Square Enix and Crystal Dynamis to "reboot" Tomb Raider

[♠Dawn Rayne♠]

Here is some info:​

Lara is 21 in this game
- It's not only a reboot of the franchise but a reboot of the entire brand. As a result there will be no "real" Lara model this time.
- They're doing performance capturing with this game
- There are brutal deaths in the game this time. One is described as a deranged man stabbing Lara in the chest and then closing her eyes after she's dead. Another includes a boulder falling on her leg to trap her before another falls and crushes her head.
- CD won't talk specifics on weapons but concept art shows a bow, shotgun and pistol
- The lock on targeting system is gone and it now has a free aim system. CD says that it can compete with any of their competitors.
- "I think that the major difference between this game and the old is the concept of smoke and mirrors," begins Darrell Gallagher, the studio head at Crystal Dynamics. "There was an illusion of freedom because of streaming and loading that would pop you out in a different location, but this is absolutely real. You can literally go any direction that you see and carve your own way to the finish line instead of being guide."
- "It was important in the game to not only deliver the character arc of Lara Croft emotionally, but to deliver it in gameplay as well so the player gets to grow into a hardened survivor," says experienced director Noah Hughes. As the game unfolds, Lara will scavenge new tools and gear that augment her abilities. Lara's athletic prowess will also evolve. Some areas begin inaccessible due to physical limitations or scarce supplies. With the right skills and gear, however, the island is Lara's for the taking.
- There are base camps in the game. Here you can combine items to create something new and access a skill system to upgrade Lara's abilities. You'll also be able to use base camps to fast travel to different locations to minimize backtracking.
- You'll need to gather food and water in order to survive
- There are humans in the game, including some of the crew members from the shipwreck off the coast of the island.​

That's about it. It seems like CD is still be fairly secretive about the gameplay details. There are some nice in-game screenshots. One features Lara hanging upside down in what looks to be a cocoon. Also several screenshots showing her bloodied and with bandages on.​

Cover:​

Spoiler:

Press release:​

A New Game from Crystal Dynamics

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Square Enix, Inc., is excited today to announce TOMB RAIDER®,

the new game from Redwood City based studio Crystal Dynamics®.​

'After a brutal storm destroys the boat she was travelling on, a frightened young woman is left washed ashore
on an unknown beach. On her own but not alone she has only one goal, to survive'​

Here begins the first adventure for a young and inexperienced Lara Croft in a story which charts the journey
of an ordinary woman who finds out just how far she must go in order to stay alive.​

"Forget everything you knew about TOMB RAIDER," said Darrell Gallagher, Head of Studio, Crystal Dynamics.
"This is an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other."​

TOMB RAIDER makes its worldwide debut in the January issue of Game Informer® magazine. The cover story
features 10 pages of exclusive content and is available beginning today for subscribers and on newsstands
December 11. Follow Game Informer on Twitter @GameInformer.​

I am uber happy about this :)
​

 

[Captain Fabio]

Oh look. More companies recycling games to make money.

Well, I really am not bothered by this at all. I don't think it is going to be a good game, considering the second point is on how you get to die.

There are brutal deaths in the game this time. One is described as a deranged man stabbing Lara in the chest and then closing her eyes after she's dead. Another includes a boulder falling on her leg to trap her before another falls and crushes her head.

Seriously? It isn't a Saw game. Why would I care how I lose the game?

Anyway, I won't be buying this, because, although I enjoyed the first game when I was younger, the rest have been rubbish and I am sure this one will follow suit.

 

[pikasneeze]

Anyway, I won't be buying this, because, although I enjoyed the first game when I was younger, the rest have been rubbish and I am sure this one will follow suit.

I agree. I tried to go back and play some of them, but they were total rubbish. I'm not even sure how I enjoyed them in the first place, although it was awhile ago, so that might play into it. Ya never know though. Maybe it could be good.

 

[Sydian]

Cover looks nice. But that's all that seems nice about it. I never enjoyed any of the previous Tomb Raider games, so this looks like another thing I'll be skipping out on. Another thing keeping me away from it is:

- There are brutal deaths in the game this time. One is described as a deranged man stabbing Lara in the chest and then closing her eyes after she's dead. Another includes a boulder falling on her leg to trap her before another falls and crushes her head.

Um...ew? That's disgusting. lmao I don't mind gore, but...really? Do we need all that detail?

This really is the rebooting age of gaming, lol.

 

[RivalGator]

Okay, you guys have started a rant now.

I was raised playing Tomb Raider. It has been my favorite game since I was a child, and when Core Design previously owned it, Tomb Raider was actually a worthwhile game. The characters were strong, there was no crying over stupid things, the enemies (Jacqueline Natla, for instance) were amazing, and I could go on and on for hours about how amazing Core Designs games were.

Crystal Dynamics have absolutely destroyed not only the Tomb Raider franchise but Lara Croft herself. Lara Croft (the Core Design Lara) was once a woman that all young girls could look up to and aim to be like, and this new Lara is weak and cowardly, keeps looking back on the past and giving people too many chances. I would MUCH rather be protected and guided by the old, 'take no ********' Lara than the new and prissy teenage 'I want my mommy and daddy!' Lara. The storylines are ridiculously awful. Crystal Dynamics 'remade' (translation: Utterly made fun of and butchered) Tomb Raider 1, and the storyline was so stupid and different that I swore up and down the day I bought it that no one from the Crystal Dynamics company had ever even played through a single level of Tomb Raider 1. I was honestly hoping they would allow Tomb Raider to just die it's natural death, but they are basically taking over and saying, "Hey old fans, screw you. This is the new generation, we don't give a damn what you knew and believes. Tomb Raider belongs to US now."

I have a whole YouTube account (and have for the past three years) basically about Crystal Dynamics and how they have destroyed the Tomb Raider franchise. I will not be buying this game, I refuse. It's just another game where there will be more crying and cowardice from the once strong and fearless Lara Croft, and probably another god damn villain like Amanda Evert and James Rutland. Core Design, please. Crystal Dynamics fail at anything Tomb Raider. So when it comes to the gruesome endings that you guys have described not liking, such as the guy stabbing her, the rock smashing her head and all, Crystal Dynamics are butchering the games a lot worse than that.