A few months back the reboot of the successful and popular Tomb Raider franchise debuted to a solid amount of success and praise. Helmed by Crystal Dynamics, the reboot took Lara Croft back to her initial days as the fabled explorer and stranded her and her crew on an island in the “Devil’s Triangle.” Throw in some supernatural elements, some historical facts, and a lot of hidden items and you have what went on to be a solid-selling debut for the new Tomb Raider.
Fast forward to January 2014. Crystal Dynamics has re-release Tomb Raider as a “definitive edition” with a bucketload of tweaks and updates to utilize the power of the two new consoles (Xbox One & PlayStation 4) that have been gracing living rooms since November. This was no mere “HD” update, though, as we’ve become akin to seeing all generation on PS3 and Xbox 360. This was a complete overhaul of the game to utilize the newfound power the best the developers could. Thus, the game was priced at $60. So, is it worth spending that much on what’s essentially a beefed up re-release? Well, that’s a tricky question.
The package for the definitive edition contains a decent amount of DLC that has come out for the game in 2013. With the game you now get the Tomb of the Lost Adventurer, eight DLC multiplayer maps, six DLC multiplayer weapons, four DLC multiplayer characters, and six outfits for Lara in single-player. That content alone is not too shabby, but this package includes more. The game has been beefed up in almost every way. Crystal Dynamics has spent a good chunk of time reworking everything from the basic level art to characters and poly count. They completely upgraded Lara’s player model (which slightly changed her face for better or worse), added a ton of effects into the levels, upgraded chunks of the game that had previously caused issues, and even added the new TressFX system that now makes Lara’s hair wiggle and droop like real hair would (even if it still looks a bit shiny and fake). Using the power of the PS4 Crystal Dynamics was also able to boost the framerate from the original 30, to 60. The Xbox One version runs at a solid 30 fps.
I would recommend anyone who has never played the new Tomb Raider reboot to buy this for sure. For those that have played through the game already it’s going to depend on how much you liked it. Personally Tomb Raider was one of my favorite games of 2013, so it was an easy decision. If you weren’t as hot on the game the first time around, you won’t have your mind changed here though the game does look substantially better (and runs better, especially on PS4). Maybe you wait a few months and get this on sale, but it’s well worth playing or playing again just to see all the updates and relive the great gameplay once more. Lara may look a bit different but this game is still as fun as it was last year, just better looking now.
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVnpJuIfyZ0
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition Gameplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM5syePkwmY