Tomb Raider
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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.
Amazon reveals Black Friday lineup, deals run from November 25 - 29
Now that ThirftyNerd has found Amazon's gaming lineup for its five-day Black Friday Deals Week, you can properly prepare for the dates and times you'll be sprinting through digital checkouts. The sale will run from November 25 - 29, with its first deal launching at 12:10pm Eastern Time. Unfortunately, the prices for each offer have not been shared, but they'll probably all sell out in minutes anyway. Because Black Friday. Amazon's November 25 lineup will include deals on Xbox 360 and PS3 copies of Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition, DmC: Devil May Cry and Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition. The Xbox 360 version of LEGO: Lord of the Rings will also be offered. November 26 will bring with it the Nvidia Shield, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the Wii U, MLB 13 The Show and 4 GB memory cards for the Vita, and Xbox 360 and PS3 copies of Street Fighter X Tekken. On November 27, PS3 and 360 copies of Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, Dead Space 3 and Remember Me will be available. Vanilla Resident Evil 5 will be up for grabs for Xbox 360 owners, but PS3 users will instead have a shot at Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition. The Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption: Game of the Year Edition will also be offered, as will Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask for the 3DS.
Holy sales, Batman! Arkham series and Metro lead this week's deals
If you're a PC gamer looking forward to Friday's release of Batman: Arkham Origins and have yet to scoop up the previous two entries in the series, now might be a good time to do so, as they're 75 percent off on Steam until Monday, 10 am Pacific. That makes Batman: Arkham Asylum just $5.00, and Batman: Arkham City just $7.50. Both versions are Game of the Year editions, meaning even more batarang for your buck. Not a bat-fan? Amazon has unearthed savings on Tomb Raider and Metro: Last Light, which are both on sale for $19.99 through the week, while Best Buy is helping aspiring gamer musicians get into the groove by taking $50 off the cost of any electric guitar when you buy Rocksmith 2014. Lots of good things on sale, stranger.
Jukebox Heroes: Wurm Online's soundtrack
When is a soundtrack not a soundtrack? When it's Wurm Online, of course. This cult sandbox has one of the most unusual scores that I've ever heard paired with an MMO. It's made up of sparsely used incidental music that just so happens to be folksy blues songs (with lyrics), composed by Joss Sanglier and performed by 21st Century Blues. It's catchy, don't get me wrong, but it comes with a case of mental whiplash if you were expecting the typical fantasy fare. Think of it this way: All of these songs sound as if they were originally made for a steakhouse commercial. "In Wurm, we don't play music constantly," explained Lead Designer Rolf Jansson. "Instead we play a song every now and then often based on the setting or a special event such as when you form a village. If you ever played the Lara Croft Tomb Raider game, the rare music scores really enhanced special situations, and that's what I was aiming for as well." To make matters more interesting, recently the Wurm Online team has sponsored the creation of not one, not two, but three concept albums that will be worked into the game itself. The first such album, Meditation and Work, is now out and is quite good. While we're going to look at the "classic" Wurm tunes today, I didn't want to overlook this new project. Perhaps we'll even get back to it some day!
gdgt's best deals for August 14: Samsung Galaxy S 4 and iPhone 5
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our sister site gdgt tracks price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. Today's hottest deals include a pair of prime smartphones for sale at Target, with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and the soon-to-be-supplanted iPhone 5 available with hefty price cuts on contract. Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
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.
Best Buy offering $50 with purchase of two select games
Select PS3, PC and Xbox 360 games are being highlighted in a new promotion at Best Buy, games which run the gamut from new to not-so-new: Skyrim Legendary Edition, Black Ops 2, Tomb Raider, Deadpool, Far Cry 3 and Dead Island Riptide are all featured here. The source link below has the full list of games. To get the deal, simply add two games from said list to your cart and the yellow tag retailer will automatically add the gift card at checkout, then ship you a physical gift card worth $50 at a later date.
Everything Tomb Raider 50 percent off on Steam this weekend
Steam is offering a 50 percent discount on assorted Tomb Raider games this weekend. The sale drops the price of the latest Tomb Raider game to $25, with the Survival Edition knocked down to $28. The Tomb Raider Collection, which features 10 games from the series (including this year's entry), is also part of this weekend's deal. That sizable bundle of games can be bought for $35. Steam's weekend sale ends at 10am Pacific time on Monday, May 6. PS3 owners can still pick up Lara Croft's recent adventure on PSN for $30 this weekend.
