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" Release Date: January 31 (Europe), January 28 (North America) Platforms available on: Xbox One, PS4 Developer: Crystal Dynamics Publisher: Square Enix Genre: Action/Adventure So exhilarating was last year&amp;#039;s Tomb Raider reboot, that had it not released alongside the likes of The Last of Us, GTA 5 and BioShock Infinite, it would have almost certainly topped a few more game of the year lists. Squeezing every drop of power out of ageing Xbox 360 and PS3 hardware, Tomb Raider is already a visually stunning game, and one of the least in need of a little plastic surgery. However, this hasn&amp;#039;t stopped Crystal Dynamics from revisiting the title and giving it a next-gen makeover.  In fact, with fancy new hair, mud and skin effects, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is like the most brutal spa day you could ever imagine. Lara comes out of it looking great, but boy does she suffer.  The gritty adventure, in which Lara must fight off cult-like scavengers on a lost island while searching for her crew, is a bone-crunching tale of self-discovery packed with unexpected twists and some pleasing performances from the cast of characters. Highly cinematic, the effective use of cutscenes coupled with a wonderfully detailed visual style and slick production values, sometimes gives the impression that you&amp;#039;re participating in an interactive movie. A lack of decent bonuses makes the Definitive Edition a hard sell for existing fans, but for newcomers it&amp;#039;s a slice of platforming perfection that will make the wait for next-gen blockbusters easier to bear. However, if this is like a movie and it&amp;#039;s one that you&amp;#039;ve already seen, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is lacking in the deleted scenes department. You will benefit from a little extra background information courtesy of a Dark Horse comic and there&amp;#039;s one additional tomb early on, but without any substantial new content, this is very much the same adventure as before.  If you are a repeat player, it&amp;#039;s multiplayer fans who will get the most out of the Definitive Edition, as it bundles together all of the downloadable maps. Unfortunately, while we enjoyed multiplayer first time around, we didn&amp;#039;t spend too long revisiting this aspect of the game after the launch buzz died down. Multiplayer modes such as &amp;#039;Medic&amp;#039;, which pits scavengers against Lara&amp;#039;s crew in a race to find medical supplies, contain good ideas, but the addition of a few extra maps isn&amp;#039;t enough to reignite any interest we once had. The Xbox One version also utilises Kinect controls, although we can think of very few advantages to calling up the map instead of pressing pause.  Likewise, using body tracking to change camera angles and gestures to rotate artefacts seems a little pointless, especially with the controller doing such a good job of that already. We&amp;#039;re not necessarily criticising the Kinect controls - they actually work very well in this instance - but we&amp;#039;d be lying if we said they revolutionised (or even improved) the experience. It&amp;#039;s the stunningly mesmerising visuals that make Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition the best way to experience one of the most treasured adventures of recent times. Still, despite an underwhelming list of extras, Tomb Raider remains a fabulous game, and swinging from pillar to post, sneaking up on enemies and solving puzzles is as exciting as ever. The platforming is incredibly smooth, the combat offers a nice blend of stealth and shooting, and it features more over-the-top action set-pieces than a Michael Bay movie.  Collecting all of the hidden artefacts is as addictive as ever, and the skilfully designed game world gives the impression of freedom, even though players are being guided on a very specific path.  The island of Yamatai looks gorgeous and is an absolute joy to explore, whether navigating claustrophobic caves, rusted shanties or stormy beachfronts. It may not run at a fluid 60 frames per second on Xbox One, but you&amp;#039;d be hard pressed to notice.  It&amp;#039;s the stunningly mesmerising visuals that make Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition the best way to experience one of the most treasured adventures of recent times. A lack of decent bonuses makes the Definitive Edition a hard sell for existing fans, but for newcomers it&amp;#039;s a slice of platforming perfection that will make the wait for next-gen blockbusters easier to bear.  Read our original review of Tomb Raider on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/tomb-raider/review/a546959/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-review-xbox-one-visually-stunning/>