The situation might have calmed down, but there’s still plenty to poke at this controversial rape scene or attempted rape scene or whatever it’s supposed to be in the upcoming 2013 Tomb Raider reboot.

For those who are thick in the fog, apparently Lara Croft, the more empowering version of her in the reboot because parts of her doesn’t seem as “robust” as the original Lara Croft, is supposed to be a victim of rape (or attempted rape) . Now this is an obvious ploy to make Lara a stronger character, giving gamers more of a reason to want her to succeed in the story, there’s no doubt about it. However, with rape being involved, and with rape being a touchy issue, many people, from journalists to gamers, took issue with this.

The picketers of this decision are divided into two groups:

The first group is the people who’ll take issue with anything sensitive. Some of the comments made by those people are ones that can be summed up as “The theme of rape shouldn’t be in video games.” You know, people who believe it’s okay for other mediums to tackle certain subjects, but video games are off limits to those matters.

The other group of people is those who complain about rape being a cheap method in order to achieve something, like using rape to empower a female character or use it as tool to make a villain seem more dastardly.

Here’s the thing, while rape is a very malevolent action to commit and is understandable why people don’t like the idea of it to appear in video games, or any other mediums, in a game like the Tomb Raider reboot, I can understand why they’re choosing to go the route. Lara Croft isn’t the same Lara from the past Tomb Raider games. She’s supposed to be a much more real character who’s caught in a very bad and very serious situation.

Unless we start seeing some mythical monsters (ala Uncharted), this Tomb Raider is more grounded into reality, seemingly even more so than the Uncharted games. Lara is a frightened young woman stranded on an island where she’s forced to survive using the environment around her while at the same time fighting back the elements. Not only that, but she’s on an island full of killer mercenaries, the kind of mercs that are the scum of the earth.

A good story that’s trying to go for realism and isn’t restricted by a rating system is one that properly emulates real life. Lara is a woman who’s forced to be a survivor when she needs to be one, but she’s also still a young, pretty lady, and it’s not unheard of that vicious groups of fiends do force themselves upon women. I’m not saying that rape is a necessity in order to make Lara into a strong character to root for, however, given the circumstances of the game’s story, it’s not like that sort of situation can be forced for the sake of it.

Rape isn’t a good thing, we can all agree to that. That doesn’t mean, though, that it shouldn’t be used in mediums, and that goes the same for video games. If Lara’s situation was a real life one, then there’s no doubt that her getting forced upon is inevitable if she gets caught.  And hey, so long as she comes out looking stronger for it (whether it’s a cheap ploy or not), then what Crystal Dynamics was trying to accomplish with it won’t be a waste.