Minty
02-20-2006, 09:54 AM
Lara Croft
Born into wealth, Lara Croft spent her formative years in a posh boarding school, where she thrived in physical activities and became fascinated with history, artefacts and ancient civilisations.
After a life changing experience in the Himalayas following a plane crash, Lara decided to devote her life to the pursuit of adventure and relic hunting.
Lara Croft is a world traveller, adventurer and archaeologist who seeks out relics and tombs, fuelled by an obsession to uncover secrets of the great ancient civilisations. She is a superb athlete, fluent in a dozen languages, and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Lara Croft Model
Toby Gard, creator of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and lead designer at Crystal Dynamics, comments on Lara's new model as "...a natural evolution. We're now using close to 10,000 polygons, so we're able to make her look much more realistic. She even gets wet when she goes into water, and she gets dirty if she rolls around in filthy tombs long enough.
"Lara now responds more realistically to her surroundings. If she is wet she will try and shake the water out of her hair and clothes. If she is cold, she may shiver. She also sports a collar bone, tendons, muscles, reactive eyes and emotional facial expressions."
She will also speak with accurate lip-synch. Advanced techniques on the Xbox 360 and PC - such as normal mapping - will add realistic imperfections to her skin.
Outfits
Lara will have a few costume changes throughout Tomb Raider Legend which Toby Gard has stated will not only reflect the environment she is raiding but also her fashionable style.
Lara's standard expedition gear consists of the classic T-shirt and shorts combo. It's highly comfortable and practical for most situations and environments. It is made from high quality materials which are durable enough to withstand harsh conditions. She will also sport Winter apparel.
Storyline
Lara Croft's search for a South American relic changes course dramatically when she meets a dangerous figure from her past, and she finds herself in a race to recover one of history's most famous artifacts.
Eidos is intent on keeping the plot of Tomb Raider Legend under tight wraps. What we do know is that the game will delve much deeper into Lara's past than any previous episode. During this journey, Crystal Dynamics have said we will find out exactly why Lara Croft became a Tomb Raider. Judging from the small pieces of plot info we have garnered from various sources, Lara's journey appears to be shadowed by a tragedy that occured in the Himalayas and South America. These events will be addressed during the adventure.
Characters
ANAYA - Anaya is a civil engineer working in impoverished areas of South America. She's an old friend of Lara's dating back to their days at University and was with Lara during the tragedy near Segou. She has since led a distinguished career on her own, routinely crossing paths with Lara.
JAMES RUTLAND JR. - James Rutland Jr. grew up in a bubble of enormous wealth and privilege. He went to West Point and managed to graduate on his own merits, barely. As glad as it was, he's glad for it because it gave him a sense of self-discipline and strength that he finds useful now that he's free of the military. He is a charismatic man accustomed to getting whatever he wants; however this time the object of his desire is also sought by Lara Croft.
We will see a younger version of Lara for a sequence of the game. This sequence will involve the arrival at a derelict suspension bridge where a flashback of a friend who died when the bridge collapsed spurs a series of high octane events culminating in some arduous mountain climbing and a series of underwater challenges as Lara frantically tries to save her friend.
Lara also has a two-man tech team based at Croft Manor who help her on her journey. One man returning to aid Lara on her quest is professional computer and hacker whizz Zip who will no doubt provide valuable technical assistance to Lara via her Bluetooth headset. Lara's trusty butler Winston will also return in Tomb Raider Legend in a much younger and healthier form. He will form the second half of Lara's support team.
Moves
Lara will be more athletic than ever before! Rope swinging, bar swinging, climbing, crawling, jumping and shooting, swan diving and swimming are just a tiny sample of moves seen so far. Crystal Dynamics has touted acrobatics on par with Prince of Persia.
Combat is going to be far more advanced in Tomb Raider Legend than ever before. The shooting is still automatic, but with a clever twist; from time to time an icon will indicate that Lara has locked onto an explosive barrel or a rope that she can blast with a simple tap of a button. Certain screen shots have also shown Lara able to dodge enemy gunfire via her usual jumping and vaulting techniques.
