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Eidos trademarks 'Tomb Raider Underworld'
With Kane & Lynch a little tied up at the moment with the Gerstmann caper, we turn our attention to former Eidos darling Lara Croft, who's been making some strides back to prominence with her past two excellent games. It seems that when she returns, it may be under the banner of "Tomb Raider Underworld," a phrase Eidos has just registered for use in "video game software" and strategy guides.You're probably thinking that the phrase will be the title for the next Tomb Raider game, and we doubt that you're that far off. After Tomb Raider Legacy Legend and Tomb Raider Anniversary, we'll just be happy to have a sub-title that doesn't sound like it wants to sell us insurance.[Via Trademork]
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.
Anatomy of a disaster: Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
Next-Gen is running a piece from Edge Magazine about how Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness went so terribly wrong. Angel of Darkness was the last Lara Croft game created by developer Core before publisher Eidos said to hell with them and gave Croft duties to Crystal Dynamics (who have yet to disappoint). The piece starts with just how awful Angel of Darkness was, but things really get moving with an anecdote of Core Design's co-founder, Jeremy Heath-Smith, cursing through the game's opening level at a buyers' conference. The story ends with most of Core's staff leaving due to management issues and Eidos taking Lara away. Angel of Darkness is a case study on how a franchise can be run into the ground and yet still find redemption in the hands of another.
Run over by the Succubus
Ah, to be young again. Arawn of L2Lock pointed out this poor kid on the forums, who got caught by his parents checking out the "you know what" of the Warlock Succubus pet, "and then it made this sound like uhh uhh uuhhhhh whiip whippp" ("I think warlocks will know what I mean"), and now the poor guy's banned from playing WoW.Oh, the post itself is so funny, I don't even know what to add. I haven't heard of it happening in a long time, but way back when the game first came out I remember hearing about kids who rolled female Night Elves just to watch them dance, and I think all of us who played Tomb Raider know exactly what this kid is up to. Yes, I mean you-- Lara Croft didn't have to stand facing the corner for five minutes just so the camera could zoom in that one time. And even Blizzard knows what's going on here.Still, this seems like a good kid (if nothing else, the experience has gotten him interested in correct pronunciation). You might try telling your parents you're rerolling something like an Orc, buddy-- the uglier the better. Otherwise, wait a few years, and all will become clear. The entire post preserved after the jump.
Dev walks us through raiding some tombs
Ever since it was announced, we have been chomping at the bit to see more on Lara's raiding on the Wii. Morgan Gray, senior producer on the game, hooks us up with some footage, allowing us to break this dry spell. Notable segments of the video include combat and puzzle interaction.We're not going to waste any more time trying to give you impressions, when you should be seeing the video yourself past the break. Come on, get to it!
Tomb Raider Anniversary on PSP looks just like the PS2 game
After weeks of perpetual delay, Tomb Raider Anniversary is finally out for PSP. Eidos was strangely suspicious about the PSP version, refusing to release video of the handheld edition. Thankfully, it appears that the PSP version looks a lot like the PS2 version. Check out this new video from PSP GadgetZ to see for yourself.With the game readily available, we want to know what you think about the game. Certainly, this game doesn't deserve to go without notice, does it?
Pre-Teen Raider cartoon not so creepy after all
When we first heard of the premise behind GameTap's latest Re/Visioned cartoon, "Pre-Teen Raider," we thought we'd be asked to "have a seat" by Dateline corespondents just for watching. Lara Croft's pre-teen adventure was released over at GameTap today and despite the terrible wording, it's actually quite clean and clever to boot.The five minute short is the brainchild of comic book writer Gail Simone, best known for her work on Birds of Prey, as well as a highly anticipated run with Wonder Woman. Sir Chris of Kohler over at Wired's Game|Life has an interview with Simone where she talks about the challenge of taking a video game sex symbol and telling a story of her when she has yet to hit puberty. You know, all that stuff folks were concerned about.
Pre-Teen Raider is actual name of young Lara Croft toon
GameTap's Re/Visioned series takes beloved characters like Lara Croft and puts a new, bold spin on them through a series of short videos. For their new entry, we humbly suggest that someone should have taken the initiative to put a new, bold spin on the title, hopefully coming up with something a little less likely to attract the attention of Chris Hansen. Get ready for ... "Pre-Teen Raider." Seriously.It's that rare sort of offering that, with the title alone, can attract teenage fans, the creepos that want to abduct them and those who hope to thwart their ill breed. It'd almost be poetic, if it weren't all so icky. See for yourself if the yuck washes off when "Pre-Teen Raider" comes to GameTap on August 9th.
Finally, Lara Croft papercraft!
