Tomb Raider PC demo

By Tom Bramwell Published 3 April, 2006

Plus, it's heading to Cube.

Eidos has released a playable PC demo of Crystal Dynamics' new Tomb Raider game, featuring what sounds like the opening level, which is set in Bolivia.

The 476MB demo is available direct from Eidos' website or through mirrors and requires DirectX 9 to run.

Eidos has also confirmed to IGN that Tomb Raider: Legend will be appearing on GameCube after all later this year, although not in time to launch alongside the other versions, obviously.

North American CEO Bill Gardner said, "our new management team believes that the Nintendo platforms have been neglected and that the platforms provide a great opportunity for Tomb Raider to gain exposure to a new audience."

The publisher is currently "currently evaluating ship dates for the fall of 2006".

Gamers on other platforms won't have to wait that long though, as Tomb Raider: Legend is due out on PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC this Friday, April 7th.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • space_ace #1 6 years ago

    this game is kinda cool, while nothing exceptional, judging by the first level. and yes the pc supports gamepad!

  • Furbs #2 6 years ago

    The "Next Gen" option is going to be added with a patch for the demo shortly (it was omited due to size increases since not many people can run it). Your card will need to support Shader Model 3 though.

    And yes, the pad support works like a dream - using the 360 pad atm and its perfect with no setup needed.

  • Dirtie #3 6 years ago

    Yus! Cube version!

  • Daikon #4 6 years ago

    I'll wait for the Gamecube version, just to have an excuse to dust it off more often. That is, if the game is any good of course ^_^

  • smelly #5 6 years ago

    Even if this is crap, i'll be getting the cube version.. If only to encourage more people to make cube games.

  • Furbs #6 6 years ago

    Good point. One extra unit sale is quite a percentage increase when it comes to GC games these days.

  • OnlyMe #7 6 years ago

    Ah, but the GameCube is basically dead already - only the next Zelda keeps me from selling it (or giving it away seeing what it costs to buy new nowadays. It's simply too late - especially now that Revolution is right around the corner.

    I will be getting a X360 version, that console is new and needs every game it can get to justify my purchase. Although I think Oblivion justified the purchase a week ago.

  • trav #8 6 years ago

    Played the demo and enjoyed. Pre-ordered the X360 verison as well.

    Been a while that a Tomb Raider game has done this. Giving the series to Crystal Dynamics was actually a really good idea.

  • DjTrash #9 6 years ago

    PC Version for me! The PC will always be superior!

  • Furbs #10 6 years ago

    I agree.

  • alimokrane #11 6 years ago

    The graphics on PC are actually pretty amazing if you have the PC that can handle it. tried it out at a friend's PC and it looked incredible. I preordered the 360 version which looks just as good.

  • DjTrash #12 6 years ago

    I suppose it is more suited to a console, but its going to look better on the PC. I have a 7800GT.

  • kenty #13 6 years ago

    does the PC version support widescreen resolutions?

    Also anybody tried it with a 360 pad, does it support the xinput thing so you get proper 360 controller button promts? (PoP two thrones supported this)
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/06 @ 11:57

  • UmBongo #14 6 years ago

    Shader Model 3.0?

    I got a 6800GT - does that have it???

    /Silly spec lists
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/06 @ 12:00

  • smelly #15 6 years ago

    One extra unit sale is quite a percentage increase when it comes to GC games these days.


    Hmm.. considering the worldwide sales of the cube are pretty much the same number of owners as xbox owners. And considering cube owners dont have much else in way of new games to play. It'll probably sell shit loads on cube (if its any good)

  • alimokrane #16 6 years ago

    @kenty

    1. YES, it has widescreen support

    2. The 360 Pad works like a charm.

  • Dizzy #17 6 years ago

    Played demo on PC and looks and plays pretty good. Maybe a return to form?

    Anyway... 360 version for me, my PC is for RTS and MMORPGs only ;) TR from the couch is the way to go :)

  • DjTrash #18 6 years ago

    Yes the whole 6 series of Geforce Cards supports shader model 3 - just not as fast as the 7 series.

  • bionutz #19 6 years ago

    I have both pc and gamecube. I'll buy the cheapest version...

