Rumor: Photos of Tomb Raider revamp surface

It looks more like a horror game..

When you own a fucking character like Lara Croft, one that is as iconic as Mario – You need to push that. Endorse the icon, DON’T reinvent it.

Just make it contemporary and relevant.

A Lara Croft set in the 90′s, where she can reclaim that ridiculous look, right down to the spectacle sunglasses? Yes.

A Lara Croft set in a free roaming fantasy world, where Lara Croft is yet another faceless hot woman?
No.

very much looking forward to this reboot.

that artwork looks a bit weird though.

isn’t it a bit early to say that, no_Pudding?

Like Max Payne, they took everything about that guy, and made it contemporary. Sure it was radical, and not the direction I would have chosen, but I have faith.

More imaginative directions please, this was so predictable.

It’s like the Ubisoft direction.

Yeah, it was cool, but lets make it free roaming and add a gimmick!

No it is not at all.

Already it’s just ridiculous. Thye mgiht as well kill the series. They got it right with Anniversary, and now they are going in the wrong direction.

As far as I’m concerned the only Tomb Raider games that exist are 1,2,3 and Anniversary. Everything else can go into the shit pile.

@ecu
Yeah it kinda does look like it’s going the horror route, not liking it one bit.

@no_Pudding you mean with Legend?

and the new MP? I dunno, it looks just lame imho. from Film Noir to Uncharted, with a cover system.. they basically dropped everything that made the game what it was.

Well yeah any of the Anniversary ones, not Legend itself though.

As for Max Payne, no they took the concept, a man on drugs that slows down time, and they want to develop on the noir in a more contemporary fashion. Noire totally IS more than an aesthetic.

The point is some thign are fashionable, and some things are like statements. And you really need to consider what you’re working with to reinvent something.

When it’s Lara Croft, it’s fucking Lara Croft, a character that transcends gaming culture. That’s when you need to go back to the glory days, becuase you’ve fucked up so many times.

I do agree in a way, I would prefer her original character.

albeit they’ve fucked up only once, with AoD. 4 and 5 were just basically low quality mission packs for TR 3.

Tomb Raider: Warrioress Within.

I really enjoyed Underworld but I can’t really blame Eidos for wanting to try something different. It’s way too early to judge this new direction as it could turn out to be an excellent game in its own right, but I will say this: don’t make her American. Not that I have anything against characters from the US, I just feel it’s one one of those things that shouldn’t be tampered with.

Dropping the cartoony look is a good idea, but then dropping everything else and having it not even be recognisable as Lara Croft is probably not such a good idea.

I am with Freek.

And I am not with Aimless.

It MIGHT be a good game regardless, but then fuck off with that IP! Don’t pass it off as somethign that’s Tomb Raider when it’s clearly not.

What this franchise needs is a completely realistic rendition of Lara Croft. Doesn’t need she needs to be normally proportioned, just realistically. And they need to go back to the Lara you see in your head, when you think about the name.

Lara Croft: Female indiana jones thats played by one of the most horrible actors in the world… jk

btw, I think you guys (vg247) should’ve included that on-screen text (on one of the pics) in the news post. “When a sudden storm etc”.

She’s not even Indiana Jones, she’s kind of an Indiana Bond. Or a James Jones.

But she’s Lara Croft.

It needs to go back to those basics. Mansions, grappling hooks, alligators, platforming and puzzles. That’s why Anniversary was awesome.

I guess that is ignoring other new competitors. But Uncharted is just really different in terms of gameplay.

pretty sure there will be ” hooks, alligators, platforming and puzzles ” in this one.

I think after the movies they started heading towards the direction of where Uncharted is. You have to remember us ( I assume) being mid twenties and up. Eidos is trying to make it work for everyone and aiming for the younger generations of gamers. We will talk to our kids and say I remember when Mario was 2d and never scaled walls. Same will be said about Lara Croft me thinks (minus the 2d)

The original Tomb Raider was about exploration, isolation and combating various lurking beasties; people forget how brutal and sinister it was. Given how little we know about this latest iteration it could actually prove to be closer to the original’s thematic routes than any of the other sequels, and to dismiss it based on three pieces of concept art is rather silly.

