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The trail of fanboy anticipation left behind by E3 2012 was palpable, with many games garnering huge support from players eager to see what developers have in the works – for not only current gen consoles, but those yet to be announced.
was palpable, with many games garnering huge support from players eager to see what developers have in the works – for not only current gen consoles, but those yet to be announced. Theprequel was certainly among the top presentations at the XBox conference (not to mention our favorite titles at E3), breathing new life into what was arguably a declining brand. Unfortunately, however, with all of the good press surrounding Crystal Dynamics‘ upcoming hit, there was bound to be some negative attention.
A few days ago,posted an article including a statement from game producer Ron Rosenberg that details the struggle of the iconic protagonist and femme fatale, Lara Croft. One thing led to another, and a slip of the tongue on Rosenberg’s part put “attempted rape” on the list of challenges Lara is to face in the prequel. His wording — specifically the part about Lara needing to be protected, as opposed to kicking ass — sent players into a flurry of angry rants about the game’s content, which is still almost a year from release
Studio head Darrell Gallagher has since come out to make clear Crystal Dynamics’ intentions with the beloved character’s backstory – which thankfully does not include such a graphic sequence. It is arguably too close to a reality that people use video games to escape from, however briefly. Despite Gallagher dispelling some of the confusion surrounding Lara’s character, Rosenberg’s words still linger with many female gamers. Plenty are concerned with how, “you start to root for her in a way that you might not root for a male character,” and what that entails.
It has certainly been an emotionally-charged week between E3 and now, but it shows how much love fans have for the games and characters they care about.
For more on Tomb Raider, check out our E3 demo previewas well as the latest trailer for the game.
Ranters, are you relieved that Lara’s character will not be subject to even more sexualization than it has been, or do you think society is ready and mature enough to take on such controversial material in video games?
Tomb Raider is set to release March 5th, 2013 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3and the PC.
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Source: CVG