Crystal Dynamics wants to make it clear that the upcoming next-gen version of Tomb Raider for the Xbox One and PS4, is a big improvement over what was released in early-2013 on PC. Scot Amos, Executive Producer at Crystal Dynamics, recently fielded questions on the Official Tomb Raider Forums, and explained some of the features that will be found on the next-gen version.
Both versions will run at 1080p, says Amos
According to Amos, both the Xbox One and PS4 versions will run at 1080p, but there will be some things that make each game stand out. “There are custom differences as you know for each – meaning PS4’s controller has a touch-pad on it, has the lit front that we do interact with from in-game; and Xbox One has Kinect which we make use of; both support in-game voice commands. We truly targeted delivering the best experience taking fullest advantage of both consoles so that players on either platform would have the awesome Tomb Raider experience no matter where they played,” said Amos. “We see it as a matter of personal preference as we want everyone to have a great time in the game! And yes, gameplay in both versions is at full 1080p!”
As for what has been added to the game, Amos explains some of the rebuilt content for the Xbox One and PS4 versions of Tomb Raider. “All of the details for Lara are there… we even added special materials that dynamically change for her when she wades through mud, or gets blood on her, or when in rain/wet so it ties her more into the world’s state as she goes. TressFX was custom written and optimized for Lara this first-time out for us on Next-gen as we hadn’t ever done it before on consoles.”
“We now have a new particle system, new lighting work and enhanced shadow-casters, tons of more visual storytelling elements (more debris, more details on walls, more density in the environment for vegetation), upgraded characters (Lara and main story NPCs), and we’ve also put all of the DLC materials into this version for PS4/Xbox One. We are very happy with the PC version we released and felt these new additions and changes were something custom just for next-gen consoles at the moment.”
Tomb Raider on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is due out on January 28th.