First Tomb Raider: Legend shots

Eet's a-luvverly.

That 3D screenshot is a 17meg download, but it is very nice. If you can't be arsed I posted some screen-shots in the forum.

I'm almost allowing myself to get excited about this. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it.

Please, please, please don't cock this up. Looking good.

They've got a big job to win back consumer confidence. We'll see.

yeah! I want that, please bring it soon. I shall have the PC version thank you.

Going back to the roots is the "new thing" for long sets of sequels... Recently, Wipeout Pure, Tomb Raider...

And it looks good, incidentally!

watch out for that 3D screenshot, it allocates about 450Meg of RAM to run, my PC almost died (the poor thing)

kebab - it's true! All's well until you click the play button. I wondered if it was just me - my laptop started to melt.

Lara looks stunning. The environment looks stunning.

Lets just hope that its not just show, and that we can actually get all over and in and around the place - a true exploreable world.

Maybe her legs could be a wee bit thicker? or is it just me who likes that?

Its interesting that as console gaming (or any gaming really) matures, Lara matures as well! (her tits look amazing in some of those shots!)

It looks excellent but then so did Angel of Darkness in the screenshots and we all know how that turned out...

Still at least Lara herself looks human unlike the earlier games in which she resembled some sort of generic mutation more than a woman. And to think that people actually found her... erm... sexy!!! lol

Hopefully, the gameplay will match up to those visuals and, let's face it, it can't possibly be any worst than the awful, awful PS2 game...

@wasp

Maybe they'll take her back to the Opera House and call that level Tena Lady.

/coat

If it doesent play like prince of persia with guns I will weep.

Is it just me, or do they appear to have modelled Lara on Keira Knightley? A bit? Maybe they'll get Ms Knightley to provide the voice? That might work...

Yeah, I liked the fluidity of Sands of Time. The feeling of progress - you knew it was linear but you didn't care, as you really felt you were getting somewhere. And not to mention some lurve-urrr-lee areas to run aorund in.

TR: Legend shouldn't be copying though. Yes, Sands of Time shows how well it can be done... but as said, Tomb Raider is a little bit about EXPLORING, and that means not leading a player by the hand, and not being quite so obviously linear and one-track-minded...

All CD have to do is drop Lara in a big playground - jungle, desert, tomb, whatever - and let us run around it, at our own pace, at our own speed, with enough secrets and hidden bonuses to make a grown man weep, and give us incentive to poke around and indulge our curiosity. Yeah, make an overall goal but for me, I love tests of skill to get a better weapon earlier on in the game... or maybe something we can sell to get a decent gun to take down those horrible ancient mutants...


Basically, just make a nice, big game which does what it says in the title. Tomb Raider, Raiding of tombs, running around places and picking up trinkets and ancient stuff. Exploration, Indiana Jones stuff, an adventure that can keep you on your toes but still lets you take your time with the exploring.

... odds of this happening: not good. But still, even if they get halfway near this kinda ideal, it should be a good game. Just... forgive me if I don't hold my breath, or I may die. I don't want that... I hope no-one else wants that...

It reminds me of those early shots of the first two. And that is a good thing.

Was Lara's death ever explained? I didn't play Chronicles.

It should be big but should be fluid and easy to control as sands of time.

Eidos have not released a bad game in years

You're kidding, right? Or from Eidos. One of the two.

First of all, about Eidos not wanting to take risks. Here's the biggest newsflash you'll get: THEY HAVE TO. Angel of Darkness got a critical panning in pretty much every respect, practically universally from everyone, there are so few fans of AOD they're considered an endangered species. AOD wasn't just a critical flop - it was a commercial disaster as well, not reaching anywhere near the projected targets if I recall the news correctly. There was also a big fall-out over which was the real cause of the breakdown of Tomb Raider - the awful second film, or the awfil seventh game... neither side really realising that they had just gotten complacent and totally got their market wrong. Eidos may not like the fact, but in truth they KNOW they're not going to get away with "more of the same" - it's not working, it won't work and they know the market isn't going to buy the same B.S. again. Eidos gave the Tomb Raider licence to Crystal Dynamics to do exactly that: get some fresh air into the series, give new people a chance to do things with Lara that Core could and would never do. Eidos cannot "play it safe" with this game. It really, REALLY is "Last Chance Saloon" - if this flops, I doubt we'll hear from Lara again in game form...

And secondly, I have heard a lot of "They should look at Sands of Time and learn..." - my criticism of this is simple. Sands of Time was indeed, fluid and forgiving, but it was, ultimately, linear and quite simplistic. Not to mention short. But that worked for Sands of Time, which told a great story and kept you hooked throughout, you wanted to progress and the game made you feel like you were progressing. But I cannot see it in any way, shape or form working for Lara. Yeah, a few wall-bouncing moves and a wall run would be nice, but ultimately that would be copying, which Tomb Raider: Legend might not be able to afford to do. This game is going to have to stand strong on its own merits... and as much as I regret having to say it, Lara has been very athletic anyway, and all I think really needs to be done is to speed things up a little and hone the controls a little. Some forgiving level design doesn't go amiss, sure, but please - I don't expect the kind of patronising camera work that Sands of Time offered. Adventure is about risks. And to be honest, there is a lot of fun in killing Lara anyway...

I'm a big Sands of Time fan, it was an excellent game, the right thing at the right time. But Tomb Raider is different... if the fans are to return, copying Sands of Time is the WORST thing that can be done... again, no room for errors or criticisms in this one, this is crunch time, and any panning would probably now convince Eidos that Lara should retire...


I'm not a TR fan, and not holding my breath, just stating the obvious: Legend has a lot to prove, any copying will be bad for its image, and there is no room for error. I have to feel quite sorry for Crystal Dynamics: that is a LOT of pressure to be placed on their shoulders, knowing that they carry the hopes of a franchise, and any mistake could be costly. I could never handle that kind of pressure, I bow to CD that they seem to be thriving in it...

But ultimately, Lara's got this one last chance... I want to see a really big, expansive game with tight controls and a game which rewards curiosity. Time will tell... so let's see how it pans out. There is promise in these screenies, but we're going to need to see things in motion... and no, I don't mean that stupid idle animation either...

Looks very nice. But I thought they were going for a less "equipped" thing this time.

Yes, you should never rush a lady like Lara, let her take her time.

Eidos, SCHTOP! Thish game ish not ready yet...