Last year’s reboot of the Tomb Raider series has probably defied most people’s expectations.
Not only is Tomb Raider a great game, receiving a 9.3 rating from our very own Matty Ruston, but it also managed to sell more than a million copies in its first two days of release, and has managed to sell over 4 million copies to date. They’re pretty amazing figures for an 18 year old series that hadn’t seen a major release in 5 years.
Having realised they’d struck a bit of a gold mine, Square Enix recently released a next-gen, ‘Definitive Edition’ of Tomb Raider for Xbox One and Playstation 4. It’s a smart move, and I should think that most people with a next-gen console who hadn’t played Tomb Raider last year, including myself and a good number of my friends, have jumped on the opportunity for the ‘Definitive’ Tomb Raider experience, and I’ve not been disappointed. Anyone who hasn’t played Tomb Raider and has the opportunity to play Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition needs to do it.
Lara is looking better than ever, but is that enough reason to buy the Definitive Edition?
The question a lot of people have been asking is: Should I buy Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition if I played the current-gen version last year? It’s a tricky question.
I touched on a few reasons why you might want to splash out on the next-gen edition in my “7 Reasons To Buy Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition” piece last week, but the question needs more direct attention.
Undoubtedly, the updated version has some of the most breath-taking graphics ever seen in a video game. The original was never going to be called ugly, but Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have taken it a step further with the updated version. Lara’s face is much more realistic, her hair moves around like a real person’s would, and some of the environments are awe-inspiring. From a technical and graphical standpoint, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition is well worth a play.
The marketing of the Definitive Edition did focus mainly on these updated graphics, so it’s not surprise they’re such a draw for the game. The question is, is there anything beyond that? Are there any other updates that make the new version a must-play title?
In short, no.
The core gameplay is just as good as the current-gen version, but no better.
The edition does collect all of the DLC released for the current-gen version, though this doesn’t add a huge deal to the overall experience. It’s certainly not enough to encourage people who played the original to buy the new, updated edition. It would have been nice for a little exclusive extra mission or even just an extra hour of gameplay to encourage people to make the leap and buy the game, but alas, it’s not to be.
Similarly, there haven’t really been any changes to the core gameplay of the game, and any minor tweaks that have been made are barely noticeable when you’re playing. To be fair, the original didn’t really need much changing, and any major adjustments would have been untrue to the game, and potentially damaging to the experience, but that doesn’t change the fact that no change means no reason for repeat purchase!
If you never played the original game, you’d be stupid not to buy Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, but if you played last year’s iteration, then this might not be worth your money or time, especially with titles like Thief and Titanfall just around the corner.
