New Tomb Raider 9 Screenshots

30th December 2010

Game Informer has released a brand new set of Tomb Raider 9 screenshots. Some you may have seen before if you have read the Game Informer magazine, but these are in a higher quality. There's 18 images in total.

CLICK HERE for the image gallery on the Game Informer site.

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Game Informer's TR Competition (READ MORE)

 

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Guest Writer: Ostercy

27th December 2010


Ostercy is an awesome fanfiction writer who has not only created several stories featuring Lara Croft but also a parallel series focusing on Natla. Ost is also running the Sixth Village of Tokakeriby competition, so if you like writing about Lara's adventures I highly recommend entering.

Tomb Deviants

deviantArt (commonly abbreviated as dA) is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork, and wherever there’s a chance to strut your stuff, there you’ll find Tomb Raider fans.

First - some statistics (which I hope are at least roughly accurate).

At the time of writing there are more than 30,000 works related to Tomb Raider, of which approximately 800 show up under Nude Raider (which is less than 3%, showing that Tomb Raider fan-art has moved firmly away from its fanboy roots.) Her Royal Highness Jacqueline Natla is featured in nearly 1000 works, that well known bottle blonde Amanda Evert stars in about 800 and pretty boy Kurtis Trent glams it up in about 700. One of the larger TR fan groups is called “#Art-of-TombRaider” and was founded in 2010 by KissBite (a.k.a Keyth Sayers, a member of dA since 2005), whilst professional Lara artists who post their work at dA include Adam Hughes and Andy Parks (TR Comics). Finally there’s a chunk of TR fanfiction consisting of about 200 stories. (Or story chapters. Or poems).

Phew!

Lara faces off against her Doppelganger. Illustration by Agnes Heyer from 2000 for Ostercy's story "Olympus Mons

The beauty of dA is that there is little to no moderation, there’s no canon of obscure rules to protect the “power” of the site administrators and you don’t have to be in hock to any particular clique to get noticed. This means, of course, that TR Deviant Art can range from the moderately artistic to the utterly dreadful – hurrah! You can get Lara as Otherkin, Lara inflated like a balloon, Japanese manga Lara … there is no indignity to which(One of my particular bete-noirs is the recent flood of ugly pictures made with “art” software XNA Lara – all awkwardly angled limbs and boggle-eyed faces – which make Lara about as attractive as Lady Penelope from "Thunderbirds") “Lady Croft” has not been subjected. However, balancing these visions of the unbalanced (which are in the minority) you'll also find “real” artwork, originating with a pencil and paper (probably). There are a number of TR comics, at least one of which has a plot, and several cartoonists, at least one of whom is funny. There’s roughly 3000 photos posted by various brave cosplayers (I have to namedrop one of my personal favourites, misslarisacroft, who appears to have no qualms about standing in a freezing Ukrainian pond in a bikini to get that memorable shot), as well as the works of many gifted graphic artists (who manage to create great Lara pictures without tracing Top Cow comics or re-colouring Eidos marketing ”goodness”.)

One of misslarisacroft's photos inspired by Tomb Raider 2

So if you are an "artiste", and whether your “canvas” is literal, conceptual or personal, try out dA. It contains a living, breathing Tomb Raider community which has room for everybody (however deranged).

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Desert Bus For Hope (From The Magazine)

24th December 2010

This was another article in the magazine, this one was actually the first one I wrote for it and it connected to the poster at the back of the first magazine. There's actually a pretty awesome story behind the article too. I asked for permission for the image and Kathleen (also in the photo) emailed back while driving the desert bus, and dancing to Caramelldansen, which I thought was impressive.

Desert Bus For Hope 4

In the previous issue I mentioned an event called Desert Bus for Hope, a video game marathon where a Canadian comedy sketch group called Loading Ready Run plays the game Desert Bus which consists of driving a bus from Tucson to Las Vegas in real time on a very long stretch of road, but since the vehicle slightly veers to the left the player needs to constantly correct the bus. Driving to Tucson to Las Vegas takes seven hours, and after making the journey the team was awarded just one point before making the journey back.

Although the game is incredibly boring the marathon was far from it. Viewers could donate money to have the group sing, dance, do shout outs, dress up, play card games, and do comedy sketches. There were auctions which dissolved into a mixture of pure fun and madness and guest callers including Wil Wheaton, Susan Arent, “Yahtzee” Crowshaw. Daniel Floyd, and Notch. Oh and Cthulu crashed the bus in the first few hours.

