LaraCroft
Latest
You can try out 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' for free
If Shadow of the Tomb Raider passed you by, now is your chance to catch up with Lara Croft. A free trial of the latest entry in the Tomb Raider series is now available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows so you can try before you buy. The demo includes several of the early levels of the game, where you'll be dropped into Cozumel, Mexico during The Day of the Dead celebrations and tasked with finding a hidden tomb.
Obsession drives Lara in 'Shadow of the Tomb Raider'
Early trailers for Shadow of the Tomb Raider have portrayed Lara Croft as a ruthless killer. Someone who can hide in the jungle and silently dispatch armored soldiers with sophisticated traps and fast, calculated strikes. The underlying message is clear: The beloved archaeologist is now the hunter rather than the hunted.
'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' expansions include a co-op mode
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is all about the Mayan apocalypse, but the end of the narrative isn't the end of the world game. Developer/publisher Square Enix today unveiled what'll be included in Lara's latest season pass. Rather than calling them expansions this time out, the nomenclature is "Paths," and there are seven total as spotted by USGamer. Each will have its own challenge tomb, story, skill, outfit and weapons. They'll be doled out on a monthly basis and the first will add co-op play of some sort. Oddly, there isn't any info regarding how much the season pass will cost.
In ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider,’ Lara Croft has the skills to survive
2013's Tomb Raider redrew the beginnings of Lara Croft. Pretty much a teenager, she learned what she needed to survive. Two years later, in Rise of the Tomb Raider, her skills were refined and she seemed more in control, less hunted.The games did a good job of conveying this through the story and cutscenes and, crucially, the game itself, with skills being unlocked and earned as you progressed. Shadow of the Tomb Raider, then, is where Lara Croft embodies the powerful adventurer of decades past. I played through an early 45-minute preview and while it didn't touch too much on how Lara will grow this time around, she's at least found help in unusual places.
'Shadow of the Tomb Raider' arrives on September 14th, 2018
Square Enix has revealed that Lara Croft's next chapter will be Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the third and "climactic finale" in her origin trilogy. A new video teaser (below) has Lara fighting soldiers in the jungle, and finishes with a dramatic shot of an eclipse over some kind of ziggurat or pyramid. More importantly, the end of the video shows that the game will be fully revealed on April 27, 2018, and released on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC on September 14th, 2018.
'Tomb Raider' trailer teases the cinematic reboot of Lara Croft
What's worse: Reboots or video game adaptations? The new Tomb Raider manages to be both, which means it's already facing an uphill battle. The trailer for the wannabe blockbuster is here, with Alicia Vikander picking up the mantle from the original Lara Croft, Angelina Jolie. One Oscar winner replacing another is not a bad place to start. But, somehow the other puzzle pieces don't seem to align. At least from what's on offer in the new promo.
'Tomb Raider' writer Rhianna Pratchett says goodbye to Lara Croft
Rhianna Pratchett is a veteran video game writer who most recently penned the scripts for Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider, but today on Twitter she announced her amicable departure from the series. Pratchett helped usher Lara Croft, the franchise's legendary protagonist, into the modern era when Crystal Dynamics rebooted the series in 2013.
'Rise of the Tomb Raider' officially hits PCs this month
The latest Lara Croft game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, launches on Steam, the Windows store and other retailers on January 28th, Square Enix announced today. Rise of the Tomb Raider popped up on Steam last month with a vague promise to hit PC sometime in January. It wasn't the most complicated clue to figure out, but at least it turned out to be accurate.
Lara Croft's awesome mobile adventure adds a free tomb to raid
Lara Croft has a pretty big adventure on Xbox One this fall with Rise of the Tomb Raider, but her grand mobile mission is about grow too. Developer Square Enix Montreal announced it's dropping "The Shard of Life" expansion for Lara Croft GO tomorrow for free on Android and iOS (sorry, Windows Phone folks) with some 26 fresh puzzles to tackle while you're waiting in line at the grocery store. More than that, the publisher is knocking 40 percent off the game's price -- it'll run you $2.99 for a limited time. Oh and its hosting a Twitch event tasking the game's community to solve the new puzzles.
