Jump to content

Tomb Raider (2013 video game): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 44: Line 44:
When Lara finally reunites with the other survivors, she and Whitman decide to break off from the main party and search for Roth, who is still missing. As they climb a mountainside, they discover that the island's inhabitants are worshipping Himiko, confirming that the island is, in fact, Yamatai. Upon discovering a shrine erected in Himiko's name, they are captured by the islanders and taken to a settlement along with several other survivors of the ''Endurance'' wreck. When the survivors attempt an escape, the captors turn on them, hunting them down and killing them. Lara is separated from Whitman and tries to hide, but is found by Vladimir, the leader of the inhabitants, and is forced to kill him. She fights off the remainder of the inhabitants as she works her way up the mountainside, locating an injured Roth in a nearby abandoned village. Using Roth's equipment, Lara sets off for a communications relay at the very top of the mountain, in the hopes of contacting the outside world and calling for aid.
When Lara finally reunites with the other survivors, she and Whitman decide to break off from the main party and search for Roth, who is still missing. As they climb a mountainside, they discover that the island's inhabitants are worshipping Himiko, confirming that the island is, in fact, Yamatai. Upon discovering a shrine erected in Himiko's name, they are captured by the islanders and taken to a settlement along with several other survivors of the ''Endurance'' wreck. When the survivors attempt an escape, the captors turn on them, hunting them down and killing them. Lara is separated from Whitman and tries to hide, but is found by Vladimir, the leader of the inhabitants, and is forced to kill him. She fights off the remainder of the inhabitants as she works her way up the mountainside, locating an injured Roth in a nearby abandoned village. Using Roth's equipment, Lara sets off for a communications relay at the very top of the mountain, in the hopes of contacting the outside world and calling for aid.


After successfully hailing a plane that was searching for the ''Endurance'' and setting a signal fire for them to follow, Lara witnesses a fierce storm materialise out of a clear sky and strike the plane down, accopanied by a mysterious voice saying "No-one leaves" in Japanese. Feeling responsible for the fate of the pilots, Lara is powerless to stop the island's inhabitants from killing them. Lara is contacted by Alex and Reyes, who reveal that Sam has been kidnapped by the island's inhabitants, a violent cult known as the Solarii Brotherhood. Lara, who is closest to Sam's position, tries to rescue her, but is foiled by Mathias, who orders her killed. Lara is saved by the intervention of strange [[samurai]]-like creatures—referred to by the islanders as '[[Oni]]', demons in Japanese folklore—and taken to an ancient monastery in the mountains. Escaping again, Lara stumbles onto a ritual chamber, where she learns that a "fire ritual" was used to choose the successor of the queen as part of a ceremony called the "Ascension". A terrified Sam manages to contact Lara and informs her that the Solarii intend to put her through the fire ritural, which will burn her to death if it is unsuccessful. Lara makes for the Solarii fortress, with support from Roth, but as she tries to infiltrate the palace, the Solarii threaten to murder Grim unless she surrenders. Grim attempts to overpower them, but is killed in the process. This allows Lara to venture into the palace, where she witnesses Mathias putting Sam through the fire ritual. Sam is not harmed by the fires, which are extinguished by a great gust of wind, marking her as the righful successor to the Sun Queen's throne.
After successfully hailing a plane that was searching for the ''Endurance'' and setting a signal fire for them to follow, Lara witnesses a fierce storm materialise out of a clear sky and strike the plane down, accopanied by a mysterious voice saying "No-one leaves" in Japanese. Feeling responsible for the fate of the pilots, Lara is powerless to stop the island's inhabitants from killing them. Lara is contacted by Alex and Reyes, who reveal that Sam has been kidnapped by the island's inhabitants, a violent cult known as the Solarii Brotherhood. Lara, who is closest to Sam's position, tries to rescue her, but is foiled by Mathias, who orders her killed. Lara is saved by the intervention of strange [[samurai]]-like creatures—referred to by the islanders as '[[Oni]]', demons in Japanese folklore—and taken to an ancient monastery in the mountains. Escaping again, Lara stumbles onto a ritual chamber, where she learns that a "fire ritual" was used to choose the successor of the queen as part of a ceremony called the "Ascension". A terrified Sam manages to contact Lara and informs her that the Solarii intend to put her through the fire ritural, which will burn her to death if it is unsuccessful. Lara makes for the Solarii fortress, with support from Roth, but as she tries to infiltrate the palace, the Solarii threaten to murder Grim unless she surrenders. Grim attempts to overpower them, but is killed in the process. This allows Lara to venture into the palace, where she witnesses Mathias putting Sam through the fire ritual. Sam is not harmed by the fires, which are extinguished by a great gust of wind, marking her as the rightful successor to the Sun Queen's throne.


