When I received my review copy of the critically acclaimed Rise of the Tomb Raider PC version from Crystal Dynamics, I was stunned by the visual brilliance compared to the 360 of which I played the game on initially. I have completed “Baba Yaga: Temple of the Witch” for Xbox360, and intend to play it on the PC as well, so, for now, this visual review of the game PC Rise of the Tomb Raider is what I will write. If you would like to read my “Rise of the Tomb Raider” completion game review, go HERE
I was blown away by the crispness and vibrancy of the images of the PC version of Rise. I am impressed by the sheer magnitude of the stunning visuals. I am thankful my PC can handle this game, and I could experience it again like never before. However, my machine is quite upgraded, but even with a lot of bells and whistles, it still had a little lag. I will bet that the pictures from my session could be even better with another upgrade. For those who do not have a gaming type computer, I included the system requirements below. The game is well worth it, for after playing through several levels from the PC, I cannot believe the difference from my Xbox360. I think the video card is what makes this difference. Night and day difference, but that is not to say the game isn’t beautiful on any of the current platforms. It absolutely is.
The Feel and Atmosphere
One of the biggest gripes I have with video games is how unreal they are. The character walks through the environment, and it feels like he or she is floating. Something about the experience seems superficial and glossed. Couple the graphics being too blocky, or the shine is wrong, etc. needless to say it is overtly apparent it is all fake. My experience with Rise of the Tomb Raider on my Xbox360 was great. However, there is still that little fake space hanging about.
However, on the PC version of the game, I was impressed from the start. For example, I have experience in the mountains and when the opener came, and Lara and Jonah trekked across the ridge and eventually up the ice wall and through the avalanche it took my breath away. This time, Lara felt real. Her face had a shine and texture that was not present in the 360 game to the same extent. I have nothing other than that for a comparison, for I do not own an Xboxone yet. Now, her teeth were an issue in the 360. They appeared as a white blended curve top and bottom most of the time. They had great definition in the PC version as real teeth appear. When Lara moves through the snow, sometimes hip-deep, she is more fluid, and she feels weighted instead of floaty. The glistening sun off the ice and snow was impressive as heck! What a dramatic difference. The snow trails she and Jonah’s boots made were believable. They looked like compressed snow from footprints and long, deep trails you see in the mountains formed by climbing teams roped in and walking in a line.
There were also instances of snow building up on Lara’s clothes and hair that were in the other version of course; however, on the PC, it was far more noticeable and believable. I also noticed the colours were more vibrant throughout the levels I played. I took far more freedom playing it this time, and will play all at a far slower pace, because, everything is alive and pops out of the screen. It feels new and different. I have a few screenshots to dress my new gallery from the beginning. It is a highly defined, graphically stunning game that I highly recommend. Enjoy!
The reason behind the stunning graphics
The enhancements for PC are beautiful; The threshold is pushed over the cliff with several new technical features introduced to the game. This game has some spectacular next-gen visuals due to partnering with NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX. This allows an ambient occlusion technique called – HBAO+ which was implemented throughout the PC version. It really makes a difference. It produces a richer and more detailed ambient lighting effect. This rendering technique is faster and far more efficient than others.
Additionally, the hardware on a PC allows for the usage of Anisotropic filtering on all of the surfaces in the game. This enriches the view of the angle of a surface in the distance as well as close-up and brings forth unmatched details.
They also implemented something called Hardware Tessellation which greatly defines uneven surfaces. This feature allows the surfaces and textures to become more believable and makes the gamer feel; as if they are touchable. This increased geometry allows buildings to have more detail and more visibility from a distance, which also allows the hubs to have more scope and appear much grander to the gamer. You could say it opens up Lara’s world.
Another really exciting feature of these enhancements to the PC game is the dynamic foliage and the way it reacts to Lara passing through it. It responds to her every movement as you would expect it to do in real-life. This enhancement has everything including realistic weather effects.
Watch the Crystal Dynamics video Rise of the Tomb Raider: PC Tech Feature for a complete run down on this paraphrased report.
In case you are wondering about what the PC requirements are to run this fab game on your machine this is a rundown:
MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 64bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD equivalent
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 2GB or AMD HD7770 2GB
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 25 GB available space
RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 10 64 bit
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 980Ti 2560×1440 or NVIDIA GTX 970 1920×1080
DirectX: Version 11
Crystal Dynamics provided my fansite with a complimentary copy of this game for reviewing purposes
Tomb Raider ® Square Enix Ltd. Square Enix and the Square Enix logo are registered trademarks of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics, the Crystal Dynamics logo, Eidos, and the Eidos logo are trademarks of Square Enix Ltd. All rights reserved.
PC Gallery Rise Of The Tomb Raider
The following screen shots are mixed. All are from the PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider, but some are from the Crystal Dynamics Tech video. The screenshots from my gameplay will be noted. I used some of theirs as examples of further progress in the PC game. At the time of this publication, I have gotten about half way through the Syria level PC version due to admiring everything. I am like a tourist on a vacation with a camera. LOL. Thank you all for reading this article.
~Emma Q.
NOTE: View screenshots in fullscreen mode for the best visual.
okheshivartr.blog 
Hey there miss Disney! You did a great job with this. Congratulations on your Official status.You are a creative talent no wonder you got that job with the D word! I told you on the cruise I would pay you a visit! Now I am going to set up a live stream between you, your husband and my wife for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Tell your husband that my light saber will beat his down! lol. We should do BF too. C ya!
Ho my GOSH! It’s you! I am honoured for you to have commented on my site! Thank you! Yes, we should stream the games. I have a PS4 but we could do it on your Xboxone, and I suppose that is what you meant. You know my gamer tag so Battlefront would be a blast. My husband is a master gamer in his spare time and beat Rise of the Tomb Raider in two days. On survivor mode. I thought I had gaming skills until he came along. Teehee. He also laughs at my 7-day stint in Endurance mode, because he has lasted about 18 days so far. Yes, I adore writing and art and Disney was a perfect fit. So glad it panned out. I always wanted to do this before I turned 25, so here I am at 23 and my dream came true. Thank you for everything and tell your wife hi. She emailed me last week. Are you guys going on another cruise? My sister-in-law is going with us next trip and so is my brother. We are going on the Magic this time. Maybe we can schedule something. I cannot believe it’s been so many years since we all lived in IN. Since those days I have moved from there to Mankato and now I am going to school out here in the West coast.
It is so funny because each time I watch the film I feel a flood of memories when you would come home from school with my brother and i would always show you my stuffed toys. He used to get so mad. LOL remember that. Have a good night.
Yes yes yes, I do remember! I told my wife you looked familiar when I first saw you. Your brother (the sack) was a card and you were such a cute kid! Those were good days. Drag the sack along on the Magic and we can all get together. We have to do Battlefront at the very least and DANG he is a good player, you are too. I have to jet. More things to iron out with the latest you know what I mean. I am calling tomorrow. From big Disney to childhood friends small world. Talk soon