socom
05-09-2003, 05:40 AM
For the June 2003 issue...
I don't have a scanner, but I can share the article with you all, it's interesting as well as informative, here it is:
Reinventing Lara
Core has crafted a comeback for Croft…but can an old dog like Lara really learn new tricks? By Star dingo
There was a time when Lara Croft was the icon for the growing gaming industry - she stood for everything un-Mario, all that was anti-sonic, a spokes model for that which was un-cute and non-bulbous (well, at least not in the usual ways) about the biz. Then, times changed and tastes shifted…but Lara, alas, stayed the same. Now with titles like DOAX and Grand Theft Auto stealing the gaming spotlight, how much chance does a lass like Lara have at making a comeback?
The Laradox
In deciding how to orchestrate Lara’s grand return, Eidos had a bit of a predicament on its hands. Critics of the Tomb Raider series have been scoring its lack of innovation since pretty much the second iteration; tomb after tomb of the same jump puzzles and switch pulling, block-pushing errands simply became far too much to bear. But fans of the series never really cared. They bought it because they knew exactly what to expect – big, smartly crafted Indiana Jones-style puzzle temples, and a digital babe with two blazing pistols. And there lay the core of Core’s problem – how do you make strides in game play without alienating the Lara–lovers? Is it possible to innovate while hanging onto a legacy? Can you really be a Tomb Raider without having any tombs to raid?
Back when Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was just being whispered about as “the new PS2 Lara Croft Game,” Core Design spoke of some radical prospects for Lara’s first next-gen adventure, calling it “much darker,” citing nonlinear masterworks like Dues Ex and Shenmue as inspiration, even dropping hints that the game would be so different that it wouldn’t be called “Tomb Raider.” But that was then…and this is now. And the game is called Tomb Raider. So what, exactly, is this Angel shaping up to be?
Schizocroftia
Right from the start, the story definitely takes a major break from the Tomb Raider norm. The game begins with Lara making some shady deals that quickly lead to her mentor’s murder – blood is covering Lara’s hands, the Parisian police are hot on her tail, and her two trademark pistols are nowhere in sight…and they won’t be for a surprisingly long time.
The first third of the game focuses on jaunts into the European criminal underground as Lara works with the scum of Paris to clear her name, gets involved with some shady dealers, and figures out who, exactly, is responsible for her predicament. It’s here that most of the “new stuff” you’ve been hearing about comes into play. Since Lara is gun-less, stealth plays a big role in getting around; she spends a lot of time peeking around corners and taking down pesky cops by sneaking up behind them, or engaging in hand-to-hand combat when necessary. No, it’s not as deep as Deus Ex or as complex as Metal Gear Solid, but then again, it’s not the whole game either.
Eventually (once Lara gets her guns), The Angel of Darkness turns into a more traditional Tomb Raider adventure. Even though she may be crawling through sewers or infiltrating the Louvre like Sly Cooper, she’s still jumping, shimmying, and switch-flipping to get the job done, two guns blazing all the while. The arsenal of moves you’ve come to expect is entirely intact as Lara jumps, hangs from ledges, and swims just as she always has. Moving around is accomplished using either the analog stick or the directional pad; holding down R1 still puts Lara into her “walk” mode so that she can’t accidentally fall off ledges when lining up the game’s notoriously tricky jumps.
Later on, the game play takes yet another turn – best exemplified by the level in which you control Kurtis, the other, non-Lara playable character. His mission plays out as a creepy survival/horror action romp as he takes on a mental hospital full of whacked-out zombie-like patients bearing razor-sharp claws. Kurtis has psychokinetic powers and a Krull-like razor disc at his side…but then again, who doesn’t?
Film noir criminal activity involving art dealers, ancient ruins under Prague harboring long-dead warriors, and zombie sanitariums…it’s obvious that in figuring out what direction to take Tomb Raider, Core decided to take it in every direction. How will it all tie together in the final game is still a mystery – but no doubt core will use gamers’ reactions to the wild tone shifts as a yardstick for what to do next.
Relics and Prophecies
No matter what the finished result, Core already gets major kudos for the graphics in The Angel of Darkness – the developer has been working on the environments in the game since day one, and it shows. The levels look awesome with supremely detailed textures, tons of variety, and none of the cookie-cutter level design that plagued the original.
As things stand now, The Angel of Darkness looks like it may slip further from its last projected ship date of mid-April since Core is still in the process of tweaking the controls and weaving together all the pieces of the game. But Eidos knows that if Lara’s got any chance of making a comeback, a rush-job isn’t the right way to make it happen. It takes a lot of time, effort, and sheer cosmic energy to re-ignite a superstar.