Tomb Raider, Hitman headline Origin sale in US and Europe
As part of an ongoing sale, EA has dropped the price of several downloadable titles on Origin, offering up to 50 percent off of recent releases such as Tomb Raider and Hitman: Absolution.Through April 30, Origin users can pick up a digital copy of Tomb Raider for $25, or for just a few bucks more they can snag the DLC-bundled Survival Edition. Hitman: Absolution is currently priced at $20, and a discounted selection of EA-published games (including Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3) is also up for grabs. A full list of featured games is here.Players in Europe can also get in on the action, as Square Enix reports regional price drops for Tomb Raider, Hitman and the Limited Edition of Sleeping Dogs.
Japanese voiceover pack coming to Tomb Raider PC ... for $30
Rather than waiting to localize Tomb Raider into Japanese, Square Enix will sell a Japanese voiceover pack for the Steam version already available in Japan through the Western stores. That part is cool and kind of forward-thinking.The part that's less cool: the pack costs $30, on top of the full-price purchase of the game. The massive upcharge brings the US Steam version into price parity with the Japanese retail release, which shares an April 25 release date with the VO pack, and retails for ¥7,980 ($80). Yes, video games are always too expensive in Japan. And Square Enix is artificially ensuring that's the case for Tomb Raider.It's hard to figure out who this Japanese Language Pack is for, if it comes out the same day as the localized PC release for the same effective price. We suppose it's for people in Japan who want to play Tomb Raider now, but don't mind missing out on all the dialogue for a couple of weeks.
Square Enix notes 'weak sales of big console titles' Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution
Square Enix announced a massive restructuring today, which included the dismissal of president Yoichi Wada, but we really hope the company takes a long look in the mirror about its sales projections. Buried within the briefing of the consolidated results forecast, the company had a slide expressing the "weak sales" of three of its games. These allegedly anemic sales involve three games that will have sold millions of units by the end of the company's fiscal year on March 31. It seriously raises the question: how broken is Square Enix's business if Tomb Raider's expected 3.4 million units sold (not including digital distribution) is considered "weak?" "Despite the high critical acclaim, [the games listed] failed to meet each target," the briefing notes. "In particular, North America sales force was ineffective, ending up with 2/3 of number of units sold in Europe." Oddly – beyond this being a clear sign Square Enix North America is being thrown under the bus – this is the second time we've had to scratch our heads about Eidos/Square Enix sales projections. In 2009, the company was disappointed by the sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld, which launched in November and sold 1.5 million copies by the end of 2008. Soon after the publisher did a round of layoffs at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics.
Conan loves but loses Tomb Raider
Jimmy Fallon may have gotten the PS4 demo, but Conan 'Clueless Gamer' O'Brien seems happy enough with trying out Tomb Raider. Conan's commentary is unsurprisingly puerile - the video is probably NSFW - and things come to a head when Lara tries to navigate rapids.
Tomb Raider Minimates debut at Toy Fair
At Toy Fair, Diamond Select Toys showed off six new Tomb Raider Minimate figures, based on the upcoming reboot. The Minimates, which look like Lego figures with more points of articulation, are slated to hit shelves this summer, as two-packs sold in comic and specialty stores. The six figures shown include: a basic Lara Croft, a Lara Croft with battle damage, Captain Conrad Roth (Lara's mentor), two enemy scavengers and a figure who appeared to look like a priest. Diamond Select wasn't at liberty to share the names of the characters but suggested that the figure with the hood was a type of priest. The Art Asylum-designed figures excellent details, right down to Captain Conrad's chiseled eyebrows and five o'clock shadow. Each figure comes with accessories. The basic Lara Croft has a more generic hatchet, while the battle damaged, mud soaked Lara Croft has the stylized hatchet we've seen from Tomb Raider concept art. The Molotov cocktail scavenger comes with just that – a Molotov cocktail. The second scavenger had a shield and an iron mask. The designs are still pending licensor approval.
Steam Holiday Sale day 14: Dark Souls, Tomb Raider, Knights of the Old Republic
You probably haven't spent enough money today. Yes, even though you got a late start and snatched up the games of yesterday's Steam sale today, there are still 36 hours of wallet plundering left. Today is no different and you are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. Just give in already.Day 14 of the Steam sale offers the Tomb Raider franchise for $15, The Painkiller games for 50 - 75 percent off (including the complete pack for $20), Magicka for $2.50, the Sniper Elite franchise pack for $13.75, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for $20 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 for 75 percent off, at just $2.50 a pop.Feel the financial burn.