Making Link out of paper or spending an afternoon crafting Quake characters is all well and good, but why choose Link when you can sculpt a curvy female forms such as Lara Croft's? Ninjatoes spent grueling hours studying every inch of Lara's polygonal body and has made a papercraft worthy of our attention. With 116 parts, this ain't no paper hat project, so if you want Lara, you'll have to work for her.[Via PaperKraft]
Minnie Driver to voice animated Lara Croft
We have a very serious question regarding this particular news item. What happens when you put Minnie Driver into a Mini Cooper S? Would the unusual occurrence of a famous Driver becoming a Mini driver release an unstoppable explosion of meta-energy, forcing the entire universe to infinitely collapse in on itself? We're not sure if anybody has tested this theory, but the more likely outcome would be Ms. Minnie running us over for childishly poking fun at her name and wasting an entire paragraph before talking about her latest role.Ahem.The gist of it, you see, is that GameTap's upcoming ReVision animated series, which initially chronicles the adventures of one Lara Croft, is set to become a star vehicle of sorts for Minnie Driver. Reuters reports the actress and occasional singer will lend her voice to Tomb Raider's gun-toting heroine for ten episodes, the first three of which will come from Aeon Flux alum, Peter Chung. Further episodes will have other artists interpreting the iconic action archaeologist, while future seasons of ReVision will delve into other characters and games.[Via Tomb Raider Chronicles]
Lara Croft opens women-only beach in Italy
No, we're not quite sure we understand the purpose of a female-only beach either, but experience has taught us that it's never a good strategy to question the wisdom of a woman wielding two guns. Doubly so if said woman happens to be one famous for destroying dinosaurs and gallivanting through graves, Lara Croft. The action archaeologist and Tomb Raider star, here represented by non-polygonal human model Karima Adebibe (she's the one with the big guns), opened Italy's first women-only beach in Riccione, "an exclusive resort near Rimini on the east coast" as Gamertag Radio reminds us.Though you may have briefly interpreted the presence of Lara's scantily-clad posse as proof that the next Tomb Raider game would be "Pikmin with babes," the ladies were in fact there to compete in "Miss Muretto," a beauty contest coinciding with the opening (or closing if you're a guy) of "Pink Beach." Don't worry, we're sure there's a nearby lookout point that's ideal for surveying Italy's finest beaches. If being a pervert isn't your thing, there's always the superb Tomb Raider: Anniversary to keep you occupied indoors.
Rumor: Tomb Raider: Anniversary making its way to PS3?
The Xbox 360 is receiving their Tomb Raider: Anniversary fix in the form of episodic content over Xbox Live, however it's initially limited only to those that own the last next-gen outing, Tomb Raider: Legend. While it would seem trite of Eidos to snub Sony by not releasing any similar content for the PlayStation Network, they do have plans to release a retail version of all episodic content on one disc. PSX Extreme says there is reason to believe this retail version will hit PS3 through the magical re-engineering of porting the Xbox 360 code.We aren't holding our breath on this one. Knowing how most devs feel about the port process leave us more than a bit skeptical, especially considering the fact that Tomb Raider: Anniversary is more or less just a new map on top of the already-built game engine of Tomb Raider: Legend. Porting it to PS3 would more than likely take a larger team of devs to complete than Eidos is willing to fund. But hey, we're wishful thinkers. We sincerely hope that if this slim rumor holds any weight, the port team will be diligent and give PS3 owners the chance to experience the new Tomb Raider: Anniversary content in all its PS3 splendor.
Tomb Raider episodic content in September
Eidos UK announced that Tomb Raider: Anniversary will be 4 pieces of episodic content, playable through Tomb Raider: Legend, with the first two episodes releasing in September. The complete set, (including a the Croft Manor as a free download), will come to 2400 MS points, or 600 Microsoft points per episode. Since playing requires having Legend handy, those strictly wanting the content alone can wait until later in the year for the retail release. So, in short we were right, but it still leaves a question lingering. Since the episodes will be tied to Legend, is there going to be a maximum of 250 Gamerscore to be given out, if it even has additional Achievements? If that's the case, then what about the retail release, will that have 1000 Gamerscore? Either way, this could be breaking new ground on Xbox Live.[Via Joystiq. Thanks, Bob]
GameTap expanding free play to 40 titles by month's end
GameTap just let us know that near the end of this month they'll be moving up their free play service from 30 games (which currently has Tomb Raider: Legend) to 40 games. They also have the Lara Croft animated series going on beginning in July and hopefully full Mac support by the end of summer.As for their regular subscription service, they added five new games today: Psychonauts King of Fighters 97 Golden Axe: The Duel Art of Fighting 3 Metal Slug 3 If you haven't tried the excellent Tomb Raider: Anniversary yet, GameTap is probably the cheapest option in which to play it -- next to outright stealing.
Tomb Raider Anniversary coming to 360 (as DLC?)
