn't struggle with the wall runs to start off with. The wall runs are difficult to control, because of the timing involved (which we aren't well instructed on).

It's frustration caused by the game/control system itself, rather than the player's error.

[josh1122]

I don't know, I didn't have a problem with any of the controls to be honest. I play on 360 and didn't have a problem controlling anything,wether its jumping,wall runs or what not. People's experiences may differ because of which console they play on or hand held because of the controls on that system/hand held.

I'm assuming all of this would be harder on a PC though

[Wiltmeister]

Hey thanks for the understanding guys - yes, as I thought I made clear (but maybe not), TRA is my personal favourite of the series; I don't hate it and I also don't think the jumps in Great Pyramid (not Natla's Mines - thanks josh3735 - I realised after I'd posted :whistle: ) are impossibly difficult - just unusually sudden in the way they are introduced.

I breezed through most of the game up to that point (maybe having to repeat difficult sections about 3 to 6 times) only to find a lot of sudden frustration in that section (I repeated the first of the double demon/timed jumps and grapples 10 times before I got it - heh).

Anyway, it's still a great game and I expect the end section of a game to be more difficult than the rest - I just wish the curve into that final section had been a little smoother.

[Lara_Super_Fan]

TRA is the greatest Tomb Raider game out, imo - I played the original and was amazed by that; now I'm playing this game and had the same awe and excitement from the start (wasn't taken at first but when I put it into Stereo 3D it blew me away completely)

... however...

... great lack of consistent playtesting on the ascending level where the demons come out of the walls and you have to do the timed jumps and grapples!!! Yes, we all know it's possible and no doubt "easy" for some of you legendary gamers out there but what I'm complaining about is the complete lack of consistency and difficulty curve leading up to it.

Prior to that section the game is almost a breeze (not quite, but I'm speaking comparatively). This part really sux and has brought one of the most awesome games down markedly imo - going from wonderment, interest and excitement to hair-tearing frustration in the space of a single screen is a sign of very poor design... :mad2:

I completely agree. Ann. is SO much easier than TR1. It's like they put no effort into it... A remake should ALWAYS be longer and harder than the original e.g. Resident Evil remake.

[Rexie]

Realise that AoD "lost it" every bit as much as (you think) Legend did... Legend just didn't "lose it" where it really counted...


So you mean, if you compare TRA to (ie) Heveanly Sword, TRA is better?

[rg_001100]

So you mean, if you compare TRA to (ie) Heveanly Sword, TRA is better?

In that sentence, I didn't say "TRA", or make reference to it :confused:...
and I haven't played heavenly sword, nor know much about it, so I couldn't really say...

[josh1122]

In that sentence, I didn't say "TRA", or make reference to it :confused:...
and I haven't played heavenly sword, nor know much about it, so I couldn't really say...

heavenly sword is a decent game, its shorter than Legend but pretty decent game overall,one of the better PS3 games. It's style is similar to God Of War if you've played that rg

[rg_001100]

heavenly sword is a decent game, its shorter than Legend but pretty decent game overall,one of the better PS3 games. It's style is similar to God Of War if you've played that rg

Haven't played GoW... but I could imagine chain of bad guys, puzzle, repeat until boss...

[josh1122]

Haven't played GoW... but I could imagine chain of bad guys, puzzle, repeat until boss...

actually theres no puzzles in Heavenly Sword, you just go through the level, kill bad guys and then fight boss.

[rg_001100]

So you mean, if you compare TRA to (ie) Heveanly Sword, TRA is better?

To compare two games, certain criteria need to be set so each game can be evaluated fairly against each other...
(in the given example):
To plainly say that TRA is better than Heavenly Sword would only be justified by TRA beating HS in every possible criteria. However, I'd doubt that would be the case.
We like TR games, (I'll assume), and so for us to say that TRA is better than HS in comparison, each game would need to be ranked on TR things. (action, puzzles, exploration, atmosphere, controls, etc.)
Although I'm not in a situation to fairly say, I would think that to assume TRA made a better TR game than HS would be fair, even if TRA might not rank as highly as some of the previous Core games.