As Sam is now free of any immediate danger, Lara doubles back to help her friends, whose attempts to reach Sam have resulted in their capture. Aided by Whitman—who has managed to negotiate some degree of freedom with the Solarii—Lara returns to the palace to rescue Sam as Roth commandeers a helicopter to get them out. Having witnessed the storm that forced the search plane to crash, Lara sends Sam to escape by land and tries to force the pilot to land as a second storm brews up, striking the helicopter and forcing them to crash. Lara is nearly killed in the accident and is revived by Roth. However, Mathias and the Solarii arrive, and Roth is killed by a tomohawk meant for Lara. While mourning over Roth, Lara accepts that the storms are not natural, but are somehow connected to the Sun Queen and designed to prevent anyone leaving the island. She meets up with the other survivors, who have evaded the Solarii long enough to secure a boat and escape the island, provided that it can be repaired. They are joined by Whitman, who claims to have escaped, though Lara begins to suspect him of working with the cultists. Lara and Alex head for the wreck of the ''Endurance'' to salvage the parts needed to repair the boat. They find what they need, but they are attacked by the Solarii and Alex is trapped under wreckage. Alex decides to trigger an explosion and sacrifice himself so that Lara can escape with the parts.
As Sam is now free of any immediate danger, Lara doubles back to help her friends, whose attempts to reach Sam have resulted in their capture. Aided by Whitman—who has managed to negotiate some degree of freedom with the Solarii—Lara returns to the palace to rescue Sam as Roth commandeers a helicopter to get them out. Having witnessed the storm that forced the search plane to crash, Lara sends Sam to escape by land and tries to force the pilot to land as a second storm brews up, striking the helicopter and forcing them to crash. Lara is nearly killed in the accident and is revived by Roth. However, Mathias and the Solarii arrive, and Roth is killed by a tomohawk meant for Lara. While mourning over Roth, Lara accepts that the storms are not natural, but are somehow connected to the Sun Queen and designed to prevent anyone leaving the island. She meets up with the other survivors, who have evaded the Solarii long enough to secure a boat and escape the island, provided that it can be repaired. They are joined by Whitman, who claims to have escaped, though Lara begins to suspect him of working with the cultists. Lara and Alex head for the wreck of the ''Endurance'' to salvage the parts needed to repair the boat. They find what they need, but they are attacked by the Solarii and Alex is trapped under wreckage. Alex decides to trigger an explosion and sacrifice himself so that Lara can escape with the parts.

Revision as of 08:38, 24 March 2013

Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider cover
Developer(s)Crystal Dynamics (Xbox 360)
Additional work by:
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)Noah Hughes (creative)
Cory Barlog
Designer(s)Darrell Gallagher
Artist(s)Visual Works (CGI)
Writer(s)Rhianna Pratchett[1]
Composer(s)Jason Graves
SeriesTomb Raider
EngineModified Crystal Engine[2]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Action-adventure, platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure platform video game. Published by Square Enix, Tomb Raider is the fifth title developed by Crystal Dynamics in the Tomb Raider franchise. As the first entry in a new Tomb Raider continuity, the game is a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character Lara Croft.[3][4] Tomb Raider was released on 5 March 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows to universal critical acclaim.[5]

Gameplay

Tomb Raider uses an interconnected hub-and-spoke model that combines action-adventure, platforming, exploration, and survival mechanics.[6] The game is presented in third-person perspective, and the player takes control of the lead character, Lara Croft. Karl Stewart said that the game's campaign will last between 12 and 15 hours.[7] Along with the main story, players will have the chance to do multiple side quests, explore the island, revisit places, and search for challenge tombs.

Multiplayer

The fourth episode of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider, which went live on YouTube on 8 January 2013, announced that the game would have multiplayer features. The multiplayer mode was created by Canadian video game development studio Eidos Montreal, known for making Deus Ex: Human Revolution. According to the game's developers, there will be three types of games for multiplayer, played in five different maps. Many things available for the single-player campaign, are also added into multiplayer. In each game, there are two enemy teams: Four survivors and four scavengers, and they either try to eliminate the opposite team or attempt to bring medical supplies to certain points in the map. The player can also set traps or activate special features, according to the map the game is set in.[8][9]

Premise

Characters

The player takes on the role of Lara Croft, a young and ambitious archaeology graduate whose theories on the location of the lost kingdom of Yamatai have convinced the Nishimura family—descendants of Yamatai themselves—to fund an expedition in search of the kingdom. The expedition is led by Dr. James Whitman, a celebrity archaeologist who has fallen on hard times and is desperate to avoid bankruptcy and divorce, and is accompanied by Conrad Roth, a Royal Marine turned adverturer and close friend of the Croft family who serves as mentor to Lara; Samantha "Sam" Nishimura, Lara's best friend and a representative of the Nishimura family who films the expedition for a documentary; Joslyn Reyes, a sceptical and temperamental mechanic and single mother; Jonah Maiava, an imposing and placid fisherman who is willing to believe in the existence of the paranormal and esoteric; Angus "Grim" Grimaldi, the gruff Glasweigan helmsman of the Endurance; and Alex, a goofy and bespectacled electronics specialist.

Setting

The game is set on Yamatai, an island in the Dragon's Triangle off the coast of Japan. The island—and the kingdom that once existed there—is shrouded in mystery, given its reputation for fearsome storms and shipwrecks that litter its coastline. Yamatai was once ruled by a queen named Himiko, known by her honourific title of "Sun Queen", who according to legend was blessed with shamanistic powers that enabled her to control the weather. Very little is known about Yamatai's history in the time since Himiko's death, other than that the island's infamy was established shortly thereafter. In exploring the island, the player may find evidence that—among others—Portuguese traders, American marines and a Japanese military project were all stranded on Yamatai at various points throughout history.

At the start of the game, the island is populated exclusively by the Solarii Brotherhood, a violent cult of crminals, mercenaries and shipwreck survivors. The Solarii Brotherhood has established its own society based on the worship of Himiko, complete with a social structure and laws, with their exact purpose and intentions being explored over the course of the story.

