EIDOS
ANNOUNCES TOMB RAIDER LEGEND
Eidos,
one of the world's leading publishers
and developers of entertainment software,
today reveals the first details, including
title, in-game character model and
brand direction, of the next adventure
for video gaming's leading lady. Lara
Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is grounded
in Lara Croft's tomb raiding roots
and built to challenge even the most
accomplished serial adventurer.
"In
setting the stage for the Tomb Raider
franchise moving forward, we took
ourselves back to Lara's origins,
asked ourselves the hard questions
and challenged ourselves to think
differently," said Chip Blundell,
vice president of brand marketing,
Eidos Inc. "Who is Lara Croft? What
makes her tick? How is she relevant
today? Only by answering these questions
could we ensure that gamers get the
experience they deserve with the character
they love."
Eighteen
months ago, Tomb Raider team members
at Crystal Dynamics embarked on their
own quest to rediscover Lara Croft.
During their soul-searching mission,
they unearthed past consumer surveys,
conducted new research, re-read every
game review, listened to lots of passionate
pleas and opinions from gamers and
re-played through every Tomb Raider
product. From this introspection and
open-minded search for a fresh perspective,
Tomb Raider: Legend was born.
As
a result, Eidos is evolving the brand
while building on the original values
of compelling character and suspense-filled
adventure gameplay. Crystal Dynamics
has brought together the biggest and
most diverse development team in Tomb
Raider history and recruited Lara
Croft's original creator Toby Gard
as the lead character designer.
"Even
before the first title launched, Lara
Croft had to fight her way into the
Tomb Raider franchise, since at the
time most game characters were muscle-bound
blokes," said Gard. "The Lara Croft
character is resilient and totally
unstoppable. In Tomb Raider: Legend,
we explore these core personality
traits and reveal the Lara Croft gamers
have been waiting to see."
Tomb
Raider: Legend revives the athletic,
intelligent and entertaining adventurer
who won the hearts and minds of gamers
worldwide. Lara comes alive with intricately
animated expressions, moves and abilities.
An arsenal of modern equipment, such
as a magnetic grappling device, binoculars,
frag grenades, personal lighting device
and communications equipment, allows
gamers to experience tomb raiding
as never before.
Eidos
and Crystal Dynamics shaped Lara's
look and movements to be an inherent
extension of her skills, motivation
and personality. Lara's character
model features natural structure,
realistic textures, detailed facial
features, reactive eyes and fluid
motion, all of which make her part
of a living environment.
New
character animations and controls
allow her to move through stunning
environments with grace and precision,
while an understanding of the game's
original appeal reinvigorates the
fundamental explore-and-solve adventure
experience. Tomb Raider: Legend is
slated for release on the PlayStation®2
computer entertainment system, PC
and the Xbox® video game system from
Microsoft.
More
details will be revealed on www.tombraider.com
beginning April 12.
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