
In Tomb Raider Legend, Lara Croft is back as the female Indiana Jones. The game's design also bears much resemblance to the first game in theTomb Raider series. Dark temples and sunken ruins pull you straight into the plot. Climbing, jumping, swinging and diving all reawaken that old Tomb Raider feeling.
For newer 3D cards, there is a power mode called Next Generation Content. By activating it, the video card's pixel shader capabilities are pushed to the limit. The power mode may slow down the game's performance, but the screenshots below show just how beautiful this title can be.
Tomb Raider's status as a classic title can be traced back to the availability of the first viable 3Daccelerator based on a Voodoo processor from 3Dfx. The device was able to filter textures while bringing real speed to the game.
A highlight of the game, of course, was the main character. Until then, there had not really been a heroine in PC games. Characters from Drakan or Blood Rayne would never become as famous and well-known as Lara Croft. After Angelina Jolie played the title role in both movies, Lara Croft then became a well-known character in the film world as well.
For the seventh installment, the game's designers announced they were returning to the title's roots. Level design and game experience should be as they were in the beginning of the series, the developers said, and the end result lived up to their aspirations The graphics are first rate. Water, light, shadow and flora harness DirectX 9's potential. The system requirements are relatively low andspeed output is incredible. With the game's video effects set to a maximum, speed with a system based on a Geforce 6800 GT with a 3.2 GHz CPU barely sinks below 40 fps. The game's fps value at normal settings is between 60 and 200 fps, with the V-Sync signal deactivated of course.
The Next Generation Content power mode, when activated, gives the effects a real push. The details of its function and which shader version is necessary are not specified in the system requirements.
Here the differences can really be seen in Lara Croft's appearance. In normal mode, her skin is dirty. The lamp in the background is lit and Lara is always brightly rendered. With Next Generation Content activated, all lamps are out. The environment is lit by a global light source, which you can see from the shadows cast by the lamp in the background. The square stones in the wall, the artifact and Lara all seem plastic.
In Tomb Raider Legend, Eidos does not offer much color about system requirements for Next Generation Content - and it either works or it does not. You're safe with a Geforce 6 or above, or with a Radeon from the X1x00 series, as far as graphics hardware power goes. However, Web forums report many problems, such as image glitches. The rumored cause is a badly optimized graphics driver, but a patent explanation does not exist. Meanwhile, the normal mode makes the game look much better than when Next Generation Content is turned on, and in other situations the graphics associated with Next Generation Content are just breathtaking.
Below, we use screenshots to show the optimum points for using both graphics modes. All images and settings were created and tested with a Geforce 6800 GT and Forceware driver 84.21. The images have not been modified, so that you can better see the differences.
With Next Generation mode activated, the first level is not impressive. Many plants disappear, and the environment is gloomy. You cannot do anything without turning on the flashlight or switching to normal mode.
Lara is not always brightly lit, whilethe stone squares and rocks have depth and structure. Rays of light are more strongly cross faded.
In Lara's apartment light and shadow are perfectly matched.. The images of the walls show you just what you would be missing without Next Generation Content.
The screenshots from the first six installments of Tomb Raider show how far the game's graphics have progressed. .
The most obvious effects of activating Next Generation Content mode are on light sources. Everything that shines like a lamp is switched off. It looks that way throughout the entire game. The global light source makes objects such as the leather sofa shine, and stone artifacts or fireplace ornaments seem metallic. Lara's skin also seems to shine and resembles plastic. In normal mode, Lara looks like a character in a comic book.
The soft evening light and shine effect on the floor remind me of Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. The shadows look better in Next Generation mode. The frame rate in normal mode is superfluous, since any rapid turns with Next Generation Content activated causes glitches.
The technology room in Lara's apartment is filled with much attention to detail. The shadows on the floor and the light playing on the objects are simply fantastic to look at.
Lara's hair looks better with active Next Generation Content. The textures and shapes of her body look softer.
With the correct light, Lara's skin in Next Generation looks more realistic.
If you are not playing in normal mode, you will miss a lot with Lara. As soon as she climbs out of water, small droplets drip off her moist skin.
In Next Generation mode this moist skin effect is invisible, even with light from the flashlight. The background is interesting in normal mode; the ceiling looks like a cave. In Next Generation mode the wall structure looks plastic, and the ceiling loses its cave-like appearance.
