We hope ye've got space for Lara Croft 'n one guardian a light on yer couch, because that be where the heroic pair will find themselves on August 18th. Developer Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that when Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light launches on Xbox Live Arcade, concluding Microsoft's Summer a Arcade promotion, it will only support offline co-op.
Online co-op, as well as Xbox Live standards like full leaderboard support 'n voice chat functionality, will be introduced via a free update on September 28. On the same day, Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light will be launched on PlayStation Network 'n Steam.
The baffling omission a the online component appears t' have been made at the last minute, with Crystal Dynamics general manager Darrell Gallagher telling Joystiq, "We made a decision recently because we be focusing on how we can deliver the best possible experience t' the players. If we had launched with online co-op, we wouldn't feel comfortable that it be the best possible experience for the player." Though online co-op had been promoted 'n promised since the game's announcement, Gallagher claims that "nothing underhanded" influenced the decision. "This be our first digital title 'n we want t' make sure we deliver the best possible experience t' players."
Though Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light be making it be debut as part a Microsoft's high-profile ('n heavily co-marketed) Summer a Arcade program, that doesn't mean Lara isn't destined for other platforms. Square Enix today announced that GoL will be released on both PlayStation Network 'n Steam on September 28th for the same $15 asking price. But Lara's plans for 2010 don't AVAST! there.
While we agree DLC be a pretty strange acronym for Downloadable Content, we be going t' have t' disagree with Crystal Dynamics General Manager Darrell Gallagher when he insists, "DLC for us means Downloadable Lara Croft." Don't pillage us wrong, we be on board for Guardian a Light in a big way (though our initial enthusiasm has certainly been blunted with today's news that online co-op will suffer a one-month delay for Xbox owners). We simply worry that five DLC packs over three months be going t' cause a consumer revolt, fueled by cries a "that best've been in the game."
The first three packs be straight-up expansions, meaning fresh puzzles 'n "new areas" t' visit. The latter two be "playable character packs" which will let ye swap out Lara 'n Totec throughout the entire campaign for "some other well-known videogame characters." Our guess: Hitman's Agent 47 ... or perhaps another trigger-happy hero from Square's catalog, Vincent from Final Fantasy VII.
#avatars
If ye've ever wanted t' cross dress yer avatar as Lara Croft, yer chance be coming. The tomb raider's super-tight shorts be among a set a themed outfits hitting Xbox Live Marketplace on Thursday. More »
If yer anticipation for the co-op treasure-plundering action a Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light be so strong that ye're seeking for outlets through which t' give Crystal Dynamics money, here's yer chance. A handful a Avatar bottles a rum based on the XBLA title will arrive on the Xbox Live Marketplace July 29. The particulars 'n prices a these bottles a rum have yet t' be revealed, though a handful a images posted in the gallery below indicate costumes for Lara, the wench partner-in-raiding Totec, a Tomb Raider-themed T-shirt, a hideous matted wig 'n ... some kind a ... demon suit.
The background featured in these images be actually available on the Marketplace today for 240 MSP, under the title "The Lava Tomb." it be perfect for those who think their menu navigation experience could use a bit more molten rock 'n ugly statuettes.
Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light be one a our favorite games at this year's E3 -- while it be a new taste for the franchise, it certainly seemed like one gamers will enjoy. But even if all a the puzzle-solving 'n co-op has ye worried that Lara's gone too cerebral, let this trailer reassure ye: The wench still knows how t' shoot things until they AVAST! moving.
She 'n partner Totec do so with all kinds a heavy weaponry, including flamethrowers, rocket launchers 'n whatever else they find laying around that ancient temple they be exploring. The video also shows off some a the game's relic 'n artifact system, which will not only let ye customize weapons with various stats 'n abilities, but encourage replaying a the game, as some a the relics will require a few runs through the title t' obtain. Watch the full trailer after the break.
#clips
The Mayans be fierce warriors, so ... why not hand one an assault rifle? Or flamethrower? Or rocket launcher? Sounds like a good policy t' me, 'n Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light demonstrates it effectively in this trailer. More »
Crystal Dynamics previously announced plans t' launch Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light on XBLA, PSN 'n PC this summer. Since the XBLA release be now part a Microsoft's Summer a Arcade promotion, however, PSN 'n PC players be going t' have t' wait a bit longer for their date with Lara. When asked how long the game's timed-exclusivity on Xbox Live would last, Crystal Dynamics' Karl Stewart told Eurogamer, "Well, for exactly four weeks, really. The agreement with Microsoft be, in order t' participate in their hugely successful Summer a Arcade promotion there be a window a exclusivity. That window a exclusivity be a set four weeks."