The crew consisted of the Loading Ready Run crew and had five drivers each taking 24 hour shifts in control of the game; James, Jeremy, Bill, Morgan and Kathleen all fought sleep deprivation for a day straight. The craft a-long items were a personal favourite of mine and every piece looked awesome, especially the glass LRR sushi plate which blew my mind when I saw it.

The group drove for 5 days and 20 hours and when the controller was placed down on Thursday 25th November the event raised $208,349.82 for Child's Play, a charity which gives money to children hospitals so they can purchase game consoles and video games as well as movies, something that will entertain the children and take their mind off of being in hospital.

Congratulations to everyone at Desert Bus For Hope and thanks to everyone who donated

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

Thank you to everyone for visiting the site and everyone who has helped me over the past year, you're all incredibly awesome! I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and best of luck for 2011.

They're some really great things coming in the next year, which I'm really looking forward to be sharing with you!

As the same with every year I have a list of people to thank, people who have helped so much in 2010.

Ostercy - For being a guest writer in the first magazine and the support given all during the year.

Melonie - For writing a great article for the website.

Keir - For being so awesome throughout the year, keeping the community up to date with all the news. And especially putting up with my strangeness (but seriously the bird that Agent47 has is called Robert)

Stella - is actually made out of pure awesome! Thanks for all the links on your twitter and blog and for the support throughout the year.

Toby Gard - For the great interview for the site. 

Jay Walker - For just being great.

And everyone at the GAGM Facebook page, especially Rosie. 

Thanks so much!

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Guest Writer: Melonie McElhannon

24th December 2010

Melonie is a former Frag Doll Cadet, video game journalist and gamer. When she's not playing games she writes for her site www.meloniemac.com and also draws her own comics at DeviantArt. She also posts on the Tomb Raider Forums, and also she recorded the E3 LCGOL preview for TRF. Make sure to check out her site and also her twitter page. 

Lara Croft- one of the world's favourite chameleons

Lara Croft, as we all know, is an iconic character loved by millions all over the world. Continuing a legacy started over 14 years ago, Miss Croft is still impacting gamers with every game that is released. Having that said, each of these games showcase a different side of Lara, which is part of the excitement of the Tomb Raider franchise.

Looking back to where it all began, Lara Croft was portrayed as a tough-as-nails, take no garbage from anyone kind of girl. A rebel of her high class, aristocratic upbringing, Lara was a grave robber of sorts, and was motivated to carry on her adventures purely for the sport of it. Sarcastic remarks, and an almost heartless attitude, was normal behavior for Lara, and fans loved that. Perhaps she was the type of person everyone would hate in the real world, yet oddly love and even look at as a role model in the gaming world. As time progressed, and Tomb Raider shifted direction, Lara changed with it.

Lara Croft in Tomb Raider One in all her glory

Introduced in Tomb Raider Legend was a side to Lara Croft we have never seen before. This change in personality was a pleasant surprise for some, and a disgrace to others. Lara Croft traded her rebellious and adrenaline-junkie attitude for a softer, more emotional outlook on life. Rather than pursuing adventure for the mere fun of it, Lara was fueled by a concrete motive of finding her long lost mother. Not to say that Lara Croft lost her sense of strength and attitude, because it remained to some degree, but significantly toned down. Still, she remained strong, but wasn't afraid to express her emotions almost intensely. However, after another change of direction in the Tomb Raider franchise, Lara once again has also made changes.

Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Legend.

After Square-Enix acquired Eidos Interactive, and Crystal Dynamics with it, the Tomb Raider franchise is changing more than ever. While we still have a significant wait before actually playing the game, much of Lara's personality has already been revealed. As a method of rebooting the series, the new Tomb Raider game serves as Lara's first journey, and will set the path for future adventures. As previously illustrated, Lara has been portrayed as almost heartlessly tough in the past, and later openly emotional. The future, however, portrays Lara in a completely different light, while still taking hold of some of the same characteristics we have all known and loved. Yet again, Lara rebels against her aristocratic upbringing, but in a different way. In this instance, Lara's rebellious ways are more so an act of humbleness. Despite the fact that she has lived a privileged life, Lara is still noted as an ordinary woman. Her journey is no longer for sport or to locate a long lost relative, but rather, a situation she happened upon in which she must fight to survive. For once, Lara will be portrayed as endearing, and players will have a sense of care for her. Most fans appear to be very receptive and excited about this change.

