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Rise of the Tomb Raider

After the release of the well-regarded Tomb Raider reboot back in 2022, expectations were raised substantially for Crystal Dynamics'southward next installment in this dearest action-adventure franchise. Fortunately, the game meets or exceeds those expectations in almost every way. However, since the game is a timed exclusive for the Xbox 1 and Xbox 360, it'south no surprise that the performance is hampered by the limited hardware upon release.

With a total of 74 reviews, the Xbox One version of the game is sitting pretty with a score of 87/100 on Metacritic. In fact, our sis site IGN liked information technology so much that information technology awarded the game with an "amazing" score of 9.3/10. Compare those numbers to the previous game'southward metascore of 86/100, and IGN rating of 9.1/ten, and it becomes clear that this release is a worthy follow-upward.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is undeniably an excellent game, simply how does it hold upward from a technical perspective? As per usual, Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has examined the Xbox Ane version of the game, and results are something of a mixed bag. The majority of the game runs at 1920×1080, simply information technology seems that cutscenes are only rendering at 1440×1080 (stretched out to a proper 16:9 aspect ratio similar other notable releases).

As far as frame rate goes, the game can't quite maintain a 30fps lock. While the frame rate is solid near of the time, it frequently drops noticeably during combat — arguably the absolute worst fourth dimension for instability. Some environments and NPC crowds can also crusade some stuttering and violent, but those are slightly more than forgivable since the gameplay isn't meaningfully impacted. The game also suffers from a few issues around shadows and motion blur, simply those are pocket-size potatoes here — aught to become worked up about.

Mostly, this game is a existent looker. The animations look incredible, the lighting and geometry are completely believable, and Lara'due south hair has never looked better. Information technology's simply a shame that such a gorgeous game tin't reach its full potential just even so considering of a business deal with Microsoft. When the PC version launches adjacent twelvemonth, we'll finally be able to run into exactly how beautiful this game can be. And while the PS4 version most certainly won't be able to stand to the PC release, it'due south safety to assume it'll run amend than this version.

As for the Xbox 360 version of the game, early reports wait relatively promising. While this port wasn't washed internally at Crystal Dynamics, it was placed in the capable hands of Nixxes. You can expect a lower resolution, an imperfect frame charge per unit, and less impressive effects overall, but you're still getting the consummate gameplay experience on decade-one-time hardware. And since concluding-gen releases are starting to get a rarity, this will nigh certainly be worth picking up for those of us who haven't made the jump to the current generation.