Crystal Dynamics has stated that Tomb Raider Legend is not a stealth game. Stealth is simply not Lara's style. However, Lara may be able to gain a slight advantage over enemies by staying out of sight if gamers wish to play that way. However, the game is not being designed with stealth being a primary option. Lara is still an 'all guns blazing' girl.
Lara's enemies will be smarter than ever. Enemies will respond to the ever-changing combat situation in intelligent ways, such as moving to flank Lara when she is pinned down, dodging grenades, and calling for backup. Many developers have opted to make their cinematics playable. These brief segments are called "Superactions". Similar sequences were found in games like God of War, Resident Evil 4 and Fahernheit. During a cutscene a dangerous event may occur (crumbling floors, spiked walls etc) which will cause the superaction mini-game to start.
By pressing the controller buttons as their symbols flash on the screen, our heroine performs various actions and acrobatics until she reaches safety. If you can't complete the mini-game, you'll get to see a special death scene for Lara, each one completely unique to that one button press.
These sequences will keep players on high alert during cutscenes. Lara will also be able to swim in Tomb Raider Legend using her classic breast stroke technique.
Weapons and Equipment
Lara will have her trademark double pistols at her side complete with infinite ammo (although her shooting will pause for a few seconds for reloading). In addition, frag grenades (4 in total), grenade launcher, machine gun turrets, Shotgun (automatic and pump-action), assault rifle, RPG and sub machine gun weapons will all return (there are 7 weapons altogether).
Lara wears all her equipment on her body (no more infinate backpack). This means that the traditional inventory screen is now away - you know precisely what Lara is carrying. When you use a grenade, it disappears from her belt and you can see Lara reach around and grab it. In addtion to her pistols and grenades, Lara can only carry one weapon at a time which she can pick up from fallen enemies.
Magnetic Grapple Device - A magnetic grappling hook can be used to swing over pits of spikes and in other puzzle situations. The grappling hook will only bind to metallic surfaces and it allows Lara to jump over large areas which would have been impossible in previous games. The magnetic grapple can also be used as a weapon either through using it to grab hold of an enemies waist and pulling them into danger, such as a pit of spikes or she can drag them into close range for melee attacks.
Lighting Devices - Lara Croft visits the darkest corners of lost tombs and relies on lighting equipment to show her the way. Lara has traditional red flares to light up dark passage ways just light old times. These flares can also be thrown to illuminate pits and the road ahead. New to Tomb Raider Legend is a Personal lighting source on Lara's shoulder which automatically switches on in dark places. The light comes with batteries which last a total of 2 minutes before needing recharged.
Communication Device - This Bluetooth headset is used to keep in touch with the 2 man team back at Croft Manor via picture-in-picture video. The headset is also believed to be able to record images which Lara can then send back to her team at Croft Manor.
Multi-functional Binoculars - Lara will also have a pair of binoculars in her equipment. The binoculars (which come with a powerful zoom function) will mostly be used to examine your surroundings as you try to figure out your next course of action.
With the push of a button, your binoculars will use the Remote Analysis Device (RAD) to analyse whichever area you're focusing on and will let you know if it has any useful qualities (such as being flammable or unstable).
Locations
There are 8 locations in the game:
Bolivia, South America - Tutorial level involving 'Mission Impossible' style mountain climbs and vertigo-inducing jumps.
Peru, South America - Lara revisits a old Peruvian town where she expects to meet up with Anaya. From here she hopes to explore the nearby tomb and capture the artifact she failed to get years ago.
Ghana, West Africa - Lara's travels take her to the beautiful and exotic African Jungle.
