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I didn't stop for the next five or so hours, and not once did I intentionally kill, injure or even endanger Lara. It also helped that I'd just bought a new PC, and I couldn't justify that if all I was going to do was play roguelikes on it. If they've named a road in Derby after her, I reasoned, then she must be at least as interesting as Brian Clough. Then, finally, I realised that I'd been making all these judgements based on half-truths and second-hand accounts. Poorly-judged developer sound-bites aside, Tomb Raider might actually be a genuine attempt to create a female character with depth and personality, and that's rare enough to at least take a look at. Reading about Rhianna Pratchett's intentions for the script made me believe that there would be at least some progress towards a sensible narrative and the evolution of Lara to a fully fleshed out character rather than just fully fleshed. The more I saw, though, the more intrigued I became. I'm not squeamish, nor am I afraid of dark or difficult games, but initially this sounded grim. I didn't really want to press A to not be raped, or watch a scared and injured young person have sharpened poles embedded in her skull. "There has always been something about Lara Croft that brings to mind the stereotypical grunting man-gamer, getting his kicks by feeding her to T-Rex"Īnd with all of the brouhaha surrounding this reboot - and I am of the opinion that it was poor quote management and some insensitive PR rather than anything mendacious or intentionally misogynistic - I had started to assume the worst. Maybe I just had some very stereotypical friends. There has always been something about her that brings to mind the stereotypical grunting man-gamer, getting his kicks by slapping her into walls or feeding her to T-Rex. I think, in some ways, I was dissuaded by the aura of teen smut that surrounded Lara - as generated by the games, the models and the culture surrounding them. I've owned the platforms they've been released on, read the stellar reviews, and even played one or two for a few minutes at friends' houses, but I've never sat down and given one the time of day. I've never really played a Tomb Raider game before. Read on as Matthew Handrahan and Dan Pearson ponder this return of the grand dame of 3D platforming, and see if she's gained any true depth in the process.ĭaniel Pearson: I'll tell you something, but don't let it become common knowledge. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's also always a chance that, when you turn up to a party wearing the same dress as someone else, you won't be the one to wear it best. Crystal Dynamics has embraced that opportunity fully, and Tomb Raider has picked up a few new tricks from the Naughty Dog. So the student becomes the master, but as any teacher who's got the energy left for a conversation will tell you, you can also learn a lot standing at the front of a classroom. Nathan Drake, draped in Holywood glamour and accompanied by a sharp script and a wry smile, has eclipsed her somewhat - despite owing her more than a little inspiration. For a start, she no longer has a monopoly on the acrobatic, wise-cracking antiquarian genre, thanks to a certain descendant of the British admiralty. Things have moved on around her, of course. Since Crystal Dynamics took the helm in 2006, Lara has put in some solid performances, and made a brief foray into the digital-only realm with the downloadable Guardian of Light, but while those games earned favourable comparison to some of her previous adventures, she's never really regained the sense of discovery and freshness that once made her games so unique. Much of this has been a result of the phenomenon of Kickstarter, which has seen plenty of dusty boxes pulled out of the industry's attic for a profitable spring clean, but there's a big difference between that and a reboot for a AAA icon like Lara Croft. It's a natural cycle, especially in an industry where popular IP is worth its weight in gold. We've seen a lot of fresh starts in the last few years: reboots, relaunches, rebrands and the cringe-inducing remaginations.