crystal dynamics
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Tomb Raider Co-Creator: Games Moving Toward Hollywood Business Model
12:40PM Owen Good | Toby Gard, co-creator of Tomb Raider who left Crystal Dynamics earlier this month to become a consultant, gave an interview to GamesIndustry.Biz in which he said game development’s going all Hollywood, and that’s where he fits in. More »
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Crystal Dynamics Loses Another 25 Jobs
11:40PM Mike Fahey | San Francisco-based Crystal Dynamics again feels the lash of layoffs, as Eidos confirms with Kotaku that around twenty-five employees have been let go from the Tomb Raider development studio. More »
Tomb Raider: Underworld Review: Lara Croft’s Uncharted Adventure
4:30AM AJ Glasser | Tomb Raider: Underworld is the eighth game in the Tomb Raider series and the third developed by Crystal Dynamics in almost as many years. True to the original game’s roots, Underworld’s gameplay is 75 percent platforming and puzzle-solving, 20 percent action and 5 percent cut scene. The old quicktime events where you had to wait for that magic button to pop up before you could order Lara to move out of harm’s way have been replaced by “situational adrenaline” moments where everything slows way down and you retain complete control of Lara – so if she dies, it’s totally your fault and not the game’s for tricking you into pressing the wrong button. Hit the jump to find out how we weighed in on Tomb Raider: Underworld. More »What Could Lara Croft Do? New Behind The Scenes Look At Tomb Raider: Underworld
6:00AM Adam Barenblat | What can Lara do? That’s the approach the designers over at Crystal Dynamics are taking when constructing Lara Croft’s latest adventure.This third part in the “Beneath the Surface” video series talks about the evolution of Lara Croft herself. It seems like they’re off to a good start focusing on her past physical limitations and then breaking them by adding in new gameplay mechanics. The game is set to hit stores November 28th for all consoles and PC, except PSP. More »Beneath the Surface of Tomb Raider Underworld
4:00AM Adam Barenblat | So what’s in store for Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Underworld? Well, if it turns out that Norse mythology interests you then you’re in for a treat because that’s going to be the focus of the latest game in the series. The game will be hitting all consoles (except PSP) and PC November 21st. Just a heads up the video does reveal a major plot point so if you don’t want to know anything about the story then you might want to skip this one. More »
Tomb Raider: Underworld – Making A Perfect Arse Of Oneself
8:40AM Mike Fahey | There’s no doubt in my mind that giving the Tomb Raider franchise over to Crystal Dynamics to develop was the best thing that’s happened to the series. They’ve took a dying franchise and given it new life, and they’re getting better at it with each new title. From the demo of Tomb Raider: Underworld I sat in on this week, I get the feeling the trend is continuing. The demo started by delivering new depth to the series, plunging a scuba diving Lara Croft deep into the ocean to recover an ancient artifact. Lara swam smoothly, using a harpoon gun to take out circling sharks as she solved a puzzle that opened a door to an ancient temple. Once inside and on semi-dry land, Lara crawled, jumped, and shimmied her way around a giant octopus (or kraken, if you prefer), bringing the roof down on its head in order to progress before the demo ended. While I didn’t get to control her myself, the gameplay and mechanics seem in place, but what about the look of the game? As the demo ended, a man behind me stood up and offered his opinion. “You got her arse perfect”. The assembled crowd shifted uncomfortably. “And the dimples beneath her…” Thankfully he stopped before I tackled him to the ground. Lara Croft does strange things to a man. More »
More PS One Games Rated For PlayStation Network Re-Release
9:20AM Michael McWhertor | The ESRB has (re-)rated both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Pandemonium! for an upcoming PlayStation 3 and PSP release. That doesn’t mean they’re getting the next-gen and portable remake treatment, but that they’re good candidates for a PlayStation Network release. The North American PlayStation Store continues to be a PS One wasteland, so anything we can get, we’ll take. Surely, Eidos Interactive and crew have more marketable titles, like Tomb Raider and Fighting Force (LOL) planned, but they’re off to a good enough start. ESRB Game Ratings More »
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Crystal Dynamics Dev Praises PSN
2:40AM Mike Fahey | Crystal Dynamics may have recently released the full version of Tomb Raider Anniversary onto the Xbox Live Marketplace, but as far as Anniversary’s lead designer Riley Cooper is concerned the PlayStation Network is where the future of digitally downloadable lies. “I’m very, very interested in digital distribution and the potential it has,” said Cooper, speaking during GDC Lyon last month. “PlayStation Network is extremely interesting because it’s a more flexible space.” Cooper explains that the slow process of opening the constraints of Xbox Live by Microsoft makes the PSN, with games like Warhawk already available for full download, that much more attractive. He, like many of us, pictures a future where console games previously available only on retail shelves are readily downloadable by all, and GameStop employees fall into despair as the only customers they retain are internet-ignorant yokels who just come down the mountains for a little fun. Tomb Raider Anniversary developer eyes PlayStation Network [GamesIndustry.biz] More »