The newly rebooted version of Lara for the upcoming game

While Lara Croft is a character adored by so many, she has changed dramatically and continues to do so. The fact that so many fans stand by her throughout these changes is a testament to how much of an impact Lara has made as a character, and will continue to do so. The future looks bright for the Tomb Raider franchise, and the current changes are reflections of progression in not only the games she stars in, but in Lara Croft as a character herself. Part of the excitement of anticipating the newest Tomb Raider title is seeing Lara evolve with it. Undoubtedly, we have much to look forward to as Lara Croft makes her presence known in a more personable we've ever seen.

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Magazine Put On Halt

24th December 2010

So this has been something that's been bugging me for the last few days. I love doing the magazine however it takes a lot of time trying to get it to upload to sites properly. The recent one took 45 goes at trying to get it on multiple sites and I spent the last week, 18 hours a day trying to get the magazine up and it's still not working. So I'm going to be taking a break. It probably will be back up in the spring next year.

However we are still going to be doing monthly guest writers and interviews on the site, this will allow there to be more articles and material for the site since I won't be forced to do the layout. Although it is rather annoying that I had already finished and edited the second magazine, but nothing can really change that.

The magazine will be back Spring 2011 until then I'm posting the articles on the main site.

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Advent Calender - Day Twenty Two : LCGOL Videos

23rd December 2010
(for the 22nd)

I've added a couple of new videos to the Guns and Grapple's YouTube Channel. The first one is the XBOX report on Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light before it's release, I thought it was pretty cool so hopefully you will too. The second and third are related, Crystal was at E3 this year and IGN had a twenty minute interview with Karl Stewart (Global Brand Director) and Daniel Neuberger (Creative Director).

Click the Read More button to see the videos.

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Advent Calender - Day Twenty One : Christmas TV Listings

23rd December 2010
(For the 21st)

Thanks for all understanding about the delay so I could get the magazine done, it is finished it's just needs reading over to make sure it all makes sense. It's looking pretty good, and it even might be up just past midnight tonight :)

As for this day, I have been spending a few hours looking through the TV listings to find out shows that has people from the Tomb Raider films and also the games. It's not a complete list because it does take a while to go through every single channel and then check on IMDB who stars in the programme, but there is quite a few really awesome things coming up in the Christmas.

Also both Tomb Raider movies are showing near the New Year!

Click Read More to see the TV listings

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Game Informer Tomb Raider Special Podcast

21st November 2010
From the Game Informer Site:

We're giving the regular Game Informer Show a rest this week in favor of a special edition podcast for our current cover story, Crystal Dynamic's bold reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise. There's been a flurry of interest in this story from the Tomb Raider community, so we thought we'd give our readers a chance to ask the people working on the game questions about the game. Crystal Dynamics' global brand manager Karl Stewart and Tomb Raider franchise director Tim Longo were nice enough to call in to the GI Show, and give some intriguing answers to reader questions (posed by our cover story author Meagan Marie and GI editor Matt Miller). Did your question get asked? You'll have to listen to find out. Either way, this is mandatory for Tomb Raider fans.

Note: The opening and closing music to the podcast is a sneak peak at a track from the game itself.
We're giving the regular Game Informer Show a rest this week in favor of a special edition podcast for our current cover story, Crystal Dynamic's bold reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise. There's been a flurry of interest in this story from the Tomb Raider community, so we thought we'd give our readers a chance to ask the people working on the game questions about the game. Crystal Dynamics' global brand manager Karl Stewart and Tomb Raider franchise director Tim Longo were nice enough to call in to the GI Show, and give some intriguing answers to reader questions (posed by our cover story author Meagan Marie and GI editor Matt Miller). Did your question get asked? You'll have to listen to find out. Either way, this is mandatory for Tomb Raider fans.

Note: The opening and closing music to the podcast is a sneak peak at a track from the game itself.

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Advent Calender - Day Twenty : Addicted to Video Games

20th December 2010

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Lara Croft makes the World's Largest iPhone

20th December 2010

Lara Croft made an appearance at St Pancras International Station in the UK today...of sorts. To celebrate the release of LCGOL on iPad, 56 of them were made into a iphone shaped display which formed the promotional image starring Lara and Totec. After the ipads were given away with a free copy of the game. 

Source: Kotaku

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Advent Calender - Day Nineteen : Over 200 Photos Added to the Gallery

19th December 2010

Today I have added over 200 photos to the galleries. They are all in the official models sections and the majority does seem to be Karima but all the models has had at least ten new photos added to each of the models.  I mainly focused on the Lara photos more then the modelling photos and it's a mixture of official and also photographs taken from events.

Enjoy!


