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Deals with Gold: All Lara Croft, all week
Microsoft's current Deals with Gold lineup spotlights adventurer Lara Croft, offering discounts on many of her recent releases on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Xbox One owners get a deal on Tomb Raider Definitive Edition this week, while the non-definitive 2013 Xbox 360 version and all DLC also see a series of steep price drops. Other featured Xbox 360 Games on Demand releases include Tomb Raider Underworld, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Tomb Raider Legend, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. From Software's Armored Core Verdict Day and Ninja Theory's Enslaved round out this week's discounted offerings for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. All listed deals are available through November 24. [Image: Square Enix]
Original Tomb Raider sneaks onto iOS
The original Tomb Raider is available now on iPhone and iPad for a buck. This isn't the smoothed out Lara after some nips and tucks for her Anniversary party in 2007. Nope. This is Lara in her boxy, endangered species murdering 1996 glory. The game was already hard enough with regular controls, we struggle to imagine playing with virtual controls. If you're looking for the the upgraded version, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is priced $9 on Steam. Also, the Steam holiday sale is so very, very close.
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?
Big Square Enix Xbox Marketplace sale includes Deus Ex, Lara Croft
Square Enix is holding a sale this week on the Xbox Marketplace, taking half off DLC for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Just Cause 2, along with discounts on several of Lady Croft's adventures and its associated DLC.The highlights of the sale are certainly the Deus Ex's Missing Link DLC and co-op adventure Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light for 600 MSP ($7.50). There's also some attempted discounts on full downloads of Battlestations: Pacific, Just Cause 2 and Tomb Raider: Underworld; but chances are you can find better in your local bargain bin.Another game worth checking out is updated original Tomb Raider: Legend: Anniversary, available in two chunks at 400 MSP ($5) apiece (caveat is you'll need to own TR: Legend since it's the DLC). So, try the first two levels before you buy the whole thing. Find the full list of discounts after the break.
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 PS3 trilogy pack confirmed, details to follow shortly
Lady Croft's latest adventures -- excluding the downloadable Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light -- are getting bundled up in early 2011 for a Tomb Raider Trilogy pack on PlayStation 3. Karl Stewart, global brand director for Crystal Dynamics, confirmed this weekend's leak on his Twitter account. He noted that a full announcement would be made shortly. If the Amazon listing is accurate, the Blu-ray compilation will include Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, both of which will be available for the first time on the console, along with 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld. You'll also get male and female avatars for PlayStation Home and an XMB theme. This looks to be the last send-off for the obsessive and occasionally mean Lara introduced by Crystal Dynamics in 2006. She'll experience another reboot in Tomb Raider -- just "Tomb Raider" -- next year.
Tomb Raider Trilogy combines HD Legend, Anniversary and Underworld on PS3, retail listing says
The PS3 may be home to yet another HD collection. Amazon.de has a listing for Tomb Raider Trilogy. According to the listing, the Blu-ray will include Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary and Tomb Raider Underworld. The first two games will get an HD makeover (and will likely look similar to the Xbox 360 versions), and all three games will offer PlayStation Network trophies. In addition, the collection will unlock special male and female avatars for use in PlayStation Home. While Square Enix has yet to officially announce the collection, we find it a rather likely prospect. It would be a fitting way to close the book on Lara's previous adventures before the upcoming reboot. Oh, and everyone else is doing it too. [Thanks, Jose M.!]
Steam selling Tomb Raider: Anniversary for $5
Has your recent playthrough of Tomb Raider: Underworld left you curious about Lara Croft's roots? No, not like, her hair (though she's obviously not a natural brunette) -- her history. Well, there's no better way to brush up on your Croftian comprehension than to check out Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the 2007 remake of the original Tomb Raider -- and thanks to Steam's current weekend deal, there's no better time to pick it up. Valve's download platform is offering the updated grave robbing sim for just $5 until the end of the weekend. Sure, you could just as easily purchase a foot-long sandwich with that kind of cash, but we find double-pistoled tiger homicide to be much more fulfilling in the long run.[Via Big Download]
Europe getting exclusive PSP Tomb Raider two-pack
Eidos announced today that Lara Croft's two adventures on PSP will be merged together into one package. The Tomb Raider Double Pack is exclusively available in Europe and will feature both Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary (uh, the only TR games released on the system). Tomb Raider Double Pack is set for release next week, on April 10. A price hasn't been set yet, but we suspect it won't break the bank. Punchline: You won't have to raid any tombs to pay for it.
