Software:Tomb Raider I–III Remastered

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Short description: Upcoming 2024 video game
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered.jpg
Developer(s)Aspyr[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Aspyr
SeriesTomb Raider
Platform(s)
Release14 February 2024
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered Starring Lara Croft is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed and published by Aspyr. It is a remastered compilation of the first three games in the Tomb Raider series: Tomb Raider (1996), Tomb Raider II (1997), and Tomb Raider III (1998), all of which were originally developed by Core Design.[1] The game is scheduled to be released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 14 February 2024.[2]

Gameplay

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered is a collection of remasters of the first three games in the Tomb Raider series: Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II, and Tomb Raider III.[2] Each game features archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft as she travels through a series of ancient ruins and tombs in search of ancient artefacts, and is presented from a third-person perspective.[3][4][5] Like in the original games, Lara uses two pistols with infinite ammo by default in combat, and can run, walk (which prevents her from falling off ledges), look around areas, jump forwards and backwards, shimmy along ledges, roll, swim through bodies of water, and move blocks.[4][6] The collection will include new features across all three games such as options to choose between enhanced and original graphics and classic and modern control schemes, as well as camera lock-on, health bars for boss battles, photo mode, and over 200 achievements.[2][7][8][9]

Development and release

A comparison between the third level of the original game (above) and the Remastered version (below)

Prior to the announcement of Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, Realtech VR initially attempted to remaster the first three Tomb Raider titles for Windows as early as 2018, but these plans fell through due to not having asked permission from then-franchise owner Square Enix first.[10] In 2022, Embracer Group acquired several assets of Square Enix Europe, which included Tomb Raider and its current developer Crystal Dynamics, for US$300 million.[11][12][13] Embracer Group expressed interest in sequels, remakes, and remasters of established franchises, including Tomb Raider.[14]

Tomb Raider I–III Remastered was officially revealed on 14 September 2023 and is set to be released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 14 February 2024.[15][16][17] It includes three expansion packs from the original trilogy: Unfinished Business, The Golden Mask, and The Lost Artefact.[2][18] While the collection is exclusively a digital release, a physical release is not currently planned. The game was developed and published by Aspyr, another Embracer Group company, in partnership with Crystal Dynamics;[19] Aspyr previously ported the first six Tomb Raider titles to macOS.[20][21][22] In response to fans' concerns about the game's lack of promotion and updates ahead of its release, the official Twitter account for Tomb Raider promised that it would have "plenty more to share soon".[23][24][25][26] More details for the game were revealed via a PlayStation Blog post on 16 January 2024, including key artwork.[9]

Aspyr, having wanted to revisit the original Tomb Raider titles but always debated "the right approach", knew they would use the original source code and engine, giving players the option to revert to the original look and feel for all three games.[9] Director of product Chris Bashaar described Remastered as a love letter to all of their "memories of these games, but it's also truly fascinating to see how far hardware pushed in the '90s to make Tomb Raider work".[9] For the game's modern controller settings, the team took inspiration from Crystal Dynamics' first rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy: Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld.[27] As a result, the way Lara Croft moves has changed significantly; she can now fully control the camera with the right stick, and her movement is direction-dependent based on camera position. However, the original tank controls are still available to players via a menu toggle.[28] The team also added health bars for boss fights as the games' minimal UI can be considered "frustrating for tougher bosses with massive amounts of health", as well as replacing 2D sprites of in-game items with 3D models.[29]

For the art of Remastered, Aspyr worked closely with Crystal Dynamics on modern art updates, such as "baked and real-time" lighting effects, graphics toggle, and adding new models, environments, and enemies.[9] According to Crystal Dynamics, the team used an artificial intelligence program to upscale textures for the remaster.[30] Bashaar further stated, "Our philosophy here was rather straightforward; we want the games to look the way they did in your mind. We knew we were on the right track in our early playtests because some play testers didn't even know they were playing with the modern art toggled on."[27]

