Tomb Raider Game Reboot In Fall 2012
Posted: January 20, 2012
First released back in 1996, Tomb Raider represents the tenth outing for Lara Croft. The game is also a series in desperate need of revival. Crystal Dynanics has been working overtime on the Tomb Raider reboot before an imminent launch later this year. If the developer gets it right, we could have one of the best Tomb Raider titles since the franchise was at its peak.
Crystal Dynamics is going for something very realistic, with the character of Lara Croft being intricately intertwined with her surroundings. She’ll react to the environment whether it affects her in a positive or negative light. For example, if Lara gets shot by an arrow, she’ll not be able to move as agile as she normally could. If an area is extremely cold, it’ll affect her in a negative way. The next Tomb Raider game will launch later this year for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC featuring a grittier adventure starring a younger and inexperienced Lara Croft.
Producer Talks About The Tomb Raider Movie Reboot
Posted: January 3, 2012
Film producer Graham King stated that the movie reboot of Tomb Raider is scheduled to come out in 2013 and confirmed that he has received the script (written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby). They are now looking at production of the new Tomb Raider film. Finding a good director is priority number one, with casting being looked at soon.
"We just got the script in on Tomb Raider and it's really good. It's something that, for me anyway, is different, .. you know, rebooting a franchise that I didn't produce to begin with. But there's something about her character and going back to her roots, and that's what we're doing with this. It's more of a character study, but it's a really fun, fun adventure story." said King
Asked if Angelina Jolie had any chance of making a cameo in the upcoming reboot, King replied: "I don't know, .. we've spoken about Tomb Raider and we'll have to see."
"We're bringing in directors to talk to and then I get that horrible job of sitting with 25-30 young girls that want to play Lara Croft," he said. Asked about his approach to the new Lara Croft movie, King said: "We're going back before she was Lara Croft, so it's a much more emotional character piece. She's in search of her parents.
"One of my favorite movies of this year was Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the way they rebooted that franchise. I thought it was fantastic and took a lot away from that for Tomb Raider."
Trailer of the Year?
Crystal Dynamics has learned that Tomb Raider's "Turning Point" trailer nabbed a nomination for VGA Trailer of the Year. The endeavor took over a year to produce from conceptualization to completion and was a collaborative effort between the team at Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix's VisualWorks studio.
Tomb Raider 2012
Posted: October 22, 2011
Composer Rob Lord is rumored to be scoring Tomb Raider (2012) as there appear to be similarities between his music and a composition featured in the "Crystal Habit" podcasts by Tomb Raider (2012) developer Crystal Dynamics. Regardless of the striking resemblance, however, the similarity is most likely coincidental. The composer for Tomb Raider remains unannounced; a press release is expected before the end of the year, or early 2012.
Things remain quiet at Crystal Dynamics as we continue the countdown to the fall 2012 release of the reboot to Tomb Raider. The studio has hunkered down and is working hard to piece together the new adventure. The "Crystal Habit" podcast is a great way to stay up to date with the team working on Tomb Raider. Each month the podcast features a question and answer session with Karl Stewart and Meagan Marie, in addition to segments on game design, current events, and interviews. You can listen to the podcast via the Official Tomb Raider Blog, or subscribe through iTunes.
Tomb Raider Creative Director Interview
Posted: June 25, 2011
Noah Hughes, creative director at Crystal Dynamics, talked about the changes that will affect Lara Croft in the reboot of Tomb Raider:
What does it feel like, taking the character of Lara Croft in a whole new direction in the Tomb Raider series?
Noah Hughes: "I’ve been at Crystal Dynamics for a while now, and we’ve had the pleasure of making a few games starring Lara. We’ve learned a lot. To be able to distil everything we want to do with the franchise into an entirely fresh take is inspiring. It’s a reboot and not directly related to the timeline of Lara as such, but it will touch on familiar elements of her character. You’ll see her grow into the hero figure that fans know and love."
Does the reboot touch on past games in the series?
