Lara Croft is one of the most iconic characters of the video games industry, but now it seems that we will have to get to know her all over again, as the upcoming Tomb Raider instalment is actually a prequel. The ninth part of the long-standing Tomb Raider series is actually the "first" game in the series. It stars the 21 year old Lara Croft who still has to learn the many things that make her an athletic and beautiful archaeologist. The title of the game is, quite simply, "Tomb Raider".
Not long after Gamescom had opened, a huge queue had already formed. Surprisingly, even with Tomb Raider about 90% of the line consisted of men and boys, to my surprise, considering Lara Croft has a large female fanbase. After about an hour of waiting time (which, in terms of Gamescom, is quite short), I finally got in. We started off by watching a presentation on the game, which took about 45 minutes.
I had already seen most of the footage from Lara Croft at E3, but actually getting to play Lara Croft in the midst of an amazing surround system and with several new additions is still a great experience. The audio in the game clearly stood out, and was perfectly synchronized with the visuals around you. This, combined with smart camera work allows for some great experiences when, for example, Lara slides off a rock. The gameplay also felt very intuitive, which quite often alternated with well-done cutscenes. This has it's advantages and disadvantages though. On the one hand this means the player can really "feel" with Lara and her emotions, which wasn't really the case with previous games in the series. For example, when suddenly a bear trap snaps shut, you as the player will actually feel what Lara feels in the game; shock. But these sequences are meant to happen, which can give the player the feeling that they're no longer in control of the situation and over Lara. The game shouldn't be an open world, but it shouldn't bee as linear as this; it should have a bit more leeway and freedom.
Overall, the new Tomb Raider feels much more realistic than any other instalment of the series. The sound, the graphics and the story all contribute to this realistic feeling. And perhaps, Lara's bust may have something to do with this as well.
Tomb Raider has already earned nominations for the "Best of Gamescom", and I definitely look forward to the release date on March 5th, 2012, when the game finally hits the stores!