To continue my statement which you replied to:
In comparing TR:L and TR:AoD, it is my personal opinion that they rank fairly close as TR games, (personal bias determining which one is better).
TR:AoD may have attempted to be a next gen TR, and it failed. The controls were horrible, etc. while it made a good attempt at puzzles and finding keys/codes...
TR:L could also be said to have made an attempt at a 'next gen' TR, and it could be said it failed. TR:L had everything AoD didn't (good controls, etc.), but it's exploration and atmosphere, it's puzzles weren't quite up to par for most TR fans.
That's why I think they can both be considered 'failures', but AoD failed where it counted for most people, whereas TR:L 'failed' as a TR game itself, while managing to be a decent game outside of that. TR:L was more successful than TR:AoD...

[LC is Me]

So you mean, if you compare TRA to (ie) Heveanly Sword, TRA is better?What does Heavenly Sword have to do with Tomb Raider though?

I thought they were comparing TR games. :scratch:
Whatever, I guess. =P

AOD wasn't complete garbage, but it certainly didn't do it for me. It disappointed me quite a bit. TRL: I liked the game. It wasn't the glitter and glue that the original 5 were, but it made a good try and caught my eye to play TR again. So TRL was better to me than AOD.

As for the OP, that's just the beauty of video games. I've played plenty of video games that were like Anniversary, in its difficulty, that is. But I think you are making it harder than it needs to be at certain levels of the game. Just stop and think: analyze the situation a bit. If you are stuck on a puzzle, just start throwing out ideas and see if it works. "Maybe if I use the grapple..." or "If I jump to this ledge, I can get a better view and find the lever/door/whatever..."

Stuck on a jump? Try everything in your arsenal to get to where you need to be. And if after trying hard and getting help from the forums, then just go look for a walkthrough. Stella's website has some useful tips to help you find rewards, or to make a jump.

Some games DO actually require some critical thinking. But some people may need to think more than others. Keep trying. =P

[Love2Raid]

@LC is me: what you are saying is certainly right and applies to most in game situations, but not to this particular one.
The jumps in The Great Pyramid have absolutely nothing to do with 'thinking' or reading walkthroughs.
You know exactly what to do, that's not the problem. The problem is that Lara doesn't do what you want her to in that very limited amount of time. I think it has more to do with bad controls and lots of practise. Irritation and frustration are sure not helping either........:o

And everytime you fail, you have to kill those damn flying mutant-demon-things again :mad2: :mad2:

Even thinking about it makes me mad!

[josh1122]

@LC is me: what you are saying is certainly right and applies to most in game situations, but not to this particular one.
The jumps in The Great Pyramid have absolutely nothing to do with 'thinking' or reading walkthroughs.
You know exactly what to do, that's not the problem. The problem is that Lara doesn't do what you want her to in that very limited amount of time. I think it has more to do with bad controls and lots of practise. Irritation and frustration are sure not helping either........:o

And everytime you fail, you have to kill those damn flying mutant-demon-things again :mad2: :mad2:

Even thinking about it makes me mad!


i still think that boils down to the player and not fully on the controls, because I never had a problem with it and im sure there are some others who didnt as well, but then theres the fair share who DID have a problem with it, like has been mentioned. I think it might be a mixture of both the controls and the player

and I think what you play it on comes into account too, 360 version was pretty easy to control,never really had a problem, but I could see the game on PC being alot harder control wise if thats what people are judging this one.

I cannot comment on Wii's controls though since I haven't played the wii version.

I don't know, i see what LC is saying and what others are saying and I just think it comes down to both the player and the controls as a whole.

Some people adjust fast to certain controls or have a knack at beating certain spots while others have a more difficult time doing so. Stuff like that varies from person to person

[Love2Raid]

Played it on my laptop with gamepad (and some SERIOUS lag going on now and then :( ). Don't know what it's like on PS or Xbox (or a better working PC :p ).

For PC the timing had to be perfect (especially for the wall-run), or you would be late and she either had to jump back or face a horrible death over and over again.....:nut:

It wasn't impossible, but I can imagine that this part of the game could spoil it for a lot of gamers who really liked the rest of it.

[josh1122]

Played it on my laptop with gamepad (and some SERIOUS lag going one now and then :( ). Don't know what it's like on PS or Xbox (or a better working PC :p ).