Synopsis

The game begins with Lara setting out on her first expedition about the ship Endurance, with the intention of finding the lost kingdom of Yamatai. By her suggestion and against Whitman's advice, the expedition ventures into the Dragon's Triangle. The ship is struck by a violent storm and split in two, leaving the survivors stranded on an isolated island. Lara is separated from the others when she is captured by a strange, savage man and trapped in his cave home. She manages to escape while her captor is killed as the cave collapses around them. The survivors decide to regroup at a nearby campsite. As Lara tries to locate the other survivors, she finds more evidence that the island is inhabited, complete with strange carvings and ritual sacrifices of animals. She eventually finds Sam and a man called Mathias, who claims to be one of the passengers. As Sam tells Mathias the legends of Himiko, Lara falls asleep; when she wakes, Mathias and Sam have gone.

When Lara finally reunites with the other survivors, she and Whitman decide to break off from the main party and search for Roth, who is still missing. As they climb a mountainside, they discover that the island's inhabitants are worshipping Himiko, confirming that the island is, in fact, Yamatai. Upon discovering a shrine erected in Himiko's name, they are captured by the islanders and taken to a settlement along with several other survivors of the Endurance wreck. When the survivors attempt an escape, the captors turn on them, hunting them down and killing them. Lara is separated from Whitman and tries to hide, but is found by Vladimir, the leader of the inhabitants, and is forced to kill him. She fights off the remainder of the inhabitants as she works her way up the mountainside, locating an injured Roth in a nearby abandoned village. Using Roth's equipment, Lara sets off for a communications relay at the very top of the mountain, in the hopes of contacting the outside world and calling for aid.

After successfully hailing a plane that was searching for the Endurance and setting a signal fire for them to follow, Lara witnesses a fierce storm materialise out of a clear sky and strike the plane down, accopanied by a mysterious voice saying "No-one leaves" in Japanese. Feeling responsible for the fate of the pilots, Lara is powerless to stop the island's inhabitants from killing them. Lara is contacted by Alex and Reyes, who reveal that Sam has been kidnapped by the island's inhabitants, a violent cult known as the Solarii Brotherhood. Lara, who is closest to Sam's position, tries to rescue her, but is foiled by Mathias, who orders her killed. Lara is saved by the intervention of strange samurai-like creatures—referred to by the islanders as 'Oni', demons in Japanese folklore—and taken to an ancient monastery in the mountains. Escaping again, Lara stumbles onto a ritual chamber, where she learns that a "fire ritual" was used to choose the successor of the queen as part of a ceremony called the "Ascension". A terrified Sam manages to contact Lara and informs her that the Solarii intend to put her through the fire ritural, which will burn her to death if it is unsuccessful. Lara makes for the Solarii fortress, with support from Roth, but as she tries to infiltrate the palace, the Solarii threaten to murder Grim unless she surrenders. Grim attempts to overpower them, but is killed in the process. This allows Lara to venture into the palace, where she witnesses Mathias putting Sam through the fire ritual. Sam is not harmed by the fires, which are extinguished by a great gust of wind, marking her as the rightful successor to the Sun Queen's throne.

As Sam is now free of any immediate danger, Lara doubles back to help her friends, whose attempts to reach Sam have resulted in their capture. Aided by Whitman—who has managed to negotiate some degree of freedom with the Solarii—Lara returns to the palace to rescue Sam as Roth commandeers a helicopter to get them out. Having witnessed the storm that forced the search plane to crash, Lara sends Sam to escape by land and tries to force the pilot to land as a second storm brews up, striking the helicopter and forcing them to crash. Lara is nearly killed in the accident and is revived by Roth. However, Mathias and the Solarii arrive, and Roth is killed by a tomohawk meant for Lara. While mourning over Roth, Lara accepts that the storms are not natural, but are somehow connected to the Sun Queen and designed to prevent anyone leaving the island. She meets up with the other survivors, who have evaded the Solarii long enough to secure a boat and escape the island, provided that it can be repaired. They are joined by Whitman, who claims to have escaped, though Lara begins to suspect him of working with the cultists. Lara and Alex head for the wreck of the Endurance to salvage the parts needed to repair the boat. They find what they need, but they are attacked by the Solarii and Alex is trapped under wreckage. Alex decides to trigger an explosion and sacrifice himself so that Lara can escape with the parts.

Finding an account of a Japanese military expedition to the island that sought a way to harness the power of the storms as a weapon, Lara decides to explore an ancient tomb on the coast, where she finds the remains of a high-ranking samurai who committed seppuku. It is revealed, in a message he left, that he was the general of the queen's Stormguard, the Oni that defend the monastery, and that the Queen's successor took her own life rather than receive the Sun Queen's power, leaving the Sun Queen trapped in her body after death, and her rage has manifested in the form of the storms. Lara realises that the Ascension is not a ceremony to crown a new queen, but rather a ritual that transfers the Queen's soul into a new body, and that the process will destory the host's soul. Himiko's spirit wants to escape its current body, and Mathias plans to offer Sam as a new host. Lara returns to the party on the beach to find that Whitman has betrayed them, abducting Sam and handing her over to Mathias.