CLICK HERE for the gallery

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Tomb Raider Trilogy for PS3

19th December 2010

Recently Karl Stewart (Global Brand Director at Crystal Dynamics) confirmed that the Tomb Raider trilogy pack which contains Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary and Underworld will be released. It will be released next year and more infomation about this pack is going to be released next week. 

Yes, it's official. #TombRaider PS3 'Trilogy' pack coming in the new year. Full details next week. Watch this space. - @CrystalDKarl

The Legend and Anniversary will be HD and all three games will offer PlayStation Network trophies. In addition, the collection will unlock special male and female avatars for use in PlayStation Home.

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Meet Conrad Roth (Read More)

19th December 2010

(From Game Informer)

In the past, Lara Croft’s interactions with others have been anemic at best – usually only the undead, mindless mercs, or endangered animals around to keep her company. That's not to say she’s existed in an antisocial bubble, though. Lara’s faithful butler Winston was a series staple in the early games, and throughout eight console iterations we’ve been introduced to a childhood friend, longtime mentor, fellow adventurer, several noteworthy adversaries, and more.  Lara was never defined by these relationships, however, remaining strong, independent, and somewhat aloof at all times.

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Exclusive Toby Gard Interview

 18th December 2010
(Part of 2010's Advent Calender)


Back in 1995, Toby Gard designed Tomb Raider, almost 15 years later she has become an icon. Not only has she survived so long in the gaming industry, she is often referred to as the face of video game heroines, the character has won six World Records recently and she's also been portrayed by Angelina Jolie in two Hollywood movies. Toby Gard talks exclusively to us about his experience while working on the Tomb Raider titles, who he wants in the role for the movie and what he is doing now after he has left Crystal Dynamics. 

1. In Tomb Raider Underworld, you worked as the cinematics director, was it hard describing your visions of what needed to be in the cut scenes to the actresses and actors?
Tomb Raider Underworld cutscenes were done in a weird way. We recoded the lines first with the voice actors, then the animators would block out the scenes with the audio in Maya. We then took those simple 3d scenes to the motion capture studio and plot out marks on the floor corresponding to the layout of the room and marks for the actors to hit. Finally after rehearsals the actors would mime to the audio to get the body motion.Next, the data would come back to the studio and the animators would edit for timing, pose and animate all facial expressions by hand. Bottom line is that for Underworld, the animators had much more to do with the final performance than the actors did.

How are the myths chosen for the games?
People just suggest them. The criteria used to pick was never hard and fast, but generally we avoided any religion that people still believe in, and focus on myths that people probably have heard of, and ones that feature a cool item. Then the deeper the myth, the more ideas you can plunder.

What is your favourite Tomb Raider game you have worked on?
The first one, or Legend.

Why did you first want to make a game like Tomb Raider
I wanted to make an interactive movie. I loved Ultima Underworld, and when I saw Virtual fighter, my mind exploded with the idea of what the two crossed together could be.

Did you prefer having Lara's movements created by hand or using motion capture.
By hand is the only way to go, but mocap is great reference and sometimes a handy starting point.

Who do you think should play Lara in the next Tomb Raider Film?
I always wanted Salma Hayek to play her, but she's getting on a bit now.

Tomb Raider 9 has been revealed, it's an origin story with a survival horror and action adventure twist. I know that not all the information has been released as of yet, but are you're first impressions of the upcoming game?
It's going to be sweet.

What projects are you doing right now, or in the future?
I am making an iPad game, but mainly I am concentrating on my Otherworld Comic over at www.tobygard.com it's going to 'Epic' as Mr. Lindstrom used to say.

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Advent Calender - Day Seventeen : Magazine Preview

17th December 2010

Today will be a short post, mainly because I have my family coming over tomorrow and I've got to prepare, so hopefully you will understand it being Christmas and all.

So I thought today I would give you a little teaser to the next Guns and Grapple magazine issue because it is looking incredibly awesome. There has been so much put into it and it's over twice the size of the first. Because it is the Christmas edition I've organised some really cool material for it. As with every issue there's a new guest writer this time it's Melonie Elhannon from the Tomb Raider Forums and MelonieMac.com thanks so much to Mel for writing it :)  We've also have an interview...As for who it is with....well it's a surprise, although I you all know who they are! It features articles about Tomb Raider 9 and the former Lara Croft models. I've also changed the design, it's not exactly rebooted but it does look different.

It will be available at myebook.com. Check it out at 10am GMT on 24th December 2010.

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Advent Calender - Day Sixteen : 2011 Calender

16th November 2010

Now that it's nearing the end of the year you're probably thinking of what you're going to do next year and not thinking so much about calenders so why not get it over and done with and print off this Tomb Raider calender. For all twelve months there is a different Tomb Raider game and a different image, all are of a high quality.

