Finally a once classic gaming series is getting the proper respect and treatment it deserves. Quoting the press release: And from a leaked brief earlier this year (which now has been confirmed as legit) As someone who grew up on Tomb Raider, I never gave up on the series, despite people saying the quality of the games were going downhill. Legend and Underworld were promising entries into the series, and this looks like it will be the best Tomb Raider in more than a decade. Can't wait for the reveal.
Considering Square-Enix is involved, and they haven't made a good game since they were separate companies (Squaresoft and Enix, respectively), I have very little hope for this game. That and I find it amusing that every single Tomb Raider thread is started by you and has you saying the exact same thing about so-and-so game was promising and this will be the best Tomb Raider in a decade. On a serious note, I'd much rather see Lara Croft in games like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light than the Tomb Raider franchise, which I see as completely dead in the water. Yes, I said it.
That's because every Tomb Raider game since Crystal Dynamics has taken over has topped the one before it. There has not been one terrible (or turrible if you will) Tomb Raider game since Crystal Dynamics took over the series. Every game replaces the previous as the best game since the first. It is because of that alone that I have a feeling this game will top Underworld, just like it topped Anniversary (the TR1 remake) before it. And I really don't care if people think the TR series is dead. I've been hearing that since Tomb Raider 3 which came out like...in 1998. And btw, Guardian of Light was an idea put forth by Square-Enix and was one of their first ideas to reinvigorate the franchise. So if you liked that, in essence you just called a Square-Enix game good .
You do realize I said "On a serious note" right? My opinion of Square-Enix only applies to the Final Fantasy franchise. Anyways, I know the only reason you still have hope in Tomb Raider is because you think Lara is hot, and I'm okay with that. I honestly thought all the Tomb Raider games, including those by Crystal Dynamics, were nowhere near great or amazing. There were a few moments where they were good, but nothing to run home to.
I have high hopes for this. I agree with Derek about the TR games developed by Crystal Dinamics being great, specially Legend and Anniversary. And Minus, Square Enix doesn't make good games? Valkyrie Profile 2 is awesome. One of my favourite games ever.
And to this saddening display of 'word-I-use-in-normal-speech-that-would-get-me-a-warning-because-it's-offensive-to-some-blacks need to learn how to read,' I quote the post directly above yours, Manu.
Although you're just trying to be funny, I still feel the need to clarify that how the character looks has nothing to do with why I've been playing the series for almost 15 years. I got into Tomb Raider 1 when it was first released due to how 'new' and 'different' it was (I had never played anything like it before and it was challenging as heck), and stayed on all these years due to the puzzle-solving, and platforming aspects of the game. Sure the game engine pretty much didn't change at all from Tomb Raider 3 to 5, but that wasn't the fault of the development studio. Eidos (the publisher) pretty much ran the series into the ground through their own greed and incompetence. Tomb Raider was one of the highest selling PS1 games of all time, and sensing the incredible cash-cow that Tomb Raider was, ordered a new game EVERY Christmas which meant no time to really create a new engine or modify it significantly enough to create a new game. When Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness came out (thought by many critics to be the worst game of the series) the team had originally created an engine for the game that was 'ahead of it's time' and better graphics than what the PS2 could handle. When they found out that there was no way they could put the game in it's original state on the PS2, the original engine was scrapped, however this turned out to be a mistake as fans had already waited 1 1/2 years, which meant they only had a year to put in all the ambitious ideas they had into the game. They ended up being ambitious and due to pressure from Eidos, released a game 6 months ahead of when it should've been released realistically. The game was a mess. With Square now at the helm, the games are being given the time they need to get completed. That's why there is a much more noticeable improvement between Legend and Underworld, cause the games are actually getting polished and completed now. Granted you really don't care, and I probably wasted a LOT of time writing this, but I hate always having to hear how much "Tomb Raider sucks" everytime I bring it up in a conversation. With all due respect, what the heck are you talking about? And why would such a 'censored word that would be offensive to black people' even be necessary even if it was allowed? *blinks*. I hate to say it Minus, but some of the crap that comes out of your mouth makes little to no sense at all.