Hughes: "It starts a whole different timeline. There’s not necessarily an assumption it will connect directly to past events. We are projecting our own Lara, taking this origins story, recreating and her launching her off into a new adventure. We’re really going to be selling this idea of Lara fighting and scraping through the unknown. We love catering to some of the fan favorites, but we’re not beholden to all of the story points within the series."
Is Lara Croft now a heroine we can take seriously?
Hughes: "Rather than change her for change’s sake, we just decided to make her as real as we could. Everything then kind of came out of that – the character design, the story we were telling, the whole look of the game. We really tried to ground that in a human experience. That was the starting point.You can see that once you start down the road of bringing her to life, it can influence so much of the rest of the game."
Lara goes through physical and emotional torture in this game, how far did you want to push her?
Hughes: "Pain and hardship are what help forge Lara into this hero – I mean, she’s a fledgling archaeologist who becomes the Tomb Raider. There has to be some trial and tribulation! Ultimately the boundary was: what delivers that sense of survival at all costs, without being gratuitous?"
Why the mysterious island and its dangerous environment?
Hughes: "The idea we keep coming back to is that of survival being a core human instinct. We want the history of a place or a situation to really hook you in and pull you through the story.We also take inspiration from a number of real world stories. You hear about these people who have gone through extraordinary situations and come out alive. That’s what we’re trying to capture, that core human spirit."
"A famous explorer once said that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are. I'd finally set out to make my mark. To find adventure. But instead, ........ adventure found me." - Lara Croft
The Search for Lara Croft .......
Kacey Barnfield was born (1-24-1988) and raised in North London, England. Kacey expressed her desire to act at a very early age. She eventually persuaded her mother to send her to acting classes, then later joined a children’s agency and landed her first professional job on British TV at the age of nine. From the year 2000, and throughout her early teens, Kacey was recognizable by the youth of England as ‘Maddie Gilkes’ in the hit school drama ‘Grange Hill’. Her character was a focal point of several central story lines. Her five year stint on the show was where she learned her craft. Kacey went on to do several other British TV dramas, appearing in ‘The Bill’, ‘Casualty’ and ‘Dream Team’. In 2007, she landed the role of Mike Reid’s runaway daughter ‘Zoe Stringer’ in ‘Filthy Rich’. 2008 saw Kacey move from television to the big screen for the first time in British teen comedy ‘Popcorn’.In 2010 Kacey appeared in her first Hollywood feature film, Paul Anderson’s "Resident Evil: Afterlife" as ‘Crystal Waters’, opposite Milla Jovovich. Kacey also starred in "Lake Placid 3" (2010), where she plays Ellie. She recently filmed the lead of Kate in the horror movie ‘Roadkill’, a horror film about a group of teens taking an ill-fated RV trip around Ireland. Her performance was well-received. She also appeared in ‘A Warriors Tale’, and in Jeremy Leven’s romantic comedy ‘Girl on a Bicycle’. All are set for release in 2011. Currently, in Great Britain, she is widely recognized for her role of Katie Sutherland, in the award winning comedy TV show 'The Inbetweeners'. She's the right age, has the beauty and sex appeal ...... question is, could she carry an action film? Could she be the next Lara Croft on the big screen?
Inside the E3 Press Conference Gameplay
Posted: June 10, 2011
Crystal Dynamics' highly-anticipated Tomb Raider reboot was one of the first games showcased at the Microsoft Press Conference at E3. This world premiere preview showed a playable teaser of the opening level of the game, where a 21 year-old Lara Croft is shipwrecked on a mysterious island and must use her survival instincts to escape. Completely disregard everything you ever thought or knew about Lara Croft. Make no mistake, this game is a complete departure from everything you were ever accustomed to in the Tomb Raider series. Lara reacts, behaves and performs differently in this new world she finds herself stranded in. Instead of the teflon-coated badass of old games, this reboot of Lara Croft shows the inexperienced and vulnerable side of the young adventurer, fresh out of college. This is a much grittier Lara! She finds herself shipwrecked on an island, trapped and fighting for her very survival. After being knocked unconscious, Lara awakens to find herself hanging upside down, bound by canvas and rope.
