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The impending reboot of Tomb Raider – the formative adventure of a young and inexperienced Lara Croft – is just days away.
– the formative adventure of a young and inexperienced Lara Croft – is just days away. While we could go on and on about the game’s skill progression and upgrades, and the developers’ high hopes for gamers bonding with Lara like never before, why not let someone who couldn’t care less about video games take over?
That’s right, everyone’s favorite ‘Clueless Gamer’ is back, as Conan O’Brien spent a segment on his show playing through the opening acts of Crystal Dynamics‘ title. The late night host’s time with Hitman: Absolution brought a fresh perspective– let’s see if it works for Tomb Raider .
Much was made of Lara Croft’s rather…vocal outbursts when the game was first shown, so considering how much time O’Brien spends debating Lara’s physical attributes and virility, it’s a good thing the developers toned down her grunts and groans.
While O’Brien obviously goes for the laughs in pointing out how painstakingly Croft’s every curve and asset has been crafted, there’s no reason to deny the obvious. If Croft’s appearance didn’t matter, then Crystal Dynamics probably wouldn’t have enlisted the talent of stunning starlet Camilla Luddingtonin bringing the character to life.
That being said, Lara’s looks are just where her deadliness begins. While the gameplay demonstrated in the above video focus largely on the traversal elements and cinematic presentation, that seems to (hopefully) be just one aspect of the main campaign. That’s not even considering the multiplayer component, which is being heavily emphasized, going by the achievement and trophy lists.
There may still be some put off by the ‘rape’ scene controversy, but Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics seem pleased enough to already be planning a sequelto this new take on a classic property.
Whether the experience is a somewhat shallow cinematic one, or a rich continuation of the Tomb Raider legacy, at least now we know it’s good for a few laughs. If you’ve still got reservations, be sure to check out the latest gameplay footage.
Tomb Raider releases March 5, 2013, for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
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