Lara, Jonah and Reyes give chase, heading up a river to the monastery. After fighting her way through the queen's guards, Lara arrives at the top of the monastery in time to see Mathias start the Ascension ritual. She works her way to Mathias, confronting Solarii and guards alike. Lara kills Mathias when she shoots him from the roof of the monastery, sending him plunging into the abyss below, before destorying Himiko's remains to save Sam. With the storms dispersed, Lara, Sam, Reyes and Jonah leave the island and are picked up by a cargo ship. As she and her friends sail home, Lara decides that there are many more myths to be found and resolves to uncover them.

Development

System requirements
Minimum Recommended
Microsoft Windows[10]
Operating system Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista, 7, 8 (32 or 64 bit)Windows Vista, 7 or 8
CPU Intel Core2 Duo 1.86 GHz (E6300) or AMD Athlon64 X2 2.1 GHz (4050+)Intel Core i5-750 or AMD Phenom II X2 565
Memory 1 GB Memory (2 GB on Vista)4 GB RAM
Graphics hardware DirectX 9 graphics card with 512 MB Video RAM, AMD Radeon HD 2600 XT or nVidia 8600DirectX 11 graphics card with 1 GB Video RAM, AMD Radeon HD 4870 or nVidia GTX 480

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).[11] 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".[12] 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".[13] 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".[14] 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 12 December 2010.[4] Tomb Raider will be the first game in the series expected to receive a M rating in the United States.[15]

In January 2012, when asked if the game would be available on Nintendo's Wii U console, Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart responded there are no plans to have the game available on that platform. According to Stewart, the reason for this is that "it would not be right" for the game to simply be ported, as the developers built the game to be platform-specific before the Wii U was announced, and goes on to mention that if they started building the game for the platform "[they] would build it very differently and [they] would build it with unique functionality."[16] In May 2012, it was announced by Darrell Gallagher, the studio head of Crystal Dynamics, that the game has been delayed and is now due to be released in the first quarter of 2013. He said: "We're doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game, and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve. We believe this is the right choice, and I guarantee it will be worth the wait."[17]

Animated model

File:New Lara Croft.jpg
A conceptual render of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. She wields a bow, pistol and an ice tool.

Lara Croft's model is animated using compiled performance capture, a technique used in the previous installment Tomb Raider: Underworld.[18] The game will be built on Crystal Dynamics's game engine called the "Crystal Engine".[19] Lara´s face is based on that of model Megan Farquhar. On 3 June 2011, the "Turning Point" CGI teaser trailer premiered at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, emphasising the release date will be the third quarter of 2012.[20] The trailer was produced by Square Enix's CGI studio Visual Works.[21]

Voice cast

Keeley Hawes did not return as Lara Croft for 2013's Tomb Raider, after completing Tomb Raider: Legend, Anniversary, Underworld and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Her contribution spanned four years; the longest role of any of Croft's voice actresses in English. In December 2010, Crystal Dynamics was said to be trialling dozens of voice actresses.[22] On 26 June 2012, the voice actress of Lara Croft was revealed to be Camilla Luddington.[23] Lara is played by Nadine Njeim in the Arabic dub,[24] by Nora Tschirner in the German dub, by Alice David in the French dub, by Karolina Gorczyca in the Polish dub, by Yuhko Kaida in the Japanese dub, by Benedetta Ponticelli in the Italian dub, by Guiomar Alburquerque Durán in the Spanish dub and by Polina Sherbakova in the Russian dub.[25]

Gameplay showcases

On 31 May 2012, a new gameplay trailer was released online, showcasing more action-based gameplay along with varying plot elements. The trailer also confirms the presence of several other non-playable characters besides Lara on the island, many of which appear to be in a menacing organization, much like in previous instalments in the franchise.[26] On 4 June 2012, at Microsoft's E3 2012 press conference, a new gameplay demonstration was shown, depicting environmental destruction and other interactivity, stealth combat using a bow and arrow, quick-time events and parachuting.[27] During summer 2012, gameplay was shown of Lara hunting, exploring the island and killing for the first time. They were shown at EuroGamer Expo 2012 at London on 27 September 2012.[28] On 8 December 2012, a new trailer was shown during Spike Video Game Awards. At the beginning, an introduction was made by Camilla Luddington and during the event, the trailer was followed by a musical orchestra, led by the music composer, Jason Graves.[29] The next week, IGN presented: Tomb Raider Week. Each day from Monday to Friday, exclusive previews, features and trailers were released, showing more details for the upgrading system, survival tools and challenge tombs.[30] Tomb Raider officially went gold on 8 February 2013.[31]

Music

A podcast was released by Game Informer on 21 December 2010, featuring a "sneak peek at a track from the game itself"[22] composed by Aleksandar Dimitrijevic.[32] Tweets from Crystal Dynamics Global Brand Director, Karl Stewart, clarified Game Informer's statement; confirming that "Alex Dimitrijevic is scoring the trailer. We officially haven't announced the composer for the game".[33] On 8 June 2011, after the trailer's première, Stewart stated in regard to the final Turning Point score that "...this piece is not a piece that [Alex Dimitrijevic]'s worked on".[34] On 7 June 2011, Meagan Marie, community manager at Crystal Dynamics, expressed on the official Tomb Raider blog that "Our goal [is] to make sure that we release a soundtrack".[35] Stewart added "this is a completely new composer and somebody who we've brought in to work on the game as well as this [trailer] piece" and that "we're going to make a bigger announcement later in the year".[34]

