Tomb Raider is an upcoming action-adventure video game, the ninth pillar instalment of the Tomb Raider series developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. The first in a third continuation, the game is set to provide no correlation to the entirety of the previous entries in the series; a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character, Lara Croft.[1][2]
Contents
[hide]
1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 Development
4 Voice cast
5 Music
6 References
7 External links
[edit] Story
Fresh from academy and in search of lost relics, a 21-year-old Lara Croft journeys to an island off the coast of Japan aboard the Endurance, a salvage vessel helmed by Captain Conrad Roth. Before anchoring at bay, the ship is cleaved in two by an unforeseen storm leaving Croft separated from any other survivors and washed ashore. She must endure physical and emotional torture in order to survive the island.[3]
[edit] Gameplay
The game begins with Croft devoid of any weapons, tools or essentials such as food and water, which the player must search for in order to survive.[4] Sections of the island are restricted to the player until Lara is able to perform specific physical abilities achieved via a "skill system", or obtained the necessary equipment to advance.[5] At frequent base camps throughout the world, the player can combine pick-ups to create new items, improve Lara's abilities and/or fast travel to previously discovered base camps to avoid copious amounts of backtracking.[4] There is a "much larger emphasis" on combat, as instead of using a lock-on aiming system akin to previous Tomb Raiders this game will employ a manual "free aim" mechanic.[5]
[edit] Development
A conceptual render of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. She wields a bow, pistol and climbing axe.
Following Tomb Raider: Underworld, Crystal Dynamics was split into two teams; the first beginning work on the next sequential pillar of the Tomb Raider franchise, while the second focusing on the newly created spin-off Lara Croft series (debuting with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light in 2010).[6] Following pre-announcement media hype while the game's title was under embargo, in November, 2010, Square Enix filed for trademark of the slogan for the new Tomb Raider game; "A Survivor is Born".[7]
On 6 December 2010, Square Enix announced Tomb Raider had been in production for nearly 2 years; "Square Enix Ltd. is excited today to announce Tomb Raider, the new game from Redwood City based studio Crystal Dynamics".[8] Studio head Darrell Gallagher said, "Forget everything you knew about Tomb Raider, this is an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other".[9] Game Informer website and magazine ran a world exclusive cover reveal in its January 2011 issue, as well as exclusive coverage of emerging details directly from Crystal Dynamics from December 12, 2010.[2] Tomb Raider, anticipated for release in the last quarter of 2011, will be the first game in the series expected to receive a Mature 17+ rating in the United States.[10]
Lara Croft's model is animated using compiled performance capture, a technique used in previous instalment Tomb Raider: Underworld.[3]
[edit] Voice cast
Keeley Hawes will not be returning as Lara Croft for 2011's Tomb Raider, after completing Tomb Raider: Legend, Anniversary, Underworld and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Her contribution spans an unprecedented four years; the longest role of any of Croft's voice actresses. The voice part for Croft has not yet been finalized. Crystal Dynamics is trialling dozens of voice actresses. [11]
[edit] Music
On 21 December 2010, a podcast was released via the exclusive Game Informer media coverage. As well as featuring an interview with the developers regarding selected publicized fan questions, it also included "a sneak peek at a track from the game itself" composed by Aleksandar Dimitrijevic.[11] On the 27 December 2010, tweets from Crystal Dynamics Global Brand Director, Karl Stewart, clarified Game Informer's statement, saying "We're delighted to have such an esteemed composer working with us on our first major Tomb Raider asset",[12] but that "Alex Dimitrijevic is scoring the trailer. We officially haven't announced the composer for the game."[13]
[edit] References
^ Cullen, Johnny (6 December 2010). "Square announces Tomb Raider". VG247. Videogaming 247. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ a b Makuch, Eddie (6 December 2010). "Next Tomb Raider to be origin story". GameSpot (CBS Interactive). Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ a b Marie, Meagan. "Tomb Raider Lara Croft Reborn". Game Informer (GameStop Corporation) (2011 January): 42.
^ a b Marie, Meagan. "Tomb Raider Lara Croft Reborn". Game Informer (GameStop Corporation) (2011 January): 51.
^ a b Marie, Meagan. "Tomb Raider Lara Croft Reborn". Game Informer (GameStop Corporation) (2011 January): 50.
^ Walton, Mark (9 January 2009). "Tomb Raider sales fall short, Eidos shares plummet". GameSpot (CBS Interactive). Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ McElroy, Griffin (27 November 2010). "Square Enix files trademark for 'A Survivor is Born'". Joystiq (AOL). Retrieved 9 December 2010.
^ Baker, Elyas Gorogo (6 December 2010). "The Return of Tomb Raider". World Gaming Network. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ Robinson, Martin (6 December 2010). "New Tomb Raider Unveiled". IGN (News Corporation). Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^ Marie, Meagan. "Tomb Raider Lara Croft Reborn". Game Informer (GameStop Corporation) (2011 January): 48.
^ a b Matt Helgeson, Karl Stewart and Tim Longo. Special Edition Podcast: Tomb Raider Game Informer. Game Informer Show. (21 December 2010). Podcast accessed on 21 December 2010.
^ Karl Stewart. "10:01 PM Dec 26th, 2010 via Twitter".
^ Karl Stewart. "6:59 PM Dec 27th, 2010 via Twitter".
[edit] External links
Tomb Raider official website
