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Tomb Raider 360 controller is rough, tumble, rumbles
You know how they make those designer jeans that look like you've owned 'em for 30 years, despite being brand new and insanely expensive? Well, this is like that, but for an Xbox 360.Launching in March, the official Tomb Raider Limited Edition Wireless Controller will cost $60 and come bundled with a code for exclusive character DLC; a hooded, goggled archer that can be seen in the video above. The controller itself features multiple layers of paint and laser etching, so not only does it look beat to hell but it'll feel that way too.As per usual with special edition Xbox 360 pads, it's also equipped with one of those nifty transforming D-pads, though whether the D-pad has been artificially aged like a too-expensive guitar replica is unknown.
Tomb Raider survives with friends in first multiplayer footage
The groundwork for Tomb Raider's multiplayer was laid some time ago with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. This episode of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider explores that and how multiplayer was an afterthought that eventually snowballed into a realized game mode.
Rumor: Tomb Raider to include multiplayer [Update: Confirmed!]
Lara Croft's upcoming adventure may have a multiplayer component, reports All Games Beta. A product listing on the UK retailer GAME listed multiplayer as a key feature in the new Tomb Raider, specifically stating that players will be able to "play a variety of multiplayer modes as Lara's Shipmates or Yamatai's Scavengers." The description has since been removed from the product page.Square Enix recently teased a "special secret announcement" in a video released earlier this year, promising that it would "change the way you play Tomb Raider forever." Assuming GAME's info was accurate, a multiplayer mode would certainly be new territory for the Tomb Raider series. We just hope there isn't a "Lara vs. Exotic Animals" mode. The animals wouldn't stand a chance.Update: Official Xbox Magazine's latest issue confirms the existence of multiplayer, though specifics are still in short supply. We'll keep our ear to the ground for official details as they surface.
Lara goes camping in first episode of Tomb Raider's 'Guide to Survival'
A video series focused on Tomb Raider will dive deeper into the mechanics and story of Crystal Dynamics' reboot. Guide to Survival's first episode focuses on Basecamps, which Lara uses to apply skill points to upgrade her skills and equipment. She also uses fire to survive because tank top.
Lara bows under pressure in new Tomb Raider trailer
In the latest Tomb Raider trailer, Lara Croft kills two men with a bow and arrows, after which she strangles a third. With the bow. Other things happen too, but ... damn.
Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance resurrected on Steam
Thanks to the power of the Elder God, the Legacy of Kain series is now on Steam. For $9.99 a pop, you can download Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance.The Legacy of Kain games focus on vampire-turned-wraith Raziel and vampire demigod Kain. It's the series where Amy Hennig got her first crack as games writer and director. Hennig has since won two awards from the Writers Guild of America for her work on the Uncharted series.
Surviving and learning to fight back as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider
A lot can happen in the span of two hours. In Tomb Raider, I witnessed a young Lara Croft change from unsure archaeologist assistant to a survivor, willing to do whatever it takes to save her friends and protect herself.Tomb Raider is a reboot of the iconic series and heroine therein, and the story of a world-class explorer coming into her own. After being stranded on an island seemingly lost to the world since World War II, the naive youngster grows into the confident and strong Lara Croft we've known all along.%Gallery-172529%
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light now stationed on Core Online
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has made the jump to Core Online, Square Enix's recently unveiled cloud gaming platform. It's the third game to find its way there, with Hitman: Blood Money and Mini Ninjas made available at launch. Core Online is accessible via Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome, making Guardian of Light available to Mac users.Lara Croft's 2010 jaunt into isometric puzzling is free-to-play through Core Online, but only if you're okay with having play interrupted by ads. The service's help page indicates ads should generally appear every 20 minutes, as long as you watch a full minute of sponsored messages at each interruption. On our testing we were offered a selection of three ads, each with different running times. 1 minute and 14 seconds of a Mini Ninjas ad gave us 25 minutes playing time.If you prefer raiding tombs without people intermittently trying to sell you stuff, you can remove ads from the full game for $9.99, or from individual missions for $0.99 each.
