Dubbed Expedition Cards, these will be used to modify experience and gain advantages within the game itself and though he’s swift to caution that you can certainly attain them via earned credits within game play, there’s an assumption that players will be willing to fork over dollar bills for the privilege.
"We’ll have about 300 cards available at launch, and more will be added in the weeks that follow….Expedition Cards offer hundreds of ways to customize your Rise of the Tomb Raider experience. You can also set up challenges for your friends to see if they can beat your scores with the same card setup."
Now, here’s the thing. Game add-ons are no longer really a new phenomenon, they’ve managed to ease themselves into the standard practice of what modern gaming is, and for stuff like DLC packs that significantly expand storyline like with Witcher: Wild Hunt or even costume skins like in the Batman Arkham series it’s fairly easy to justify and many happily plunk down additionally funds past the cost of the principle game.
However, when you see microtransactions creep into games that traditionally banked on the challenges that they offered, it’s understandable how players will begin to feel a bit bilked. That said, there were quietly available boosts for characteristics such as agility, accuracy and the like in the last one, but this announcement seems like the Tomb Raider team will be more aggressively pursuing this line of revenue.
However, the season pass that was recently announced for Rise does look pretty intriguing with its inclusion of a Baba Yaga storyline and additional weapons, outfits and, yes, Expedition Cards.
