WHEREFORE ART THOU TOMB RAIDER 7?
Copyright 2005 www.tombraiderchronicles.com

[ February 14th 2005 ]

As of 1500 GMT, no press release has been issued by UK publisher Eidos announcing the return of British adventurer Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 7. Fervent speculation during the past few weeks fuelled the popular belief (read: hope) that Eidos would use Feb 14th as a gravy train for spectacularly unveiling a new Tomb Raider from new developers Crystal Dynamics. But as Monday 14th Feb draws its tired eyes over the UK - and laden with gloomy faces and an air of disappointment - we're preparing to write off another great PR opportunity for Eidos.

Exactly when Eidos plan to break with silence and tout the future of the Tomb Raider franchise continues to be a mystery, but one must ponder why a video-game which is supposed to release in less than three months still remains untitled and unannounced. What little we do know about Tomb Raider 7 has been reported, dissected, re-reported and re-dissected numerous times. We know that Lara Croft is back, that Crystal Dynamics intend to restore the original properties of Lara Croft - ardent Tomb Raider, procurer of all things ancient - and we know that Eidos will lean heavily on Prince Of Persia's overall environmental design to win (and win back) a new (and old) generation of Lara Croft fans.

Vehicles are also back, which said Eidos in 2004 would aid Lara to complete segments of the game. We know that original Lara Croft designer Toby Gard has been tapped to consult on his iconic creation. We also know that the usual sources of information have been bound, gagged and/or are under house arrest, and that previous exit points are battened down. We'd be dubious about putting money on Danny Ocean extracting information from the confines of Eidos and/or Crystal Dynamics. If Eidos fired off warning shots following the debacle surrounding the release of The Angel Of Darkness, they surely found their intended targets, because no-one is talking.

Instead, everyone is speculating, and by the looks of things, doing a pigs-ear job of it at that! Stay tuned.