Notes

  1. Original games developed by Core Design[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Yin-Poole, Wesley (27 October 2016). "20 years on, the Tomb Raider story told by the people who were there". http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-10-27-20-years-on-the-tomb-raider-story-told-by-the-people-who-were-there. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Aspyr & Crystal Dynamics Reveal Tomb Raider I–III Remastered Starring Lara Croft, Coming to Pc & Consoles Feb. 14, 2024". 14 September 2023. https://www.crystaldynamics.com/blog/2023/09/14/aspyr-crystal-dynamics-reveal-tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-starring-lara-croft-coming-to-pc-consoles-feb-14-2024/. 
  3. "Tomb Raiders: Lara Croft and the Temples of Doom". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (86): 88–89. September 1996. https://retrocdn.net/images/2/2e/EGM_US_086.pdf. Retrieved 6 June 2020. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Blache, Fabian; Fielder, Lauren (31 October 2000). "GameSpot's History of Tomb Raider - Tomb Raider II". http://www.gamespot.com/features/tombraider_hist/p4_03.html. 
  5. Core Design, ed (1998). "Actions". Tomb Raider III PlayStation Instruction Manual. Eidos Interactive. pp. 7–12. 
  6. GameTrailers (24 February 2013). Tomb Raider Retrospective Part Two. YouTube (Video).
  7. Nightingale, Ed (14 September 2023). "Remastered original Tomb Raider trilogy headed to Switch next year" (in en). https://www.eurogamer.net/remastered-original-tomb-raider-trilogy-headed-to-switch-next-year. 
  8. Foster, George (5 January 2024). "Tomb Raider Remastered Trilogy Finally Confirms Modern Controls" (in en). https://www.thegamer.com/tomb-raider-remastered-trilogy-finally-confirms-modern-controls-lock-on/. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Bashaar, Chris (16 January 2024). "Tomb Raider I–III Remastered – PS4, PS5 features detailed, new key art revealed". https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/16/tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-ps4-ps5-features-detailed-new-key-art-revealed/. 
  10. Hood, Vic (22 March 2018). "Tomb Raider remasters cancelled because no one asked if they could make them". https://www.pcgamesn.com/tomb-raider-I/tomb-raider-remaster-steam. 
  11. Bankhurst, Adam (2 May 2022). "Embracer Group Enters Agreement to Acquire Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montreal for $300 Million". https://www.ign.com/articles/embracer-group-enters-agreement-to-acquire-eidos-crystal-dynamics-square-enix-montreal-and-more-tomb-raider-deus-ex. 
  12. "Embracer Group enters into an agreement to acquire Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montréal amongst other assets". Embracer (Press release). 2022-05-02. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  13. "Embracer Group completes acquisition of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal amongst other assets" (Press release). Embracer Group. August 26, 2022. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  14. Ivan, Tom (May 20, 2022). "Embracer sees 'great potential' in Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal sequels, remakes and remasters". https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/embracer-sees-great-potential-in-crystal-dynamics-and-eidos-montreal-sequels-remakes-and-remasters/. 
  15. Doke, Shunal (14 September 2023). "Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered Announced for February 14 Release". https://gamingbolt.com/tomb-raider-1-3-remastered-announced-for-february-14-release-on-nintendo-switch. 
  16. Deschamps, Marc (14 September 2023). "Classic Tomb Raider Remastered Collection Revealed" (in en). https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/tomb-raider-remastered-collection-revealed-nintendo-switch-ps4-xbox/. 
  17. Foster, George (14 September 2023). "Tomb Raider 1 - 3 Remastered Revealed" (in en). https://www.thegamer.com/lara-croft-tomb-raider-1-2-3-remastered-revealed-nintendo-direct/. 
  18. "Tomb Raider I-III Remastered includes expansions". 16 September 2023. https://www.tombraiderchronicles.com/headlines4690.html. [better source needed]
  19. Smith, Graham (September 14, 2023). "The original Tomb Raider trilogy is being remastered for release next year". https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-original-tomb-raider-trilogy-is-being-remastered-for-release-next-year. 
  20. "Tomb Raider Gold Is Released For The Macintosh". 16 March 1999. http://www.aspyr.com/prod501d.html. 
  21. "Tomb Raider II". http://www.aspyr.com/prod101d.html. 
  22. "Aspyr Media - Products". http://www.aspyr.com/prod801d.htm. 
  23. Tomb Raider [@tombraider] (January 4, 2024). "We'll have plenty more to share soon. 😉". https://twitter.com/tombraider/status/1742981093299785768. 
  24. Ramsey, Robert (8 January 2024). "Tomb Raider Trilogy Remaster Has 'Plenty More to Share' as Fans Question Lack of Gameplay". https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/01/tomb-raider-trilogy-remaster-has-plenty-more-to-share-as-fans-question-lack-of-gameplay. 
  25. Ostler, Anne-Marie (8 January 2024). "The Tomb Raider remastered trilogy is a month away and has still only shown 30 seconds of footage, but the dev insists there's 'plenty more to share soon'" (in en). https://www.gamesradar.com/the-tomb-raider-remastered-trilogy-is-a-month-way-and-has-still-only-shown-30-seconds-of-footage-but-the-dev-insists-theres-plenty-more-to-share-soon/. 
  26. Khan, Salman (9 January 2024). "Anticipation and Concern Surround the Release of Tomb Raider I–III Remastered Collection". https://bnnbreaking.com/arts/video-gaming/anticipation-and-concern-surround-the-release-of-tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-collection/. 
  27. 27.0 27.1 Croft, Liam (16 January 2024). "Big List of Tomb Raider Remastered PS5, PS4 Upgrades Revealed". https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/01/big-list-of-tomb-raider-remastered-ps5-ps4-upgrades-revealed. 
  28. Zwiezen, Zack (16 January 2024). "Tomb Raider Remaster Fixes The Worst Thing About The Original Trilogy" (in en). https://kotaku.com/tomb-raider-remastered-trilogy-tank-controls-graphics-1851169571. 
  29. "Tomb Raider I-III Remastered PlayStation Blog". 16 January 2024. https://www.tombraiderchronicles.com/headlines4761.html. [better source needed]
  30. "Tomb Raider I-III Remastered upscaled textures". 12 January 2024. https://www.tombraiderchronicles.com/headlines4756.html. [better source needed]

External links