Lara Croft has been a staple of every gamer’s fantasies since she first leaped onto the scene in 1996, but in the 2013 reboot of the series she took on a much more intense, lifelike style that wowed the gaming community when it was released for the PS3 and Xbox 360. However, she then went on to get even more stunningly rendered in the game’s port to next gen consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox ONE, in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, which saw the series taking an even bigger step into the high tech world of the 21st century, despite Lara’s archeological preference for the past.
As well as giving the game a graphics boost, developer, Crystal Dynamics, has also bundled in a fair few extras to boost the game for it’s next generation port early next year, including DLC and new kit for Lara. Released on the 31st January 2014 in the UK (28th January 2014 in North America) the reboot of the Lara Croft Franchise proved to be just as much of a hit with gamers on the PS4 and Xbox ONE as it was on the earlier 7th generation consoles.
Storyline
There’s inevitably no change in storyline from the 2013 game as it starts out with a young archeology graduate, Lara Croft, as she finds herself stranded on a strange island off the coast of Japan after her theories on an ancient race get taken on as a private expedition. The party’s boat gets caught in a storm and she’s cast adrift and separated from the rest of the team on what soon becomes clear to be a very dangerous island.
It’s a great reinvention of the Tomb Raider storyline, resetting the clocks for Lara’s beginnings in archeological escapades and the back history of her development into the leaping, climbing and killing machine that we know her to be from the previous games. However, for anyone that has already played the game on the Xbox 360 or the PS3 there’s little reason to get the game again in its next gen form, unless you loved it so much you want to see it in even more blood, sweat and fear detail (or you’re just super hot for Lara).
Graphics
The game has been re-animated to improve the graphics significantly. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is much more detailed than its 7th gen incarnations, with great definition on the characters and environment, as well a longer draw distance so you’ll get to see much more granularity in the background than was previously the case.
While the graphics are a big improvement on last year’s PS3 and Xbox 360 version of the game, they aren’t the most impressive we’ve seen on the new consoles. They don’t quite have the crafted excellence of Ryse: Son of Rome and they don’t look like they’ll have the same wow factor as Destiny or Titanfall, but as the title suggests this is the definitive version of what is a very impressive game, so if you didn’t play it the first time around it’s a pretty epic title.
Gameplay
The game is a classic third person survival adventure that builds on a lot of the old ground that the previous Tomb Raider titles covered with more than a hint of other 3rd person series, likes of Metal Gear Solid and Uncharted. While Lara starts out without any weapons, it isn’t long before she gets her hands on a very cool bow and various types of arrows, along with a range of other weapons including guns, a knife and axe, with the ability to customise as you progress and scavenge for salvage.
The undergrowth and dark recesses of the island provide a lot of scope for sneaking around as you try to reunite with the rest of the team and figure out what the hell’s going on on the messed-up hunk of rock. The zip lines and more developed areas give Lara a pretty big playground to traverse and the tension of the game is palpable with the odds seemingly stacked against the young archeologist right from the outset.
In addition to the main campaign gameplay, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition also features multi-player online options built around teams of survivors and scavengers. In the team deathmatch groups of players are pretty much set against each other in a game of kill or be killed, in Private Rescue you’ve got to either salvage medical supplies or kill the hunters, and in Cry for Help it’s all about getting battery power for radio stations.
Extras
All of the game’s DLC from the 1st release is included in the Definitive Edition, but you’ll also get extra outfits for Lara (for any Barbie fans out there) and a digital art book and comic book, which adds a lot of value to what is already an impressive game. Read our Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition review to find out how well it actually plays.
