When Lara was missing presumed dead after trying to escape from the Great Pyramid in Egypt at the end of The Last Revelation, it did indeed look as if Tomb Raider was over. Core lost the plot completely and Angel of Darkness was about some tart called Betty Buttons who was looking to get laid by a dork called Kurtis Trout while chatting to prostitutes in Paris along the way. Raiders worldwide held their memorial services and raised their glasses in tribute. Miss Croft was indeed presumed dead.
Then Crystal Dynamics came along. We raised our eyebrows and watched with interest. Don’t get me wrong, Crystal Dynamics were good! It’s just that Tomb Raider wasn’t about special effects, brilliant storylines, fancy objects and ’cutting edge’ technology, it was about Tomb Raider.
Legend and Anniversary had a sort of Tomb Raiderish feel about them and although enjoyable, they didn’t really qualify as Tomb Raider to me, they still lacked the true essence or Raiding. Tomb Raider never was about spending hours fighting ridiculously hard Bosses, for example. But we were happy, at least we were Raiding of sorts.
Then, just two days ago, Tomb Raider Underworld was released in the UK. Crystal Dynamics have done it. Lara Croft has returned. This is Tomb Raider. It’s all back. Lara did get out of that Pyramid in Egypt. She’s back!
