Tomb Raider: Underworld
Developer - Eidos / Crystal Dynamics
Back in 1996, computers and consoles were made of rubber and jelly-tots. They weren't very good, to be honest: slow, poor graphics, boring games. But then a group called Core Design hit on the idea of making an "Indiana Jones" game, only with the lead protagonist being a women with breasts that defined the laws of physics, and free solo climbing skills that made Alain Robert look fat and clumsy. Needless to say, PCs and consoles instantly become cool and down-with-the-kids; they ran much faster, and with better graphics, because you now had tombs to explore and raid! Hurrah for Tomb Raider! Naturally, the world went bonkers for Lara Croft and oh boy, did the money come rolling in. So the developers made another game (and the breasts got bigger)... and then they made another one... and another... and another. Then they made Angel of Darkness.
The original Tomb Raider in all its pre-physics-bounce glory
The sixth game in the Tomb Raider series marked the end of many key aspects: critical success, praise from fans, and Core Design as developers, being just a few. However, Eidos rightly knew that this was still a hugely marketable franchise, especially since the movies were making a reasonable, if not exciting, amount of money. Fresh blood was brought to the desk in the form of Crystal Dynamics, a small team that Eidos had acquired a few years earlier and 3 years after the gloom that was Darkness, Tomb Raider: Legend graced our computers and consoles. Eschewing a good part of the original "canon", Legend introduced new characters and settings, but critically, it returned to the gameplay that made the first title so popular: puzzles and exploring were far more to the fore than combat. Happily for all concerned, the game was a success for the bank balance too. This exercise of "respecting your elders" continued with cashcow #7 - Tomb Raider: Anniversary - where the developers produced an excellent remake of the old classic. Not everyone liked it but such people have small brains, and thus are too stupid to understand why they're totally wrong (what? what?!).
So with a development team that understands what the public want from a Tomb Raider game, critics that have appreciated the last two offerings, and a third-but-unrelated movie on the way, Eidos are confident that they've got things right once more with Tomb Raider: Underworld. Before we delve in, a few words of warning. The preview event was attended by all of the major gaming and non-gaming UK press but none of us, or at least it wasn't apparent, were treated to anything interactive. It was strictly a "watch this, ask a few questions" exercise, and although this certainly whetted our appetites, it was also frustrating to be told so little about the game as a whole. Only a specific part of one the game's Mayan level was demonstrated (on an Xbox 360, so representative of "the next gen versions of the game," according to Eidos), but it was sufficient to cover the graphics and features of Underworld - the plot and characters, were not discussed.
Related Stuff Games: Tomb Raider: Anniversary
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