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Joystiq Weekly: Final Fantasy 15, The Crew review, readers' favorite PS1 games and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. The Final Fantasy series has had a fun couple of weeks lately, but between the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 coming to the PS4 and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster's incoming port, most of its news is focused on the past. Leave it to the spring release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, a take on an old PSP game, to bring things into the present – those that grab a copy from Type-0's first run will get an exclusive demo of Final Fantasy 15. So, Final Fantasy fans: Is it going to work? Are you going for Type-0 HD solely because of the demo, or do you kind of want to play the game anyway? Don't worry if it's the former – plenty of people only bought Crackdown to get into the Halo 3 beta before even realizing developer Realtime Worlds' superhero sandbox had its own merits. Demos and ports weren't the only thing that happened this week – The internet seemingly frustrated Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada enough to keep a character out of the North American release, we reviewed The Crew and Never Alone, and we highlighted our readers' favorite PS1 games. Those stories and more are all waiting for you after the break!
PSN Tuesday: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Game of Thrones
T-T-T-Tuesday, Junior. This week, PSN gets four games on PS4 and five on PS3. On PS4, we have Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams: Director's Cut, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (our review's here), Rock Boshers DX: Director's Cut and Tennis in the Face. On PS3, there's episode one of Telltale's Game of Thrones, JUJU, Scourge Outbreak, Suikoden 2 and The Grip Games PS3 Collection. Demos for Game of Thrones and Scourge Outbreak are live today as well. Vita gets Rock Boshers DX as a Cross Buy with the PS4 version, and classic JRPG Suikoden 2 as a standalone purchase, alongside Flyhunter Origins, Boss and more. [Image: Square Enix]
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris review: Danger zone
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC If you've got some friends over and are itching for game that requires teamwork, coordination, planning and lots and lots of yelling, then you'll be well pleased by Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, the isometric-view follow-up to the excellent Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Quick tip about the yelling before we move on: Urging your friend to "go there and stand on the THING" really isn't nearly as helpful as it sounds in your head. The gist of Temple of Osiris is that Lara and rival archaeologist Carter started a chain reaction of whoops when they grabbed the staff of Egyptian god Osiris, an ancient and (surprise!) magical artifact. First, they released Osiris' wife, Isis, and her son, Horus (also gods), from imprisonment, which is the good news. The slightly less great news is that they also gave the evil Set (yep, he's a god, too) a way out of Duat – the underworld – where he'd been trapped ever since he chopped his brother Osiris into pieces and scattered him around Egypt. As if that particular family reunion wasn't awkward enough, a giant crocodile named Ammit has you marked for death and won't stop coming for you until you've been eaten in one gulp. The solution to your croc-entree problems is to track down the pieces of Osiris and restore him to power so that he can take down his brother Set. His pieces are hidden in a number of trap-laden tombs teeming with giant scarabs and undead nasties. As fate would have it, though, Lara just happens to have some expertise in this area.
Team Fortress 2's Heavy tries on Lara Croft's hotpants
Valve recently held a contest asking players to design the best Tomb Raider-themed customization items for Team Fortress 2 as a sly, interactive way to promote the Steam debut of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. The publisher then specifically asked players not to dress the portly Heavy in Lara's butt-sculpting khaki shorts. But, because the Internet abhors polite suggestions, creators Void and MultiTrip did just that and won the contest. Their entry, the aptly titled "Jungle Booty," is seen above. Other, less alarmingly sexy winners include Crown of the Old Kingdom which grants the Team Fortress 2 cast a pharaoh-style headdress in an array of colors, and Tomb Readers which features Lara's sunglasses from the original Tomb Raider 3 box art. The creators of these three submissions will see their submission featured on the Team Fortress 2 in-game store and will receive a massive bundle of over 50 games published by Square Enix. [Image: Valve]
Joystiq Streams: Raiding Lara Croft & The Temple of Osiris [Show's over!]
