Tomb Raider - The Final Hours Digital Book Reviews

Fans and gamers were spoilt with Tomb Raider - the rebooted origin tale of the titular Lara Croft - and this wonderful behind-the-scenes digital book companion will offer great insight into how it all happened. Veteran journalist Geoff Keighley provides a relatively comprehensive look at the design process, showcasing many concepts that never made it to the finished game, as well as artwork, sketches, interviews and reports on how Crystal Dynamics recreated the video game icon. This well designed application is best used on a tablet computer, but can be enjoyed just as easily on a desktop. Additionally, there are interactive elements, such as panoramas of the developer's studio and a music mixer. Much of the video content is actually streamed rather than downloaded with the application, but I found the content both new and good quality. While everything is well designed and easy to navigate, I found the content lacking. The whole book can be read in just over an hour, and there is little beyond the abandoned concepts that proves truly captivating. For those who have followed previews, the content could be considered lightweight. And for those who haven't, there isn't a great deal on offer to make this a must-buy. For Lara Croft fans, this is a fine addition to a wonderful game, and for those interested in the development process, Tomb Raider - The Final Hours offers a glimpse behind the curtain into the industry and the pressure to reboot gaming royalty. Overall, however, this is just an optional add on that offers little value for money and should only be purchased as part of a collector's edition. There just isn't enough content to justify its asking price. For the fans. 6.5/10.

I can understand why Geoff Keighley is the person who is now, and his coverage of the development is really good and well balanced. I can recommend this if you are interested in Game Development, Tomb Raider and/or a good writting.