GamePro Magazine
Issue 177 June 2003
I don't have a scanner, but I can share the article with you all, it's interesting as well as informative, here it is:
Reinventing Lara
Core has crafted a comeback for Croft…but can an old dog like Lara really learn new tricks? By Star dingo
There was a time when Lara Croft was the icon for the growing gaming industry - she stood for everything un-Mario, all that was anti-sonic, a spokes model for that which was un-cute and non-bulbous (well, at least not in the usual ways) about the biz. Then, times changed and tastes shifted…but Lara, alas, stayed the same. Now with titles like DOAX and Grand Theft Auto stealing the gaming spotlight, how much chance does a lass like Lara have at making a comeback?
The Laradox
In deciding how to orchestrate Lara’s grand return, Eidos had a bit of a predicament on its hands. Critics of the Tomb Raider series have been scoring its lack of innovation since pretty much the second iteration; tomb after tomb of the same jump puzzles and switch pulling, block-pushing errands simply became far too much to bear. But fans of the series never really cared. They bought it because they knew exactly what to expect – big, smartly crafted Indiana Jones-style puzzle temples, and a digital babe with two blazing pistols. And there lay the core of Core’s problem – how do you make strides in game play without alienating the Lara–lovers? Is it possible to innovate while hanging onto a legacy? Can you really be a Tomb Raider without having any tombs to raid?
Back when Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was just being whispered about as “the new PS2 Lara Croft Game,” Core Design spoke of some radical prospects for Lara’s first next-gen adventure, calling it “much darker,” citing nonlinear masterworks like Dues Ex and Shenmue as inspiration, even dropping hints that the game would be so different that it wouldn’t be called “Tomb Raider.” But that was then…and this is now. And the game is called Tomb Raider. So what, exactly, is this Angel shaping up to be?
Schizocroftia
Right from the start, the story definitely takes a major break from the Tomb Raider norm. The game begins with Lara making some shady deals that quickly lead to her mentor’s murder – blood is covering Lara’s hands, the Parisian police are hot on her tail, and her two trademark pistols are nowhere in sight…and they won’t be for a surprisingly long time.
The first third of the game focuses on jaunts into the European criminal underground as Lara works with the scum of Paris to clear her name, gets involved with some shady dealers, and figures out who, exactly, is responsible for her predicament. It’s here that most of the “new stuff” you’ve been hearing about comes into play. Since Lara is gun-less, stealth plays a big role in getting around; she spends a lot of time peeking around corners and taking down pesky cops by sneaking up behind them, or engaging in hand-to-hand combat when necessary. No, it’s not as deep as Deus Ex or as complex as Metal Gear Solid, but then again, it’s not the whole game either.
Eventually (once Lara gets her guns), The Angel of Darkness turns into a more traditional Tomb Raider adventure. Even though she may be crawling through sewers or infiltrating the Louvre like Sly Cooper, she’s still jumping, shimmying, and switch-flipping to get the job done, two guns blazing all the while. The arsenal of moves you’ve come to expect is entirely intact as Lara jumps, hangs from ledges, and swims just as she always has. Moving around is accomplished using either the analog stick or the directional pad; holding down R1 still puts Lara into her “walk” mode so that she can’t accidentally fall off ledges when lining up the game’s notoriously tricky jumps.
Later on, the game play takes yet another turn – best exemplified by the level in which you control Kurtis, the other, non-Lara playable character. His mission plays out as a creepy survival/horror action romp as he takes on a mental hospital full of whacked-out zombie-like patients bearing razor-sharp claws. Kurtis has psychokinetic powers and a Krull-like razor disc at his side…but then again, who doesn’t?
Film noir criminal activity involving art dealers, ancient ruins under Prague harboring long-dead warriors, and zombie sanitariums…it’s obvious that in figuring out what direction to take Tomb Raider, Core decided to take it in every direction. How will it all tie together in the final game is still a mystery – but no doubt core will use gamers’ reactions to the wild tone shifts as a yardstick for what to do next.
Relics and Prophecies
No matter what the finished result, Core already gets major kudos for the graphics in The Angel of Darkness – the developer has been working on the environments in the game since day one, and it shows. The levels look awesome with supremely detailed textures, tons of variety, and none of the cookie-cutter level design that plagued the original.
As things stand now, The Angel of Darkness looks like it may slip further from its last projected ship date of mid-April since Core is still in the process of tweaking the controls and weaving together all the pieces of the game. But Eidos knows that if Lara’s got any chance of making a comeback, a rush-job isn’t the right way to make it happen. It takes a lot of time, effort, and sheer cosmic energy to re-ignite a superstar.
GamePro Magazine
Issue 177 June 2003