It really hasn't been that long since we hung out with Lara Croft. Capital L, capital C Lara Croft! The shorts and blue tank top, quick to kick a tiger in the face Lara Croft. Still, adventures with her younger, white tank top-wearing self have dominated Lara time these past couple of years. No more! Now it's time to hang with gaming's favorite grave robber in Lara Croft and The Temple of Osiris! Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM), Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) and Xav de Matos (@Xav) will dig into the Xbox One version of the game on today's Joystiq Streams. Tune into Joystiq.com/Twitch at 4:00PM EST for a look at Lara's debut on Xbox One and hang with the Joystiq crew. Dig the stream? Follow us on Twitch! [Images: Square-Enix]
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris dev diary talks puzzles
Crystal Dynamics' latest developer diary for Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris discusses the game's puzzles, which change based on the number of cooperating players solving them at a given moment. Temple of Osiris will launch on December 9 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Ankh out with Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris' dev diary series
Ahead of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris hitting PS4, Xbox One and PC on December 9, Square Enix has a new dev diary series for the four-player follow-up to Guardian of Light. The first vid goes into something I saw plenty of when I went hands-on with the isometric puzzle-platformer at Gamescom: the legendary art of griefing. [Image: Square Enix]
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris UK pre-order bonuses announced
Square Enix revealed a series of retailer-specific pre-order bonuses it has in store for Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris in the UK, including a selection of franchise crossover character skins and items that grant in-game perks. Players who pre-order Temple of Osiris at Amazon.co.uk will receive the Deus Ex Pack, which includes a unique combat rifle and an Augment ring that gives a 10 percent discount on in-game treasure chests. GAME customers get the Lara Croft Legend Pack, which bundles Tomb Raider Legend-themed skins, a golden pistol, and a health-regenerating Legend ring. Pre-order the digital version of Temple of Osiris and you'll get the Hitman Pack, granting access to Agent 47's Silverballers, unique character skins, and a ring that deals increased weapon damage. Pre-orders are available up until the game's UK launch on December 9. A North American release date has not been announced. [Image: Square Enix]
Being a part of Lara Croft and the Temple of Griefing
Griefing is a tricky art; it can be problematic to give teammates the freedom to sabotage each other, and there are plenty of games where I've found that freedom an irritating barrier to progress and fun. After playing Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris with two devs who constantly undermined each other to hilarious effect, I'm hopeful the four-player isometric Tomb Raider will prove an example of good griefing rather than bad. Its predecessor, Guardian of Light, allowed for griefing with things like dropping the rope while your partner was mid-climb. In our Temple of Osiris session at Gamescom, dropping the grapple hook rope was just about the first thing Crystal Dynamics' Christopher Johnston did to producer Robert Siwiak, sending his character helplessly into the abyss. You could tell the grief wasn't going to stop there. "Oh, oh oops. Sorry. Sorry, Robert," Johnston chuckled, "It was a total accident..."
Catch up on the latest trailers from Microsoft's Gamescom press conference
Microsoft made a ton of announcements during its Gamescom 2014 press conference -- so many that we could hardly keep up! Here's a collection of newly-launched trailers that you might have missed during the commotion. Hit the break below for new looks at Quantum Break, Dying Light, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, and other upcoming games for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Lara Croft discovers Temple of Osiris Gold Edition
It's only fair that fans of Lara Croft like to collect things, so with that said, Crystal Dynamics has revealed the Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris: Gold Edition. It includes: an art book, folding map, Season Pass for the game and a 3" Lara Croft figurine. The season pass includes add-on packs that will have six additional costumes and "will challenge Lara, Carter, Horus and Isis to conquer new tombs and collect a treasure trove of unique rings, amulets and weapons." Pre-ordering on the PlayStation network nets Hitman themed costumes and Agent 47's Silverballer pistols and Agent ring, which provides more weapon damage and powerful bombs.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris launching in December
You can co-operate like an Egyptian when Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris hits Xbox One, PS4 and PC on December 9. Crystal Dynamics Executive Producer Scott Amos revealed the date to IGN, saying regards the wait, "We look at this game and we put it together in a way that we just love it. It's a fan favorite, it's something that we want to do right." As we saw at E3 the follow-up to Guardian of Light plays as before, combining the intrepid explorer's world with top-down, twin-stick shooting and co-operative gameplay. The most obvious difference is the switch from two to four-player co-op, with Lara now joined by rival raider Carter and imprisoned Egyptian gods Horus and Isis. One welcome change from the original is that, according to Crystal Dynamics, both online and local co-op will be available at launch. [Image: Square Enix]
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will have online co-op at launch
The creators of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris can't have forgotten the sour note in the choir of praise around the previous game: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light launched without online co-op, which was added weeks later in a patch. That won't happen again, I learned in a meeting with Crystal Dynamics this morning. The custodians of all things Croft are planning to have online co-op ready to go when the game arrives ("soon") on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Single-screen top-down tomb raiding also returns, of course, now with a diverse cast of four playable characters: Lara Croft, a rival explorer named Carter Bell and two imprisoned Egyptian gods, Horus and Isis. The game will support a mixture of local and online players that make up the adventurers, and can also be completed solo. You can read more in our preview, which calls the Temple of Osiris another exciting venue for the older Ms. Croft, once again played by Keely Hawes.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris doesn't mess with success
Relax, Crystal Dynamics hasn't ruined the wonderful, action-fueled, puzzle-solving fun that made Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light such a joy. When it comes to the basics, at least, Lara Croft and the Tomb of Osiris has it down. The fundamentals have hardly been altered. The visuals have received a next-gen boost, the setting has changed and there's a new cast of supporting characters – Lara is now exploring Egypt with a rival raider and a pair of Egyptian gods – but the twin-stick shooting and cooperative spirit that drove Guardian of Light is intact. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris doesn't try to reinvent Guardian of Light's winning formula, and that's great news.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris announced, sequel to Guardian of Light
Rise of the Tomb Raider won't be the only upcoming adventure for a certain lady with an affinity for archaeological mysteries; Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris from Crystal Dynamics is coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One sometime "soon," executive producer Scot Amos revealed on a Spike E3 stream. A sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, the new game will once again feature a top-down perspective and gameplay focused around puzzles and exploration. New to Temple of Osiris will be four-player co-op, because hey, it's dangerous to go alone. [Image: Crystal Dynamics]
