Tomb Raider: Difference between revisions
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** The game got much critical acclaim (including a couple of "game of the year" awards), and established many of the tropes of the [[Action Adventure]] genre. As a result of the amount of genre conventions it established, it is frequently cited as one of the most influential games of all time.
* ''[[Tomb Raider II]]'' (1997) - Lara is after the legendary Dagger of Xian, which is said to give its owner "[[Literal Genie|the power of a dragon]]". She finds herself in conflict with Italian mob boss/cult leader Marco Bartoli, who is after the same item. Locations in the game include Venice, an offshore oil rig, the sunken ocean liner Maria Doria, Tibet and the Great Wall of China.
** The game was generally considered as an [[Even Better Sequel]], although many considered it to have too much combat.
*** Creator Toby Gard left Core Design during the development of this game, due to "[[Creative Differences]]" (he was unhappy with Lara's oversexualisation), and [[Start My Own|co-founded Confounding Factor]]. Their first game was ''Galleon'', a [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''Tomb Raider'' that took about ten years to make. It was actually pretty damn good, but bombed on release. Confounding Factor closed down shortly afterward.
* ''[[Tomb Raider III]]'' (1998) is actually five, loosely connected stories. Lara is gathering four crystal artifacts, with mystical (and [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|insanity-inducing]]) powers. The first is found in India and then the player can then choose in which order to seek out the remaining three, visiting Area 51, London and an unspecified island in the South Pacific. Finally, she travels to the impact site in Antarctica, fighting through an excavation filled with creatures mutated by the meteorite.
** ''Tomb Raider III'' was mostly well received, but is [[Nintendo Hard|extremely merciless in difficulty]] and has a punishing save system on the [[PlayStation]] version, but is also very ambitious in other areas; this resulted in it becoming a [[Love It or Hate It]] game with people generally either considering it one of the (or the) best games in the series or hating it. This was also the start of a general split in the overall reception of the series.
* ''[[Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation]]'' (1999) - Lara unwittingly releases the Egyptian god Set from his sarcophagus and must travel across Egypt to gather the pieces of [[Plot Coupon|Horus's armor]] and re-seal him before he brings about the apocalypse. Lara's former mentor, Werner Von Croy resurfaces and becomes the host for the evil god.
** While the first three games are relatively similar, ''The Last Revelation'' made various attempts to change things up, with many new items and puzzle ideas, along with the brave move of setting the whole game in one location. However, this was the point where the series began to lose its luster among reviewers, not helped by the fact the graphics engine was becoming dated at this point (despite minor improvements). While not to the degree of ''Tomb Raider III'', this is also a [[Your Mileage May Vary]] game, with it either being considered the sequel most faithful to the original format and with many interesting advancements, or a game with a theme that starts to get repetitive and several unnecessary interface changes.
* ''[[Tomb Raider Chronicles]]'' (2000) - After {{spoiler|Lara's apparent death}} at the end of ''The Last Revelation'', some of her friends gather and recall her past exploits, in the form of four mini-stories. The first is an old-school adventure, where Lara seeks the Philosopher's Stone in Rome. The second is a an action-horror themed one, where Lara infiltrates a submarine to recover the Spear of Destiny from a sunken ship, before the Russian [[Mafia]] gets to it. The third takes place in Lara's teenage years, where she is trapped with a ghost on an island in Ireland, without any weapons. The fourth story tells how Lara stole an artifact from her former mentor in a New York skyscraper.
** The point of conversion to [[Franchise Zombie]] and [[Sequelitis]]; there were no plans for ''Chronicles'' at first, but it was made for a quick buck during the production of ''The Angel of Darkness''. It shows; the level design is far less intricate, shorter and certain sequences clash with the series's own established canon, plus a couple of levels are incredibly easy to break and make [[Unwinnable]] (even compared to some of the buggier levels in the earlier games). While most weren't bad, its reviews were still mediocre compared to the earlier games. The release of the [[Game Mod|level editor]] with the PC version is quite possibly the most interesting thing about the game.
* ''[[Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness]]'' (2003)- The ill-fated attempt to revive the series by giving it a [[Darker and Edgier]] makeover. Lara is accused of the murder of her former mentor Werner Von Croy and sets out to [[Clear My Name|clear her name]]. However, she ends up caught up in the plot of main villain Pieter van Eckhardt, the leader of the Cabal, who is plotting to revive the Cubiciulum Nephili, a powerful Nephilim, thus placing the word in great danger.
** The final straw for Core's involvement in the series; while the graphics and storyline were excellent, the game was incredibly buggy, the controls were pretty much broken and various features were implemented in an obviously unfinished state ([[Executive Meddling|not helped by Eidos' determination to get it released as soon as possible, despite Core not being happy with it]]). It got bad reviews and had one of the highest return rates for a game ever. Despite this, it does have its fans, mostly due to the storyline and atmosphere.
'''The Crystal Dynamics era''' Lara, for these games, is voiced by British actress [[Keeley Hawes]]. [[Hey, It's That Voice!|That]] [[Ashes to Ashes|Keeley Hawes]].
* ''[[Tomb Raider: Legend]]'' (2006) - A [[Continuity Reboot]] of the franchise, ''Legend'' delves into Lara's [[Backstory]] and motivations. She seeks the fragments of an ancient sword that is connected to a traumatic event from her own past. The main antagonist is Lara's college friend, Amanda Evert, who returns after being believed dead for years and wants the sword for her own reasons. The locations in the game include Bolivia, Peru, a Yakuza-infested skyscraper in Tokyo, Ghana, an old paranormal research facility in Kazakhstan, the ruins of cheesy King Arthur museum in Cornwall and Nepal.
** ''Legend'' showed that the series was still very salvageable despite the state ''The Angel of Darkness'' had left it in; it was the fastest selling (note, not highest selling) game in the series so far and got very good reviews. However, many of the changes from earlier games caused controversy, such as the [[No Sidepaths, No Exploration, No Freedom|much more straightforward level design]] and [[Stop Helping Me!]] sidekicks. It was a [[Surprisingly Improved Sequel]] to many. [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|The change in canon also caused ire amongst some fans]].
*** Also marks the point where Toby Gard came back into the picture after Confounding Factor shut down, though as a creative consultant this time.
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* ''[[Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light]]'' (2010) - A downloadable [[Gaiden Game]] with online co-op. The game is a third person 3D rendered isometric platformer/action title with puzzle elements. It is the only game in the series ''not'' to have ''Tomb Raider'' in the title. It also doesn't seem to have any place in either of the series' continuity (although it does use some of ''Legend'''s music), meaning players can interpret it how they wish.
* ''[[Tomb Raider (2013)| Tomb Raider]]'' (2013) - Yet another reboot of the series. It follows a young Lara, trapped on a Pacific island [[Survival Horror|mostly alone and without any supplies]] and takes a hard turn toward [[Darker and Edgier]].
* ''[[Rise of the Tomb Raider]]'' (2015/2016) - A direct sequel to ''Tomb Raider'' (2013). It takes place primarily in Siberia, with a portion in Syria.
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