[HTML1]

"let's take all this cool technology and make her hair real." That's just the first step of what the first next-gen Lara Croft could and hopes to look like. The game of the year contender, a long-awaited and well-designed reboot of the classic Tomb Raider franchise, was spotted earlier today on Amazon with a January release date on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

For the skeptics immediately concerned that Tomb Raider is simply being ported, Crystal Dynamics teamed with a pair of other developers, United Front Games (Sleeping Dogs) and Nixxes to help adapt the game to the new technology.

It is of course, in the end, the same game as the previous generation version - and coming quickly - but it's a smart way to bring in more players to the franchise and to generate more excitement for the inevitable and deserved sequel. Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition comes with  all of the Tomb Raider downloadable content, a digital artbook, six outfits for Lara and a digital comic. The PS4/Xbox One edition will retail for the full $59.99 which PC players should ignore since it's currently $10 during Steam's current sale (Survival edition is $12).

Tomb Raider The Definitive Edition

Answering a few Twitter questions during the VGX, Crystal Dynamics Executive Producer Scot Amos confirmed that the next-gen versions will not support 3D like the previous version did on PC.

"Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is so named as it’s exactly what we've custom built for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 system consoles. The new hardware let us finally express the original vision in all of its glory. This was a continued labor of love. We pulled the game apart and rebuilt it with painstaking detail to add enhanced visual storytelling but without changing the award winning tale. The end result is a cinematic living world. We can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to experience this rebuilt epic adventure."

Lara Croft presented in unprecedented high definition detail:

  • An all new Lara model created to take advantage of the power of next-gen consoles
  • TRESS FX technology that delivers realistic hair simulation and motion with every strand being physically active
  • Shader and lighting reworked to showcase the raw physicality of Lara’s journey through sweat, mud, and blood materials and effects

A physical world put in motion thanks to brand new hardware architecture:

  • The world has been dynamically brought to life using complex physical world simulation on trees, foliage, cloth, weather, lighting and effects
  • All texture resolutions have been created at 4x resolution for maximum resolution and detail
  • In-game characters, enemies and destructability have been enhanced for added depth and realism
  • Subsurface scattering technology implemented to capture the most physically accurate lighting simulation and deliver a great sense of believability
  • Native 1080p gameplay gives outstanding visual fidelity and showcases the beauty of Yamatai in all its high definition glory

______________________________________________

More: Watch All The Trailers From The Spike VGX

______________________________________________

Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition releases for PS4 and Xbox One on January 28, 2013.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.