GameTap Thursday: Splinter Cell: CT, Tomb Raider: Anniversary free for one week
It's a decent enough week for GameTap as Sam Fisher sneaks in and explains chaos theory through action. Also, Lady Croft gives it away for free. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Windows) - Pre-emo Sam Fisher is out to save the world in this third installment in the stealth-action series. Ocean Express (Windows) - Sounds intriguing, right? Well, it's a Tetris hybrid clone. This week sees the addition of Tomb Raider: Anniversary as a free-to-play title for one week. The full list of gratis titles can be found after the break.
Best of the Rest: Ludwig's picks of 2007
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii) Though its puzzles may occasionally infuriate, the real source of frustration regarding Zack & Wiki stems from the fact that nobody bought it. Every year has its share of titles that deserve an audience yet never find one, and in this regard, Zack & Wiki is easily one of the most tragic games to put an uncontrollable smile on your face. Relentlessly charming and beautifully presented, the debut of Capcom's choc-chomping pirate and his simian sidekick challenges the mind and warms that cynical, meh-spouting lump in your chest. How refreshing it was to overcome obstacles and bosses by choosing the power of the mind over an impossibly large bazooka.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary now on XBLM
Hungry for more tomb raiding? Have you squeezed out every possible ounce of entertainment from Tomb Raider: Legend? Have you suddenly developed an aversion to disc-based media? Well then, do we have a deal for you. Seemingly out of nowhere, the previously promised downloadable version of Tomb Raider: Anniversary is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The game has been split into two significantly more than bite-sized chunks, each of which will run you 1200 MS Points or, in the common vernacular, $15. Put them both together and the game costs as much as its PS2 counterpart and actually $10 less than the retail Xbox 360 version. Just make sure you still have a Tomb Raider: Legend disc lying around, as the downloadable Anniversary requires it.
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).
Gametap's 'Re\Visioned' animated series concludes first season
Concluding with Jim Lee's take on Lara Croft, "A Complicated Woman," the first season of Gametap's animated "Re\Visioned" series is now available in its entirety on the download service. Aside from the rather annoying use of a backslash in the title, the show's first ten-episode stint was marked by several interpretations of the Tomb Raider heroine from artists such as Peter Chung, Michael Stackpole and Warren Ellis. Gametap has also announced a partnership with The Hero Initiative -- a non-profit organization helping out comic book creators -- that will see a second six-episode season of Re\Visioned released in December. The focus is to be placed on the "golden age" of Activision, with stylized takes on Kaboom, Pressure Cooker and Pitfall promised from writers like Mark Waid (Flash, Kingdom Come, Legion of Superheroes), John Ostrander (X-Men, Punisher, Star Wars Republic) and Paul Jenkins (Spectacular Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Civil War: Front Line).
Official Tomb Raider: Anniversary release date
After going through the trauma of being lied to about Tomb Raider: Anniversary's release date (September anyone?) Eidos has again taken the podium and announced official release date details. Tomb Raider: Anniversary will be available on retail shelves in the US this October 23rd and in the UK a few days later on October 26th. Then, later in November, the Anniversary episodes will be released to the XBLM as two separate purchasable downloads for those who would rather buy the content in digital form. Pricing for the DLC version has yet to be announced.There you have it Lara Croft lovers ... your Anniversary dates are now confirmed, official and your content will be available in two distinct flavors. Go ahead and crack a smile already.
Tomb Raider Anniversary ready for European release on October 26th
Tomb Raider Anniversary is almost ready for its European debut on the PSP. The remake of the original PS1 game will be available on shelves on October 26th. If you don't fancy waiting for the PSP version, however, the PC and PS2 versions are already available, with Xbox 360 and Wii versions to follow later this year. Still, if the opportunity for some portable Tomb Raider action is there, then why not go for it? The game has been available in the US for quite a while already, so if you're really impatient then you could always import it and get it a week or so early.