Other known locations include Russia, Tokyo, Himalayas and England (Croft Manor). Rumoured locations include Kuala Lumpur and Mesopotamia although no solid information is available on these 2 locations
Vehicles
The only vehicle confirmed so far is the superbike which is hinted to be the main vehicle in the game. Based on trailers and magazine evidence, Lara uses this superbike in high speed chases and rooftop stunts! The game will contain a number of other vehicles yet to be confirmed.
Game Mechanics - Puzzles
Puzzles will now be more physics based and open-ended, with multiple ways for Lara to solve them. Puzzles will also be a little more user friendly without being 'dumbed down'. Developers have hinted that if the player is really stuck, Lara will give a subtle hint about what the player should (or should not) be doing.
Such a system will reduce frustration and keep the pace going. The developers have modernised the puzzles by dumping the traditional (and dated) key and switch puzzles of old. Crystal Dynamics have created a great physics system, with Lara having to utilise all her equipment (and weight) to solve complex puzzles which can be fire, earth or water based.
Game Mechanics - Save System
Checkpoint based. The game will have frequent checkpoints (mostly before dangerous events) to reduce frustration.
Game Mechanics - Game Engine
The game uses a modified and greatly enhanced 'defiance' engine, previously used in games like LOK: Defiance and Project: Snowblind. ason Bell, lead programmer at Crystal Dynamics, considers the "streaming technology" used in Tomb Raider Legend as something which "sets this title apart from previous Tomb Raider games...
"It gives us the ability to create a much more finely detailed world". Bell says the streaming technology "eliminates load times by continually rotating relevant data into and out of the console's memory as needed...In TRL we're using streaming technology for more than just textures, animations, sounds and logic.
"We've improved the resource sharing and added several new types of resources that can be streamed, including cinematic data and physics information. This is important when you consider that a typical TRL level requires 5-times more memory than the PS2 console offers".
Bell further states that "Legend's streaming technology helped us close the gap between the original concept of Lara Croft and how she actually expresses her personality in the game. And it allowed us to make each environment much more detailed, interactive and realistic."
Graphics
The game has a "softness filter" which smoothes out angular edges and takes care of aliasing. Small touches like dynamic lighting, real-time water and fire effects, insects buzzing, birds flying, rainbows, waterfalls, dirt, cob webs, foliage swaying in the breeze and ivy scaling the walls all add to the realism experience of raiding a tomb.
Riley Cooper describes these small touches as bringing the screen to life! While the Xbox and PS2 versions will look roughly the same, the Xbox 360 and PC versions will incorporate a multitude of next generation graphical techniques such as normal and specula mapping.
Sound
Troels Folmann will compose the soundtrack for Tomb Raider Legend. A large amount of research has went into the soundtrack, with Crystal Dynamics delving deep into Lara's past console and movie outings where they hope to figure out the perfect score for the game. In this game, all main characters and destinations have their own theme with each destination using an instrument which is signature for that region.
For example, Africa may use more of a base, jungle type beat while Tokyo's sound may be more modern and up beat. Tomb Raider Legend also employs a special technique of "micro-scoring" where your actions determine the mood of the soundtrack.
If Lara is walking, the music will be slow, but when she starts to run the music will pick up pace. A sudden change in the environment, like stones or rubble falling, will also cause a dramatic change in the music.
Control System
The revamped control system provides intuitive and fluid character movement. Dynamic animation system puts focus on continuous motion, giving Lara the ability to seamlessly handle any obstacle and interact dynamically with any surface. Lara features many more realistic animations than before, and she does a lot of simple things from handling odd angles during jumps, to moving fluidly, to being free of a grid that makes her both modern in look and feel.
Crystal Dynamics says Lara is all about movement - It's fluid, fun, and constantly tapping into the heart of the adventurer. This new game functions differently than any other Tomb Raider. Lara is free-form in movement. She is completely free of grids. She walks and runs with a far smooth motion, independent of a mathematical grid hidden beneath the surface. The camera never fails to keep up with Lara's acrobatic antics.
