All Articles: Tomb Raider

Spike TV VGAs: Lara Croft doesn’t raid any tombs in the latest Tomb Raider trailer

Lara Croft does a lot of things in the latest Tomb Raider trailer, which was unveiled last night at the Spike TV Video Game Awards. She uses a bow to shoot would-be attackers. She jumps onto a moving helicopter. She sneaks up on a guy and suffocates him. She blows **** up real good. But you know what she never does?

Lara Croft never raids any tombs in this Tomb Raider trailer!

Oh well, at least this reboot looks like a great survival story. And we’ll get a chance to play it ourselves when Tomb Raider is released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on March 5, 2013.

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BioShock Infinite, Tomb Raider to debut “World Premiere” trailers at tonight’s Spike TV VGAs

In addition to honoring the greatest games of 2012, the Spike TV Video Game Awards will also showcase a wide variety of “World Premiere” trailers for some of 2013’s most anticipated games. You can add two more to the list as new trailers from BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider have been confirmed for the awards show.

You can view a teaser of the BioShock Infinite trailer above, but you’ll have to wait until tonight (9 PM Eastern to be exact) to get your next glimpse at Lara Croft’s return.

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Tomb Raider Collector’s Edition announcement washes ashore

If you’ve ever wanted to manhandle Lara Croft, Crystal Dynamics plans to give you the chance when Tomb Raider is released on March 5, 2013.

To get a bit more specific, the developer recently announced a Collector’s Edition for the game that’ll contain a fully posable 8″ action figure (which is definitely not a doll) of Ms. Croft. The Collector’s Edition will retail for $99.99 and come packed in a “survival tin.” Other items in the Collector’s Edition include:

  • Endurance Survival Kit Packaging: A survival tin salvaged from the ill-fated Endurance. The tin houses a copy of the game.
  • Play Arts Kai Lara Croft Figurine: Fully posable figurine with over 40 points of articulation. The dirt on her body and clothes has been realistically recreated to tell the tale of Lara’s fierce fight for survival on a desolate island. Comes with alternate set of three (3) hands, bow and arrow, shotgun, handgun, and climbing axe. Figure Size: Approx 8.0” Tall.
  • 15” x 19” Double Sided Island Map and Poster: Discover key landmarks from the mysterious island of Yamati, where Lara Croft and her fellow castaways were marooned after the Endurance shipwreck. On the reverse is a poster size image of the box art that epitomizes Lara’s origin story.
  • Lithographic Print: 5” x 7” heavy stock lithograph print with matte frame, designed by Crystal Dynamic’s Senior Art Director, Brian Horton. Painting by Brenoch Adams.
  • Experience Shields: Three Iron-on badges of the game’s key icons: Animal Instincts, Climbing Axe, Fire Arrow.
  • CD Soundtrack: Tomb Raider Original Soundtrack ‘Survivalist cut’: A collection of 10 tracks totaling over 60 minutes of music from the game.
  • Downloadable Content: Weapons Pack – A selection of weapons to help Lara survive against the island’s inhabitants.

The Collector’s Edition is only available for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The pricepoint and bonus content for a download-only PC Special Edition will be announced soon.

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Rhianna Pratchett announced as lead writer on Tomb Raider reboot

The gay tortoise-owning, tea-loving, goddess of game writing that is Rhianna Pratchett was revealed by Crystal Dynamics to be the lead writer of their Tomb Raider reboot. The game scribe has had a hand in crafting the stories for several well-regarded games in the past including Heavenly Sword and cult classic Mirror’s Edge.

“I grew up playing Tomb Raider, uncovering the world’s secrets and unearthing its treasures; I have lived and died as Lara Croft, but nothing comes close to the challenge of re-writing her,” Pratchett said. “Seldom do we get the opportunity to reimagine and reinvent a legend, so getting my narrative hands on Miss Croft was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. It was going back to the genesis of video game action heroines and exploring how to make such an iconic character meaningful and relatable for gamers today.”

The announcement was made during this past weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, where Pratchett appeared at the Tomb Raider panel alongside the new voice of Lara Croft, Camille Luddington, creative director Noah Hughes, global brand director Karl Stewart and narrative designer John Stafford.

Creativity certainly runs in the Pratchett family as Rhianna’s father is Discworld writer Sir Terry Pratchett.

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Camilla Luddington is the voice and body of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider

The new Lara Croft made a major splash at the last two E3 Expos, but until now we never knew who provided her trademark English accent. Yesterday, Square Enix announced that Camilla Luddington, who has appeared on Californication and True Blood using an American accent, will be playng Ms. Croft in next year’s Tomb Raider. As well as lending her voice to the role, Square Enix confirmed that Luddington performed motion capture for developer Crystal Dynamics, so she’s also the body behind this version of Lara Croft.

“This has been one of the most important jobs for us to get right,” said Darrell Gallagher, the Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics. “This Tomb Raider game is very different to any other and we are demanding far more from the voice and performance acting than ever before as we take the franchise in a new direction.”

Tomb Raider will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on March 5, 2013.

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MS @ E3 12: New Tomb Raider will kick your butt

Crystal Dynamics showed up at the Microsoft Press Conference to show off some of the new Lara Croft game, and Lara kicks some serious butt. At first, I was just sort of like, wow, Lara brought a bow and arrow to a gun fight, but then she proceeded to take out every enemy in sight with it, in true Lara style. She goes from enemy to Quick Time Event to wielding a shotgun to a brutal adventure down a river, ending up in a plane lodged on a waterfall.

Simply entitled Tomb Raider, this is an origin story for Lara, which explains why her breasts aren’t busting out all over the place and her pants are actually comfortable instead of fashionable. I guess she hasn’t gotten to that part of her character development yet.

Croft is definitely at her badass-est here, taking a headshot and walking it off. This game feels a lot like Uncharted 2, and it’s funny to watch everything come full circle – all the Tomb Raider fans out there are probably grateful now that Naughty Dog raised the bar and Crystal Dynamics is answering the challenge.

In true Microsoft style, the first piece of DLC will be available exclusively on Xbox 360.

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Lara Croft raids her first tomb on March 5, 2013

“I hate tombs.”

It sounds like Lara Croft’s “female Indiana Jones” schtick hasn’t yet become her day job in this E3 2012 trailer for the rebooted Tomb Raider. The PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 game is now set for a March 5, 2013 and it looks to pack a punch. Lara’s “first adventure” is all about surviving this tomb raid and some of the action setpieces look like they would make Nathan Drake have a panic attack.

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Square Enix’s E3 2012 lineup features Tomb Raider, Hitman, Sleeping Dogs, a lot more

Square Enix is using this year’s E3 Expo to show off all the shiny new toys it acquired from Eidos and Activision over the last few years.

Those toys include the rebooted Tomb Raider; Hitman: Absolution, Agent 47’s next mission; and Sleeping Dogs, the Activision open-world game that was previously known as True Crime: Hong Kong.

Also on hand will be a slew of handheld titles (correction… 3DS titles) including Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Heroes of Ruin, and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. A new Final Fantasy game for iOS and Android, Final Fantasy Dimensions, will also make its debut at this year’s big show.

Finally, the publisher plans to showcase Quantum Conundrum, one of my favorite games from PAX East.

Hit the jump for Square Enix’s complete E3 lineup. (more…)

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