Topic: Dual purpose Tomb Raider and TressFX thread

[idolminds]

TressFX

AMD is showing off some new DX11 hair rendering stuff they are doing. From the sounds of things this isn't going to be like PhysX where you require an nvidia card, but anyone can run it. Though I guess AMD has some optimizations. Strangely I haven't seen any videos of it yet in motion, but the stills are nice. First game to support it is Tomb Raider.

And of course Tomb Raider is out and about getting reviews, a lot of them are rating it pretty high. Not sure how excited I should be for it since it sounds like the opposite of where I wanted TR to go...but whatever. Might be just a solid game in its own right.

Also this:

[Cools!]

Haha, the video is awesome.

[W7RE]

Yea I think Tomb Raider looks like it could be pretty cool, but doesn't really look like it's all that similar to the old ones I remember. (I've only really played a bit of the first one and anniversary, no more than a couple minutes of any others, except Guardian of Light with is not even trying to be similar)

[Quemaqua]

My problem with Tomb Raider is the fact that none of the games were anything like the first, really, and the name is really pretty misleading. Busty Indiana-Jones-girl invades ancient ruins to grab priceless artifacts? Fuck yeah! How do you fuck that up? I don't know, but they did. Over and over and over again.

[W7RE]

The new game looks a lot like Uncharted to me. Though I haven't played and of the Uncharted games, but I get the impression that the later ones focused more on action and less on puzzles and exploration.

Tomb Raider Anniversary is pretty good. I wish it was on the XBL sale instead of Legend, I'd probably get it.

[idolminds]

I wish I lived in the alternative universe where Core took the bashing of the combat in Tomb Raider 1 and said "Fine, we'll cut back on that and just keep improving the stuff we did well!"

[gpw11]

You know, I only played anniversary and the one after that but I enjoyed both immensely.  I would not mind, however, if they had no combat at all.

[scottws]

My problem with Tomb Raider is the fact that none of the games were anything like the first, really, and the name is really pretty misleading. Busty Indiana-Jones-girl invades ancient ruins to grab priceless artifacts? Fuck yeah! How do you fuck that up? I don't know, but they did. Over and over and over again.

Some of the more recent ones were decent.

[Cobra951]

Hilarious Conan video.  How much of the game is scripted and QTE'd like that?  Far Cry 3 starts out that way, but then it opens up nicely (though QTEs come back to fuck it up somewhat).  If TR is all "cinematic", I doubt I'll be interested.

[Xessive]

So, this game is pretty awesome!

Visually it is gorgeous and runs extremely well on PC. It's an excellent port to the PC, to say the least, and the controls work really well with a gamepad or KB+M.

Story-wise, it's a much more matured affair than the previous games. It starts out seeming like it's going to be a harrowing experience, emphasizing Lara's frailty, but Lara quickly gains seemingly-superhuman abilities to regenerate health and dispose of her foes in some pretty gruesome ways. It's a little shaky but it doesn't take you completely out of the experience. The gameplay is fun!

Crystal Dynamics have veered away from the auto-aim combat and it definitely a lot more like Uncharted now. The game is not breaking any new ground but that's not necessarily a bad thing because it does it well.

Anyway, I'm gonna spend some more time with it and see if my first impressions persist throughout.

EDIT:
Oh and I have tested out TressFX, it looks fantastic but it is definitely a heavy-hitter on the framerate when hair is onscreen. Some have speculated this is due to Nvidia not optimizing DirectCompute processing on the GPU and have focused more on their own CUDA. Time and driver updates will tell.

[idolminds]

Just a heads up for anyone that's thinking of buying this digitally: the PSN digital download version requires an internet connection to start the game.

Purchase or use of this item is subject to the PlayStationŽNetwork Terms of Service and User Agreement and this item's use restrictions. This item has been sublicensed to you by Sony Computer Entertainment America. One-time license fee for downloads to up to 2 console systems that are associated with the purchasing account. No more than one activated PS3 system within a 24 hour period. Content may not be used by any other account. You must sign in to PSN each time you start the game.

No idea why Square Enix would do that. Pretty sure no other version forces that on people.

[Xessive]

Damn, that's ugly.

[Cobra951]

Thanks for that heads up.  No chance I'll ever buy the eventual GoD version then, unless I get hard evidence that the same won't happen there.

The disc version doesn't do this, does it?  Now that we're getting routinely signed in to 3rd parties when launching games on consoles, there's nothing technical keeping them from pulling the same crap on disc releases.

[idolminds]

No, the disc copies do not do this. Hell, even the Steam version (aka every PC copy) can be played in offline mode.

[gpw11]

I've only played Anniversary, Underground, and the isometric game, but I'm kinda having mixed feelings on this.  The wilderness survival aspect is great  and I love exploring in the other games (haven't hit much in this one yet), but for some reason this one just isn't clicking.

Too much Uncharted recently maybe.  Or Infinite is just a hard act to follow.

[Xessive]

TR 2013 is pretty sweet. In my opinion, it's the move the franchise needed to refresh and stay competitive in today's gaming environment.

The only criticism I had is that it's the only TR game with no swimming or diving. Not a huge loss but definitely a departure from all previous games.

I'd say wait till the Bioshock Infinite high wears off and then get into

[Pugnate]

Huh? AMD? What is that?

[MysterD]

Comic-book writer Gail Simone says the upcoming TR Comic will lead directly right into a sequel to TR (2013):
http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4548538/tomb-raider-comic-will-lead-directly-into-game-sequel

The newly announced Tomb Raider comic series will lead directly into the video game sequel of Crystal Dynamics' 2013 reboot, writer Gail Simone told Kotaku.

Simone's upcoming comic book will set the stage for events in the video game sequel, with a narrative that takes place shortly after the end of the original reboot.

"We start just a few weeks after the end of the game," said Simone, "and this is all in continuity, it will be Tomb Raider canon, and lead directly into the sequel. This is what got me excited; we get to be part of Lara Croft history."

Polygon spoke with the comic book writer over the weekend following the announcement of the new series of comics which follows Lara after she leaves the familiar island-setting of its video game counterpart. The comic series will launch in February 2014.

"I played the original game and I liked the character she was," Simone told us. "But when I had the chance to play the new game, to see how she dealt with isolation, how she thinks and acts and grows, I was completely in love with her.

Simone said Croft would be "on a mission to find answers to questions she just cannot let go," and that the stories would take her around the globe.

[gpw12]

I just finished this and honestly, I'm really glad I stuck with it.  It turned out to be pretty amazing in an Uncharted sort of way.

[MysterD]

I just finished this and honestly, I'm really glad I stuck with it.  It turned out to be pretty amazing in an Uncharted sort of way.

Took me 23 hours to hit 78% completion.

While I ain't played Uncharted and can't make the comparison there - yeah, I also thought the game was awesome.
It's actually - gasp - the first TR game that I've ever finished.