Crystal Dynamics' goal for the in-game camera was to let you control it manually whenever you want to, but to ensure that you'd never actually need to. The camera assumes a third-person position behind Lara for the most part. The camera occasionally will reposition itself slightly to give a view of important objects you pass by them.
Secrets
Unlike previous games, when you beat a level, you'll see a stat screen to see how you did, but also to upgrade weapons, unlock several vaults worth of unlockables, including many alternative costumes and neat-o items. Crystal Dynamics estimates the completion time to be roughly 10-12 hours.
However, CD have said they have most likely underestimated the time and the game will take longer to complete. Perhaps 12-15 hours is a better guess. In any case they are hoping to pack enormous replay into the game with secrets, alternative routes and multiple ways to solve puzzles.
Release Date
Spring 2006
Formats
PS2, PC, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PSP.
All versions of the game will fundamentally be the same. However, Toby Gard has confirmed that the Xbox and PC versions of the game will have higher-res textures, higher frame rate and faster load times compared with the PS2 version.
There will also be widescreen support for the XBox version. However, Riley Cooper has stressed that regardless of the system you play, the game will be equally brilliant on each. Toby Gard has also confirmed the Xbox version will "support a jukebox function which will be fun in Croft Manor. You'll basically be able to play a stereo when training".
The PSP version will most likely be similar to the PS2 version although nothing has been confirmed yet.
The Xbox 360 version is the most advanced of the lot. Crystal Dynamics have exploited the power of the Xbox 360 with its newly created graphics system for Tomb Raider Legend. With support for real-time per pixel lighting, shadows and normal-mapping among other improvements, the Tomb Raider world has never been as lifelike.
Bringing to life a new sense of awe and wonderment in stunning and immersive environments, the Xbox 360 demonstrates Lara’s intricately animated expressions, fluid movement and realistic abilities.
“My original vision for Lara can nearly be realized with the muscle of the Xbox 360,” said senior designer at Crystal Dynamics, Toby Gard. “The stunning graphics and scope of how Lara can move and interact with her surroundings will be astounding.”
Born into wealth, Lara Croft spent her formative years in a posh boarding school, where she thrived in physical activities and became fascinated with history, artefacts and ancient civilisations.
After a life changing experience in the Himalayas following a plane crash, Lara decided to devote her life to the pursuit of adventure and relic hunting.
Lara Croft is a world traveller, adventurer and archaeologist who seeks out relics and tombs, fuelled by an obsession to uncover secrets of the great ancient civilisations. She is a superb athlete, fluent in a dozen languages, and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Lara Croft Model
Toby Gard, creator of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and lead designer at Crystal Dynamics, comments on Lara's new model as "...a natural evolution. We're now using close to 10,000 polygons, so we're able to make her look much more realistic. She even gets wet when she goes into water, and she gets dirty if she rolls around in filthy tombs long enough.
"Lara now responds more realistically to her surroundings. If she is wet she will try and shake the water out of her hair and clothes. If she is cold, she may shiver. She also sports a collar bone, tendons, muscles, reactive eyes and emotional facial expressions."
She will also speak with accurate lip-synch. Advanced techniques on the Xbox 360 and PC - such as normal mapping - will add realistic imperfections to her skin.
Outfits
Lara will have a few costume changes throughout Tomb Raider Legend which Toby Gard has stated will not only reflect the environment she is raiding but also her fashionable style.
Lara's standard expedition gear consists of the classic T-shirt and shorts combo. It's highly comfortable and practical for most situations and environments. It is made from high quality materials which are durable enough to withstand harsh conditions. She will also sport Winter apparel.
Storyline
Lara Croft's search for a South American relic changes course dramatically when she meets a dangerous figure from her past, and she finds herself in a race to recover one of history's most famous artifacts.
