It’s midnight on Sunday. I find myself resting my cheek on my palm with squinted eyes thinking about how I can become an overnight millionaire so I don’t have to wake up as early the following morning. This habit has now become a constant and a strange familiarity in my end of week routine – I’m a simple creature of habit and consistency.
There’s something comforting in gaming consistency done well, too. If indeed it is done well, we will more than likely hold the game close to our hearts – the pixelated faces we grew up with are now shiny realistic models of their former selves. The year is 1996, the year Google was first developed, Mission: Impossible was released and the PlayStation took off its training wheels and released some of our most beloved gaming franchises. For the first time we were introduced to Crash Bandicoot, Resident Evil, Diablo and a little game called Tomb Raider which produced one of the best protagonists in video gaming history; Lara Croft.
Since 1996, there is one thing Tomb Raider excels in more than most – consistency. I remember starting up Tomb Raider for the first time, in complete awe of the 3D graphics, it was an exciting world for me to explore, raiding tombs whilst wearing out the D-pad on my controller (along with my left thumb) with absolute joy. 20 years later we are still blessed with Lara’s presence. Albeit a lot has changed within those 20 years of the Tomb Raider franchise, good and bad, but for better or worse, I still look forward to taking control of Lara Croft again when a new game is announced, and if you don’t, you should.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for our heroine, Lara, both inside and outside of her virtual world. Despite selling over 45 million copies worldwide, not all the games in the franchise were smash hits. In fact, midway into Tomb Raider’s timeline, the sixth instalment, The Angel Of Darkness faced difficulties during its development and was widely considered a failure. After its release, the development duties were passed over from Edios to Crystal Dynamics, who have been the primary developer ever since. Crystal Dynamics had a vision, a vision that took Lara Croft on a transition of relevance, and with the release of Rise Of The Tomb Raider, their vision has certainly been accomplished.
As with other long running franchises, the gameplay and graphics have naturally evolved. This is expected of course, but Tomb Raider always offered something slightly extra – innovation. Since 2013 the gameplay mechanics now have a brand new style whilst invoking a sense of true danger I knew and loved from the Tomb Raiders of the 90s. Couple this with the new improved darker storyline which we saw in “Tomb Raider” and the now “Rise Of The Tomb Raider”, Crystal Dynamics have developed a freshness and a much more personal touch the franchise was crying out for.
Lara Croft is indeed a household name, originally developed as a cliché British explorer who had her very own mansion and personal butler to boot, but she is also one of gaming’s rare female protagonists, and the only one to maintain her role throughout the 20 years we have been blessed to play as Lara Croft in a world where most AAA titles host a male main character. There are very few female protagonists in video games, (a lot more can be found in indie games) this is just the way the gaming industry has done things, and Lara Croft has survived it all. There have certainly been differences in Tomb Raider’s sales and popularity over the last 20 years but Lara Croft has been that constant who has remained, and I for one am glad she did.
When “Rise Of The Tomb Raider” was announced as an Xbox One exclusive, I did feel slightly betrayed. Tomb Raider made its bones with Sony and PlayStation, and Xbox now had exclusive rights to Sony’s prodigy. Whilst PlayStation users had to wait almost a full year to play the latest instalment, it was certainly worth the wait. Yes, Sony also has another gaming powerhouse in Nathan Drake and Uncharted 4, a game Crystal Dynamics have obviously taken inspiration from and was released before Rise Of The Tomb Raider, which surely would have satisfied my (and your) need to embark on another vast adventure, traversing mountains and old ruins with gun in hand. I guess I’m just greedy.
Tomb Raider alongside my bad Sunday night habit are constants in my life, although, admittedly one of them is more welcoming. We have taken her to Atlantis, Shangri-La, Avalon and even to Hollywood in the form of Angelina Jolie. She’s fought giant spiders, crocodiles, tigers, a dragon, a T-rex, a yeti and still always finds time to rush back to her mansion and lock the butler in the freezer.
Buy Rise of the Tomb Raider on PS4
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