The file is 4.2MB and is in a PDF format.

CLICK HERE if you want to download the file.

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Advent Calender - Day Fifteen : Crystal Dynamics Backgrounds

16th December 2010
(For the 15th December Advent Calender)

To continue from the 14th's gift, I have uploaded backgrounds for the Tomb Raider games developed by Crystal Dynamics which consists of Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary, Underworld, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and also the upcoming Tomb Raider 9.

There are three background per game in the pack. They are in one size, but they your computer should be able to shrink them down automatically if necessary. If there is a problem however you can send me an email and I'll be happy to make you one in the size you want it.

CLICK HERE to download the backgrounds

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Article: DreamCast (Tomb Raider 9)

15th December 2010
(For 14th December Advent Calender)

With Tomb Raider 9 announced earlier this month, it does pose the question that if they are rebooting the brand,  who will voice the other characters. With that in mind I have come up with a cast list that Guns and Grapple wants in the next game, some you may know, some you may not.

KEELEY HAWES

Those who know me knows that I absolutely love Keeley Hawes. The first time I saw her was in Tomb Raider Legend, and I became a fan of hers and is going through her IMDB list at quite a rate. She has the perfect of attitude and gorgeousness which is perfect for Lara's voice. She is the first Lara Croft voice that is by a well known actress in the UK. She has already got quite a list of previous Tomb Raider work behind her, voicing Lara in Legend, Anniversary, Underworld, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Beneath the Ashes, Lara's Shadow as well as the narrating for Gametap's Tomb Raider Documentary

Keeley also starred in many television series including Mutual Friends, Ashes to Ashes, Spooks, Identity. As well as films such as The Avengers and Tipping the Velvet.


NATHAN FILLION
If you haven't heard of him you should really see Firefly. Nathan is best known for his role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in both Firefly and Serenity, and he is currently on TV starring as Richard Castle in the show Castle. He also voiced characters in HALO, HALO Reach, and Jade Empire.

KATIE MCGRATH
Katie McGrath is currently starring in BBC's Merlin as Lady Morgana, and her voice is amazing! She hasn't had that much previous experience acting before but she managed to get one of the major roles in a family primetime show.


Those are my top three! Who would you have? Please comment in the comment box below!

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Advent Calender - Day Thirteen : Core TR Backgrounds

15th December 2010

I'm now feeling a lot better. Thanks to everyone for being so patient. Today we have a set of Core Tomb Raider backgrounds for your computer. They are in one size, but they your computer should be able to shrink them down automatically if necessary. If there is a problem however you can send me an email and I'll be happy to make you one in the size you want it.

The games features are 1-6, so all of the Core Design TR games, and there is two backgrounds per game.

CLICK HERE for the backgrounds

Enjoy

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New Voice Actress For Lara

15th December 2010

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to write a news piece like this for a few years, but Keeley Hawes will no longer be the voice of Lara Croft for the next game. When Crystal Dynamics announced that the Tomb Raider brand was going to be rebootws, it meant completely rebooting, from the models to the voices. There is no news for the next Lara Croft voice as of yet. But I will keep you updated!

But they are taking their time to cast the perfect new voice for Lara. I've been asked not to say much other than that, but I would expect that with this being a new character, it will be a new voice actress. - Meagan Marie (at Game Informer)

For those who don't know Keeley was the voice of Lara since the Core to Crystal switch. She voiced Lara for Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld, as well Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and the two XBOX360 exclusive games. She also narrated Gametap's Tomb Raider Documentary, making her the longest lasting voice of the heroine.

We wish her the best of luck for the future. :)

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Advent Calender - Day Twelve : PDA Skins

12 December 2010

Have you got a PDA? If yes you may want to decorate it with these Christmas PDA backgrounds. There are 9 different images, and each image has two sizes. 320x320 and 320x480. The images are the promotional Christmas images from the classic Lara.



CLICK HERE to download the 320x320 Pack

CLICK HERE to download the 320x420 Pack

Enjoy.

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Advent Calender - Day Eleven : Crystal Avatars

11th December 2010

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AVATAR PACK 2

Day 11 of the Advent Calender brings 51 avatars of the past five Tomb Raider games which are all the games made by Crystal. Since there are so many great image for the Tomb Raider games I decided not to put a restriction on the amount of images per game, and that would explain the strange number.

The images are 90x90 pixels and are Jpeg. The pack is in a zipped folder.

I have been busy working on the final five days of the advent, so make sure to visit back especially on those days. It's going to be really exciting.