Eidos is intent on keeping the plot of Tomb Raider Legend under tight wraps. What we do know is that the game will delve much deeper into Lara's past than any previous episode. During this journey, Crystal Dynamics have said we will find out exactly why Lara Croft became a Tomb Raider. Judging from the small pieces of plot info we have garnered from various sources, Lara's journey appears to be shadowed by a tragedy that occured in the Himalayas and South America. These events will be addressed during the adventure.
Characters
ANAYA - Anaya is a civil engineer working in impoverished areas of South America. She's an old friend of Lara's dating back to their days at University and was with Lara during the tragedy near Segou. She has since led a distinguished career on her own, routinely crossing paths with Lara.
JAMES RUTLAND JR. - James Rutland Jr. grew up in a bubble of enormous wealth and privilege. He went to West Point and managed to graduate on his own merits, barely. As glad as it was, he's glad for it because it gave him a sense of self-discipline and strength that he finds useful now that he's free of the military. He is a charismatic man accustomed to getting whatever he wants; however this time the object of his desire is also sought by Lara Croft.
We will see a younger version of Lara for a sequence of the game. This sequence will involve the arrival at a derelict suspension bridge where a flashback of a friend who died when the bridge collapsed spurs a series of high octane events culminating in some arduous mountain climbing and a series of underwater challenges as Lara frantically tries to save her friend.
Lara also has a two-man tech team based at Croft Manor who help her on her journey. One man returning to aid Lara on her quest is professional computer and hacker whizz Zip who will no doubt provide valuable technical assistance to Lara via her Bluetooth headset. Lara's trusty butler Winston will also return in Tomb Raider Legend in a much younger and healthier form. He will form the second half of Lara's support team.
Moves
Lara will be more athletic than ever before! Rope swinging, bar swinging, climbing, crawling, jumping and shooting, swan diving and swimming are just a tiny sample of moves seen so far. Crystal Dynamics has touted acrobatics on par with Prince of Persia.
Combat is going to be far more advanced in Tomb Raider Legend than ever before. The shooting is still automatic, but with a clever twist; from time to time an icon will indicate that Lara has locked onto an explosive barrel or a rope that she can blast with a simple tap of a button. Certain screen shots have also shown Lara able to dodge enemy gunfire via her usual jumping and vaulting techniques.
Crystal Dynamics has stated that Tomb Raider Legend is not a stealth game. Stealth is simply not Lara's style. However, Lara may be able to gain a slight advantage over enemies by staying out of sight if gamers wish to play that way. However, the game is not being designed with stealth being a primary option. Lara is still an 'all guns blazing' girl.
Lara's enemies will be smarter than ever. Enemies will respond to the ever-changing combat situation in intelligent ways, such as moving to flank Lara when she is pinned down, dodging grenades, and calling for backup. Many developers have opted to make their cinematics playable. These brief segments are called "Superactions". Similar sequences were found in games like God of War, Resident Evil 4 and Fahernheit. During a cutscene a dangerous event may occur (crumbling floors, spiked walls etc) which will cause the superaction mini-game to start.
By pressing the controller buttons as their symbols flash on the screen, our heroine performs various actions and acrobatics until she reaches safety. If you can't complete the mini-game, you'll get to see a special death scene for Lara, each one completely unique to that one button press.
These sequences will keep players on high alert during cutscenes. Lara will also be able to swim in Tomb Raider Legend using her classic breast stroke technique.
Weapons and Equipment
Lara will have her trademark double pistols at her side complete with infinite ammo (although her shooting will pause for a few seconds for reloading). In addition, frag grenades (4 in total), grenade launcher, machine gun turrets, Shotgun (automatic and pump-action), assault rifle, RPG and sub machine gun weapons will all return (there are 7 weapons altogether).
Lara wears all her equipment on her body (no more infinate backpack). This means that the traditional inventory screen is now away - you know precisely what Lara is carrying. When you use a grenade, it disappears from her belt and you can see Lara reach around and grab it. In addtion to her pistols and grenades, Lara can only carry one weapon at a time which she can pick up from fallen enemies.