For PC the timing had to be perfect (especially for the wall-run), or you would be late and she either had to jump back or face a horrible death over and over again.....:nut:

It wasn't impossible, but I can imagine that this part of the game could spoil it for a lot of gamers who really liked the rest of it.

yeah, that brings up my point its a mixture of what the persons playing on(pc/3600/etc) and the player themselves. Some people on PC might find it harder but others on PC might thought it was pretty easy.

but death over and over again is never fun :(

[LC is Me]

@LC is me: what you are saying is certainly right and applies to most in game situations, but not to this particular one.
The jumps in The Great Pyramid have absolutely nothing to do with 'thinking' or reading walkthroughs.
You know exactly what to do, that's not the problem. The problem is that Lara doesn't do what you want her to in that very limited amount of time. I think it has more to do with bad controls and lots of practise. Irritation and frustration are sure not helping either........:o

And everytime you fail, you have to kill those damn flying mutant-demon-things again :mad2: :mad2:

Even thinking about it makes me mad!Well, there is some thinking involved with jumps. Either you aren't jumping towards the right ledge because you have to take a full path around something, or your angle is off. A small turn in the right direction can make a big difference.

And an easy trick to not have to deal with mutants - run through the checkpoints again. I think after you pull the lever above the door in the Great Pyramid place, and the mutant comes out of the pod, kill it, then go kill the ones in the other room, and go back into the previous room with the switch and run through the door you originally entered and there is another checkpoint...something like that. I have to recheck it, but I've done something like that before. Try becoming more familiarized with the checkpoints. They definitely come in handy.

;)

I understand your frustration though. It's more of a traditional thing with Tomb Raider, lol. Throwing your controlling down in full fledged anger, shouting "AW WTF! SHE MISSED THAT BY TWO FRIGGIN CENTIMETERS!"

xD

[Randy 54]

If this is the part I think it is, and I'm pretty sure by the way everyone's talkin', it was the worst part of the game in terms of frustration. I was there for at least fifty or better tries before I was able to complete that jump. It would have been much better to have a save point after killing the flying mutants so more concentration could have been directed at working out those moves.

[Dirty Little Secret]

If this is the part I think it is, and I'm pretty sure by the way everyone's talkin', it was the worst part of the game in terms of frustration. I was there for at least fifty or better tries before I was able to complete that jump. It would have been much better to have a save point after killing the flying mutants so more concentration could have been directed at working out those moves.

Totally agree on that last point. Can't tell you how many times I got killed because the two mutants would hit me one after the other and knock me off the platform. Or Lara would target the switch on the far wall instead of the mutants, made me throw the controller more than once out of frustration. I had a very hard time with this section of the game, and it took away some of the overall enjoyment. Some of us are only casual gamers, unable to devote hours and hours to refining eye/joystick/X/CIRCLE/joystick/SQUARE/TRIANGLE/joystick/L1/SQUARE/right joystick/CIRCLE/R2 coordination. Have some mercy on us, CD, at least give a few more seconds before the poles retract on Easy Difficulty, then after we get the hang of it, we can go for the split-second timing on Hard.

[Jurre]

In the Wii version the difficulty has been toned down somewhat by releasing just one flying mutant every time, turning the second slope into a flat surface and by giving more time.

[Rexie]

In that sentence, I didn't say "TRA", or make reference to it :confused:...
and I haven't played heavenly sword, nor know much about it, so I couldn't really say...

Bottom line is, my point was that TRA is not the best game in the world :p

[josh1122]

Bottom line is, my point was that TRA is not the best game in the world :p

I agree with that :thumbsup::)

[Randy 54]

@ DLS:
I agree, that part took alot of enjoyment out of the game for me as well. It used to be that I couldn't wait to see what was around the next corner, but after that, I was thinking, What next?

[crazyraider-147]

lemme get this straight, because you hate TRA does it mean that you're not a TR fan? I'm sorry, but that made me laugh. I dispise TRA, but I adore games 1-6, and that doesin't make me a TR fan?

Now, saying that if you don't like TRA you're not a real gamer, is beyond my wildest imagination. TRA was horrible compaired to games like Alone In The Dark, Contra, Lair, Mirrors Edge and the list goes on and on.

what you despise annivarsary why?

