In case anyone had any doubts, Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics are indeed giving the original three Tomb Raider games the premium remaster treatment, something the developers confirmed in great detail in a recent post on the official PlayStation Blog. The games are, of course, getting the graphical face lift that most would expect from a modern remaster, but the team handling them is taking things further in a few important places.
For starters, the traditional tank controls seen in the PS1 originals are not going to be maintained as the default option. Instead, Project Director Chris Bashaar explained that the new versions will offer something akin to those experienced in Tomb Raider Anniversary, Legend and Underworld. Those who are looking for a more authentic experience aren’t being left out in the cold though, all they have to do is toggle them on in the options menu.
Tomb Raider 25th Anniversary Kicks-Off Today
Bashaar detailed two other major additions to the upcoming remasters: a photo mode and a graphics toggle. The photo mode can be engaged at any time, pausing gameplay and allowing players to pose Lara, give her different expressions, arm her with different weapons and apply different costumes. The new graphics toggle can also be engaged while in either photo mode or normal gameplay, allowing players to get a good feel for all the updates Aspyr is making and use them to get just the right screenshot. Toggling the graphics also swaps Lara’s new model for the old one, so there should be plenty of options to play with.
Models, environments, enemies and animations have all gotten a lot of attention too, according to Bashaar, and over 200 trophies have been incorporated into the experience as well. Bashaar also hinted at the existence of additional bonuses and updates, but it seems he’s not ready to divulge what exactly those are just yet. All in all, it looks like Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is shaping up to be something that fans are going to enjoy checking out when it launches on February 14 for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
