http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-hands-on-with-rise-of-the-tomb-raider
The real standout point is her expressional range, with her eyes gazing realistically into the distance with a nice parallax effect helping to provide real depth. As the wind blows across the valley, we also see updated version of TressFX that deftly handles her hair as it whips around behind her. Even her mountaineering tools bounce around realistically as she runs - an effect first seen in Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.
Stepping back a moment and looking at the broader picture, image quality is based on a full 1080p presentation - something confirmed by game director Brian Horton for the E3 demo at least - but there are some points that compromise the quality of the overall presentation.
Throughout the latest demo, there are visible edges that appear lower in resolution than the rest of the image. These manifest in the form of thick, pixelated edges along a wide variety of surfaces, such as crates and cement structures. It doesn't seem as if the resolution is actually reduced, as single pixel-width edges remain visible throughout the image, but the issue is puzzling nonetheless. Perhaps a post-processing artefact of some sort?
Also, while we aren't able to include cut-scene footage in our analysis, it should be noted that these sequences give the appearance of operating at a resolution lower than 1080p - not unlike the Xbox One version of Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.
A relatively low level of anisotropic filtering is used, leaving many surfaces looking rather blurry at normal gameplay angles. This issue manifests primarily when exploring building interiors with lots of flat surfaces. Regular readers will know that this seems to be a really common issue on a great many current-gen titles and certainly isn't restricted to Rise of the Tomb Raider, or indeed Xbox One.
This is combined with a sub-optimal post-process anti-aliasing solution that produces plenty of shimmering and sub-pixel break-up. The frozen wilderness is a challenging scenario here, thanks in part to the simulation of ice frozen on tree branches that shimmers throughout the demo. More positively, we really like the implementation of motion blur used in Rise of the Tomb Raider.
We've only had access to a tiny sliver of gameplay on what we're told is early code, but the indications are that Rise of the Tomb Raider is shaping up as a very solid entry in the franchise. Visually, the game looks impressive, but it's safe to say that this latest level didn't quite have the same impact for us as previous materials, most notably the spectacular Gamescom demo. The bottom line is that we can't help but feel that the game has much more to give.
Based on what we've seen in our limited hands-on, our take is that much of the engineering effort poured into the creation of the previous game has clearly been put to use with this sequel, so what we're looking at here is a refined improvement over the Definitive Edition but maybe not the generational leap we might have hoped for. Still, the addition of snow deformation, improved TressFX, volumetric lighting, and various other features clearly makes for a more impressive looking game overall - and previous sequences promise so much more. Either way, we'll be sure to cover the game in more depth when it launches this November.
