Surprisingly, the new look of the game is noticeable to even the untrained eye. In all likelihood, they saw this as a “training wheels” project to get more familiar with the newest hardware, and from an efficiency point of view, that’s a great idea.
Originally, the plan was to take the existing PC version and port that over to the PS4 and Xbox One, but then something more elaborate happened, and Crystal Dynamics took another pass at the graphics, creating a new model of Lara Croft, adding in more physics and particle effects and considerably bumping up the resolution of the textures, as well as bumping up the frame rate. This, right here, is the selling point Square-Enix is hoping will bring people back to the game if they’ve already played it before. It seems a bit premature to already do HD re-masters of games from the last generation, but Tomb Raider has the dubious honor of being one of these “HD+” games since its graphics were already high definition to begin with. The main event here is the fact that the game got a serious graphical face-lift, and the job they did is impressive indeed. Everything else is the same fun, well designed game that was released last year, and thanks to how recently the title came out, it still holds up wonderfully as a game. There are also a few added interface tweaks to take advantage of the new gimmickry that comes with the PS4 and Xbox One. Tomb Raider was well received at many outlets including CGM itself, which is why this latest addition can be problematic.Ĭontent-wise, this is the same game that came out in 2013, with all the DLC included-though that’s not as impressive as it sounds since it amounts to an extra tomb, some costumes and some extra maps for multiplayer. It was a bold makeover for the series, but it was one that worked. Taking nods from Uncharted (which in turn was itself inspired by Tomb Raider), the exploration and tomb puzzle solving were reduced, and the emphasis was switched over to the gunplay and action. It was a game that made Lara Croft a bit more realistic (proportionally speaking) and a bit less sexist for a 21st century audience, and it overhauled the design of the game.
But here, in this story, mostly she gets kicked around a lot, learns to shoot a bow, and gets a small preview of her growing skill with guns.
Plenty of drama-and grievous bodily harm-abounded as Lara was forged from the fires of a trial for survival into the beginnings of a capable globetrotter. Her previous history was wiped away-except for the basics about her being a rich orphan-and rather than just start her off as an accomplished tomb raider, already somersaulting and dual wielding pistols, Crystal Dynamics told the tale of Lara Croft as an uncertain college student, thrust into her first, traumatic adventure. It took the Lara Croft of old and unleashed a Batman: Begins style origin story on her. More Particles & Fog, Same Yamataiįor people that are unfamiliar with the history, Tomb Raider is actually a reboot of the entire Lara Craft/Raiding Tombs intellectual property that came to last generation consoles in 2013. So, is it? Pretty much, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should get it for a number of reasons. In straightforward game-talk, that means of all the versions of Lara’s reboot that are floating around, this latest release is supposedly the one to get. Hey, wasn’t I just talking about this game in March of 2013? That’s right, Tomb Raider is back, but now, it’s on the PS4 and Xbox One, and it’s got a bold new addendum, calling itself a “definitive edition”.