Playdate: Giving away a 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' Xbox One bundle
So you want to play the new timed-exclusive Tomb Raider game, but you don't have an Xbox One. We might be able to help with that: today on Engadget Playdate, we're streaming Rise of the Tomb Raider and giving one lucky viewer a chance to win a 1TB Xbox One (with the game, of course). Want in? Simply hit the contest widget after the break. Want to see what we're giving out? Join us on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, the Engadget Gaming homepage or right here in this post starting at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific. Good luck! Winner: Congratulations to Angelina W. of Chandler, AZ!
Twitch rewards you for watching 'Tomb Raider' on the Xbox One app
Live-streaming platform Twitch is handing out in-game points to people who watch Rise of the Tomb Raider via the Xbox One app. Plus, viewers on any platform have the ability to mess with their favorite Tomb Raider streams when the game is in Expedition Mode: Once prompted, people in chat can vote to activate one of two cards, which alter gameplay in specific ways. Some cards remove health regeneration, add armor to enemies, grant players more melee damage or enable "Big Head Mode," for example. Voting rounds appear every six minutes or so, and this only works if the streamer uses the Xbox One Twitch app to broadcast the game. Now, let's talk about those rewards.
18 ways to (nearly) die with Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
Lara Croft is basically a superhero. She leaps with the power of someone bitten by a radioactive kangaroo, climbs sheer rock faces like her hands are coated in glue and spontaneously zip-lines down hundreds of ancient, convenient ropes like she's strolling down to Starbucks on a Monday morning. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, players will most certainly die a few times, whether in firefights with hordes of gunmen, while running across a rapidly crumbling sheet of ice or jumping across gigantic crevasses. What's incredible (and absurd) is all of the times Lara Croft survives.
'Rise of the Tomb Raider' is more of the same, and that's okay
Crystal Dynamics' 2013 Tomb Raider reboot pulled off a tough task: It successfully brought life back to an aging, muddled franchise and provided heroine Lara Croft with an excellent origin story. Now that Croft has made her transition from a terrified shipwreck survivor to adventuring (but still vulnerable) badass, what does she do for an encore? Rise of the Tomb Raider (coming to the Xbox One and 360 as a timed exclusive on November 10th) answers that by tightening up and refining the first game's core experience while throwing players into an entirely new environment. The world is bigger, there are more skills to improve, more secrets to find and, yes, more tombs to raid. It isn't wildly different than the last game, but that's not a knock: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Crystal Dynamics is putting the 'tomb' back in 'Tomb Raider'
2013's Tomb Raider was a reboot of a game that defined the 3rd-person adventure genre. It represented a change in direction for the series, one that took cues from successful titles like Uncharted to breathe fresh life into what had become a tired franchise. But while critics rightfully praised the game's many strengths, the core of the original's gameplay -- tomb raiding -- was pushed to one side, with most of the game consisting of stealth, combat, and survival. For the timed Xbox exclusive Rise of the Tomb Raider, developer Crystal Dynamics is bringing back tombs in a big way, and making some intelligent design decisions to update the old gameplay for the modern era.
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition coming to PS4 and Xbox One January 28th, but you can pre-order now
Lara Croft is making her way to Sony's and Microsoft's latest gaming consoles next month. At Spike's VGX show, we got our first glimpse of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, which will be available for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 28th. The game, which is a collaboration effort between Crystal Dynamics, Nixxes and United Front Games, is essentially a new version of the 2013 game built specifically for the next-gen consoles, and is already up for pre-order on Amazon for $60. You'll get enhanced visuals, such as TressFX, and all of the game's previously released DLC for multiplayer. We've included the trailer below for your viewing enjoyment.
Tomb Raider comic book announced, may bridge to next game
Comic book veteran Gail Simone is working with publisher Dark Horse on a continuation of the Tomb Raider reboot. Kotaku reports Simone expects the series' narrative will pick up mere weeks after the first game's events and may lead directly into a sequel of this year's well-received game. "In continuity, it will be Tomb Raider canon, and lead DIRECTLY into the sequel," Simone said. "This is what got me excited; we get to be part of Lara Croft history." Simone, a long-time fan of the Lara Croft franchise, says the core difference between her series and the reboot will lie in Lara's surroundings. "The storytelling in the game hooked me instantly," Simone said. "The biggest difference is, the game told a claustrophobic story in an isolated setting. We are going globetrotting." Although Simone was a fan of the action-oriented character portrayed in the original Tomb Raider games, she's still fond of the character's new-found depth.
