Tomb Raider Series
The Tomb Raider Series is a popular video game series initially created by Core Design, currently developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. The series consists of eight main games, a remake of the original, and three handheld games. A ninth title is currently under development.
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Tomb Raider
Developed by Core Design, the original game in the series introduces Lara Croft as a fearless, thrill-seeking adventurer who only plays for sport. The game follows her quest to find the Scion, an artifact she was hired to find by Natla.
Tomb Raider II
This sequel introduces city levels and a greater focus on action compared to the original. Lara searches for the Dagger of Xian, an ancient Chinese artifact, while Bartoli and his group of mafia try to find it first.
Tomb Raider III
The third game attempts to ramp up the focus on exploration, introducing levels with multiple pathways, excessive use of trial and error, plus the ability to choose which order to play the middle three locations. Lara travels across the globe searching for meteorite fragments which cause strange changes in the people who possess them.
Tomb Raider The Last Revelation
This game marks a much more intense focus on both story and inter-related level structure compared to the previous games. It is by far the longest game in the series, consisting of many levels which connect together in such a way that the player must go back and forth between levels. The puzzles are more thought-provoking as well, incorporating such items as water skins and torches rather than merely relying upon switches, keys and box puzzles. In this game, Lara accidentally releases the Egyptian god Seth and must then find a way to reimprison him before he brings about the end of the world.
Tomb Raider Chronicles
The final game to be built on the original engine, Chronicles is a farewell to the old Lara. This game is made up of a few shorter stories which are remembered by those close to Lara. As a result, each level set is independent of the others in terms of story and inventory since they take place at different points in Lara's life. The PC version was packaged with a Level Editor which many fans have used to make custom levels.
Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness
Angel of Darkness is the first Tomb Raider game to be made for the PS2 era of hardware. Due to various reasons, the game was not properly completed. Too much change was attempted at once, resulting in a lot of features which were half-finished, and the game's deadline was extended several times and then partially reduced when the publisher decided to push the game out in order to coincide with the second movie. The initial release was very buggy, although subsequent releases (and patches for the PC version) have solved the majority of those problems. The bugs and control issues resulted in much criticism for the game, which ultimately resulted in the publisher transferring to series to new developers despite the game selling well enough to attain Platinum status.
The story features a darker Lara who is bitter over the events of The Last Revelation and refuses to help Von Croy when he tells her that he got mixed up in something bad and he fears for his life. When he is then killed by an unknown assailant, Lara is accused of the crime by the police and she cannot even remember if she did it or not. She decides to run from the police and she sets about discovering what Von Croy had been involved in so that she can find the truth about his death for herself.
Tomb Raider Legend
This marks the first Tomb Raider game to be developed by Crystal Dynamics. It features a drastic overhaul of the entire Tomb Raider premise, including new camera and controls, new save system, new inventory, a different style of level design, a headset which provides continual hints and jokes, plus a greater emphasis on storyline in general and Lara herself in specific. It was received very well by the same critics who panned the previous game.
The story follows Lara as she sets about discovering sword fragments related to an ancient stone dais which caused her mother's disappearance. Along the way, she also finds out that an old friend of hers, long presumed dead, may not have died after all and may in fact be searching for the same thing she is.
Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition
This was a partially completed remake of the original game started by the original developers, Core Design. Apparently there was some confusion somewhere in the process because the publisher sold off the assets of Core Design before the remake was completed, effectively cancelling it. After footage of this game leaked onto the internet, the publisher was quick to reassure everyone that a new reimagining was being developed by Crystal Dynamics instead.
Tomb Raider Anniversary
This reimagining of the original Tomb Raider game came out roughly in time for the 10th anniversary of the original release, hence the title. The storyline was altered a bit to reflect the new biography which was introduced in Legend, and to create new story threads which may be followed up in future Tomb Raider games. The levels were redesigned to focus more on solving central puzzle rooms and less on exploring intricate passageways.
Tomb Raider Underworld
The eighth game in the series continues the story of Legend and follows Lara's quest to the Norse underworlds.