Panic stricken and forced to take drastic measures, Lara uses the flames from a row of nearby candles to burn through the canvas and rope that bind her. She plummets over forty feet, landing on a bone or other sharp object that she has to pull out of her side. After limping to a nearby chamber, bleeding and grasping her wound, she sees someone else strung up in front of an altar. Upon seeing the body, Lara says "Oh, God no. What did they do to you?" Was this to be Lara's fate? Was she going to be offered up in some sort of ritual sacrifice? She knows she must escape this hell hole!
Her only real friend on the mysterious island is Captain Conrad Roth, the man that brought her to this frightening place. After being injured by a group of wolves and sensing a very frightened Lara, Roth puts his faith in her to find out what they can possibly do to escape the dire situation that they find themselves in.
There's no health bar in the new game. Lara will gradually look more beat up and exhausted the more damage she takes, until she’s practically crawling on the ground. By keeping what is featured on screen to a bare minimum, the sheer weight of the world wears heavy on the player.
Tomb Raider takes a very cinematic approach in its presentation. The only time something appears on the user interface is when Lara approaches "context-sensitive" objects, such as when she reaches for a torch stuck in the wall or turns a crank to raise a gate.
In the past Lara could simply shoot at anyone or anything that got in her way. No qualms about it. In the new game, Lara even goes so far as to apologize to the attacker for having to protect herself from certain death. And when death does occur, it can get pretty gruesome, as we witnessed Lara’s skull being crushed by a falling boulder when the person playing the demo intentionally failed to follow the QTE.
Only half of the game takes place in closed types of environments. The other half expands into an open world, with multiple paths for Lara to take and different areas to explore. Crystal Dynamics has taken care to ensure that the interaction between the performers are more fluid and lifelike. Instead of putting the focus squarely on the shooting and platforming aspects of the franchise, it appears as though the developers threw out all the obstacles that blocked the player from enjoying the story itself.
Tomb Raider is currently under development at Crystal Dynamics and will be distributed by Square Enix Europe on Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2012.
Movie News
- "Total Recall" (2012) remake starts filming. Read More.
- GK Films hires scriptwriters for "Tomb Raider" (2013) movie. Read More.
- Angelina Jolie signs to play "Cleopatra" (2013). Read More.
From Karl Stewart: "Thank you #jeuxvideo for awarding @tombraider, Best Action/Adventure game of #E3 2011. You guys rock. We really appreciate your support.
"
June 10th via Twitter
From Karl Stewart: "For all of you @tombraider fans asking. YES, that is the new voice of #laracroft. Although we're not unveiling who she is just yet. You like?
"
June 3rd via Twitter
From Karl Stewart: "Even #peoplemag are asking the most popular @tombraider question. Who's going to play the next Lara Croft????" March 26th via Twitter
Tomb Raider movie planned for 2013
Graham King, best known for producing "The Departed" and "The Town," has purchased, through his production company, GK Films, the film rights to the video game series "Tomb Raider" and its iconic leading lady, Lara Croft. They will reboot the action-adventure film franchise.
Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have been hired to write the screenplay for the new Tomb Raider movie that is being produced by King and Tim Headington. Fergus and Ostby are known for their script writing for "Iron Man", "Children Of Men" and "Cowboys & Aliens" (July, 2011). Stating that they intend to write an origin story for Lara Croft, the new film is expected to be released in 2013.
About the new film in the Tomb Raider film franchise, producer Graham King said, "We are very excited to be rebooting what is already a hugely successful film franchise and continuing the Tomb Raider phenomenon. Mark and Hawk's clear sensibilities of action and emotion are perfect for the direction we are taking this franchise."