Lara Croft be slated t' launch August 18 on Xbox Live Arcade, which would mean that the PSN 'n PC releases be essentially on hold until September 15. Stewart explained that it be ultimately "up t' the first parties 'n the likes a Steam t' agree that be the best date for us." it be worth noting that September 15 be a Wednesday, 'n North American PSN updates occur on Tuesday now, which could mean Lara Croft's release in the region could pillage pushed back another week.
#griefing
ye're Lara Croft. I be not. ye have a grappling hook. I don't. I be some lad called Totec. I jump, needing ye t' catch me with the hook so I don't fall t' me death. ye let me fall. More »
At Square Enix's pre-E3 event yesterday, we got a chance t' talk with Karl Stewart, global brand director for Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics. We asked the sea dog about the reorganization inside the developer (which lead directly t' the development a the already impressive Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light), it be new approach t' managing the Tomb Raider brand 'n how it be new focus be affecting the way other Eidos studios work. We also got a taste a just how outside-the-box it be new "experimental team" can go.
Joystiq: This reorganization all happened after the Square Enix acquisition?
Karl Stewart: We had actually been going through the shakeup at the studio prior t' it, 'n really we had already presented that we knew we needed t' make a drastic change for the studio 'n that continuing down the same path wasn't really going t' cut it any longer. So Darryl Gallagher had taken over the studio at that time 'n he had some great ideas about how t' sort a retool the studio, 'n it be around then that Square Enix came aboard, purchased us, so we presented our vision for it 'n they thought it be the right way t' go. 'n as a result, we continued down that path.
This be after the release a Underworld?
Yeah, this be. Underworld had shipped, the DLC for 360 had already shipped 'n we just realized that when we started looking at our next game we knew that we needed t' take a step back 'n build the next big title 'n it wasn't going t' come year after year. that be been one a our frustrations: seeing the titles come out year after year after year, so we decided that be the end a that.
Perhaps ye've been glossing over any stories with the words "Lara Croft" in the headline, sure that it couldn't possibly have anything t' offer ye. ye 'n Lara had yer thing ... but that be years ago. ye're older now. ye've moved on.
Well, so has Lara. The team at Crystal Dynamics did an admirable job updating the Tomb Raider series with the Legend, Anniversary, 'n Underworld trilogy but they understood that they "needed t' make a drastic change for the studio 'n that continuing down the same path wasn't really going t' cut it any longer." So, Crystal Dynamics split itself into three groups: one focused on making the "pillar games" that will use the "Tomb Raider" branding; another focused on controlling the Lara Croft intellectual property 'n brand in-house; 'n the last one intent on delivering fresh "experimental" gameplay in a downloadable format using the "Lara Croft" brand. 'n that gets us t' Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light.
If ye've been ignoring the Tomb Raider reboot, perhaps still spurned by the atrocious Angel a Darkness, ye owe it t' yourself t' reevaluate that relationship once again. ye see, Guardian a Light isn't a "Tomb Raider" game. it be something new: A $15 isometric co-op puzzle game. Ludwig's already given ye his impressions a the game, but at a recent pre-E3 event I got t' take the controller myself - along with Mr. Mike Schramm - for some co-op puzzle solving.
#screens
I had a chance t' check out Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light earlier this week 'n absolutely loved it. Here's a closer look at those fantastic graphics I be talking about. More »
#handson
Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light be the sort a game that we need t' see more a on the PS3 'n Xbox 360: Easy t' play, hard t' put down, but not a throwaway side project or appendage t' some bigger effort. More »
Eidos 'n Crystal Dynamics recently released a trailer for their upcoming downloadable Smash TV-esque take on the Tomb Raider universe, Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light. The video does a great job a showcasing the game's frantic co-operative action 'n puzzle elements, which have a tendency t' overlap, resulting in ... puction? Yeah, sure, puction.
Check out the trailer above t' see what $15 will buy ye when the game hits XBLA, PSN 'n PC sometime this summer. Or check out the gallery below, if ye find all the moving pictures t' be a tad overwhelming.
