In their first major announcement of 2017, Crystal Dynamics announced that Rhianna Pratchett, the lead writer for the best-selling games Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider, will be parting ways with the Tomb Raider franchise to focus on new projects. The team thanked Rhianna for her dedication and tireless efforts on both games and wrote that she was “instrumental in helping [them] find Lara’s voice in the 2013 origin story” and shaping Lara Croft “into the ... [Continue Reading]
Lara Croft fans have been calling for a Funko figure for months and it looks like Funko has been listening because the company has announced it will be releasing not one, but TWO figures of the iconic adventurer in 2017. The hyper-stylized 3.75-inch Lara Croft Pop! vinyl figure (read my review here) will be available in stores as from January 31, 2017, and is now available for purchase on Amazon and Amazon UK. If the Pop! vinyl aesthetic isn’t your thing, Funko will also be releasing ... [Continue Reading]
Tomb Raider’s 20th anniversary celebrations are still in full swing as Square Enix Montréal announced today that their immensely popular, award-winning turn-based puzzle game Lara Croft GO is now available for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita and is fully compatible with the recently released PS4 Pro. The game’s PS4 release was strongly hinted at when a list of trophies appeared online earlier this week but its release was officially announced at the 2016 PlayStation Experience. And ... [Continue Reading]
With less than a week to go before Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is out for the PS4, Crystal Dynamics has released a bunch of new screenshots from the game as well as a comprehensive list of all the trophies up for grabs. The new screenshots give us a good idea of how visually stunning the long-awaited PS4 edition promises to be when the game hits the shelves on October 11, 2016. Eagle-eyed gamers will no doubt have noticed that Ms Croft is wearing the new orange winter gear ... [Continue Reading]
As part of their year-long celebration of the Tomb Raider franchise, Crystal Dynamics and Prima Games will be publishing a special commemorative book this October titled 20 Years of Tomb Raider: Digging Up the Past, Defining the Future. Due out on October 25, 2016, and written by Crystal Dynamics’ own Senior Community Manager Meagan Marie, this 360-page hardcover book will explore the ground-breaking and diverse history of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise and discuss their impact ... [Continue Reading]
Crystal Dynamics treated Tomb Raider fans to their first look at the upcoming ‘Blood Ties’ DLC at Gamescom 2016, which was held in Cologne, Germany, earlier this week. This highly-anticipated story-driven DLC, which will allow gamers to explore a dust-ridden, run-down Croft Manor in search for clues that will legitimize Lara’s claim to the Croft estate, was first announced back in July. This week, Crystal Dynamics released a selection of screenshots over on the official ... [Continue Reading]
If you’ve been wondering when Rise of the Tomb Raider will be released for the PS4, wonder no more! Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have confirmed that the game *will* be coming to the PS4 and that it’ll be released worldwide on October 11, 2016, as part of their ongoing #TombRaider20 celebrations. Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration will not just include the game and all existing DLC; it’ll also include a co-op expansion for Endurance Mode as well as a brand-new ... [Continue Reading]
It feels like a project that’s been years (dare I say “too many years”) in the making but the long-awaited reboot of the Tomb Raider movie franchise is finally picking up steam! Back in April, we learnt that Swedish actress Alicia Vikander won the coveted lead role and now it seems we have a release date for the as-yet untitled film: March 16, 2018. Further details about the cast and synopsis will be no doubt surface as the film nears completion but here’s what we know ... [Continue Reading]
Another E3 has come and gone and while we’re still waiting for news of a PS4 release for Rise of the Tomb Raider, we got a little sneak peek of the upcoming commemorative book, 20 Years of Tomb Raider: Digging Up the Past, Defining the Future, and learnt that a new series of statues has been commissioned to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary. The Crystal Dynamics crew also took part in a number of live events throughout the week, most notably the Square Enix Presents show, ... [Continue Reading]
As you probably know by now, The Archaeology of Tomb Raider has just returned from a 3-month hiatus. Granted, I didn’t physically go anywhere but I gave myself a much-needed break from monitoring and relaying Tomb Raider franchise news to my readers and social media followers. Time and tide wait for no Croft and, as a result, I’m now feeling a little out of the proverbial loop… So what did I miss during the site’s downtime? Oscar-Winning Actress Lands Role as the New ... [Continue Reading]
Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki’s new Tomb Raider comic series is set to launch later this month and will be picking up where Rise of the Tomb Raider left off. It’s not yet clear whether the events of the game will be referenced in this new series, given that the Dark Horse website describes it as “a perfect jumping-on point for new readers”, but the first issue’s synopsis suggests that our heroine will be continuing her search for the world’s ... [Continue Reading]
With less than a week to go before Rise of the Tomb Raider is out for the PC, Crystal Dynamics has released some information concerning the recommended specs for getting the most out of Lara’s latest adventure. OS: Windows 10 64 bit Processer: Intel Core i7-3770K GPU: NVIDIA GTX 980Ti 2560×1440 or NVIDIA GTX 970 1920×1080 Ram: 6GBDirectX: 11 Input: Mouse + Keyboard Please note that these are not the minimum requirements (only the recommended specs) so you should still ... [Continue Reading]
Two narrative designers who worked on Rise of the Tomb Raider recently talked with the guys from Spawn on Me podcast and shared their thoughts on working as writers within the game industry as well as some personal stories about the game’s development process (their segment begins at approximately 00:16:50). John Stafford (Lead Narrative Designer) and Cameron Suey (Narrative Designer) are no strangers to the game industry. As they told the podcast’s presenters, they’ve ... [Continue Reading]