GK Films acquired the film rights from interactive entertainment company, Square Enix Ltd. Senior Vice President, Grey Rembert will oversee the project for GK Films. The movie will be produced by Graham King and Tim Headington. Paramount Pictures made two movies, starring Angelina Jolie, based on the daredevil archaeologist Lara Croft in 2001 and 2003. The films grossed a worldwide total of $432 million at the box office.
"Our number one goal for every project is to turn a good story into a great film. My philosophy? To match the finest actors with the smartest writers and the best directors, then sit back and watch the magic happen."
- Graham King, founder, GK Films
If you said "big deal .... it's just another Tomb Raider game, boy are you ever wrong!! The new Tomb Raider game currently being developed by Crystal Dynamics ( read the beginning of the story below ) is a huge departure from past Tomb Raider titles and ventures into an entirely new realm. It will be unlike any Tomb Raider game you have ever seen. Just take a look at the first trailer Crystal Dynamics released.
Once a pioneer in the video game industry, Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series suffered a fall from grace. Though it was "The Angel of Darkness" (an apt title, considering the effect it had on the series) that seemed to send the Tomb Raider franchise into a tailspin, it was brought back to life with the release of "Legend". However, more recent titles like "Anniversary" and "Underworld" have garnered some criticism from the gaming industry and fans alike. To say the games were a bit disappointing is an understatement.
The reboot is set to show a weaker and less experienced Lara. Hopefully, it will breath new life into the game’s narrative. Crystal Dynamics felt that a prequel was necessary as Lara Croft had already been fully explored in terms of character.
A new survivalist aspect will be added to the reboot, with players needing to scavenge for food and water in order to keep Lara alive. The island locales will offer an open-world structure, rather than the level based progression in previous Tomb Raider titles.
The game sees young Lara shipwrecked on an island, rather than exploring tombs of her own volition. As a result, the player can expect a more refreshing and varied narrative than what they'd seen before in Tomb Raider games. The character of Lara will evolve over the course of the game, allowing her to tame parts of the island that may have been previously out of her reach.
This new game will be a great deal more intense compared to past entries in the series. It's primarily about pure survival on the mysterious island. And since the game will contain a great deal more violence, realistic violence, it is almost guaranteed to be rated 'M' for Mature. When the game is released is anyone's guess at this point. Some believe it may not be out until sometime in 2012. Of course, that's subject to the whims/plans of Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics.
With motion capture technology at the helm, the Tomb Raider reboot will see a much smoother presentation than before. Having a darker tone and aesthetic to it, the Tomb Raider franchise looks prepared to re-invent itself and will include gameplay innovations as well. How it is received by fans and the gaming world remains to be seen.
The Search for Lara Croft .......
Kylie Babbington is a 23 year-old British actress who currently portrays rich girl Jodie Gold on the BBC television series "Eastenders". Kylie was born December 31, 1987 in Havering, London to James Babbington and Wendy Wooldridge. She studied acting and musical theatre at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and appeared in productions of Assassins, Elergies, Essex Girls and Odin. In 2010 she was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Jodie Gold, daughter of Vanessa Gold (Zöe Lucker) and a love interest for Darren Miller (Charlie G. Hawkins). The character she plays on Eastenders might seem a bit dippy, but she knows how to get what she wants! Within about half an hour on Albert Square she got herself a job in a beauty salon ("Booty") and a date with Darren Miller. And while she was off busy doing that, her mother was buying her a new car. Rich girl Jodie's mollycoddled by her parents, but that doesn't make her spoiled. She's kind, sympathetic with a heart of... well... gold. Could this relative unknown actress be ready to take on the role of a young Lara Croft in a reboot of the Tomb Raider film franchise?
The Adventure Begins ......
Soon after graduating from university, Lara Croft boards the research vessel "Endurance" and embarks on her first great adventure. With Captain Conrad Roth, Lara and the Endurance set off in search of lost treasures off the coast of Japan. She believes this expedition will lead to a discovery of great significance and Lara will finally make her mark on the world! But a vicious storm cuts her ambitious dreams short when it rips the Endurance in two and sends her overboard. Lara is knocked unconscious and awakens to find herself bound and hanging upside down in a cavern lit only by a few burning torches. The nothingness that engulfed her is first broken by the sound of something heavy dragging across wet sediment, punctuated by soft groaning and the dripping of water.
