I am not a very big fan of Tomb Raider. Ever since the first one came out for the PS1 I was appalled by the controls and the gameplay. Over the years the graphics slowly got better but the controls and gameplay stayed the same.
But this is the future, with the power of the 360 and PS3, imagine what Lara can accomplish! U.S. developer Crystal Dynamics recently announced Tomb Raider Underworld, a next-gen step into the universe of Lara Croft.
According to PLAY, "Lara’s adventure takes place after the events of Tomb Raider Legend. Her adventure will be a thrill ride for anyone new to the franchise. The emphasis is on bringing Lara’s world to life, a lush, vast interactive world that reacts and remembers. It’s pure woman versus wild."
Parts of the game will take place in the wild locale that is Southern Mexico, where we can expect to see "an immersive and epic environment and weather system."
"In the level where Lara explores Southern Mexico, she leaves footprints in the mud, but it’s raining so they wash away. The bodies she leaves behind in combat encounters will stay, however, as will the debris from any destruction she causes."
Wow, amazing. I can just imagine myself staring at the mud until the footsteps realistically flatten out because of the rain affecting the shape of the earth. That’s not all we can expect, "when Lara kneels on a muddy outcrop, only her knee will be covered in dirt and this will gradually dissipate as she continues on her journey."
This is what we have been waiting for, finally the true power of the 360 and PS3 will be revealed!
Jokes aside, Crystal Dynamics developed a hybrid lighting system to bring the world around Lara to life. But what about Lara herself? We don’t want a beautiful world surrounding a character that walks around like a robot. Crystal dynamics said they used a lot of motion capturing on Lara "to bring a more natural fluidity to her movements, with proper weight and secondary motion."
They have fixed her? Finally they have made her walk, run, jump, crawl and shoot like a real woman! I expect this game to be as good as Uncharted, because it definitely can be if the developers promise to keep their word. I’m actually excited about an Uncharted-like action adventure game with Lara, anyone else with me?
[via tombraiderchronicles.com]