Here's what I'm talking about. It's something I would usually say, and '[random-other-word-here] needs to learn how to read' doesn't have the same effect, so it DOES make sense. Further, I specifically stated that my opinion of Squenix applied only to Final Fantasy games, and Manu completely DIDN'T read that, hence my statement. Makes perfect sense. I clarified my opinion of Square-Enix, he DIDN'T READ IT, I showed my frustration due to people not being able to read. And if that doesn't make perfect sense, then shit. It's like if we were having a conversation out loud and I said, "Square-Enix makes horrible Final Fantasy games. I don't have a problem with their other games." And Manu said, "Oh really?! Well they put out Valkyrie Profile 2!" Insert facepalm here. Do I need to explain it any other way? Or do a step-by-step on how it makes sense now?
Seriously dude, you don't need to be a complete and total jackass in every single rebuttal you give to someone who questions you or your intentions behind something you said. You took a thread that was about a video game, and suddenly turned it into an insult against somebody because in your eyes they couldn't read. It's not funny, and we let you go a lot of times because we know you're "trolling", but you seriously need to calm down and respond to people in more friendly matter because there was no need at all for you to respond the way you did to me or Manu. You basically said "n*gga" without saying it, and you should technically be given your third and final infraction for that, but I'm not going to because you went out of your way not to say it. However; you need to start being less of a troll and a bit more respectable to people who you feel "cant read" or who you disagree with/are annoyed by. There's a lot of times where you get very close to crossing a line that would result in an infraction, but we refrain from issuing the infraction because you didn't actually cross the line. However; sooner or later our patience is going to grow thin. Please learn to relax, and respond nicer. I'm honestly a bit appalled that a simple gaming thread, and very harmless debate could provoke such a rude response from you, just because I was trying to figure out if you meant "n*gga" or another word in itself.
As for Square-Enix, I happen to really enjoy Final Fantasy XII and XIII, and feel that those games are in top form. (My Opinion) For Tomb Raider, it should be really interesting to see how this game turns out with Square-Enix behind the wheel and see totally where they go with it. It doesn't help matters that Tomb Raider is another franchise that Hollywood ruined.
Note to self: remember to never post anything replying directly to Minus again, at least not seriously
I honestly want a complete re-invention. There's nothing wrong with Underworld, but Guardian Of Light (while not billed as a TR game but a Lara Croft game) showed how fresh the series could feel when given an entirely new coat of paint. The fact that this game is basically meant to be a open world survival horror game, means it could be the kick in the ass the series needed.
I'll download the demo of it once it becomes available to see how it is. If I like it, I'll be shelling out the 60 dollars at work to buy it
Btw, I had to remove the image in the first post. Try this one to see the new Lara: http://aussie-gamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/laraface-1291643209.jpg
Nice! I think I'm gonna like this game more now than ever. She actually looks like she's been raiding tombs instead of putting on a beauty contest with explorer gear.
I'm somewhat skeptical that this is going to end up working but I have hope. There's a lot of fluff in the features descriptions so it's hard to take it all at face value. I hope Crystal Dynamics goes all-out and doesn't create a psudo-open world. If they can do it as well as Just Cause 2, consider me excited. Hopefully they don't overdo the back story, too. Metroid Other-M proves giving too much back story can destroy a strong female protagonist. And I highly doubt Square-Enix is going to influence the development of the game. Though they absorbed Eidos, they really haven't taken a hands-on approach with new titles to ensure quality. Kane & Lynch 2 anyone? Anyway I'm curious to see this develop. If CD can keep their word, this could be what Tomb Raider needs to be relevant again, but it seems too ambitious.
Wow, you pretty much summed up exactly how I feel about it. The description is very ambitious to me also, and reminds me of other titles that have claimed the same things but fell short on. I'll keep an open mind about the game and hope it works out, but I can't help but feel sceptical with the "open-world / freedom" tags associated with this. I've just seen it fail on so many other occasions.
You guys both definitely have a good point. A lot of times when a gaming studio is very ambitious or claim something as open-world/free roaming, they usually end up being over-ambitious and sometimes end up delivering a game that is vastly different to the final product. A good example is none other than Tomb Raider's own Angel Of Darkness (the only game in the series that I hated). They spent so much time planning and coming up with things to do, that by the time they got to coding [after already making one engine and scrapping it due to it being too powerful for the PS2], the end product disappointed terribly. Despite my excitement over this game, and feelings it will be incredible, I still do have worries that it could end up being Angel Of Darkness all over again. The only things keeping me confident on this game is the fact that Crystal Dynamics basically are "full Tomb Raider now" and have dumped any other projects to ensure their full dedication is on this game. Hopefully that pays off.