Lara Croft won't be swimming in next year's Tomb Raider
Global Brand Director for Crystal Dynamics, Karl Stewart, did a quick Q&A session on the official Tomb Raider twitter account this morning, and revealed an interesting design decision that will affect fans of aquatic exploration. The Tomb Raider reboot won't have any underwater shenanigans during gameplay – though not because the new Lara Croft has forgotten how to swim, thankfully.Video game characters often have issues with the backstroke; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City protagonist Tommy Vercetti could famously survive gunshots, but wouldn't last more than a second in waist-deep water. In contrast, some of our fondest memories of Lara Croft involve diving through secret, watery passages.Stewart said we'll see more about the game's other traversal gameplay soon, leading up to Tomb Raider's release in March next year.
Report: Major Square Enix game receiving Wii U port by Mass Effect 3 dev
Straight Right, the Australian developer porting Mass Effect 3 to Wii U, may also be working on a "triple-A Square Enix" port for Nintendo's new console. The info is based on the LinkedIn page (now altered) of Chris Slater, Straight Right's technical project manager, as spotted by an eagle-eyed NeoGAF user.Slater has since updated his LinkedIn profile, but a Google Cache of the page as it was on September 25 shows the project manager is "working for Straight Right on a short term contract, porting a triple-A Square Enix game to the yet-to-be-released Wii U platform." We have a screen-grab of the Google Cache page here.It's already known Straight Right is working on two Wii U games in addition to Mass Effect 3, with one an original IP and the other stemming from a well-known franchise. Since the Square Enix game is a port, it means this'd be the one from a well known franchise. Hitman Absolution, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the new Tomb Raider are primary candidates. Crystal Dynamics previously denied Tomb Raider is coming to Wii U any time soon, saying the studio would have to design it "very differently" and with "unique functionality" for the Nintendo console.We reached out to Square Enix, but a spokesperson told us the publisher "cannot comment on rumors or speculation."
Gallery: The Tokyo Game Show 2012 Square Enix/Play Arts Booth
So, I'm not a professional photographer or a professional action-figure critic or anything, but I am a professional Video Games Person, so I was duty bound by my strict code of VGP ethics to take a lot of pictures of some pretty awesome looking stuff at Square Enix's Play Arts booth during this year's Tokyo Game Show.Prototype figures from upcoming Halo, Batman and Mass Effect figure series can all be seen in the gallery below, as can my inadvertently-captured pasty reflection and a few bonus slimes that were thrown for good measure.%Gallery-166319%
Camilla Luddington is the new Lara Croft in Tomb Raider
Square Enix has announced that Lara Croft will have a new voice actress in the upcoming Tomb Raider series reboot: Camilla Luddington, recently seen on True Blood and Californication. Luddington was born in England, but as seen on this late night talk show, she apparently uses an American accent when appearing on American media.Worry not, though - Luddington has a lovely English accent as well (and you can hear her using it on this clip of Graham Norton's show in the very beginning). She definitely sounds younger than previous Croft voice actors, which Square Enix says will contribute "a depth of emotion and the youthful tone needed for Lara Croft" in the game.
GOG.com getting Retro City Rampage, Tomb Raider, Colonization
As part of CD Projekt Red's summer conference today, it was revealed that Retro City Rampage will be available on Good Old Games. Retro City Rampage, slated to arrive later this year, hearkens back to the 8-bit days of yore to deliver a parody of modern day open-world games, and it has generally been a topic of gleeful discussion among Joystiq staff.In addition to Retro City Rampage, GOG.com has also acquired the first three games of the Tomb Raider series and Sid Meier's Colonization. Notably, the Tomb Raider collection has actually been "remastered for Windows." The Tomb Raider collection is $10, while Colonization is available for $6. On June 19, indie game Tiny and Big will also come to GOG, for $10 ($9 for pre-orders). Finally, GOG.com is hosting a special pre-order program for the upcoming indie adventure title, Resonance. Those who pre-order will receive a 10 percent discount and access to a 4 hour playable preview of the game prior to its June 19 launch.
BlackBerry gets its game on at BBW, scores Jetpack Joyride and Sonic
One of the things BlackBerry has never really had going for it, is a deep games catalog. Now, that isn't about to change in one fell swoop, but things are about to get a lot better at BlackBerry World 2012. RIM's head of gaming, Anders Jeppsson, took to twitter to let the world know about the impressive pile of titles heading to the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10. The biggest names are certainly Jetpack Joyride, from Halfbrick (the studio behind Fruit Ninja), and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. Other games in the pipeline include Galaxy on Fire 2 and Star Marine, while Tomb Raider fans can get down with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light starting today. Keep an ear out for more to hit during this week's BBW.
