EIDOS ANNOUNCES
TOMB RAIDER LEGEND
Copyright 2005 Eidos Press Release
[ April 5th 2005 ]
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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