Is there anything the ESRB can't do? Routinely revealing numerous Xbox Live Arcade games, the ratings board has now revealed that Tomb Raider: Anniversary is headed to the Xbox 360. In an interesting twist, the ESRB actually lists five different entries for the game, each with a different locale specified. In all, Peru, Lost City, Greece, Egypt, and Croft Manor are listed. This specificity leads us (and Joystiq) to conclude that Anniversary will be offered as downloadable content. Whether this is done via Tomb Raider: Legend or as independent downloadable episodes remains to be seen (if we had to guess, we'd say it'll be Legend DLC). Considering Anniversary costs $30 on other platforms, a $5-6 price tag for each episode on Xbox Live Marketplace would be reasonable (though we're not necessarily expecting it).We really enjoyed Lara Croft's first outing on the 360, so here's hoping Eidos makes an official announcement soon.[Via Joystiq]
GameTap launches free ad-supported service
Today begins the next iteration of game subscription service GameTap. One of the key components of this new version is the free ad-supported service that'll have about 30 games on a rotating schedule, starting with titles like Metal Slug (which will have online co-op), Bust-A-Move, Bubble Bobble and Rampage. Best of all, part of this free service is being able to play the excellent return of Lara Croft in last year's Tomb Raider: Legend. Yes, for free. As part of their regular paying subscription service, GameTap is rolling out Panzer Dragoon, Metal Slug 2, Art of Fighting, The King of Fighters '95 and Tomb Raider: Legend. We're mostly looking forward to logging into the service next week and playing Tomb Raider: Anniversary as part of the normal subscription fee without having to experience the unwashed masses at retail. You can also purchase the full version digitally from Steam if you don't want to pony up the $10 for GameTap, or there is always the option to purchasing it directly from GameTap's new digitial distribution service, which is completely different from their subscription and free gaming sections. There's a lot of changes going on at GameTap, and we're more than happy to play classic arcade and console games free ... legally.
Armed cops burst into home to neutralize... Lara Croft mannequin?
Considering just how chaotic a police scanner can become when the crime lords decide to hit the streets, we can't fault the boys in blue for showing up at the wrong address or completely missing a shoplifter with a projector in his shorts, but this one's just absurd. Apparently, a Manchester man had his home invaded by squads of armed police after a pistol-wielding Lara Croft mannequin served as cause for concern. The officials mistook the ominous silhouette for an actual gunman, and took it upon themselves to rush in and attempt to save the day. Interestingly, the homeowner was actually arrested for "suspected firearms offense," but he's currently speaking to lawyers about "a possible claim for wrongful arrest." Man, publicly humiliating yourself and begging for a lawsuit -- now that's a full day's work.[Thanks, Dan G.]
Lara Croft mannequin mistaken for gunman, house raided
We're not sure how this emergency call went out, but we imagine it sounded something like this:"Hello, Police. What's your emergency?""It's my neighbor. There's a gunman in his house!""Please calm down. Describe the situation to us, sir.""Well ... it's not really a gunman, per se. It's definitely a gunwoman.""There's an armed woman in your neighbor's house?""Yes. She's definitely got a gun and ... an enormous chest. Really, those things look fake."After receiving the call from HQ, armed police raided the home of one Mr. David Williams who had brought the most definitely fake dummy home from work to unload on eBay, where some lonely sap would bid on true love. Instead of sheepishly apologizing for the mistaken identity, police brought Mr. Williams downtown where he languished in a cell for thirteen hours. No word on what he told his cell-mates he was in for.[Thanks, Dan G.]
Lara Croft to celebrate anniversary on the Wii? [update 1]
Oh, she can raid our tomb any day ....But, in all seriousness, Lara Croft's adventures spelunking and climbing, just doing her thing, have been something we've always enjoyed. Her games have been quite the treat (not all have been great, of course), so the prospect of her latest adventure (which is a revisit back to her first game, her best game) landing on the Wii is one that we cannot ignore. We want it, we need it.News of the project coming to the Wii is courtesy of German gaming site GameFront, who've been pretty reliable as far as rumors go in the past. Let's hope this one pans out, as well.Update: It's official! Rejoice, fellow tomb raiding enthusiasts![Via Codename Revolution]
Today's raidingest video: Tomb Raider
Some of us have been jonseing for each successive Tomb Raider adventure ever since Lara Croft decided that messing up archaeological sites wasn't just for Indy. (Where were the interns and study? No, Kurtis Trent and Short Round don't count.) The June 5 launch of the original, remade with updated graphics (and we can only hope controls), as Tomb Raider: Anniversary is just around the corner. The tombs aren't going to just raid themselves; our video pick is the latest trailer for the back-to-her roots game. We don't see much that we didn't already know -- surprise, the game has "mild suggestive themes" -- but we're sure fans will appreciate the latest look at Lara. See the video after the break.
