The Lara Croft-based Tomb Raider games aren't something that just popped out of thin air. In fact, they have been around for over a decade now, with fans witnessing the gradual evolution and transformation of Lara via several Tomb Raider games that have graced the industry so far.
There was a time, not long ago, when the first-ever Tomb Raider was revealed to the world, with fans coming to know of the daredevil treasure and relic hunter Lara from her several different adventures across the world. However, while the Tomb Raider game did manage to strike a few chords among fans, it did so even more for reasons entirely different.
In case you are that naive, or may have bumped into a Tomb Raider game only recently, it's safe to say that over time, Lara has been hyper-sexualised by the developers. Sure she's a taste for dangerous adventures and missions, but fans would normally relate to the game on the back of Lara's, well, overtly erotic body features.
In fact, the craze was so huge that we even got a number of mods for the game, one of which successfully made Lara run through her campaign missions, minus a single piece of clothing on her perfect body. Sure, it helped a number of us go through our angst-filled teenage years, but an overtly-sexualised character surely can't be the perfect marker to rate a game.
Fast forward to 2013, fans across the world were treated to a new, younger Lara when she was just starting out with her adventures. The game was basically a reboot and showed the years when Lara wasn't necessarily a gun-toting explorer, and was actually on a mission to discover her real self.
Needless to say, the 2013-based Tomb Raider took fans by storm, and the popularity of it was so massive that developers Crystal Dynamics immediately went to work on a sequel with bigger and better things in store. And riding on that, we are now awaiting the upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider later this year.
But before Lara's newest adventures hit the store shelves, let's take a closer first look at what the game will offer when it releases later this year.
Rise of the Tomb Raider – First Look
- As we mentioned earlier, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a sequel to the 2013 reboot Tomb Raider. The new title follows up the events of the original game, and Lara learns about an organisation called Trinity that covered up the events from the 2013 title.
- Lara is now determined to expose the truth to the world, and prove to everyone that she hasn't really gone mental. And in order to do that, she heads over to the city of Kitezh (located in Siberia), where she swears to find out more about the Grand Prince of Vladimir, dating back to the 13th century.
- On her quest, Lara will face great difficulties, including quite the hostile weather conditions (what else would you expect in Siberia), apart from dangerous wild animals and ruthless Trinity agents who will do anything to keep the truth from being exposed.
- Going by whatever we learned of the game so far, it seems like, similar to the last game, there will be situations where Lara will be required to act fast to survive. For example, Lara will run along the sides of the mountain, make use of stealth to keep away from the Trinity agents, and always relying on her skills to handle problems.
- Like the last game, there's again a dedicated crafting system for Rise of the Tomb Raider, and the system will only improve over time, levelling up Lara's skills and weapons. There are a number of materials in the world that can be scavenged for resources, including plants and animal hides.
- Apart from that, Lara will also learn new moves, and will improve upon her stealth skills to keep away from the Trinity patrol, aside several hunting techniques to stay alive.
- There will also be puzzles to solve, like activating tricky switches or even just looking around an area to locate significant items. She will be accompanied by her several exploration tools as well, including the climbing axe. However, the climbing axe will only be useful, depending on how fast you can get used to Lara's versatility.
- For the game, we have been hearing that Crystal Dynamics will be introducing new combat mechanics, which Lara can use to her advantage to tackle both human and animal adversaries. Weapons will also play a huge role, with the trusty and stealthy bow and arrow retained.
- Players will be able to modify weapons, apart from crafting makeshift weapons, such as a handmade explosive that can be thrown into a campfire to inflict maximum damage.
- Keep in mind that there's no specified rule on how you can approach the game. You can complete the missions in whichever way you want, either by getting into the mix all-guns-blazing, or remaining completely undetected from the Trinity baddies. It's completely up to you how to approach the game.
There's a brand new Rise of the Tomb Raider gameplay trailer that was showcased at this year's Gamescom event. You can check it out below for more information on Lara. As of now, Rise of the Tomb Raider is set to be released for the Xbox One on 13 November.