  • JetSetWilly #20 6 years ago

    Ah, but the GameCube is basically dead already - only the next Zelda keeps me from selling it (or giving it away seeing what it costs to buy new nowadays. It's simply too late - especially now that Revolution is right around the corner.

    As a GameCube title it will be playable on Revolution. Maybe they think Revolution is going to do well and see it as a cheap way of having a title available for it at launch.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/06 @ 13:22

  • UmBongo #21 6 years ago

    Yes the whole 6 series of Geforce Cards supports shader model 3 - just not as fast as the 7 series.
    ---------------

    Thanks djtrash

    1o print /hands him a tenner

    20 goto /lazy git who couldnt be arsed to find out himself!

  • UmBongo #22 6 years ago

    Hmmm fan boy syndrome in here again isnt it?

    OK i got a freind insider who played this game and from my judgement from what he has told me:

    1) PC version with full bolt on special effects with users with high end graphic cards = Dogs nads version (ie> Graphically best one)

    2) XBOX 360 most complete and current best looking one (although i expect this to be overtaken very soon if not know when the PC support is in)

    3) Gamecube Res Evil 4 STILL - knocks the pants of most XBOX 1 games, and a mighty chunk of PC games too. So dont knock the little beast. I suspect it will look good, just not quite as good as the 360 or PC.

    There that "fanboy" enough for ya all :))

  • absolutezero #23 6 years ago

    hhhhhhmmmm I don't know whether or not to cancel and wait for a Cuber version that may never materialize or just grab it for my PS2.

  • Carpathian #24 6 years ago

    I'll be grabbing this on a version (not sure which) after playing and thoroughly enjoying the demo.

    After the last couple of abortive attempts at a TR game I was pleasantly surprised. Didn't expect to be typing that ! ;o)

  • dk_rare #25 6 years ago

    I've been able to buy Tomb Raider Legends from my local EB for weeks now. I never thought I would see the day that Australia gets summat before the rest of you, but it's been happening a lot recently.

  • Kami #26 6 years ago

    Shame the 'Cube version seems more a last-minute decision... the 'Cube is a pretty potent little beast, and I still prefer my Prince of Persia on the 'lil guy - I like the controls better than other platforms, they seem to work well with the genre.

    It should look brilliant... but I'm pretty sure, like Zelda and perhaps others, that this is a case of having it ready for the release of the Revolution. As much as I love my 'Cube... it is sadly true that it's on life-support and until the new system is out, they haven't the heart to pull the plug yet...

  • Spanker #27 6 years ago

    Just so you know, people in Italy have the full game and it is not just a question of your video card supporting shader version 3.0. The high definition version of TR:L is all or nothing. Unfortunately it appears you cannot selectively turn on/off the various advanced features. I am hearing that only a top-of-the-line nVidia 7800GTX (512mb video ram!) will run the HDR version at acceptable framerates! Nooooooo!

  • UmBongo #28 6 years ago

    cheers for the info UmBongo, saved me £22.
    ----------------------------------------------

    No problem, ill extrapolate if i may allow.

    The XYZ who has played the game at Eidos has just ordered a ATI 19000XT (or whatever, basically the one thats better than the 7800). I kept thinking hmm why order that?

    So basically yes. If it is a 7800 or 1800/1900 Ati equivalent then it will be the dogs nads version because of:

    1) Higher frame rates
    2) Higher Res
    3) Possibly anything else shader 3.0 might muster up

    360 version i would guess DOES look very very nice, and probably better than any PC below that spec above, and on a HD TV it would look better.

    However, i take your final point on monitor/tv though. Even if you do have a monster PC, how many ppl got it hooked up to a HDTV Widescreen job?

    FYI - i have access to a high end PC with a 7800GT and our kid has a 360 (i bought GRAW myself for it) and i also have a gamecube so i think i can probably say it is a fair judgement cos

    A) I aint no fanboy!
    B) So im not going to be biased!

    PS> 360 games are a rip off. Id deffo agree with you there....

  • Dizzy #29 6 years ago

    Guys...