Also, I think calling it “open-world” is something of a misquote as it carries with it certain connotations. From the description the island will be open in the Metroidvania sense, the player progressing through different regions by gaining new skills or equipment.

Well when people use the term ‘open world’, the connotations are obvious. They aren’t complete idiots. They know what it means.

I LOVE certain parts of this rumour, but I hate others. Some of it is brave in terms of game design, but thematically, it’s NOT Tomb Raider. This is my problem with it.

I fucking love Legend, that was a damn good game and it was the first time I’d ever enjoyed a Tomb Raider game (I didn’t like the first few, I don’t like tank-controls, not even when I was about 8).

Her latest game was just shit. Ugly, dull, uninteresting. I didn’t even bother getting past the second level, I just lost interest too quickly.

I have not played a Tomb Raider since Anniversary, and I didn’t finish that, but what I played of it was great.

Underworld I would not have really bought in my right mind, if I couldn’t get the whole experience on PS3, and that’s kind of assuming I wanted it.

You didn’t miss much at all, Pud.

No_PUDding, going off your previous comments it would seem you mean it isn’t Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Don’t forget that was a remake and a bit more tonally ‘breezy’; the divergence is most apparent in the two main themes, which you can listen to here.

I’ve really enjoyed all of Crystal Dynamics’ takes on the series, but they were always something of a halfway house between the original game and the movies in terms of characterisation and tone. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing — as I said, bought and enjoyed them all — but if you truly want Lara Croft to go back to her roots then you hark back to the original, before she was sexualised post release into a PR pin-up.

Toby Gard designed Lara Croft and left Core during development of Tomb Raider II because he was opposed to how they were framing the character, and currently he’s the lead designer for an unannounced project at Crystal Dynamics. It’s fairly safe to assume that project to be this, in which case it’s rather churlish to suggest he doesn’t understand his own character.

What I don’t get, is that Anniversary is CLEARLY the best game in the series, and it’s blindingly obvious WHY it’s the best game – emphasis on mythology, platforming and puzzles, with a lack of combat.

Why then, are they so insistent on combat? I just don’t get it. Does anybody like it? I’ve literally not seen a single person anywhere that doesn’t think the combat in a Tomb Raider game is an annoyance they can do with out.

Their idea of a reboot involves reworking the combat system. Even if this article isn’t true, I bet they’ve done it again. They want to reinvent the franchise? Drop the damn combat, drop it entirely. It’s frustrating cause the rest of the game is always so good.

He clearly doesn’t understand his own character. He certainly doesn’t understand what she’s become if he’s reinventing it to a point where she is unrecognisable.

I think it’s quite churlish to ignore the icon that she has become, even without him.

I agree ecu.

I feel you’re arguing for the sake of not backing down now, so we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

I have an opinion. And if you think you’re opinion is the right one (as people should) then that’s fine, but don’t try to discredit my opinion, by saying it’s about pride.

This guy created Lara Croft, I understand.

But this does not look like Lara Croft, if he was on the team again, rejuvinating the icon, I might be more enthusiastic.

Were I attempting to discredit you I could simply point out that you’re getting agitated over three pieces of leaked concept art and an internal memo.

Oops.

Seriously I get where you’re coming from, but you’re being very reactionary. Perhaps this game will miss the point of the franchise, but on the other hand it could completely nail what made the original so great. It’s far too early to judge, and personally I find cautious optimism far more palatable than pervasive internet snark.

Everyone is reactionary, please don’t pretend that you transcend that mortal trait, becuase it will come back and bite you in the ass.

As for ammunition with which to discredit me, it would be relatively hypocritical to use that, as you are reacting to the news too.

Also, I never said it would be a bad game, but if this reinvention does not gel with me thematically, I feel the comment section is the place to share that, and see if others agree. You chose to comment and act as the contrarian to the consensus on this one; but don’t expect everyone to go: “Oh how stupid we’ve been for not giving it a chance”. Becuase people aren’t commenting on the possible quality of the game – they are commenting on the theme of the game, that is pretty extensively detailed in the news.