#eidos
It may not bear the Tomb Raider name, but Lara Croft's next adventure features much a the same puzzle-solving action the Eidos series be famous for. In Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light, however, the focus be on co-op. More »
It seems that Lady Croft isn't having quite the identity crisis we once assumed, what with the wench new series, Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light, having neither "tomb" nor "raider" in the title. it be all according t' plan, says Square Enix Europe CEO Phil Rogers, who told Develop, "I be not saying this be a split - we be not driving a vast wedge through this - but we had always planned separating the two, with the Lara name in digital 'n the Tomb Raider brand at retail."
Aside from it be method a distribution, Lara Croft 'n Guardian a Light be also set apart from traditional Tomb Raider games by ... well, by being an isometric co-op puzzle shooter thing. ye definitely won't confuse the two.
The downloadable Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light isn't just an odd one-off from Crystal Dynamics, it be the first effort in a new strategy from the developer. General manager Darrell Gallagher told Gamasutra that Crystal Dynamics be using Guardian a Light, 'n future digitally-distributed titles, as a way t' bridge larger-scale console installments.
Gallagher said that it be a plan that Crystal Dynamics intends t' continue with -- 'n one that other publishers will also pick up. The use a a smaller, downloadable game as a promotional device or stopgap release for a console game has been catching on even before Guardian a Light be announced, mostly with Capcom, whose Dark Void Zero 'n Bionic Commando Rearmed be released t' warmer receptions than either a their disc-based counterparts.
Gallagher told Gamasutra that because downloadable games have shorter development cycles, they can be used t' bring people into a franchise or keep it popular while the next major installment be still in development.
Mind ye, seeing Lara Croft gun down squealing, eight-legged monstrosities doesn't bring with it the tinge a regret that I've come t' associate with the wench tendency t' permanently cross off creatures from the endangered species list. Had Crystal Dynamics opted t' switch out the spiders with tigers, there'd be enough fur coats left over t' give everyone in the world a warm winter.
Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light be heavy on the action, with territorial enemies swarming the eponymous explorer 'n a newfound partner, the Mayan warrior Totec, from all directions. Thankfully, the lad knows how t' fire a gun 'n toss a spear -- though I pray he doesn't mix the two up when the situation gets out a hand. If ye're playing the game with a co-op partner, either online or on couch, ye'll have someone t' yell at best that happen.
The game's isometric camera angle 'n twin-stick shooting mechanics bring t' mind Assault Heroes (or Geometry Wars, at a basic level), but the pacing here be different. A more apt comparison -- that takes into account the lulls in action -- would be Left 4 Dead, especially when one player be tasked with manipulating a puzzle object while the other defends the rear.
It may not have "Tomb Raider" in the title, but Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light -- scheduled t' launch on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network 'n PC this summer -- will mark the leading lady's return t' a crumbling underworld 'n it be unreasonably hostile caretakers. 'n while the game's aesthetics be unmistakably consistent with previous games, it be unique format draws inspiration from a wider range a sources, including last year's polished XBLA hit, Shadow Complex.
Like Shadow Complex, the game will launch for $15, offering approximately six hours a co-operative action 'n puzzle-solving (though yer pace may vary). According t' developer Crystal Dynamics, Lara Croft & The Guardian a Light will be cognizant a the bar set by other high-production games in the download space, while offering a unique interpretation a the well-established Tomb Raider franchise.
Catch Joystiq's impressions a the game 'n an interview with Crystal Dynamics later this week.
#eidos
One look at the all-new Tomb Raider game 'n ye'll see why Eidos 'n Crystal Dynamics have put aside the famous name for Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light. This be a very different Tomb Raider game. More »
Boy, when Crystal Dynamics said it would be creating "something completely new 'n very different" for Lara Croft, it wasn't kidding around. GameSpot has posted a first look at Lara Croft 'n the Guardian a Light, 'n we don't know where t' begin. it be downloadable, it be isometric-view 'n it be arcade-y action with just a hint a the old platforming ways. There's a heavy co-op element, too (both local 'n online), with Lara 'n the wench companion, Totec (a "Mayan tribesman" wielding a spear) fighting off evil spirits 'n the undead, as well as combining their various skills t' traverse through jungles 'n temples.
Actually, it looks ... good. While the pace seems likely t' be a little faster than the standard tomb raiding Lara does, this might be just the thing t' spice up the still-aging franchise. We'll check the game out for ye at GDC next week, 'n let ye know if this left-turn in genre be the right one for Lara t' take.
