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[Plumpbiscuit]

Previous Tomb Raider threads:
Rise of the Tomb Raider OT
Tomb Raider 2013: Definitive Edition OT
Tomb Raider 2013 OT
Tomb Raider Trilogy OT
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Tomb Raider, one of the most widely-recognised, iconic video game series ever made with many spin-offs and different mediums that have supported the Tomb Raider trademark. Be it films, comics, novels, apparel, accessories, card & board games, drinks... Lara Croft has been seen, at some point, by almost everybody who's had a vague interest in adventure video games. Tomb Raider is arguably the first video game franchise to streamline and popularise the concept of a fixed female protagonist and probably the first 3D "sexy" video game female protagonist. It, however, did not come without its controversies, hoaxes and opinions attached to her sexualised marketing done by its-then publisher: Eidos. Lara Croft's original creator, Tony Gard, has publically denounced the decisions makings involved with sexualising his character beyond intended purpose, but he returned a game later in the series as its writer.

In case you don't know, you play as Lara Croft in every game, *a British archaeologist who raids tombs to collect ancient artefacts all over the world. "To fund her radical lifestyle, Lara writes travel books. Titles so far have included 'A Tyrannosaurus is jawing at my head' and 'Slaying Bigfoot'. Her common complaint though is that she doesn't have enough time to put pen to paper." Lara is the daughter to Lord Henshingly Croft, brought up in an upper class world of mansions, tennis and butlers. You can experience a slim versions of this by playing in the Croft Manor levels.

*

Spoiler

Cited from the official Core Design autobiography.

That's enough for Lara's backstory. Games-wise, there are five distinctive periods of Tomb Raider game development where the series has been rebooted a total of three times since the original 1996 release.
The main entries are as follows:

Core Design era

Tomb Raider - 1996 - Sega Saturn, PS1, DOS, MAC OS

Tomb Raider II - 1997 - PS1, Windows, MAC OS

Tomb Raider II - 1998 - PS1, Windows, MAC OS

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation - 1998 - PS1, Dreamcast, Windows, MAC OS

Tomb Raider: Chronicles - 2000 - PS1, Dreamcast, Windows, MAC OS

Core Design reboot for next gen consoles

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - 2003 - PS2, Windows, MAC OS X

Crystal Dynamics buyout reboot

Tomb Raider: Legend - 2006 - PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Windows

Tomb Raider: Anniversary - 2007 - PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows, MAC OS X

Tomb Raider: Underworld - 2008 - PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows, MAC OS X

Square Enix publishing reboot

Tomb Raider 2013 - 2013 - PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows, MAC OS X, Linux

Rise of the Tomb Raider - 2015 - PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows

These main games are played in third person view from behind, the player controls Lara (and also Kurtis if you're playing AoD) and has access to a variety of weapons and tools to aid her in tomb raiding. She is most iconic for dual wielding pistols. She also obtains guns such as shotguns, machine guns and a grenade launcher. Players will need to run, sprint, climb, jump, solve environmental-based puzzles and use Lara's tools and gadgets to overcome obstacles alike. Most of the games feature a Croft Manor level, which is Lara in her home, which is mainly built as a tutorial and to allow the player to roam free to uncover secrets.

But there are also a few spin-off games, whilst not as financially successful as the Core series, offer different perspectives of style of gameplay. Here's the list:

Tomb Raider - 2000 - GBC
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword - 2001 - GBC
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy - 2002 - GBA
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - 2010 - PS3, Xbox 360, Windows
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris - 2014 - PS4, Xbox One, Windows
Lara Croft: Relic Run - 2015 - Windows, Mobile
Lara Croft Go - 2016 - Windows, Mobile

There are two live-action films produced, starring Angelina Jolie:

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 2001

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life - 2003

And a third live-action reboot, with its script completed through its development hell, will start filming soon with a predicted release of 2018. The synopsis is as follows:

Lara Croft sets out on her first expedition to finish her father's archaeological research and uncover ancient secrets in order to clear his disgraced name. Tragedy hits when her adventure turns into a fight for survival.

Alicia Vikander will be Lara Croft.

So, that's it! At least, for the popular and most-known media for the Tomb Raider franchise. This is my first community thread and it's for my favourite franchise, happy tomb raiding!

 

[Harlequin]

It's worth noting that there are several entirely different versions of Lara's backstory and that the later ones completely contradict the original one (or the original two if you count the TR4-6 bio as being separate from the TR1-3 one). I'm not sure why you called the LAU era the "Crystal Dynamics buyout reboot" btw. The series wasn't "bought out" by anyone, Eidos simply took it from Core and gave it to Crystal.

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

It's worth noting that there are several entirely different versions of Lara's backstory and that the later ones completely contradict the original one (or the original two if you count the TR4-6 bio as being separate from the TR1-3 one). I'm not sure why you called the LAU era the "Crystal Dynamics buyout reboot" btw. The series wasn't "bought out" by anyone, Eidos simply took it from Core and gave it to Crystal.

I went with the original, intended Lara Croft biography as that is who Lara Croft is and overall is based off of. Details vary, but original source material is always the most accurate.

 

[Yopis]

Awesome thread.

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

Thought I'd share this interview with Meagan Marie here since she discusses the future of the franchise and her thoughts on current Lara. I also made a separate thread about it.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

So my kid sister got Rise of the Tomb Raider for her birthday. She loved the old games growing up and wants to play through with the Tomb Raider II Lara skin. I finished the game for her to unlock it - is there any way to start the game from the beginning using those unlocked classic skins?

 

[walkmetothelake]

Doesn't look like there's a huge amount of activity in this thread but I figured I'd stop by and recommend the expansions for I-III to those who haven't played them. They take some work to get running with modern (Steam/GOG) copies of the games but they are definitely worth it in my opinion. Especially the second and third. I'd actually go as far as to say the Lost Artifact is my favorite Tomb Raider game overall.