    I played the demo on a mid spec PC at 1600x1200 and it looked great and played great. Yeah maybe the 360 version will look a lot better but it it hard to image what they will improve (HDR and err....). It is not a true next gen designed game anyway and is just a very pretty version of the current gen game. So you don't need a killer PC to enjoy it. So chill and enjoy the PC version in case you have no 360. Control is a bit so so on PC though....
    Edited by 2 at 03/04/06 @ 16:13

  • Furbs #30 6 years ago

    Agreed - runs fantastic on a Radeon 9700, 2400XP Athlon and 1gb of RAM. Dont have the nice effects, but its still plenty playable.

    I have heard reports of the "Next Gen" settings crippling even high end PC's though. Like Dizzy says, I think thats more a case of it not being designed from the ground up for nexgen.

  • gingerlink #31 6 years ago

    one thing they seem to have missed out is the fact that its actually sheduled for release on th GBA and DS as well. Having said this, the GBA version is goin go be entirely terrible, initially from graphics, but just all round bad the chances are and the DS version won;t be that good because they wont really use the features that the DS allows

  • UmBongo #32 6 years ago

    Obviously they didnt make this proper next gen to squeeze the license dry, make this a 1.5 next gen game and then do a proper one when its time

    (is my guess)

  • Spanker #33 6 years ago

    There appears to be basically 3 "tiers" for the display options in the full game:

    The first tier is limited to mid/high-end cards that fully support SM 3.0 requirements. For 512MB cards with a r5xx or G7x core (ie. ATI's X1800XT or nvidia's 7800GTX), the next gen content option with everything else maxed out is not a problem. Any performance issues will depend on the rest of system (ie. CPU or RAM). For slower SM 3.0 cards, like those based on the rv5xx or NV4x core (ie. ATI's X1600XT or nvidia's 6800GT), the next gen content is available, but other display options will need to be disabled.

    The second tier is for mid-end SM 2.x cards. There's a whole range of cards that will fall into this category. The next gen content option is not available here. The upper percentile of this tier will be cards based on the r4xx core (ie. X850XT), with the only option of upping the resolution and/or increasing the AA/AF to max out the system.

    The last tier is for whatever cards that don't meet the requirements for the above two tiers. Cards with poor SM 2.x/3.0 performance, slow GPU, insufficient VRAM, etc.

    Game and demo run great and looks pretty good on PCs that aren't ueber. But high-def on PC is almost cinematic in quality.
    High def pics:
    http://users.nexopia.com/uploads/1195/1195998/pool.jpg
    http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trl0210ec.jpg
    Not high def:
    http://img358.imageshack.us/my.php?im age=605255trl202006040220160633462.jpg

    Have a look at this thread where someone has posted lots of pics:
    http://www.tombraiderforums.com/showthread.php?t=57464

  • mcmonkeyplc #34 6 years ago

    How about an xbox 360 demo

  • gingerlink #35 6 years ago

    has anybody had the same problem as me?

    i go to download it from the eidos website after waiting for the queue and i get a championship manager 5 patch!! i don;t freaking want that, i want the tomb raider demo!!!

  • Spanker #36 6 years ago

    Lots of mirrors at 3dgamers.com or gamershell.com
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/06 @ 18:20

  • kenty #37 6 years ago

    lol i get the CM5 patch too >_

  • smelly #38 6 years ago

    Resident Evil 4 on the game cube impresses more than Tomb Raider running on a top end PC. Work that one out ;)

    And people are moaning the rev specs are allegidly only twice as powerful! :-)


    I think it makes perfect sense financially to have this on the cube. There arent many games out there for the cube at the moment, and still quite a lot of cube owners, who'll no doubt lap this up if its any good.. Of course, if it's shit, its not worth converting to owt :-)

  • DjTrash #39 6 years ago

    Does anyone know if play Delivers on the day of release? I've just ordered from them because they are the cheapest/most relliable company I know.

  • S.J.Rogers #40 6 years ago

    I have never had a LC game but from the vidio clips it looks good.

    Like the whole Indiana feel.

    I have a 360 so may be time to spend another£49.99...

    What to do..?

  • Duckers #41 6 years ago

    Go, Cube! That makes me happy. Very happy.

    Shiny things make me happy, as well. Just thought I'd add that.