Select Tomb Raider games 75% off on Steam this weekend
From now until 10 a.m. Pacific time on Monday morning, the PC versions of Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Underworld are all 75 percent on Steam, meaning that each game can be had for less than a fiver. That is, provided you're able to circumnavigate an elaborate series of traps, deadly animals and vicious, armed ne'er-do-wells hell-bent on preventing you from acquiring the treasure you seek.* *Some or all requirements listed may be a complete fabrication. Joystiq, AOL Media Inc. and The Huffington Post Media Group are not responsible for any injuries sustained while attempting to purchase computerized video-machine games off of digital distribution platforms such as Steam. Today's lucky number is "three." If Lily has six apples, and a different girl also named Lily has twelve apples, why are you still reading this?
The 'Final Hours' of Tomb Raider tells the story of telling a story
How do you reinvent an icon? No, seriously, how do you do that – we've never done it and it sounds hard. For many of the folks at Crystal Dynamics, it's the greatest undertaking of their careers, evidenced in this latest episode of the Final Hours series focusing on Tomb Raider.Tomb Raider lead writer Rhianna Pritchett weighs in with just how much of herself she's put into Lara Croft and what it's like being the first female lead writer in series history. Crystal Dynamics' Karl Stewart also goes into the game's Comic-Con 2012 presence and the anxiety that comes from showing off Tomb Raider to the general public for the first time.This latest episode also reveals pre-order bonuses through Amazon: an art book, in-game skin and a digital copy of the Final Hours series for Tomb Raider for Kindle Fire.
Rhianna Pratchett announced as lead writer on Tomb Raider
Rhianna Pratchett is handling lead writer duties on the Tomb Raider reboot from Crystal Dynamics. Pratchett, the daughter of fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett, is no stranger to video game storytelling, having contributed to the Overlord games, Prince of Persia and Mirror's Edge.Pratchett has apparently been working on the narrative for Tomb Raider since "its early inception," and has brought "a depth and credibility to Lara" only she can, says Darrell Gallagher, head honcho at Crystal Dynamics. Pratchett, who is at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 this weekend, will participate in two Tomb Raider panels on Saturday. Full schedule and panel descriptions can be found past the break.[Image credit]
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light gets Chrome'd out this fall
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light continues its long and storied tradition of being ported to unexpected platforms this fall, when the Crystal Dynamics XBLA adventure makes its way to Google's Chrome browser.Previously, LCATGOL has made its way to PSN, Steam, iOS, OnLive and the Blackberry Playbook; a list that makes less sense the longer you read it. The game will be powered by Google's open source Native Client framework and will run in-browser, similar to other XBLA-to-Chrome converts like Bastion and From Dust. No word yet on pricing or availability beyond the fall release window.
Tomb Raider's first piece of DLC exclusive on Xbox 360
Xbox 360 owners will get an exclusive piece of DLC for Tomb Raider when it launches next year – remember, it was recently delayed to March 5, 2013. Crystal Dynamics' Darryl Gallagher revealed the news during Microsoft's E3 press conference, but didn't go into detail on what the DLC is or whether it would be offered gratis.%Gallery-156939%
Tomb Raider delayed until Q1 2013
The younger, dirtier and unvarnished version of Lara Croft still needs some polish, according to Crystal Dynamics. The developer is pushing back the release date of the next Tomb Raider, from Fall 2012 into the first quarter of 2013. (Yes, the same quarter that now hosts another one of 2012's former heavy hitters, Bioshock Infinite.)"Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game," Crystal Dynamics Head Darrell Gallagher wrote. In a missive posted on the game's official forums, Gallagher shared the studio's push to make Tomb Raider "the best game of our careers." The delay will boost quality up to "a level that you deserve," he said.The shift in release date has also given us an unexpected sense of optimism. If enough promising games get pushed into next year, we might actually start rooting for the world's continued existence beyond 2012.