Magnetic Grapple Device - A magnetic grappling hook can be used to swing over pits of spikes and in other puzzle situations. The grappling hook will only bind to metallic surfaces and it allows Lara to jump over large areas which would have been impossible in previous games. The magnetic grapple can also be used as a weapon either through using it to grab hold of an enemies waist and pulling them into danger, such as a pit of spikes or she can drag them into close range for melee attacks.
Lighting Devices - Lara Croft visits the darkest corners of lost tombs and relies on lighting equipment to show her the way. Lara has traditional red flares to light up dark passage ways just light old times. These flares can also be thrown to illuminate pits and the road ahead. New to Tomb Raider Legend is a Personal lighting source on Lara's shoulder which automatically switches on in dark places. The light comes with batteries which last a total of 2 minutes before needing recharged.
Communication Device - This Bluetooth headset is used to keep in touch with the 2 man team back at Croft Manor via picture-in-picture video. The headset is also believed to be able to record images which Lara can then send back to her team at Croft Manor.
Multi-functional Binoculars - Lara will also have a pair of binoculars in her equipment. The binoculars (which come with a powerful zoom function) will mostly be used to examine your surroundings as you try to figure out your next course of action.
With the push of a button, your binoculars will use the Remote Analysis Device (RAD) to analyse whichever area you're focusing on and will let you know if it has any useful qualities (such as being flammable or unstable).
Locations
There are 8 locations in the game:
Bolivia, South America - Tutorial level involving 'Mission Impossible' style mountain climbs and vertigo-inducing jumps.
Peru, South America - Lara revisits a old Peruvian town where she expects to meet up with Anaya. From here she hopes to explore the nearby tomb and capture the artifact she failed to get years ago.
Ghana, West Africa - Lara's travels take her to the beautiful and exotic African Jungle.
Other known locations include Russia, Tokyo, Himalayas and England (Croft Manor). Rumoured locations include Kuala Lumpur and Mesopotamia although no solid information is available on these 2 locations
Vehicles
The only vehicle confirmed so far is the superbike which is hinted to be the main vehicle in the game. Based on trailers and magazine evidence, Lara uses this superbike in high speed chases and rooftop stunts! The game will contain a number of other vehicles yet to be confirmed.
Game Mechanics - Puzzles
Puzzles will now be more physics based and open-ended, with multiple ways for Lara to solve them. Puzzles will also be a little more user friendly without being 'dumbed down'. Developers have hinted that if the player is really stuck, Lara will give a subtle hint about what the player should (or should not) be doing.
Such a system will reduce frustration and keep the pace going. The developers have modernised the puzzles by dumping the traditional (and dated) key and switch puzzles of old. Crystal Dynamics have created a great physics system, with Lara having to utilise all her equipment (and weight) to solve complex puzzles which can be fire, earth or water based.
Game Mechanics - Save System
Checkpoint based. The game will have frequent checkpoints (mostly before dangerous events) to reduce frustration.
Game Mechanics - Game Engine
The game uses a modified and greatly enhanced 'defiance' engine, previously used in games like LOK: Defiance and Project: Snowblind. ason Bell, lead programmer at Crystal Dynamics, considers the "streaming technology" used in Tomb Raider Legend as something which "sets this title apart from previous Tomb Raider games...
"It gives us the ability to create a much more finely detailed world". Bell says the streaming technology "eliminates load times by continually rotating relevant data into and out of the console's memory as needed...In TRL we're using streaming technology for more than just textures, animations, sounds and logic.
"We've improved the resource sharing and added several new types of resources that can be streamed, including cinematic data and physics information. This is important when you consider that a typical TRL level requires 5-times more memory than the PS2 console offers".
Bell further states that "Legend's streaming technology helped us close the gap between the original concept of Lara Croft and how she actually expresses her personality in the game. And it allowed us to make each environment much more detailed, interactive and realistic."
