Tomb Raider is a videoludic series launched in 1996 with Tomb Raider . Published by Eidos, the series is developed by Core Design until the sixth opus included, then by Crystal Dynamics for the last episode left on June 1st 2007: Anniversary .

While transposing the Gameplay of the plays of platform - action 2D in three dimensions, Tomb Raider succeeded in becoming one of the first successes of the PlayStation. Lara Croft, the heroin of the plays, also became one of the characters of the most popular video game most famous and. The series extended thereafter to the cinema, the cartoon and the novels.

Presentation

The video games Tomb Raider combine the scenes of pure action to passages of adventure and enigmas often difficult. The character (Lara Croft) evolves/moves in often imposing decorations in 3D real-time, accompanied by a background music intended to immerse the player in the visited decorations.

As of the first episode, this series is a planetary success. Nevertheless, starting from the fourth episode, the lack of evolution starts to blow success up to the point or the license ends up passing with the hands of Core Design to Dynamics Hook following the fiasco of Tomb Raider the Angel of darkness . In the last left play, Tomb Raider Legend, all were worked over again until the biography even of the adventurous one. The result is successful: Tomb Raider Legend belongs to the best sold plays and gains an immense success near the fans of the saga.

Evolution

Each version of the play introduced new weapons and new movements. Starting from the fourth opus, Lara can, in addition to jumping behind, swimming, to push or draw from the objects, from now on aggriper, to go up, go down or balance themselves with the cord, to pass the corners while being held suspended with a cornice or to insert doors, with the hand or using the foot.

Certain recurring characters mark the evolution of Lara Croft, such as Von Croy, Winston, its majordomo, Larson, etc

Tomb Raider I is one of the very first examples of plays entirely in 3D; in the first episodes, the world in which Lara evolves/moves is very square : the ceilings, walls and edges are with 90 degrees the ones compared to the others; but the originators of the play used astute artifices so that is apparent. That is due to the fact that the consoles and the computers of the time, powerful enough and are not seldom equipped with graphics cards 3D. A configuration such as a Pentium with 133 MHz and a chart video SVGA makes it possible to play first episode. An editor of level was provided with the 5th episode allowing the players to build their adventures and to divide them on Internet.

At the beginning of the 21e century, Tomb Raider entered the universe of the cinema: it is into 2001 that Lara Croft made its beginnings on the big screen. Lara, however, was not incarnated by a synthetic character, but by an actress of flesh and blood: Angelina Jolie.

Published episodes

Episodes on portable console

Films

  • 2001 : Lara Croft : Tomb Raider
  • 2003 : Lara Croft Tomb Raider the cradle of the life (The Cradle off Life)

Cartoon

  • the first appearance of Lara Croft in the universe of the Comic S was done in two episodes of Witchblade .
  • Tomb Raider was the subject of an adaptation in comics by the studio Top Cow, scenarized originally by daN Jurgens and drawn by Andy Parks. The comics was translated by Semic into kiosks and the Editions the USA into bookstores.
  • Tomb Raider also was the subject of an adaptation as a Franco-Belgian cartoon by Glénat. However, following a conflict of rights between Core Design and Eidos France, the cartoon was withdrawn from the sales. She is from now on untraceable on the market and is regarded as collector's item.

Jokes, pastiches and parodies

Taking into account the fulgurating success of Tomb Raider and the rise in its heroin to the row of star (even videoludic), it is hardly surprising that some taquins spirits were devoted to some phantasms…

  • Womb Raider. In the beginning an image represented Lara Croft in a state of advanced pregnancy (in English, womb means uterus), but always weapons with the fists. The legend seemed to indicate that it tracked the person in charge. Other images of the same kind circulated thereafter on Internet.

  • Nude Raider. Undoubtedly the most famous parody. A persistent rumor ran, according to which existed a " code" allowing to strip Lara Croft in Tomb Raider I . Actually, this forever existed code. On the other hand, it is indeed exact that small jokers had had fun to modify some textures so that the pulpy adventurous one explored vestiges incas and Egyptians in a behavior of lightest! It thus acted, not of a code, but of a kind of MOD whose installation required some handling. Let us specify that remained very " software ". (On the Business " Nude Raider" , to see this article on the site of Captain Alban).
  • Larry Craft This character with the evocative name belongs to the enemies of the play Astérix and Obélix XXL 2. It was about a Roman centurion, a little bedonnant, faithful friend of César. You can see it at this address * Tombe Laider Legend Tombe Laider Legend is a parody of the play Tomb Raider Legend, which is tasted under format MP3, Lara Croft, famous Clara Croft; launches out in perilous adventures, just like in the video game, but in a comic and delirious way. You can find this adventure at this address. * Laredo Cronk a parody of Lara Croft which appears in the play of adventure Discworld Noir . When Lewton addresses the word to him, it can speak about all its tours which insist on the commonplaces of the series Tomb Raider.

These some liberties hardly scandalized the players. On the other hand, Core Design and Eidos very fairly did not only appreciate the joke and ended up launching out to hunting to the sites which contributed to the diffusion of these diversions of the image of Lara Croft.

To note

According to Eidos Interactive, at November 1st, 2000, 24 million specimens of plays Tomb Raider was sold in the world, all platforms confused.

Lara Croft is the most popular woman that the video games ever knew. 10 years of career 1,5 billion dollar, 30 million sold plays, simple idea Lara Croft passes to the statute of icon.

See too

  • the English official site (TombRaider.com)
  • the official site of the comics Semic
  • Complete records of JeuxVideo.com on the phenomenon Tomb Raider (51 pages)
  • detailed solutions of Captain Alban
  • Site proposing nearly 300 levels and 30 adventures made with the editor
  • complete Chronology of Lara Croft and the saga Tomb Raider
  • universe of Tomb Raider in derivative products

Simple: Tomb Raider

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