And that is highly subjective.

Looks like Kate Beckinsale. No bad thing.

http://www.topnews.in/light/files/Kate-Beckinsale2.jpg

When in doubt, go open world

If it’s anything like PoP 2008 then I’ll fucking love it.

Don’t rile Angelina, Cort. Beckinsale will go right under Megan Fox on the hitlist now.

As for No_PUDding, I made no pretence of being infallible. Nor did I claim to never be reactionary, I simply try my very best to avoid being so and would expect people to call me out should I slip up.

As for being hypocritical, whilst our comments are largely sourced from the same knowledge I am not the one saying they “might as well kill the series” and that they are going in the “wrong direction”. I’ve made no accusations, only promoted cautious optimism based on what little is known, and as such I’ve nothing to prove.

Anyway, I’m sure everyone is rather tired of this back and forth so I’ll leave it there. We could carry this on for days and not get anywhere, and whilst I might not have anything better to do I should at least keep up the façade that I do.

Did you just say Kate Beckinsale right under Megan Fox?

Excuse me for a minute or two.

Angelina’s a pikey tramp with a narcissistic personality disorder.

PS Gamoc you’re posting here and playing Battlefield 1943 at the same time. Who says men can’t multitask?

No, that’s fair enough man.

Please don’t take my comments out of context, that was in reference to how much of a departure it was. And as for “wrong direction”, I am defintely at fault for commenting on a subjective matter without qualifying it as my opinion.

We’ve neither nothing to prove. Again, this is not about my pride, it’s my opinion. And I can’t promise I won’t react negatively to some news stories.

Next time (and I am not being sarcastic) I will try to consider my thoughts first, and see if they are worth sharing, negative or otherwise.

“A Lara Croft set in a free roaming fantasy world, where Lara Croft is yet another faceless hot woman?”

What if that “free roaming world” was an extremely elaborate set of ruins that spanned for miles, with forests, caves, and complex ruins to explore? I don’t know about you, but I think that would be pretty cool, if they pulled it off.

You guys really should take into note that these are just concept arts, which are usually far more different than the finished product.

Prince of Persia proved you can reinvent things and still make them work. If it stays core the character concept and themes, that’s what matter.

Assuming she’s going to turn into “another faceless hot woman” is really jumping the gun too early. You don’t have enough to make that assumption, and you’re just sensationalising the issue.

Cort: HOW DO YOU KNOW!? :O
Are you on my PSN friends list? O.o

Yup. You added me!

Oh yeah! Well,

There more you know
=======================*

My reaction is being sensationalised.

I NEVER SAID IT WOULDN’T BE GOOD. I said it wouldn’t be Tomb Raider, and they might as well ditch the IP for this game.

I thought the same about Max Payne 3.

Well, this hasn’t even been confirmed yet, so we’ll wait and see.

I’m just frustrated because I’ve been a fan of this game ever since the first day of the first game, and they almost constantly seem to be going away from what attracted me to the game in the first place. I know I’m not alone in this opinion, either.

As far as I’m concerned, all they really need to fix in Tomb Raider is the gunplay, which has never really evolved beyond the lock-on-and-jump-around humdrum of the first game. I’d like to see them do away with “normal” enemies entirely, and go with the PoP/SotC boss-puzzle template.

Incidentally, Crystal Dynamics appears to have nuked those screens from orbit. Curiouser and curiouser.

Bring back the original TR1 feeling. Indiana Jones without the friends and funny incidents. All alone in awesome locations, fighting intimidating enemies.

It’s got a long way to go before it tops Uncharted’s action/adventuring both aesthetically and critically.

You can still see them here. Weird. Doesn’t look very Tomb Raider-ey at all, it looks more like a horror game.

Couldn’t agree more with #46.

I would hate it if Tomb Raider turns into a game like that Uncharted. I’d rather they drop the combat at all and make enemies sorta SotC like dirigiblebill said.

Anniversary and Underworld were the best games since TR2, Legend was way too much of a shooter.