In the Making of Turning Point, sound designer Alex Wilmer explained that the unannounced composer had remotely directed an in-house concert violinist to perform the "very intimate" piece.[36] In the fourth Crystal Habit podcast which premiered at the Tomb Raider blog on 17 October 2011, Marie spoke to Wilmer and lead sound designer Jack Grillo about their collaboration(s) with the unannounced composer. Grillo stated that "We're doing this overture... where we're taking an outline of the narrative structure and having our composer create different themes and textures that would span the entire game" while Wilmer emphasised that the composer's music will dynamically adapt in-game; scored "...emotionally so that it reacts instantly to what happens".[37]

In an episode of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider on YouTube, the composer was revealed to be Jason Graves.[38] He affirmed that his musical style is shaped by two classical composers Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, and a more recent one: Krzysztof Penderecki. During this reboot, the new Lara gets emotionally reshaped, while Jason underlines the action with deep music, recreating the original Tomb Raider theme that hasn't drastically changed, until now. He scores Lara's critical emotional moments in a cinematic manner, combining these feelings with industrial orchestral "horror" sounds that he specially designed for Lara. A custom-made instrument of glass and different metals was specially made for this score in collaboration with McConnell Studios from Raleigh, North Carolina. This instrument provides most of the horror sounds for the running and escaping scenes.

Release

Tomb Raider was released as scheduled on 5 March 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. However it was released early in Australia, being available on 1 March 2013.[39][40]

Pre-order incentives

In North America, GameStop offered the in-game Challenge Tomb as a pre-order. Best Buy orders got the Tomb Raider: The Beginnings, a 48-page hardcover graphic novel, written by the game's lead writer Rhianna Pratchett, and telling the story of "how the ill-fated voyage of the Endurance came to be". These orders also came with the Aviatrix Skin as well as the Shanty Town multiplayer map.[41][42] Walmart orders received a free digital download of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, access to a real-life scavenger hunt, the Shanty Town multiplayer map and an exclusive Guerrilla Skin outfit.[43] Pre-orders from Microsoft Store also received 1600 Microsoft Points for Xbox Live.[44]

Exclusive to Amazon, pre-order customers received access to the Tomb Raider: The Final Hours Edition, including with a 32-page art book, an in-game Hunter Skin for Lara, and a digital copy of Geoff Keighley's The Final Hours of Tomb Raider for the Kindle Fire.[45] Customers also received the Shanty Town multiplayer map and an access code to a real-life scavenger hunt.[46] Customers who pre-purchased from Steam also received a free copy of Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light, a Challenge Tomb entitled Tomb of the Lost Adventurer and the Shanty Town multiplayer map.[47] Steam also offered three exclusive bonus Team Fortress 2 items.[48]

In the United Kingdom, ShopTo.net offered a digitised graphic novel, entitled Tomb Raider: The Beginnings, along with pre-orders.[49] Pre-orders from Amazon.co.uk received the Shanty Town multiplayer map.[50]

The scavenger hunt consists of a website where users can create a login and proceed to complete a total of 24 challenges. Challenges include trivia questions about the game, or scavenger hunt tasks that require the user to upload image files. Challenges were rolled out over the course of 12 weeks (1 trivia and 1 scavenger per week) prior to the release of the game. As challenges are completed, the user earns DLC content up to a total of 5 items. Additionally, users are given entries into a sweepstakes. Shortly before the release of the game, codes were provided that are then entered into the scavenger hunt website, and depending on how many DLC items were earned, a set of DLC codes are emailed to the user. These codes can be redeemed through Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network depending on system of choice. In-game items unlocked include animal instinct, agility, pistol burst, pistol silencer and headshot reticle.

Retail editions

File:Tomb Raider Collector's Edition.jpg
The contents of the Collector's Edition for North America.

Exclusive for Europe is the Survival Edition. The Survival Edition comes with a mini art book, double sided map of the in-game island, CD soundtrack, a code for the weapon pack, and a survival pouch.[51] The Collector's Edition for Europe contains everything from the Survival Edition along with an 8" Play Arts Kai Lara Croft figurine in a metal box.[52] The Collector's Edition for North America is similar to the European one, however instead of a mini art book and a survival pouch it contains three iron-on badges and a lithograph.[53]

The Survival Edition from Steam includes a digital 32-page art book, 10 downloadable tracks from the Tomb Raider soundtrack, a digital double sided map of the game's island, a digital comic, the Guerilla Skin outfit and three in-game weapons from Hitman: Absolution.[47]

In the United Kingdom, Game offered the exclusive Explorer Edition bundle, which included an exploration themed Challenge Tomb and a skill upgrade.[54] Exclusive to Tesco was the Combat Strike Pack, which included three weaponry upgrades and a skill upgrade.[55]

A limited edition wireless controller for the Xbox 360 was also released on 5 March 2013.[56] A download code for an Xbox exclusive playable Tomb Raider multiplayer character was also included.[57]

Downloadable content

At E3 2012, during Microsoft's press conference, Crystal Dynamics' Darrell Gallagher announced that Xbox 360 users will get early access to downloadable content (DLC).[58] On 6 March 2013, it was announced that Xbox Live users will have early access to the 'Caves & Cliffs' map pack. The map pack consists of three new Tomb Raider multiplayer maps, entitled 'Scavenger Caverns', 'Cliff Shantytown' and 'Burning Village'.[59]