In the third example, too, Lara's skin is moist in normal mode.With Next Generation Content the skin no longer glistens, but the background of the hall is much clearer. If your graphics card can cope with both modes, you should switchbetween the two to enjoy the benefits of both.
In the rocky outdoors level you must switch to Next Generation. The structure of the stones and plants looks much better.
In Next Generation mode the graphics benefit from global lighting. The rocks and the shadows cast by the liana are breathtakingly beautiful.
Sometimes logic is turned upside down. In this example, the rocks in normal mode shine more and the basic lighting is too dark. With Next Generation Content, the many structures and wide range of vision cause extensive fluctuations in performance.
This converse also applies to light reflexes. Without HDR rendering, objects shine a lot and the environment is not lit as well. There are more visible shadows when you activate Next Generation. The rock changes size and form depending on the mode.
With stronger light sources it looks different; here the Next Generation Content mode clearly displays better.
The extremely bright light sources in Next Gen mode have less of an effect on Lara. There is a good level of detail with the pinprick ray of light on the globe in the upper middle of the screen.
Less is more, so they say. If Lara is lit by the spotlight, then in normal mode she is very bright. In Next Gen mode she shines and looks more plastic, and the shadows are prettier.
The difference in the shadows is due to the switch in graphic mode. Lara's position does not change.
Many places are so dark that you can only see properly in normal mode. The interplay of light and shadow looks better in Next Gen mode; without the flashlight you often cannot see anything at all.
Lara stands in front of the window and is lit by a neon sign. In Next Gen mode the light is missing, and Lara is dark. The column in the background has a shadow and the lights in the house windows are missing.
Under water, shadows and light from the flashlight have much more detail with Next Generation Content. The murkiness of the water colors the light.
When the rays of light are colored, Lara and the environment are affected a lot more in Next Gen mode.
The strong light rays show the graphics possibilities of the 3D engine.
The reflection of the flashlight on the water is spectacularly-rendered in both graphics modes. In Next Gen mode, there are obvious waves moving on the water.
You can see a clear difference with the surfaces of shallow water. In normal mode the water is transparent, and Lara's reflection is visible. When Next Generation Content is activated, the water is milky and opaque. The environment and Lara are both highly reflected on the surface.
The Next Generation mode has an effect on the environment. In Japan, the clothing and hairstyles of the women in the background change according to the light source. Lara's breasts are slightly larger(coincidence or an intended nip-and-tuck effect)?The many people viewed at the same time reduce the fps value to between 6 and 20 fps. Making turns in this room causes severe glitches. You can really only complete the subsequent gun fight in normal mode when the frame rate goes up to between 50 and 200 fps.
In the outdoor Japan level in Next Gen mode, the huge neon sign is switched off. To counterbalance this, the tree in the yard has very real leaves. The smaller neon sign in the middle of the screen is much brighter.
With Next Generation Content the water disappears and Lara remains dry. To counterbalance this, a plant appears in the foreground and the stone square have real ridges and cracks.
In normal mode the lamps in the background are lit. The shadows in the environment are missing. The structure of the steps is drawn into the texture. In Next Gen mode, the steps are monochrome and rounder. The skin on Lara's chest, neck and face look almost real.
Our tests show that switching between normal mode and Next Generation Content is definitely worthwhile. The function is easy to select in the graphics menu, and there is only a few seconds delay while the effects switch over. If your graphics card supports power mode, you can keep switching between the modes if you have any difficulties. This was required when using the test card; many indoor levels were so dark that you could hardly see the images, even with the flashlight. Once you have passed these particular points, just switch back to the power mode. Rooms, caves and corridors are seen without any problems, and outdoor levels without waterfalls are very fluid. Problems with performance only occur where there is a wider range of vision, and in rooms where there are many characters.
The Japan level has a severe effect on the frame rate. The many characters in the club, or the motorbike ride on the roof, make it practically impossible to play using Next Generation Content.
If your graphics card does not support power mode, you are rewarded with a shining wet Lara when you climb out of the water. The indoor levels in normal mode are always well lit. The game speed with a Geforce 6800 GT is nearly always between 60 and 200 fps.































