We are excitedly awaiting the launch of Lara Croft’s rebooted adventures in Tomb Raider (5 March 2013). The international reviews are in and and by all accounts, the game is a great return to form for the iconic heroine, who has been updated in more ways than one for the modern gaming world.
While still an attractive lady, the new Lara Croft is no longer the over-sexualised collection of pointy polygons from days of yore, and she will have to face both physical and emotional turmoil in her trial-by-fire return.
There’s still time to pre-order the game if you are interested, and we’ve already rounded up the cheapest options: Tomb Raider pre-order: the cheapest option?
Let’s take a look at how far Lara has come:
Tomb Raider 1 (1996)
The game that started it all and set the benchmark for action-adventure games to come. Tomb Raider kicked off Lara’s career as one the first Internet pin-up girls. Developed by series progenitor Core Design and originally released for Sega Saturn, MS-DOS and PlayStation 1, the game was a critical and commercial success, scoring 91 on Metacritic and shifting over 7-million copies.
Tomb Raider 1
Tomb Raider 2 (1997)
Tomb Raider 2 continued the trend, hitting PlayStation 1 and Windows 95 and shifting over 8-million copies in its lifetime, the game is one of the most commercially successful titles of all time. It was also a critical success with most praising the game for improving the core gameplay and graphics of the original.
Tomb Raider 2
Tomb Raider 3 (1998)
By now Tomb Raider had become established as a yearly iterative franchise, and Tomb Raider 3 has shifted 6.5 million copies.
Tomb Raider 3
Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation (1999)
Although being a commercial success with 5-million copies shifted, the cracks were beginning to show and gamers’ honeymoon period with Lara Croft was about to end.
Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation
Tomb Raider Chronicles (2000)
By now both gamers and critics alike were getting bored of the tired formula, and although Chronicles wasn’t exactly a terrible game, it only shifted 1.5-million copies. Lara would take a hiatus for the next few years.
Tomb Raider Chronicles
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003)
Angel of Darkness marked the first Tomb Raider title to be released for PlayStation 2. The game flopped with critics, mostly because of terrible gameplay mechanics. Despite this, it has shifted 2.5-million copies.
Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness
Tomb Raider: Legend (2006)
Tomb Raider Legend was the first game in the franchise to be developed by Crystal Dynamics, who took the reigns from series progenitor Core Design. This was a good omen for the franchise as the game received its best critical reception since Tomb Raider 2. The game was a commercial success selling 4.5-million copies.
Tomb Raider Legend
Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
Underworld continued the events of Tomb Raider Legend, and while it fumbled slightly with the critical reception, it was a solid game nonetheless. The game was marked for its step up in the visual department as well. Unfortunately it didn’t sell very well, shifting only 1.5-million copies.
Tomb Raider Underworld
Tomb Raider (5 March 2013 reboot) – PC, Xbox 360, PS3
And this brings us to to franchise reboot for Lara Croft, simply titled Tomb Raider, which has already proven a hit with critics: Is Tomb Raider worth exploring?
The games is set to put a 21 year-old Lara in the fight of her life as she is shipwrecked on an unknown island, forced to deal with excruciating emotional and physical pain to survive.
Taking more of an Uncharted-esque approach, Tomb Raider should ignite 2013 with a new cinematic journey for Ms. Croft.
Tomb Raider (2013)
There’s still time to pre-order the game if you are interested, and we’ve already rounded up the cheapest options: Tomb Raider pre-order: the cheapest option?
Which was your favourite Tomb Raider game over the ages? Share your memories in the comments below and on the MyGaming forum.
Source: Wikipedia
More Tomb Raider news
Lara Croft has enhanced assets in Tomb Raider PC version
Tomb Raider to get multiplayer modes
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Tomb Raider 1 was phenomenal. I had never, ever experienced anything like that before. Instantly fell in love with it. I remember renting a Sega Saturn from my local Blockbuster store for R60 including Tomb Raider 1 every weekend for many months. Totally worth the dosh that I shelled out. I had to start from the beginning every time I got the console due to other customers overwriting my save game, but it was so worth it. Finding all the secrets, trying new ways to deal with the problems… Ah, the good old days. Tomb Raider 2 was just as epic, but did not quite have that “OMG, this is revoltionary!” feeling. Seriously looking forward to TR 2013!