Reception

Tomb Raider has received critical acclaim, with most critics agreeing that it is a solid and long-overdue reboot for the franchise. In a 'world exclusive' review, GamesMaster magazine gave the game a score of 90%, as well as the "GamesMaster Gold award" (awarded to games that manage a score of 90% or above). The editor regarded the quality of the visuals, the length and depth of the gameplay, and the "spectacular" last third of the game as the highlights. The summary said "sitting back exhausted we were left with just one question dribbling forth from our gaping jaws. How on earth are they going to top this in the sequel? Because of one thing there can be no doubt. Lara is back."[77] IGN's Keza Macdonald also spoke extremely positively, stating that they felt the game was "exciting" and "beautifully presented", included "great characterization" and "more depth than you would expect". They gave the game an overall score of 9.1 out of 10, the highest score they have given a game in the series since Tomb Raider, describing it as "amazing" and concluding that the game "did justice" to both the character and franchise.[66] Ryan Taljonick of GamesRadar lauded the location's setting and environment, and expressed that "not one area ever feels like a rehash of another". Taljonick also felt that the game had great pacing, and that it is "unrivaled by any other game in the genre". Furthermore, the reviewer considered Lara's character development as "an integral part" of the whole game's experience, and concluded that Tomb Raider "is a fantastic game and an excellent origin story for one of gaming's original treasure seekers".[70] Australian TV show Good Game praised the game with both hosts rating it 10/10, making it only the eighth game out of the show's seven-year run to do so.[78]

One of the major criticisms of the game stemmed from a disparity between the emotional thrust of the story and the actions of the player, with GameTrailers' Justin Speer pointing out that while the story attempted to characterise Lara Croft as vulnerable and uncomfortable with killing, the player was encouraged to engage enemies aggressively and use brutal tactics to earn more experience points. Speer felt that this paradoxical approach ultimately let the game down as it undermined Lara's character to the point where he found it difficult to identify with her at all.[71] IGN's Keza Macdonald also highlighted the issue, but was less critical of it than Speer, pointing out that both Lara and the player had to adapt quickly to killing in order to survive.[66] However, Game Informer's Matt Miller noted that the game offered the player several options for progressing through its combat situations, and that the player could avoid open conflict entirely if they chose to do so.[68] He also praised the behaviour and presence of the enemies for the way they felt like they had actual tasks to perform on the island, rather than being clusters of polygons whose only function was to be killed by the player in order for them to progress. While on the subject of character development, GamesRadar's Ryan Taljonick expressed that the supporting characters were underdeveloped relative to Lara Croft, describing them as "pretty generic characters who, while rarely annoying, just aren't memorable".[70]

While many reviews applauded the single-player campaign,[66][71][68] the multiplayer mode bore the brunt of the game's criticism, with Macdonald, Speer and Miller all finding fault with it, describing it as lackluster and stating that the difference between the developer's vision for the game mode and the finished product made it difficult to enjoy.

Controversy

During an interview with Kotaku, executive producer Ron Rosenberg stated that during the game, Lara Croft "gets taken prisoner by scavengers on the island. They try to rape her, and- [...] She's literally turned into a cornered animal. And that's a huge step in her evolution: she's either forced to fight back or die and that's what we're showing today."[79] The suggestion of a possible 'attempted rape' in the game soon caused outrage and controversy.[80]

Studio manager Darrell Gallagher later denied the 'attempted rape' suggestions, stating that one of "the character defining moments for Lara in the game, which has incorrectly been referred to as an 'attempted rape' scene is the content we showed" where "Lara is forced to kill another human for the first time. In this particular selection, while there is a threatening undertone in the sequence and surrounding drama, it never goes any further than the scenes that we have already shown publicly. Sexual assault of any kind is categorically not a theme that we cover in this game."[80][79] The creative director Noah Hughes later further clarified that they "wanted to create an emotional investment, to draw people into Lara and her point of view [...] We wanted to draw you in, make you care, put you in Lara's shoes and have this be an intense moment you were experiencing with Lara, not from an outsider looking in perspective."[81]

In an interview with story writer Rhianna Pratchett, she explained that the scene wanted to show Lara's reactions, rather than her assailant's actions. Pratchett was critical of the way the game's trailer cut out Lara's reactions to focus on the attack rather than the aftermath, and that when seen in context, the scene took on an entirely different meaning that was originally intended. Pratchett also expressed dismay that, as a female protagonist, Lara had been misrepresented as a victim of a sexual assault.[82]

Awards

Year Honour Awards Presented by
2011 Best Action Game[83] Best of E3 2011 Digital Trends
Coolest Character Reinvention[84] GamesRadar E3 2011 Awards GamesRadar
Most Valuable Game Award[85] E3 2011 MVG Award Winners
Best Stage Demo (Readers' Choice)[86] The Best Games of E3 2011 GameSpot
Best Trailer[87] GameSpy's Best of E3 2011 Awards GameSpy
Best Action Game[88] IGN's Best of E3 2011 Awards IGN
Best Trailer[88]
Most Valuable Game Award[85] E3 2011 MVG Award Winners Official PlayStation Magazine
Best Action Game[89] The Shortlist Best of E3 Awards 2011 ShortList
2012 Most Valuable Game Award[90] E3 2012 MVG Award Winners GamesRadar
Best Overall Game[91] IGN's Best of E3 2012 Awards IGN
Best Trailer[91]
People's Choice[92]
Most Valuable Game Award[90] E3 2012 MVG Award Winners Official PlayStation Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
2013 Most Anticipated Game of 2013 (Readers' Choice)[93] Digital Spy's Most Anticipated Game of 2013 Digital Spy