[Jurre]

what you despise annivarsary why?

Please no! We already have to endure her trolling, don't make it worse!

[LadyLaraCroft12]

TRA is the greatest Tomb Raider game out, imo - I played the original and was amazed by that; now I'm playing this game and had the same awe and excitement from the start (wasn't taken at first but when I put it into Stereo 3D it blew me away completely)

... however...

... great lack of consistent playtesting on the ascending level where the demons come out of the walls and you have to do the timed jumps and grapples!!! Yes, we all know it's possible and no doubt "easy" for some of you legendary gamers out there but what I'm complaining about is the complete lack of consistency and difficulty curve leading up to it.

Prior to that section the game is almost a breeze (not quite, but I'm speaking comparatively). This part really sux and has brought one of the most awesome games down markedly imo - going from wonderment, interest and excitement to hair-tearing frustration in the space of a single screen is a sign of very poor design... :mad2:

That's pretty much what happened to me, but after about ten tries i managed to get past it. i doubt i'll ever be able to do that on time trial though. I died too many times

[Rexie]

Please no! We already have to endure her trolling, don't make it worse!

Hi mr. Moderator!

what you despise annivarsary why?

Linearity of it all, and just to make it difficult, they made it frusturating. And Lara kept looking at her hands everytime she kills a mouse.

[rg_001100]

Linearity of it all, and just to make it difficult, they made it frusturating. And Lara kept looking at her hands everytime she kills a mouse.

Isn't TR1 more/less linear? (go find the key then go open the door... go pull this switch...)

[qwerty]

ooh btw i am a real fan of horror games and AITD 5 was HORRIBLE.hate the game and so did most of its players.(re4 was far better than that).and tell me rexie how you compare tra to games that arent out yet (such as ME)

[josh1122]

ooh btw i am a real fan of horror games and AITD 5 was HORRIBLE.hate the game and so did most of its players.(re4 was far better than that).and tell me rexie how you compare tra to games that arent out yet (such as ME)

I liked it lol, most of the problems with the game(AITD) was the controls were atrocious and I agree RE 4 was much better,but RE 4 shouldn't be considered a horror game, it was more action/adventure than horror. :thumbsup:

speaking of horror games, you see trailers for Dead Space, qw?

[crazyraider-147]

Hi mr. Moderator!



Linearity of it all, and just to make it difficult, they made it frusturating. And Lara kept looking at her hands everytime she kills a mouse.


That's funny :lol:

[LC is Me]

Hi mr. Moderator!



Linearity of it all, and just to make it difficult, they made it frusturating. And Lara kept looking at her hands everytime she kills a mouse.So?

You only hate Anniversary and Legend because Core isn't in the picture and they never remade or continued AoD.

Looking at her hands isn't something that should be a factor in judging a game. And all the TR games are linear.

Enter the tomb, complete a series of puzzles to get the key to a door, get the key, unlock the door, find the artifact, beat the level boss...ANNNNNDDDD REPEAT!

[Rexie]

So?

You only hate Anniversary and Legend because Core isn't in the picture and they never remade or continued AoD.

Looking at her hands isn't something that should be a factor in judging a game. And all the TR games are linear.

Enter the tomb, complete a series of puzzles to get the key to a door, get the key, unlock the door, find the artifact, beat the level boss...ANNNNNDDDD REPEAT!

I didn't care if they continued AOD or not, but it would have been letter if they wouldn't have painted all of the climbable things WHITE.

[qwerty]

yup.it looks awsome!!!however as a true RE fun i am i have to admit that RE5 looks **** super!!AITD 5 had the best graphics ever!thats true(i could swear that the flames in-game were real)BUT:killing the zombies with fire was a stupid thing(personally i used always some fiery chair)and the worst:the first-third person combat of the game OMG and of course the inventory:mad2: :mad2: (and they called the game real-life and realistic:lol: )

[josh1122]

yup.it looks awsome!!!however as a true RE fun i am i have to admit that RE5 looks **** super!!AITD 5 had the best graphics ever!thats true(i could swear that the flames in-game were real)BUT:killing the zombies with fire was a stupid thing(personally i used always some fiery chair)and the worst:the first-third person combat of the game OMG and of course the inventory:mad2: :mad2: (and they called the game real-life and realistic:lol: )

agreed the controls in AITD 5 were horrible. RE5 doesn't look too good to me though, just pretty much same as RE 4(which was good) but with just beefed graphics. Was expecting something..new :(

and chris looks like hes been on a butt load of roids :lol:

[Frag Maniac]

Yes, we all know it's possible and no doubt "easy" for some of you legendary gamers out there but what I'm complaining about is the complete lack of consistency and difficulty curve leading up to it.This is a common reaction to spots in games that at first seem significantly harder than other spots. Though once you calm down and realize certain things about it, you can not only do it consistently but improve the more you try it.

