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Rise Of The Tomb Raider Microtransactions Confirmed
Microsoft's post detailing Rise Of The Tomb Raider's season pass also includes confirmation of in-app transactions.
Late last month we brought you a new hands-on preview of Lara Croft's latest adventure, the Xbox One timed-exclusive Rise Of The Tomb Raider. Our news editor Mike Futter walked away from the demo suspecting that the game would feature microtransactions, a hunch that Microsoft, Square Enix, and Crystal Dynamics wouldn't comment on at the time. A new post from Microsoft on Xbox Wire now confirms the in-app transactions, and explains how they work.
According to the article, Rise Of The Tomb Raider players can purchase Expedition Card packs. These cards feature a variety of modifiers that can be applied to custom missions, which you can then share with your friends. The article mentions Big Head mode as one potential Expedition Card, and states that others "increase the challenge or give you special advantages." Expedition Card packs can be purchased with credits earned through in-game achievements or – as you might have guessed – real money.
The article also states that there are two types of Expedition Cards: Foil and Common. Foil cards can be used an unlimited number of times, but common cards are one-time-use affairs. The post states that there will be about 300 cards at launch, and more to come. The article also contains more info on today's season pass news, so read up by clicking on the link below.
Rise Of The Tomb Raider will be available on Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10.
[Source: Xbox Wire]
Our Take
Unfortunately – and unsurprisingly
– Mike's intuition proved correct. Hopefully Crystal Dynamics allows players to
earn enough in-game credits to take full advantage of the Expedition Card
feature, but I for one am getting a little tired of the random card pack
mechanic creeping into full retail games. Developers don't put
microtransactions into their games in the hopes that you won't buy them.
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