Such is the break-neck pace of E3 that many games – including and especially the heavy-hitters – find their on stage demonstrations curtailed in order to keep things trucking along. One of those titles at the mercy of the editing scissors was Crystal Dynamics’ Rise of the Tomb Raider, though over the weekend the developer showcased an extended, 14-minute gameplay demo that picks up with Lara Croft battling the elements in the icy Siberian wilderness.
From there, we follow our adventurous heroine as she stumbles upon a woodland area just as nightfall begins to set in. It’s a segment that makes for an incredibly eerie watch, with Lara stalking the shadows in order to remain out of sight from human thugs and – perhaps more terrifying – marauding bears. We seen this Lara vs. Nature dynamic established in the original, where our protagonist had to call upon her wit and her will to escape the cursed island of Yamatai, though Rise of the Tomb Raider is primed to take that to an entirely new, icy-cold level.
Given the remarkable visuals on display, many have questioned whether the Xbox 360 version would throw a spanner in the works, with Crystal Dynamics begin forced to cater for older hardware. Alas, the developer assured fans that that simply isn’t the case, with Game Director Brian Horton pointing to Nixxes’ experience with last year’s Definitive Edition as proof of the porting studio’s credentials.
“Not at all. Nixxes have been long time partners with Crystal Dynamics and are completely focused on the Xbox 360 port of the game. We focused a 100% of our energy at Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal on making the highest quality game possible on the Xbox One. We are not holding ourselves back at all.”
Rise of the Tomb Raider will slink onto Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10 as part of Microsoft’s exclusivity deal with Crystal Dynamics. Those on other platforms should expect to see Lara Croft migrate onto PS4, PS3 and PC some time after release. For more on the studio’s anticipated sequel, be sure to check out our impressions from the ground floor of E3.