I have an MX500 mouse and I bind one of it's buttons to Grapple. That way I can easily and quickly grapple at any time while devoting my left hand to only movement keys. You should also take note that the grapples in the combos in the Pyramid climb are in fact more forgiving than others in the game.

For instance I cannot make the grapple swing in the timed run to the first artifact in Temple of Kahmoon without building up a two swing momentum. EVERY grapple swing in the Pyramid ascent is definitely a one swing grapple. Furthermore the grapple swings using the sloped ledges are very forgiving. You can actually do it fairly sloppily.

There is a grapple swing in the game I've only been able to do once in the 3 or 4 times I've played the game. The wall swing to the large medpack in the room where you collapse the big pillar of the Midas level involves a backjump from the wall to a ledge that is extremely difficult to hit.

There are also wall swing jumps elsewhere that are harder than the Pyramid grapples, like the wall grapple/back jump to the crack in the pillar at the end of the Sanctuary of the Scion, and that is one you cannot skip. Then there's another artifact in Temple of Khamoon (4th I think) that involves a very difficult precise wall grapple/back jump to a ledge. What makes the Pyramid grapples seem harder is that they're timed and you need to combo them together and change direction often. Once you get over that mental fear and focus on orienting your direction and timing the jumps though, you'll find they are not as hard as they first seem and that there's an adequate amount of time to complete them.

The one part of the Pyramid combos that still frustrates me most is not even a grapple. It's the first combo you have to do starting out with pole swings. What's frustrating is the need to reverse direction on the second pole you swing to, which means waiting for Laura's body to be still before you can do so, then building up momentum again to swing off it. It's hard not to think about the timer when you have to wait for such things and it puts doubt in your mind regarding being quick enough from the very first combo of the climb. The whole Pyramid climb is more of a mental tease than physical labor once you get the hang of it.

[Wiltmeister]

Yeah I realise all that re: the "calming down", etc. - I posted this after all the calming down and such anyway xD. My issue wasn't that that section was hard in isolation - it was that it required more "calming down" and such than any other part leading up to it and to an exponential degree from the sections directly before it.

There was no gradual curve. But I think most people got the point.

Great game, anyway. I just hope they put some more testing into grading the difficulty curve in Underworld!

[UMIST_For_Ever]

my strategy to avoid problems is to get rid of the bad guys before attempting the jumps to the next platform.

Doing this will save you a lot of hassle and may calm you down a bit.

Shoot the target like crazy and only stop shooting at the targets when you are ready to attempt the jump - this allows you more time.

When you get higher up and IF you miss a jump, don't panic, the lower ledges/slides will allow you to grab and get back up again

Initially, I found this really hard too, I do feel that it snuck up on me a little bit and it was a shock.

Now, I am really good at this and I don't have a problem.

(it's just a case of practice, you WILL get the hang of it, honestly - even if it doesn't feel like you will, ever.)

[tombraidergal]

whatever english is not really my second language u see and i dont know what consistence is but the main thing here is this:these forums are not only for americans or generally for people having first language english and you should make your point clearer in order for other simple "mortals" to understand you.i dont care about what u have to say really (its only f**** complaints after all:lol: )cause tra was ******* great and u are not a real gamer(surely not a tr fun) thinking this way(i am gonna search my dictionery aboutabout your f**** nonsenses):rasp:

i agree, Wiltmeiter is being racist.

[Flintmelody]

I don't think the grapple is that bad really. I found the Egypt traps much harder to get through. Up to Egypt the game does seem generally easier than the original. For stronger players the grapple isn't that tough. Seem as it's near the end of the game it should be a challenge.