Sales

The game had sold more than 1 million copies in less than forty-eight hours of its release.[94] In the United Kingdom, Tomb Raider debuted at number one on the charts, becoming the biggest UK title launch in 2013 so far, surpassing the sales of Aliens: Colonial Marines. Tomb Raider set a new record for the franchise, more than doubling the debut sales of Tomb Raider: Legend. Furthermore, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Tomb Raider set new week one records as the fastest-selling individual formats of any Tomb Raider title so far, a record which was previously held by Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.[95] Tomb Raider also topped the charts in France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United States.[96][97][98][99][100][101]

References

  1. ^ Yin, Wesley. "Mirror's Edge writer Rhianna Pratchett announced as Tomb Raider lead writer". Eurogamer. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. ^ Stellalune (29 December 2011). "New TOMB RAIDER 9 Announced for 2013!". Tombraiders.net. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. ^ Cullen, Johnny (6 December 2010). "Square announces Tomb Raider". VG247. Videogaming 247. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b Makuch, Eddie (6 December 2010). "Next Tomb Raider to be origin story". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  5. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (1 June 2012). "Tomb Raider release date announced". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Tomb Raider: Large Hubs Allow Non-Linear Exploration, But 'Not Open-World'". NowGamer. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  7. ^ Phillips, Tom (26 November 2012). "Tomb Raider story will last you 12-15 hours, dev says". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  8. ^ "Shipwrecked: Hands-On with Tomb Raider Multiplayer". IGN. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Final Hours of Tomb Raider #4: Surviving Together". YouTube. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Tomb Raider's system specs released". 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  11. ^ Walton, Mark (9 January 2009). "Tomb Raider sales fall short, Eidos shares plummet". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  12. ^ McElroy, Griffin (27 November 2010). "Square Enix files trademark for 'A Survivor is Born'". Joystiq. Retrieved 9 December 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Baker, Elyas Gorogo (6 December 2010). "The Return of Tomb Raider". World Gaming Network. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  14. ^ Robinson, Martin (6 December 2010). "New Tomb Raider Unveiled". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  15. ^ Marie, Meagan. "Tomb Raider Lara Croft Reborn". Game Informer (January 2011). GameStop Corporation: 48.
  16. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (26 January 2012). "Tomb Raider skipping Wii U". GameSpot. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  17. ^ Marie, Meagan (14 May 2012). "Tomb Raider release date shifts to 2013". Official Tomb Raider Blog. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  18. ^ Marie, Meagan. "Tomb Raider Lara Croft Reborn". Game Informer (January 2011). GameStop Corporation: 42.
  19. ^ Nath, Debabrata (30 April 2011). "Survival instinct: Mass of new Tomb Raider details revealed". VG247. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  20. ^ Eckstein, Eric (2 June 2011). "Official Tomb Raider Trailer E3 2011 -- Game Release Set For Fall 2012". G4.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  21. ^ Mike Sharkey (14 July 2011). "The Making of the Tomb Raider E3 Trailer". GameSpy. Retrieved 8 June 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ a b Matt Helgeson, Karl Stewart and Tim Longo (21 December 2010). "Special Edition Podcast: Tomb Raider" (Podcast). Game Informer. Retrieved 21 December 2010. {{cite podcast}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "The New Voice of Lara Croft". Square Enix. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  24. ^ "Tomb Raider is first Square-Enix title to be localised in Arabic, Lara actor revealed". Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Lara Around The World". Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  26. ^ "Incoming: Brand New Tomb Raider Trailer". IGN. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  27. ^ "E3 2012: Tomb Raider Demo Shown". IGN. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  28. ^ "Eurogamer Expo 2012: Tomb Raider". YouTube. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  29. ^ "Video Game Awards 2012 - Part 7:Tomb Raider". GameTrailers.com. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  30. ^ Hatfield, Daemon. "IGN Presents: Tomb Raider Week". IGN. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  31. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (8 February 2013). "Tomb Raider goes gold, Crystal Dynamics thanks fans for support". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 8 February 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ Aleksandar Dimitrijevic on Facebook
  33. ^ Stewart, Karl. "6:59 PM Dec 27th, 2010 via Twitter". Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  34. ^ a b "Crystal Habit Podcast 2". Official Tomb Raider Blog (via Tumblr). 8 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  35. ^ Marie, Meagan (7 June 2011). "Soundtrack". Tomb Raider Official Blog (on Tumblr). Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  36. ^ "Making Of The "Turning Point" Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  37. ^ "Podcast: Episode 4". Official Tomb Raider Blog (via Tumblr). 17 October 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  38. ^ "Tomb Raider: The Final Hours #3 - The Sound of Survival". YouTube. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  39. ^ "Twitter / EBGamesAus". Twitter. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  40. ^ Serrels, Mark. "Tomb Raider Has Broken Street Date". Kotaku Australia. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  41. ^ "Tomb Raider Pre-Order Bonuses Revealed". IGN. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  42. ^ "Tomb Raider - PlayStation 3". Best Buy. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  43. ^ "Tomb Raider (Xbox 360) w/ Preorder Bonus". Walmart. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  44. ^ "Buy Tomb Raider for Xbox 360 - Microsoft Store Online". Microsoft Store. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  45. ^ Jackson, Mike (2 October 2012). "News: Tomb Raider: The Final Hours Edition is Amazon US pre-order exclusive". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 6 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  46. ^ "Tomb Raider: The Final Hours Edition". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  47. ^ a b "Tomb Raider on Steam". Steam. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  48. ^ "Tomb Raider on Steam". Steam. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  49. ^ "Tomb Raider (Inc Exclusive digital comic)". ShopTo.Net. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  50. ^ "PC & Video Games: Tomb Raider Pre-order Bonus". Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  51. ^ "Buy Tomb Raider Survival Edition on PlayStation 3". GAME. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  52. ^ "Buy Tomb Raider Deluxe Collector's Edition on PlayStation 3". GAME. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  53. ^ "Tomb Raider Collector's Edition for PlayStation 3". GameStop. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  54. ^ "Buy Tomb Raider GAME Exclusive Explorer Edition on Xbox 360". GAME. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  55. ^ "Tomb Raider with Tesco Exclusive Combat Strike Pack". Tesco. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  56. ^ "Xbox 360 Tomb Raider Limited Edition Wireless Controller". Amazon.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  57. ^ "Xbox 360 Tomb Raider™ Limited Edition Wireless Controller". Xbox.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  58. ^ Ivan, Tom (4 June 2012). "Xbox News: Xbox 360 secures timed exclusive Tomb Raider DLC". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 6 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  59. ^ Phillips, Tom. "Tomb Raider Caves & Cliffs DLC coming first to Xbox 360". Eurogamer. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  60. ^ "Tomb Raider (X360)". GameRankings. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  61. ^ "Tomb Raider (PC)". GameRankings. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  62. ^ "Tomb Raider (PS3)". GameRankings. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  63. ^ "Tomb Raider for PlayStation 3 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  64. ^ "Tomb Raider for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  65. ^ "Tomb Raider for Xbox 360 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  66. ^ a b c d MacDonald, Keza (25 February 2013). "Tomb Raider Review". IGN. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  67. ^ Woods, Eric (5 March 2013). "Tomb Raider Review". GameShampoo. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  68. ^ a b c Miller, Matt. "Old Name, Remarkable New Series". Game Informer. Retrieved 27 February 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  69. ^ Petit, Carolyn (25 February 2013). "Tomb Raider Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  70. ^ a b c Taljonick, Ryan (25 February 2013). "Tomb Raider Review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  71. ^ a b c Speer, Justin (25 February 2013). "Tomb Raider - Review". GameTrailers. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  72. ^ Gregory, Joel (25 February 2013). "Tomb Raider PS3 review". PlayStation Official Magazine. Retrieved 27 February 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  73. ^ Gibson, Ellie (24 February 2013). "Tomb Raider review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  74. ^ Simon, Parkin (1 March 2013). "Tomb Raider – review". Guardian.co.uk. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  75. ^ Liam, Martin (15 February 2013). "'Tomb Raider' review (Xbox 360): Lara's latest is a real treasure". Digitalspy.co.uk. Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  76. ^ "Tomb Raider review: A believer is born". AOL. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  77. ^ "Playstation Universe". PSU.com. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  78. ^ "Good Game Stories - Tomb Raider". ABC. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  79. ^ a b Schreier, Jason (13 June 2012). "Tomb Raider Creators Are No Longer Referring to Game's Attempted 'Rape' Scene As an Attempted Rape Scene". Kotaku. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  80. ^ a b Griffiths, Daniel Nye (13 June 2012). "That Was Quick: Crystal Dynamics Responds On Tomb Raider Controversy". Forbes. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  81. ^ Green, Holly (15 June 2012). "When gamer guilt goes awry: Why I still love Tomb Raider". Destructoid. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  82. ^ Gibson, Ellie. "Rewriting Tomb Raider". Eurogamer. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  83. ^ "Best of E3 2011". Digital Trends. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  84. ^ "E3 2011 Awards: Coolest Character ..." GamesRadar. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  85. ^ a b "The Most Valuable Game Awards Powered by Future Winners Announced at E3 2011". Marketwire.com. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  86. ^ "Best Stage Demo of E3 2011 on GameSpot". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  87. ^ "GameSpy's Best of E3 2011 Awards - Page 6". GameSpy. Retrieved 10 June 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  88. ^ a b "E3 2011: Best of E3 Awards". IGN. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  89. ^ "The ShortList Best Of E3 awards - Gaming - ShortList Magazine". ShortList. Retrieved 10 June 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  90. ^ a b "E3 Most Valuable Game Awards". Digital Future. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  91. ^ a b "IGN's Best of E3 2012 Awards". IGN. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  92. ^ "Tomb Raider Wins IGN People's Choice and Editor's Pick for "Game of Show" at E3 2012". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  93. ^ "'Tomb Raider' is Digital Spy readers' most anticipated game of 2013". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  94. ^ Wadsworth, Kyle. "One Million Playing Tomb Raider Two Days After Launch". Game Informer. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  95. ^ Yin, Wesley. "UK chart: Tomb Raider biggest launch of the year so far". Eurogamer. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  96. ^ "France: Video Game Charts". SELL. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  97. ^ "Irish Archives Software Charts". Chart-Track. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  98. ^ Pugliese, Tommaso (14 March 2013). "Tomb Raider è primo anche nelle classifiche it" (in Italian). Multiplayer.it. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  99. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Dutch Charts". NVPI. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  100. ^ "GfK Games Chart (Week 10 - Norway)". GfK. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  101. ^ http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41343/USA/
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tomb_Raider_(2013_video_game)&oldid=546698366"