Good news, PC gamers! The critically-acclaimed Rise of the Tomb Raider (read my spoiler-free review) will be making its way to Steam and Windows 10 Store on 28th January 2016. Earlier today, Crystal Dynamics’ new Heads of Studio, Scot Amos and Ron Rosenburg, announced that the game’s PC release will include a number of new features, including Windows 10 support and 4K resolution, and will be available as a digital download via Steam, the Windows 10 Store, Amazon, the Square Enix ... [Continue Reading]
Some of you may recall that we got our first glimpse of the prototype Rise of the Tomb Raider Play Arts Kai action figure during this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Months have passed without any further information about the figure but Square Enix have now revealed that it is available for pre-order over at their online store. This highly detailed and articulated figure is modelled on her appearance in her latest adventure and will set you back $139.99 (plus shipping). Due for release on ... [Continue Reading]
Back in October, Dark Horse Comics announced that a new Tomb Raider comic series will be launched in February 2016 and will be penned by Canadian comic writer and artist Mariko Tamaki. Currently titled Tomb Raider II (not to be confused with the immensely popular 1997 game), the series will follow on from the events of Rise of the Tomb Raider and will see our heroine embark a new globe-trekking adventure as she continues to uncover more secrets of immortality, beginning with the search for a ... [Continue Reading]
Crystal Dynamics and Xbox have released details of all their upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider add-on content, which will be made available to Xbox One and Xbox 360 gamers via the Season Pass or as standalone DLC over the next few months. This includes several new outfits and weapon skins, two new game modes, a range of brand new Expedition cards, and the highly-anticipated story DLC, Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch. Here’s a quick run-down of what downloadable content we can expect ... [Continue Reading]
Tomb Raider fans who tuned in to watch The Game Awards on Thursday 3rd December were treated to the world premiere of Rise of the Tomb Raider’s new story DLC, Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch. The Baba Yaga DLC promises 3 hours of new gameplay and looks set to embrace the franchise’s more supernatural elements. Creepy ghouls, hallucinogenic pollen, new characters, a new outfit and bow, a new puzzle-filled tomb to explore, and a retelling of the classic Russian myth, this ... [Continue Reading]
In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft sets off to redeem her father’s reputation as an academic and get to grips with the concept of an immortal soul. Her journey takes her to a long-forgotten tomb in northern Syria and a remote settlement in Siberia, where she encounters the remnants of a once-great civilization and gathers clues concerning the whereabouts of a mystical artefact known as the Divine Source, thought to be buried deep in the heart of the mythical lost city of ... [Continue Reading]
Square Enix Montréal surprised fans on Wednesday 25th November by announcing the release of a brand new (and free!) expansion for their popular and critically-acclaimed mobile puzzler, Lara Croft GO. The new expansion, The Shard of Life, sees our heroine chart a path into the depths of the Cave of Fire in search of a new artefact, the titular Shard of Life, and consists of 26 new puzzles for Raider fans to solve, two new outfits to unlock, and a batch of new cursed critters that will make ... [Continue Reading]
Crystal Dynamics has released three new pieces of concept art to coincide with the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider. And since I’ve been a little lazy about posting concept art on the blog (the last such update was back in July), I thought I’d search through my folders and share all of the officially-released artwork from the past few months. Please note that these do not reveal any plot spoilers and some of the concepts did not make it into the final game, so the images should be ... [Continue Reading]
It’s been a week since Rise of the Tomb Raider was released for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 here in Europe and what a week it’s been. Not a day has gone by where I haven’t sent Lara back to Syria or Siberia in search of elusive collectibles. And even after a good 30 or so hours of exploring Rise’s vast hubs, I’m still at 96% game completion. If there’s one thing that can said about the game it’s that you’d definitely be getting value for money. ... [Continue Reading]
The long-awaited reboot to the Tomb Raider film franchise has seemingly been stuck in development hell since it was first announced all the way back in 2011. The release of the 2013 game revived interest in a film reboot but details about Lara’s return to the big screen have been sketchy to say the least. Screenwriters have come and gone, leading fans to believe that a new Tomb Raider film would never see the light of day. But it looks like there’s a tiny glimmer of hope as GK ... [Continue Reading]
The third and last episode of Woman Vs Wild is finally out and it’s by far by favourite. While the first two episodes focused on the game’s harsh environments and Lara’s guerilla combat skills, the final episode turns the spotlight on the other stars of the series: the tombs. Spoiler warning: Please note that the following video contains a number of visual spoilers (e.g. locations and puzzles). I’ve posted a mostly spoiler-free transcript of the voice-over narration of ... [Continue Reading]
In the previous episode of Woman Vs Wild, Harsh Environments, we learnt about Rise of the Tomb Raider’s massive explorable hubs and some of the enemies that lie in wait of our heroine. The second episode, Guerilla Combat, turns the spotlight on Lara’s combat skills and the various weapon and skill upgrades available to the gamer. Spoiler warning: Please note that the following video contains a number of visual spoilers (e.g. locations and secondary characters). I’ve posted ... [Continue Reading]