Enjoy!

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Advent Calender - Day Ten : Inspired Music

10th December 2010

The Tomb Raider series is a big inspiration to a lot of people and for song writers and singers it's no different. Today brings four songs which were inspired by the series. Three of them are on the TR album called Come Alive or Female Icon. The fourth is a French song called "Un Jour Je Serais Lara Croft" by Erika in 2004 which translated means "One Day I Will Be Lara Croft"

Click Read More to view the videos.

Enjoy

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Triangle of Light For Sale

10th December 2010

If you watched the first Tomb Raider movie you would know about the Triangle of Life, for those who haven't it is the main artifact Lara is trying to get in the movie before Manfred Powell gets his hands on it. Seriously if you haven't seen it, go out and buy it! I really love that movie, and I'm sure that if you're a TR fan especially, you'll enjoy it too!

The top item is a visual effects Triangle of Light from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which is expected to fetch up to $8,000 (£5,330).

It's so tempting! And if I could I would! In the auction also are some of Jolie's other movies like the recent Salt.

SOURCE: ContactMusic

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Advent Calender - Day Nine : Tomb Raider Underworld Playr Special

9th December 2010

Yay! It's day 9! So today brings a behind the scenes video of Tomb Raider Underworld called "Tomb Raider Underworld Playr Special" it was shown on Bravo over a year back. What is slightly annoying is that the audio lags slightly in the video, which it didn't on the recording, hopefully it will clear up when it finishes being processed by YouTube, but I'll apologise in advance if it doesn't. As always you can see the videos (three parts) by pressing the Read More button at the bottom of the post.

Also if like me you haven't found anything good to buy people make sure to head over to Mastertronic, because they're selling Tomb Raider at low prices. Underworld is at £4.99, as well as Legend, Anniversary and the third and fourth double pack, Chronicles, and  Angel of Darkness! CLICK HERE

Click read more for the videos.

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Advent Calender - Day Eight : T'was The Night At Croft Manor

8th December 2010
So a few days ago I started writing this poem based on "T'was The Night Before Christmas" just my version has an Eidos twist since recently I have finished Mini Ninjas and have been getting rather addicted to Hitman Blood Money (currently on "The House of Cards").

I hope you enjoy it :)

Click the Read More button to see the poem

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Advent Calender - Day Seven : Video Per Person

7th December 2010

This was something I was thinking about on the way back from college today, and it's something that I hope that you quite enjoy. Everyone has a favourite Tomb Raider game and so pretty much everyone can join in with this, and since I have a stack of videos on my computer at home and a YouTube channel, this might actually work.

So answer the question "What is your favourite Tomb Raider game?" through our Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or on the comments below, and for everyone who posts an answer I will upload a video that is about that game, it could be an interview, a trailer, etc. And for every answer, I will dedicate it to you in the comments box with a link if it's from your twitter or YouTube account if you so wish. Or if you have a Tomb Raider/gaming website I'll put the link up as well.

It does take time to upload, and if I get a huge amount of answers I may have to stop the amount of answer I am going to take today, but I will do it on another day if there is a lot.

So...

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TOMB RAIDER GAME?

(One answer per person please)

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Advent Calender - Day Six : Christmas TR Banner and Videos (READ MORE)

6th December 2010

As well as the news of the upcoming Tomb Raider game, we also have got two things today for the advent, they're quite small so we decided to pair them together. For those fans who have been playing since 2007 you might have seen a piece of merchandise which is several images on triangles tied together in a banner, I really like this so for christmas I wanted to recreate it.


CLICK HERE to download the banner

Since it's quite small I have also added two more videos to the site's YouTube channel. One is a Karima Adebibe interview and the other is an interview with another former Lara Croft Model, Jill De Jong

Enjoy!

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Tomb Raider (2012) Press Release

A New Game from Crystal Dynamics

LOS ANGELES (December 6, 2010) — Square Enix Inc., is excited today to announce TOMB RAIDER®, the new game from Redwood City based studio Crystal Dynamics®.

'After a brutal storm destroys the boat she was travelling on,

a frightened young woman is left washed ashore on an unknown beach.

On her own but not alone she has only one goal, to survive'

Here begins the first adventure for a young and inexperienced Lara Croft in a story which charts the journey of an ordinary woman who finds out just how far she must go in order to stay alive.

"Forget everything you knew about TOMB RAIDER, we are exploring things that have never been done before in this game," said Darrell Gallagher, Head of Studio, Crystal Dynamics. "This is an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other."