The blackness yields to the heavy imagery of a poorly lit room. Just as Lara begins to regain her senses, the world shifts off-kilter, followed by the sound of rope protesting as it is pulled taut. Lara regains consciousness with a gasp, her chin visibly trembling before panic overtakes her. She finds herself imprisoned inside a canvas sack, suspended upside down from a lofty height above a cavern floor, only her head exposed. Lara is naked ...... in a figurative sense; she has no tools or weapons at her disposal. She finds herself all alone, except for some decaying corpses that didn't manage to break out of this predicament and she doesn't intend to succumb to the same fate. Dangling beside her is another captive, a dead one. Drawing motivation from her fear, Lara begins to struggle with aid from the player; able to do little more than sway back and forth. "I can't die like this," she protests with an edge of hysteria.
As she builds momentum, Lara crashes into the sack next to her, unintentionally lighting it on fire from a sea of candles. The deceased inhabitant drops to the floor below. This small string of actions is Crystal Dynamics way of introducing the player to Tomb Raider's physics-based world and establishing a vocabulary of tools that Lara can exploit to help her survive. Lara knows an obvious truth .... cloth and rope burn. If she can do the unthinkable, there is a way out of her plight. "This is going to hurt," she mutters to herself .... swinging until her own constaraints ignite. Lara screams as the flames engulf her and braces for the freefall to the floor below. Lara Croft is no longer the epitome of grace. The camera slows to a crawl, anticipating her arrival from the perspective of the floor. A metal spike comes to focus in the foreground. As foreshadowed, the object skewering her side, .... another scream erupts from her lips.
The echoing outburst gives way to incoherent muttering, as the player must aid Lara in pulling the spike from her side. The screen flashes as the spike pulls free, and all sound is drowned out by Lara's frantic heartbeat. With the object discarded, she stands up wearily to show us the full extent of her condition. Mud cakes her face, arms, and chest, with only sweat and tears exposing small rivers of bare skin. Her hair is pulled back, but disheveled; her rugged pants are soaked and covered in grime. Blood clearly marks the spikes entrance and exit wound on Lara's gray top. Another noteworthy detail about her apearance is what's missing. A Lara Croft without twin pistols is an unconventional sight.
"What .... ?" Lara stutters, the single word elongated. "What is this place?" Pushed forward by fear and adrenaline, the player navigates Lara through the cave's narrow corridors, searching for a way out of the desparate situation. The serpentine walls give way to a large room lit by candles, but the waning claustrophobia does little to alleviate tension. A human corpse is strung up in front of a sacrificial altar.
The most unnerving realization is that the body is still fresh, unlike the skeletal companions perched amongst treasure from a variety of cultures and centuries past. "Oh God, no! What did they do to you?" Lara questions the lifeless form, barely lucid from pain. Alarmed by the sound of footsteps, Lara lets loose an expletive before picking up a torch from the wall and pressing on. She doesn't give the relics that litter the room a second glance. Lara is focused on survival. Professional curiosity will have to wait.
A weave of cloth and debris obstructs Lara's path, and from prior experience the player knows the torch will burn it away. In a similar case of cause and effect, by passing through a veil of water, Lara loses her flame. After relighting her torch in an adjacent room, Lara drops to her knees to crawl through a narrow tunnel, only to find her legs ripped from under her as a man (one of the scavangers native to the underground dwelling) grabs her from behind. While the player stuggles to regain her footing, the mysterious figure trys to calm her with reassurances. "Stop! Stop it! Shhhhh!" He echoes. "Help! Help! I'm trying to help!"
