Post by shadow on Apr 6, 2005 8:49:33 GMT -5
Eidos lifts the lid on the new Tomb Raider game. Plus: Lara gets a face-lift
Soon-to-be-purchased publisher Eidos has unveiled Tomb Raider Legend to the world, along with pictures of an all-new, nipped and tucked Lara.
Tomb Raider Legend will be the seventh game in the series, following the critically panned Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness, and intends to reinvigorate both the flagging series and the delightful Ms Croft.
And doesn't she look lovely? With a corset-thin waist and child-bearing hips, she's looking much more curvaceous. Which is nice.
See for yourself by clicking the front and back shots we've uploaded, just for you.
Back to the game and Eidos is keen to explain the 'brand direction' for Tomb Raider Legend.
New Lara development unit Crystal Dynamics (yes, the same clowns responsible for Gex and Pandemonium) has embarked on what was described as a "soul searching mission" to rediscover Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider magic that made the franchise so huge in the first place.
This involved playing through all the old games and reading all the old reviews to gain some clue as to what happened.
It's obvious what went wrong: the sequels were rushed to meet deadlines set by fat men in suits who wanted to make quick and regular cash from a trusted and popular franchise. Little were they aware that, by releasing titles devoid of the imagination and design of the original game, they would eventually run the company into the ground. Which they have - Eidos is now facing a buy out.
Still, Crystal Dynamics, clearly lacking any cynicism, went looking for enlightenment. As Eidos' brand marketing VP Chip Blundell put it, "We took ourselves back to Lara's origins, asked ourselves the hard questions and challenged ourselves to think differently.
"Who is Lara Croft?" Blundell continued. "What makes her tick? How is she relevant today? Only by answering these questions could we ensure that gamers get the experience they deserve with the character they love."
We think the questions that need answering are ones about how the actual story or gameplay will be changed and made fun again, which Eidos sort of answered by saying that they plan to boost the "fundamental explore-and-solve adventure experience".
Other than that though, it's all about Lara at this stage. In its lengthy adventure of discovery, Crystal Dynamics has clearly learned one thing, Lara is what the people love and it's Lara that has to be pushed to the fore if they're going to care again.
"Tomb Raider Legend revives the athletic, intelligent and entertaining adventurer who won the hearts and minds of gamers worldwide," Eidos explains.
"Lara comes alive with intricately animated expressions, moves and abilities. An arsenal of modern equipment, such as a magnetic grappling device, binoculars, frag grenades, a personal lighting device and communications equipment, allows gamers to experience tomb raiding as never before."
Oddly, the game is also marked for a PC, PS2 and current-gen Xbox release, going against recent persistent talk of the game coming to Xbox 2, which, given the timeframes involved (Xbox 2 is slated for a November release and Tomb Raider Legend is expected in 2006), seemed likely.
Perhaps an Xbox 2 announcement will come later, after Microsoft has officially unveiled the machine at E3 in May.
Soon-to-be-purchased publisher Eidos has unveiled Tomb Raider Legend to the world, along with pictures of an all-new, nipped and tucked Lara.
Tomb Raider Legend will be the seventh game in the series, following the critically panned Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness, and intends to reinvigorate both the flagging series and the delightful Ms Croft.
And doesn't she look lovely? With a corset-thin waist and child-bearing hips, she's looking much more curvaceous. Which is nice.
See for yourself by clicking the front and back shots we've uploaded, just for you.
Back to the game and Eidos is keen to explain the 'brand direction' for Tomb Raider Legend.
New Lara development unit Crystal Dynamics (yes, the same clowns responsible for Gex and Pandemonium) has embarked on what was described as a "soul searching mission" to rediscover Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider magic that made the franchise so huge in the first place.
This involved playing through all the old games and reading all the old reviews to gain some clue as to what happened.
It's obvious what went wrong: the sequels were rushed to meet deadlines set by fat men in suits who wanted to make quick and regular cash from a trusted and popular franchise. Little were they aware that, by releasing titles devoid of the imagination and design of the original game, they would eventually run the company into the ground. Which they have - Eidos is now facing a buy out.
Still, Crystal Dynamics, clearly lacking any cynicism, went looking for enlightenment. As Eidos' brand marketing VP Chip Blundell put it, "We took ourselves back to Lara's origins, asked ourselves the hard questions and challenged ourselves to think differently.
"Who is Lara Croft?" Blundell continued. "What makes her tick? How is she relevant today? Only by answering these questions could we ensure that gamers get the experience they deserve with the character they love."
We think the questions that need answering are ones about how the actual story or gameplay will be changed and made fun again, which Eidos sort of answered by saying that they plan to boost the "fundamental explore-and-solve adventure experience".
Other than that though, it's all about Lara at this stage. In its lengthy adventure of discovery, Crystal Dynamics has clearly learned one thing, Lara is what the people love and it's Lara that has to be pushed to the fore if they're going to care again.
"Tomb Raider Legend revives the athletic, intelligent and entertaining adventurer who won the hearts and minds of gamers worldwide," Eidos explains.
"Lara comes alive with intricately animated expressions, moves and abilities. An arsenal of modern equipment, such as a magnetic grappling device, binoculars, frag grenades, a personal lighting device and communications equipment, allows gamers to experience tomb raiding as never before."
Oddly, the game is also marked for a PC, PS2 and current-gen Xbox release, going against recent persistent talk of the game coming to Xbox 2, which, given the timeframes involved (Xbox 2 is slated for a November release and Tomb Raider Legend is expected in 2006), seemed likely.
Perhaps an Xbox 2 announcement will come later, after Microsoft has officially unveiled the machine at E3 in May.