TOMB RAIDER makes its worldwide debut in the January issue of Game Informer® magazine. The cover story features 10 pages of exclusive content and is available beginning today for subscribers and on newsstands December 11. Follow Game Informer on Twitter @GameInformer.

Follow TOMB RAIDER on Twitter @TombRaider. For more information on TOMB RAIDER please visit www.TombRaider.com.


About Square Enix, Inc.
Square Enix, Inc. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content throughout the Americas as part of the Square Enix Group. The Square Enix Group operates a global network of leading development studios and boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property, including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 97 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 54 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

More information on Square Enix, Inc. can be found at http://www.square-enix.com/na/.

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New Infomation Released by NeoGaf?

6th December 2010

The following is from NeoGaf:

- Lara is 21 in this game

- It's not only a reboot of the franchise but a reboot of the entire brand.

- There will be no official Lara model this time.

- They're doing performance capturing with this game

- There are brutal deaths in the game this time. One is described as a deranged man stabbing Lara in the chest and then closing her eyes after she's dead. Another includes a boulder falling on her leg to trap her before another falls and crushes her head.

- CD won't talk specifics on weapons but concept art shows a bow, shotgun and pistol

- The lock on targeting system is gone and it now has a free aim system. CD says that it can compete with any of their competitors.

- "I think that the major difference between this game and the old is the concept of smoke and mirrors," begins Darrell Gallagher, the studio head at Crystal Dynamics. "There was an illusion of freedom because of streaming and loading that would pop you out in a different location, but this is absolutely real. You can literally go any direction that you see and carve your own way to the finish line instead of being guide."

- "It was important in the game to not only deliver the character arc of Lara Croft emotionally, but to deliver it in gameplay as well so the player gets to grow into a hardened survivor," says experienced director Noah Hughes. As the game unfolds, Lara will scavenge new tools and gear that augment her abilities. Lara's athletic prowess will also evolve. Some areas begin inaccessible due to physical limitations or scarce supplies. With the right skills and gear, however, the island is Lara's for the taking.

- There are base camps in the game. Here you can combine items to create something new and access a skill system to upgrade Lara's abilities. You'll also be able to use base camps to fast travel to different locations to minimize backtracking.

- You'll need to gather food and water in order to survive

- There are humans in the game, including some of the crew members from the shipwreck off the coast of the island.

That's about it. It seems like CD is still be fairly secretive about the gameplay details. There are some nice in-game screenshots. One features Lara hanging upside down in what looks to be a cocoon. Also several screenshots showing her bloodied and with bandages on.

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Check Out The Main Site

6th December 2010

Something awesome has happened to the main Tomb Raider site.


CLICK HERE!

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New Tomb Raider Revealed

6th December 2010

What's a better way to start a week then with an announcement of a new Tomb Raider game!
Game Informer revealed today it's new cover for it's December magazine issue as well as a few facts, and it shows a young and inexperience Lara in the middle of a brand new adventure. You can also save the cover as background on your desktop, I know I did!

In this new adventure – simply titled Tomb Raider – a younger and inexperienced Lara Croft must endure both physical and emotional trauma to survive.

Rebooting the Tomb Raider franchise through an origin story wasn’t so much a choice as an act of necessity, according to Crystal Dynamics. Drastic measures were needed.

Game Informer has a 10 page exclusive on the new Tomb Raider, so make sure to get a copy. If you have a subscription with the Game Informer magazine then you will be getting it today, but the magazine will be in shops on 11th December. You can also follow the site on twitter through @GameInformer

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Advent Calender - Day Five : Gametap's Tomb Raider Revisioned (READ MORE)

5th December 2010

Phew! So after a five hour download the videos are finally here! Day five brings Gametap's Tomb Raider Revisioned series which was released in 2007 to celebrate Lara's 10th anniversary. If I remember correctly Gametap promised a second series which would have been great! However Gametap's priorities changed and they then became a site which only sold games and so all their videos of the Tomb Raider documentary and the Revisioned TR series was removed, which is a shame because it's a really great series!

So for those fans who miss the series or who have only been introduced to the series for the past two years or so, here's all ten of the episodes.

Enjoy!

Click the Read More button to see the videos.

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Recreating Lara Croft's Journal (Read More)

4th December 2010

Welcome back to day four of Guns and Grapple's Advent Calender, I hope you have been enjoying it. Today is a project I did a while back where I recreated Lara's journal seen in the opening cutscene from Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. As so for the calender I created a step by step guide of how you can also recreate it and images of the book that I had made.

Click the Read More button to see the steps and the images.