If you give in and cease the struggle, the deranged man will pin Lara to the ground before plunging a makeshift blade into her chest, his free hand closing her lifeless eyes and continuing to coo softly in her ear. Next to nothing has been revealed about these antagonists or their motivations, but Lara was right to be wary. These foes aren't simple beasts. They are conniving creatures and the embodiment of the island's hostility. "I have to get out of here!!"
About the changes to the game ......
With her iconic ponytail, tight-fitting outfits and dual pistols on her hips, Lara Croft quickly eclipsed the franchise that once spawned her wide popularity. Her success had stemmed, in part, from her projection of both power and sexual fantasy. It was almost impossible to overlook the accentuated curves, or the invincibility and effortless athleticism of the character. Some people saw Lara Croft as an inspiration, ..... while others shunned her as merely a chauvinistic objectification. Lara was independent, intelligent, capable, deadly, resourceful, athletic and, of course, sexy. She maintained a rabid following, and became an icon that transcended her flaws. Lara Croft was exactly who fans wanted her to be, and for a time, that was enough.
Just about everything eventually loses steam, such was the case with Lara Croft. The Tomb Raider games suffered, her market appeal diminished, and her reign eventually came to an end. Halting the franchise's steady decline was left to the people at Crystal Dynamics. But even with a trilogy of solid releases (Legend, Anniversary, Underworld), the studio recognized that the character of Lara Croft hadn't really evolved with the times. New and substantial leads had taken her place in video games. With the industry constantly evolving and commanding meaningful experiences for players, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos knew they were at a crossroads with Tomb Raider. Rebooting the franchise, via an origin story, wasn't so much a choice as it was an act of necessity. CD knew that they had to research potential avenues for a redesign of both the character and the game.
"Iconic characters, whether they are heroic or not, are obvious products of their time." said Timothy Longo Jr., franchise director at Crystal Dynamics. "Specifically with franchises, they need to evolve with the times. When they don't, you can tell. They will fall. Crystal was bold in saying 'We have to do something big. Something different.'"
Implementing that change in the character and the game was another issue entirely. Examination of the character yielded a recurring sentiment. Lara's biggest downfall was her aura of invincibility. It may have worked in an age of superficial fun, when no amount of physical exertion, pain, or heartache would affect her. This appearance further condemned her as a character of all style and no substance. Crystal Dynamics knew they needed a new, younger Lara, .... a character that gamers would be able to identify with and care about.
"This is a survival story. This is an origin story." Longo continues. "Our goal is to take a very human and relatable character, and break her down before we rebuild her - to put her through survival challenges and have her come out a changed person, someone the player will relate to."
Crystal Dynamics set out to redesign Lara Croft not as a sex symbol or symbol of female empowerment, but as an entirely new character born out of something we had never seen before in video games. To mold the character into a culturally relevant hero worthy of the attention that once came so effortlessly, Crystal Dynamics realized that they must break her first. Make no mistake, this Lara Croft is not a shadow of her predecessor, ...... nor is the game a precursor to her other adventures.
The new Lara is a woman all her own. She won't be invincible, or invulnerable. She will still have the intelligence, strength and beauty of the old Lara - but the new Lara bleeds and bruises, trembles in fear at times and even cries. Ultimately though, she fights through it all. Lara is no longer demure and seemingly all-knowing. Her face often displays a grimace of pain and fear, ........ but what doesn't kill Lara will only make her stronger!
The Search for Lara Croft .......