Tomb Raider: Underworld getting 'exclusive' DLC on Xbox 360
Xbox 360 players planning to lace up in Lara Croft's skin-tight boots this November can look forward to a double helping of new content even after the final credits roll by. Eidos announced that it has inked a deal with Microsoft to release two additional chapters to Tomb Raider: Underworld, offering some six additional hours of raiding tombs, or at least what passes for tombs these days. The first bit of DLC, ominously titled Beneath the Ashes, will debut this Christmas, adding a new area and enemies as well as a continuation of Underworld's story. The second, dubbed Lara's Shadow, promises "a new kind of playable character," leaving us wondering if Lara been drinking from the Phazon pool again? Eidos bills the new content as "exclusive" to Xbox Live Marketplace, though we'll at least try to feign surprise should similar content make its way to other platforms as well.
Infogrames confirms rejected SCi attempted purchase
And playing the part of the jilted lover in today's episode of As The Game Industry Turns is Infogrames, as the company confirmed that while it recently offered to purchase Eidos-owner SCi, the Atari-parent saw its bid turned aside "at this stage." The timing of the news is particularly interesting, given that SCi last week said that it had rejected an unspecified acquisition offer, though it remains unknown if the publisher was talking about Infogrames or some other mystery suitor. Not long after, SCi accepted a £60 million investment from Warner Bros. as part of what it called a strategic relationship. We know how you feel Infogrames (or is it Atari?). You put yourself out there, and you're vulnerable. But thankfully, it's not as if you don't have options.
SCi pulls out of buyout talks, stock plunges following Tomb Raider delay
Eidos owner SCi has been on the hunt for a potential suitor for some time, reportedly having batted its eyelashes at everyone from Midway and Vivendi to Time Warner and even some mysterious outfit in China, with none showing enough interest to sign their name across the dotted line. However, after having been given the cold shoulder by Ubisoft last October, the British firm has finally gotten the hint and moved on, stating that it had not received any formal offers within the requested timeframe.What this means to you and I is that it may be some time before we see another major release branded with the Eidos logo, as SCi confirmed that it has pushed out the recently revealed Tomb Raider: Underworld until the fourth quarter of 2008, along with three other unspecified titles. The company also announced plans to bring Lara Croft's latest escapade to the DS, Wii and PS2, in addition to the previously known versions for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.Way to be strong, SCi, but you might not want to look at your stock this morning. Following the firm's decision to go it alone, SCi's stock hit "rock bottom," and according to a new Bloomberg report, suffered its biggest plummet in more than 18 years, falling some 61 percent after SCi admitted that the aforementioned delays will likely result in an operating loss for 2008 and that the company may need to look to outside parties for the money to stay afloat. Of course, with SCi's share price now swimming with the fishes, we wouldn't be too surprised if another company now swooped in and bought up SCi and its properties at bargain basement prices. You hear that EA? Someone is singing your song.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary now on Xbox Live Marketplace
Lara Croft's superb re-quel, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, has finally clambered onto the Xbox Live Marketplace after being unearthed in June and delayed from an initial September release. If you missed it on the PlayStation 2, the PSP, the PC or even the Xbox 360 (in ancient disc format), now's your chance to relive the iconic grave robber's best adventure in the form of two downloadable chunks. The catch, of course, is that it functions as Tomb Raider: Legend DLC and will require you to have that disc handy. Each half of the game will set you back roughly 1.5GB in bandwidth and 1,200 MS Points ($15) -- in combination, that puts it on par with the PS2 version and $10 beneath the disc-based Xbox 360 version. If this still isn't the opportune moment to explore Lara's treasure-laden crevices, you still have the hands-on Wii version to try out (it's out in the UK too this December).
