Sam Fisher's heading off in bold new directions in Splinter Cell: Double Agent on Xbox 360 and PC, but the current-gen hardware just isn't strong enough to support his open-ended new adventure. So instead of simply trying to strip down the big, open battlefields and daylight runs of Double Agent for the PS2, Xbox and GameCube, the developers took an unusual route: make a whole new game.
The current-gen Splinter Cell: Double Agent shares its next-gen cousin's plot - secret agent Sam Fisher goes
Splinter Cell shares the spotlight with Metal Gear Solid as the other major force in stealth-action gaming - and the more realistic one of the two. It's also maturing as a franchise. Sarcastic middle-aged super spy Sam Fisher has only grown more short-tempered in each of the series' first three entries. Meanwhile, the Splinter Cell gameplay has in turn expanded to a more open-ended, replayable experience that culminated in last year's Chaos Theory.
In Chaos Theory, Fisher's character was much
The pressure is mounting. Crystal Dynamic's Jason Botta is anxious. "I'm still nervous about messing it up," he says, voice trembling slightly. We feel his pain. After all, this is the man charged with overseeing a revamp of the most beloved action-adventure titles in videogame history: the 1996-era near-instant classic, Tomb Raider.
The task before him appears almost impossible - how on God's green earth to drag a creaking, clunky, strangely angular, ridiculously popular
Hey Tomb Raider fans, we need you to think back to 1996 for a second. Remember what it was like to make your huge-breasted way through ancient, moss-covered ruins, with only a few vicious-yet-boxy animals for company? When the only things standing between you and treasure were the elements and an endless series of horrible deathtraps? Developer Crystal Dynamics wants to bring all those feelings rushing back with Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a slick remake of the ruin-delving
Wednesday 3 January 2007
Hey Tomb Raider fans, we need you to think back to 1996 for a second. Remember what it was like to make your way through ancient, moss-covered ruins, with only a few vicious-yet-boxy animals for company? When the only things standing between you and treasure were the elements and an endless series of horrible death-traps? Developer Crystal Dynamics wants to bring all those feelings rushing back with Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a slick remake of the ruin-delving
The camera pans over a large room dominated by wooden machinery, powered by a gigantic waterfall. Accompanied by ethereal music, it's hard not to stare. Graphically, this is amazing - but it's also incredibly nostalgic. This is Peru from Lara Croft's first, infamous adventure, recreated for a new generation of gamers. Welcome to Tomb Raider: Anniversary.
We're impressed. Running on PS2, but with all the polish of Legend, is the original (and best) Tomb Raider game. Tomb Raider 1, the pride of
For months, our peeks at Tomb Raider: Anniversary have been limited to sitting by and watching as others guided archaeologist Lara Croft past slippery cliffs and crumbling traps. We've seen the re-imagined version of the original Peru level countless times, and even caught a glimpse of the ruins she'll tackle in Egypt. But now we've had our first chance to try out the PS2 version of the globe-trotting adventure for ourselves, and we're impressed.
As you'd probably expect, Anniversary - a
Laras back. Again. Its alright though, since Anniversary is really living up to its promise of delivering a superb reworking of the original Tomb Raider. And its still found room to squeeze in all the best bits from the recent Tomb Raider: Legend.
If youve been following our coverage of the games progress, youll be very familiar with the dino-infested Peru level and its rejigged, logic-straining cog puzzle. Our latest bash at the game takes us to a temple in Greece that, as these brand new
Tomb Raider was once famous for more than just Lara Croft. The original was a masterwork, packed with an epic atmosphere of adventure. A decade later, Tomb Raider: Legend is looking to recapture that quality. But, post Angel of Darkness, can Lara rekindle our interest?
Legend is a different kind of Tomb Raider. Lara moves freely over the terrain, released from the grid-based levels that restricted her movement in previous games. Now, you can ease gently on the left stick and Lara creeps
We've talked plenty about Tomb Raider Legend in previous articles, but what we haven't done is given you a level-by-level description of it - until now. We'll keep the spoilers and the small talk to a minimum, though we will warn you that Eidos has made us promise not to show you every level yet, so the screens don't always match the levels. Also, we do reveal a few story details here, so consider yourself spoiler alerted. Clear? Okay. Grab your gear.
The first level is appropriately swaddled