Rumor has it that Olivia Wilde is now one of the names being suggested for the role of Lara Croft in the upcoming new Tomb Raider movie. It's been said by some insiders that the next Tomb Raider film will be far darker and more serious. Of course, they need to get a top director and a smart script in order to make Lara Croft an empowering character for women as well as a popular one with men. Olivia will soon be seen onscreen with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in the sci-fi action movie "Cowboys & Aliens" when it hits cinemas on August 12. It's being said that the sexy "Tron: Legacy" rising star is being lined up as the next Lara Croft in the proposed Tomb Raider reboot. Olivia Wilde was born March 10, 1984 in New York City. She is the daughter of journalist parents Andrew and Leslie Cockburn and the granddaughter of writer James Helvick. Her father was born in London, England, and raised in Ireland. Although she grew up in Washington D.C., she spent her summers in Ireland and studied in the renowned Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. Olivia attended Phillips Academy, a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles. She got an internship job as a casting director for the movie The Girl Next Door. She was given a small role in the movie starring Elisha Cuthbert. Olivia also appeared in the films Alpha Dog and Turistas. On television, Olivia has had regular roles in the short-lived shows Skins, The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. In 2007, another big break came her way when she was cast in the new team of interns in the FOX medical drama "House". After it was reported that Olivia had returned to work on "House" this year following work on two major films, rumors began to circulate that because of Wilde's theatrical commitments, her character, Thirteen, will succumb to Huntington's disease in this season's final episodes. Considering her growing popularity in the world of film, a storyline that would result in Thirteen being written off the series is not much of a stretch. Despite Wilde's character being a fan favorite, her potential scheduling conflicts and future availability could put House producers in a position where continuing Thirteen's storyline would hurt the overall series. Wilde has dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland.
For those who are not aware of it, many custom levels built now don't even require that you have the Tomb Raider Level Editor already installed on your computer. You can download these levels/games (free) from the TRLE link above and play them on your PC. Happy raiding!
The "Tomb Raider" series .....
- Tomb Raider (1996)
- Tomb Raider 2
- Tomb Raider 3
- Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
- Tomb Raider: Chronicles
- Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
- Tomb Raider: Legend
- Tomb Raider: Underworld
- The Golden Mask (Tomb Raider 2 with bonus levels)
- The Lost Artifact (Tomb Raider 3 continuation with bonus levels)
- Tomb Raider: Anniversary (a remake of the original)
- Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light (isometric camera, 2 player co-op)
Game Saves
| saved games from: | type | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness | Windows PC saves |
|
Tomb Raider: Legend | Windows PC saves |
|
Tomb Raider: Anniversary | Windows PC saves |
|
Tomb Raider: Underworld | Windows PC saves |
Demos
| download title | type | |
|---|---|---|
| |
Tomb Raider: Legend | Windows PC demo |
|
Tomb Raider: Anniversary | Windows PC demo |
| |
Tomb Raider: Underworld | Windows PC demo |
| |
Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light | Windows PC demo |
Screenshots / Concept Art Wallpaper
| resolution | screenshots / concept art ...................................... |
|---|---|
| 1024 x 768 | Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness |
| 1024 x 768 | Tomb Raider: Legend |
| 1024 x 768 | Tomb Raider: Anniversary |
| 1024 x 768 | Tomb Raider: Underworld |
| widescreen | Tomb Raider (2012) concept art |
Lara Croft Gets Real ...
Lara's getting a complete personality makeover in the rebooted game from Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics. In the new game, there's a point where Lara comes to the realization that she has to ascend a mountain by herself to radio for help. Captain Conrad Roth, her mentor, is injured and therefore unable to make the journey with her. He urges her on, "You can do it. You're a Croft." he says. "I don't know if I'm that kind of Croft," she replies. That self-doubt she conveys to Roth may be one of the most authentic things to ever come out of the mouth of Lara Croft, ..... or any video game character for that matter. This is a weaker and less experienced Lara. We want to see her succeed because of her new vulnerability, and because we can relate to her. The character has evolved. Crystal Dynamics is hoping that this will breathe new life into the game’s narrative.
Now 21 and fresh from academy, Lara is eager to prove herself to the world. This drive places Lara aboard the salvage vessel 'Endurance' with Captain Roth, an ex-Royal Marine commando known for his willingnes to bend (or even break) the law to secure a prize. Together, the crew sets off on a voyage to search for lost relics off the coast of Japan. Before they reach the island, the expedition is derailed by a massive storm that cleaves the Endurance in two, leaving an unprepared Croft lost in a sea of blackness.