Soul Reaver shifts planes to GOG.com
Raziel has been to many strange and wonderful places, but he's never been to Good Old Games until now. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is now available on the service for $6. Soul Reaver tells the tale of a betrayed vampire-turned-revenant, Raziel, and his vengeance against those who wronged him.It also sports a top-notch voice cast and, hey, it's fun to play. If you missed it the first time around (or if you feel like reliving it again), it's definitely worth checking out.
God of War 2 director Cory Barlog joins Crystal Dynamics
Cory Barlog, who served as writer and director for God of War 2, as well as "story creator" for Ghost of Sparta and creative director for Chains of Olympus, has joined Crystal Dynamics to work on its forthcoming Tomb Raider reboot and "a yet to be announced new title."Its unclear what this transition may mean for Barlog's Mad Max project, which was reportedly in production at Avalanche Studios. "I can't comment on our project, but all I can say is that the projects we've been working on for the last two years and the one we recently started up in NY are sailing along like never before," said Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg in a statement to Eurogamer.This either means that Mad Max is continuing without Barlog at Avalanche Studios, or that it was never there to begin with. Either way, we're looking forward to seeing what kind of vengeful, face-painting influence Barlog has on Lara Croft's future, and whether his presence at Crystal Dynamics could finally lead to Gex of War.
Tomb Raider to be promoted with real world geocaching treasure hunt
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have announced a partnership with Geocaching.com to promote Tomb Raider. What's geocaching, you ask? Essentially, it's a modern day form of treasure hunting, in which participants use GPS to uncover "geocaches" hidden across the globe by other enthusiasts. Later this year, the promotion promises "a series of unique location-based adventures" in the spirit of Lara's own lust for precious artifacts. The promotion will use a combination of Geocaching.com's own app and "a photo-based adventure project" called Geocaching Challenges from Groundspeak.com. Presumably, would-be tomb raiders will be hunting for objects related to Lara and her adventures, though there's no hint as to what these treasures will be -- we can only hope that scions are involved.
Crystal Dynamics has new IP in the works
It looks like Crystal Dynamics is up to more than Lara Croft's latest reboot. Posting on the Square Enix Members blog, Crystal Dynamics community manager Meagan Marie revealed that, in addition to Tomb Raider, the company is also "hard at work preparing to reveal exciting new intellectual property to the world." Exactly what that property is remains a mystery, though studio head Darrell Gallagher promised that 2012 will be "the biggest year in Crystal's history" and that there are "amazing things" in store. The obvious question: Is Gex old enough to be considered new again?
Tomb Raider celebrates 15th anniversary with Steam sale this weekend
Has it really been 15 years since we shared in Lara Croft's obsessive lust for artifacts and her undying vendetta against endangered species? Heck, the creatures of the earth aren't even safe after they've become extinct -- she's killed plenty of dinosaurs too. To commemorate fifteen years of robbing graves, dodging traps and accidentally swan-diving into neck-crunching granite, Steam is offering the post-reboot Tomb Raider series at a magnanimous rate until Monday, 10AM Pacific. Tomb Raider: Underworld is the most expensive of the lot at $6.79, with Tomb Raider 1 remake Anniversary going for $3.39. Crystal Dynamics' first stint with Lara, Tomb Raider: Legend, is available for $5.09. At under $16 in total, it's a trilogy to be treasured. Err, right before next year's reboot, of course.
Tomb Raider Xbox 360 could use a hug
We've seen a lot of custom Xbox 360s before, but never one that looked like it was in so much pain. The Official Tomb Raider Blog is currently running a contest to give the Xbox, featuring a bruised and battered Lara Croft, away -- and it's clear that it could use a good home. And just look at that Xbox controller! Poor little guy must have fractured a handle. Winning isn't quite as easy as filling out a form, as the blog is asking folks to answer trivia questions, which can only be found via Twitter, Facebook and during the last five minutes of Crystal Habit, the Crystal Dynamics podcast. Once you have the answers, you can enter the contest here. Do it quickly, because someone needs to get that mistreated console away from those monsters.