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Keeley Hawes stars in Upstairs Downstairs

3rd December 2010

Keeley Hawes has been voicing Lara Croft for the past four years in Legend, Anniversary, Underworld (the two XBOX360 DLC for TRU) and recently Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, but over Christmas Keeley will be starring in a new show on BBC1 as a different Lady....Lady Agnes Holland that is, in a return of an old program.

The show is running for three days:
26th December 2010 - (9pm - 10pm)
27th December 2010 - (9pm - 10pm)
28th December 2010 - (9pm - 10pm)

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Second DLC Pack for Playstation 3

3rd December 2010

The second DLC pack has been released on the Playstation Network. The pack is actually the first pack since the second was free but was released first. The latest DLC is called 'All The Trappings Challenge Pack 1' costs $3.49 and it's takes 82MB and consists of four levels.

The pack was released for XBOX360 on the 27th November 2010, but hasn't yet been released for the PC.


CLICK HERE for the Playstation Network site.

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Character DLC for LCGOL coming soon!

3rd December 2010

The next DLC pack for Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be the character packs. One pack will contain Lynch and Kane, the other Raziel & Kain. Which one is released first is up to you and you can either vote by putting @CrystalDynamics in your twitter message with your favourite pack or you can put your choice at the Eidos Forums.

Apparently the videos that have been leaked onto YouTube are not the final cutscenes, they're going to be changing the voices. Although I don't know about the character's movements, I'm slightly looking forward to Raziel doing the little swaying hips movements that Lara does like to do in the cutscenes.

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Advent Calender - Day Three : Deviant Art Page

3rd December 2010

It's just gone past midnight here in the UK so it's time for another Advent Calender surprise. Now I had this page up for a while but I didn't really get around to using it until now. And what I quite liked was within a few hours of material being put up on it yesterday, it was getting noticed which was quite awesome since I didn't announce anything.

So today Guns and Grapple has a Deviant Art page. I must warn you first that I'm not very good at drawing, I love it, but I'm not that good. Plus it's going to take me a while getting use to the layout of the place, but it is going to be updated often and there might even be some comics coming later this week just for TR fans at dA.

CLICK HERE for Guns and Grapple's Deviant Art Page.

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DLC for PC is released

2nd December 2010

The DLC entitled "Things That Go Boom" has been released free on PC via Steam. The DLC consists of four levels:

• III Valley
• Madness River
• Mayan Mini-Golf
• Blast Lifts

If you have Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light on Steam it will either be downloading the DLC automatically or already have done it. To check load up the game and click the image representing DLC.

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Advent Calender - Day Two : Bits Tomb Raider Special (Read More)

2nd December 2010

So here we are on day two! And here in the UK we're under snow, ice, slush and more snow, what could make it feel more Christmassy? Apart from a few days off work, but Transport For London is doing their best to make us do that. Today brings a new documentary that I haven't actually seen, before Jonathan sent me them :) Thanks! It's called "Bits Tomb Raider Special" and it's a documentary about Tomb Raider The Last Revelation. It comes with interviews from Toby Gard and also Lara Weller as well as the people behind the games at Core Design. It's really cool, so make sure you have a look.

Enjoy!

(View the videos by clicking the Read More button)

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Otherworld Is Released!

1st December 2010

Yesterday was the release of Otherworld, a new web comic by the creator of Lara Croft, Toby Gard. For those who haven't yet read it, go there now! It's an amazing comic with a blend of mystery, it's incredibly dark so far and it's awesome. It's targeted at a +16 audience since there is violence and swearing.

Every Tuesday and Thursday a new page will be released, but you can read the first 16 pages which are already at Toby Gard's website.

CLICK HERE for the site.

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Advent Calender - Day One : 30 Model Avatars

1st December 2010

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PACK

It feels strange being in December since it hasn't really sunk in that it's 2010 for me, but still here we are nearing Christmas which only calls for one thing! Yes our advent calender is back. Now this year it's going to be different because whereas in previous years it was the last five days leading to the 25th it is now going to be the full 25 days.

Every single day a new item will be revealed, these could vary from videos to new sections of the site, wallpapers and avatars. So make sure you check back every day!

Today brings 30 Official Lara Croft Model avatars. Since there is more photos of some models compared to others the amount for each model varies a lot, but each of them are awesome.

Rhona Mitra - 1
Nell McAndrew - 3
Lara Weller - 5
Lucy Clarkson - 5
Jill De Jong - 5
Karima Adebibe - 7
Alison Carroll - 4

I was really picky about what ones to choose since I wanted to give a good variety of images.

The avatars are 90x90pixels.

Enjoy!

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