Let's face it, most female video game characters are either damsels in distress or hardcore badasses who seem to have a "shoot first and ask questions later" type of mentality. Lara's been a two dimensional character over the years. Sure, she was always independent, intelligent, capable, deadly, resourceful, athletic and, of course, sexy. And yes, there are a large number of gamers who loved Lara's spunk, .... but there were others who shunned her as merely a chauvinistic objectification because of her ridiculous measurements and skimpy outfits. There was a time when Lara Croft was exactly who fans wanted her to be, and for a time, that was enough. But that time is over.
After a the debut trailer of the new Tomb Raider, we saw that the huge breasts and skimpy shorts are gone. The old Lara has been replaced by a still beautiful, but more realistic-looking young woman, ....... with weaknesses to contrast her strengths. She's been tossed into a frightening situation, and she acts appropriately scared. Hey, if you saw a body strung up on some sort of cultish-like altar, how would you react? The old "teflon-coated" Lara would have simply walked right by, with barely any sign of compassion and humanity. In the reboot of Tomb Raider, the sight makes her think about the predicament she's in and how to get the hell out of there! "Oh, God no," she says. "What did they do to you?"
The character is vulnerable ..... without necessarily being weak. Lara's hesitant to kill, but she's not a sniveling coward either. And that's the distinction Crystal Dynamics wanted to make. Even though the situation she's been thrust into is a complete and utter nightmare, she doesn't give up. Lara knows she must push forward in spite of her fears and prove to herself that she can handle anything! I've been waiting for Tomb Raider to depict a "real" woman, a real human being for quite some time now. The new Lara Croft shows both confidence and uncertainty, courage and fear, power and compassion. She is pushed to the limits of human fortitude. A very young, and very mortal, Lara Croft must endure both physical and emotional trauma in order to survive. We'll see if the new Lara can deliver the goods in 2012.
About the "reboot" ....
The new game emphasizes the reconstructed origins of Lara Croft. We soon learn that the mysterious island upon which Lara has landed is populated by more than just hostiles. A handful of survivors aboard the 'Endurance' have managed to stay alive. Fresh from university and in search of lost relics, a 21-year-old Lara Croft journeys to an island off the coast of Japan aboard the Endurance, a research vessel helmed by Captain Conrad Roth.
Before anchoring at bay, the ship is wrecked by an unforeseen storm leaving Lara separated from the other survivors and washed ashore. She must endure physical and emotional torture in order to survive. We're left pondering the mystery of the island. Why is it impossible to escape the island's gravitational pull? Why has its shore become a graveyard of dilapidated vessels?
Tomb Raider Fan Fiction (downloads)
- these downloadable stories are in Wordpad format
Free Tomb Raider Custom Levels
Editor's Choice: "Beyond the Scion" - from TRLE.net
Some time ago.....Lara Croft embarked on a search for the three parts of the Scion - a set of artifacts forged by the three rulers of Atlantis that were said to harness great power when all three pieces were combined. In Tomb Raider 1, we saw how Lara followed the trail of the scion pieces through the ancient tombs of Qualopec and Tihocan, and finally re-discovered the Lost City of Atlantis, where she defeated Natla and her ‘new breed’.
We saw the pyramid of Atlantis destroyed and (presumably) along with it the scion. Now, we explore a ‘what if’ scenario. What if all three rulers of Atlantis were immortals, and the other two rulers - Tihocan and Qualopec, like Natla, had survived the destruction of Atlantis and were able to take on modern day identities just as Natla did? What if Lara acquired the three scion pieces before the destruction of Atlantis? We begin by returning to Lara's past and picking up the story prior to the end of Tomb Raider 1. Believe me, if you're a big Tomb Raider fan and need a new TR game ...... try TRLE.net. Beyond the Scion and other levels can be downloaded free at TRLE. The tomb raider level editor is NOT needed for this great level. The level was designed by Scott Ginn (aka EssGee) of Australia. See the link below to download this and other free tomb raider levels.
To download TRLE custom levels: Click here