Retailers list 360's Tomb Raider Anniversary for Oct. 23 release
If numerous online retailers are to be believed, the Xbox 360 version of Tomb Raider: Anniversary is set to arrive in the US next week on October 23rd. "But wait," you rudely interject, "wasn't there another version for that console?" Indeed, you quite clearly recall that Eidos announced its intention to digitally distribute Lara Croft assets -- that would be the game split into five separate episodes -- on the Xbox Live marketplace. The online chunks, functioning as add-ons to Tomb Raider: Legend, would amount to 2400 MS Points ($30) in total, a good $10 cheaper than the price retailers are currently appending to the standalone disc. As the online episodes were initially scheduled for release in September, it inescapably follows that they've been delayed. The question is, "Until when?" While Eidos assures us that they're still in the pipeline, it's "still confirming dates for both versions and will release information on this asap." We'll keep you informed if and when we receive this mysterious asap containing the information.
Joystiq hands-on: Tomb Raider Anniversary (Wii)
Some things are obvious about Lara Croft. But Crystal Dynamics's Morgan Gray wants you to focus on Lara's more subtle assets, like her intelligence. The late-coming Wii version of Tomb Raider Anniversary focuses on Lara's actual career: babe, er, 'archaeologist'. There's "over three hours" of Wii-specific content promised, and the majority of it comes in the form of motion-sensitive mini-games. There's Lara with a pick axe unearthing clues; Lara digging for buried treasures; and Lara taking charcoal rubbings for her journal. All use the Wiimote's pointer, mimicking what you'd normally find in a DS game (think: psuedo-archeology game Spectrobes). It's gimmicky, yes -- but there are times where the physicality adds an appreciable amount of depth to the experience. In one segment of the game, we had to uncover symbols, hidden away under some dust. With those symbols in mind, we had to draw them in sand to unlock a door. Drawing with the Wiimote added a whole new layer to what was originally a very simple puzzle. Thankfully, the system is forgiving enough to recognize even the shakiest of gestures. Not only has Lara's "intelligence" been expanded upon for Wii, combat has received a major overhaul as well. For the first time in the franchise, players will aim and shoot freely while moving. Players will have to use the pointer to manually aim at the various enemies on the screen while performing Lara's signature dodges. It can be awkward at first, but Crystal Dynamics is so confident in their battle system that they won't give players the option to switch to more traditional controls. "All or nothing," as we were told by Gray. To ease away potential frustrations, there is an overly generous hit detection system that requires only a marginal amount of accuracy. Harder difficulties, we're told, will require a much steadier shot. %Gallery-8119%
See how Tomb Raider Anniversary uses Wiimote
When imagining ways for the Wiimote to be incorporated into the Wii release of Tomb Raider Anniversary, you probably let your evil imagination wander to some ... unfortunate situations, and we want you to know that we're personally very disappointed in you. Lara Croft uses the Wiimote for science, mister, and don't you forget it. As you can see in the video, the Wii is incorporated into all sorts of archeological pursuits, from column turning to dust brushing and, lest you begin to flashback to 9th grade history class, shooting bears. Only about 25 percent of the activities shown here look tacked on or contrived, which, all things considered, is fairly impressive. [Via CVG]
The B[ack]log: Happy Anniversary, Miss Croft
Jacqueline Natla is quite obviously the villain in Tomb Raider: Anniversary. In the 1996 original, the only initial clues to her evil nature resided in a somewhat condescending tone of voice and a far too serious haircut. The opening moments of the Crystal Dynamics remake, however, show a more conniving woman with flowing blond hair, almost alien facial features and suspiciously long fingers. Still a bit of a condescending hag, though. "My company has recently turned its focus on the study of ancient artifacts, and I am lead to believe that with the right incentive, you are just the woman to find them for me," she says, addressing one of gaming's most iconic characters, Lara Croft. "I'm afraid you've been mistaken," comes the decorous reply. "I only play for sport." Ah, but Natla's done her research. "Which is precisely why I've come to you Miss Croft. This is a game you've played before..." Though trusting the words of a noticeably vile video game character is generally not advised, they're true in this case. Tomb Raider: Anniversary is indeed a game you've played before, at least if you had the good sense to play Tomb Raider at some point in your fulfilling life (replace "fulfilling" with "miserable" if you haven't). The reworked puzzles, contemporized controls and modern presentation may set Anniversary apart from the groundbreaking effort by Core Design, but beneath those layers lies the same game with the same ideals. Either Tomb Raider was nearly eleven years ahead of its time, or the games we play just haven't changed all that much.