Graphics
The game has a "softness filter" which smoothes out angular edges and takes care of aliasing. Small touches like dynamic lighting, real-time water and fire effects, insects buzzing, birds flying, rainbows, waterfalls, dirt, cob webs, foliage swaying in the breeze and ivy scaling the walls all add to the realism experience of raiding a tomb.
Riley Cooper describes these small touches as bringing the screen to life! While the Xbox and PS2 versions will look roughly the same, the Xbox 360 and PC versions will incorporate a multitude of next generation graphical techniques such as normal and specula mapping.
Sound
Troels Folmann will compose the soundtrack for Tomb Raider Legend. A large amount of research has went into the soundtrack, with Crystal Dynamics delving deep into Lara's past console and movie outings where they hope to figure out the perfect score for the game. In this game, all main characters and destinations have their own theme with each destination using an instrument which is signature for that region.
For example, Africa may use more of a base, jungle type beat while Tokyo's sound may be more modern and up beat. Tomb Raider Legend also employs a special technique of "micro-scoring" where your actions determine the mood of the soundtrack.
If Lara is walking, the music will be slow, but when she starts to run the music will pick up pace. A sudden change in the environment, like stones or rubble falling, will also cause a dramatic change in the music.
Control System
The revamped control system provides intuitive and fluid character movement. Dynamic animation system puts focus on continuous motion, giving Lara the ability to seamlessly handle any obstacle and interact dynamically with any surface. Lara features many more realistic animations than before, and she does a lot of simple things from handling odd angles during jumps, to moving fluidly, to being free of a grid that makes her both modern in look and feel.
Crystal Dynamics says Lara is all about movement - It's fluid, fun, and constantly tapping into the heart of the adventurer. This new game functions differently than any other Tomb Raider. Lara is free-form in movement. She is completely free of grids. She walks and runs with a far smooth motion, independent of a mathematical grid hidden beneath the surface. The camera never fails to keep up with Lara's acrobatic antics.
Crystal Dynamics' goal for the in-game camera was to let you control it manually whenever you want to, but to ensure that you'd never actually need to. The camera assumes a third-person position behind Lara for the most part. The camera occasionally will reposition itself slightly to give a view of important objects you pass by them.
Secrets
Unlike previous games, when you beat a level, you'll see a stat screen to see how you did, but also to upgrade weapons, unlock several vaults worth of unlockables, including many alternative costumes and neat-o items. Crystal Dynamics estimates the completion time to be roughly 10-12 hours.
However, CD have said they have most likely underestimated the time and the game will take longer to complete. Perhaps 12-15 hours is a better guess. In any case they are hoping to pack enormous replay into the game with secrets, alternative routes and multiple ways to solve puzzles.
Release Date
Spring 2006
Formats
PS2, PC, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PSP.
All versions of the game will fundamentally be the same. However, Toby Gard has confirmed that the Xbox and PC versions of the game will have higher-res textures, higher frame rate and faster load times compared with the PS2 version.
There will also be widescreen support for the XBox version. However, Riley Cooper has stressed that regardless of the system you play, the game will be equally brilliant on each. Toby Gard has also confirmed the Xbox version will "support a jukebox function which will be fun in Croft Manor. You'll basically be able to play a stereo when training".
The PSP version will most likely be similar to the PS2 version although nothing has been confirmed yet.
The Xbox 360 version is the most advanced of the lot. Crystal Dynamics have exploited the power of the Xbox 360 with its newly created graphics system for Tomb Raider Legend. With support for real-time per pixel lighting, shadows and normal-mapping among other improvements, the Tomb Raider world has never been as lifelike.
Bringing to life a new sense of awe and wonderment in stunning and immersive environments, the Xbox 360 demonstrates Lara’s intricately animated expressions, fluid movement and realistic abilities.
“My original vision for Lara can nearly be realized with the muscle of the Xbox 360,” said senior designer at Crystal Dynamics, Toby Gard. “The stunning graphics and scope of how Lara can move and interact with her surroundings will be astounding.”