Modders get the original ‘Tomb Raider” running on Game Boy Advance. It looks pretty good!
Is it just me, or does it seem like we are getting re-releases and remakes every day? It could be that it feels more than usual due to all the new-gen features (as well all the stuff still in the pipeline, such as the umpteenth GTA IV).
Regardless of what, all ports have one thing: they bring games to newer platforms. One modder did exactly that, but not in the manner you would expect.
Check out this Unreal Engine 4 remake of Tomb Raider II while you’re there.
Here’s Tomb Raider on a Game Boy Advance. It’s a fair port considering that the GBA was released in 2001, five years after Tomb Raider. This video was released by XProger, who recently uploaded a video of OpenLara to YouTube. It runs so much faster than you would expect. The frame rate, displayed in the corner of your screen, isn’t super constant, but the game seems surprisingly playable.
Many people have expressed their support for this project by leaving comments: “How is it possible for the GBA to create these types of textured 3D games?” It’s amazing! Amazing work!” commented Jimbo Bimbo. Leonardo Reyes wrote, “This is truly impressive. I didn’t realize that GBA could pull this off, amazing.”
The project’s GitHub page states that OpenLara has been in development since 2016, and the GBA is not the only platform the modder has taken the game to. They’ve been able to get it running on many platforms, including the 3DS, PS Vita and Switch. It can be downloaded for free on any platform. It is still in alpha, so it shouldn’t be expected to work flawlessly.
A different modder recently made Counter-Strike available on the DS. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen fan-made ports like this. It’s something I support—Skyrim for Atari.
