The mecca of videogaming, E3, took place just a few short weeks ago, and one of the main talking points was the new Tomb Raider game, showing a very new, very frightened side to Lara's character. Joey Núñez analyses the live-action demo shown during the Microsoft keynote.

My Lara Croft obsession is pretty much publically known, and very well-documented. I get a special tingle in my gut every time a new Tomb Raider game is announced, and when the Tomb Raider reboot/prequel trailer hit the web a couple of weeks ago, I pretty much died with excitement.

Good news: resurrection kicked in just in time for E3. Bad news: I went ahead and died all over again, once my eyes fell upon the Tomb Raider stage demo. This, of course, means that I was thoroughly impressed. Here’s why.

Lara, the girl formerly known as Lady Lara Croft

The stage demo starts off with our heroine precariously hanging upside down, trapped and tied. If you’ve ever played a Tomb Raider game before, the first thing that will draw your attention is the way Lara reacts to her predicament. She is scared; downright terrified. Gone is the cool and collected badass of games past and, in her place, we see a young, inexperienced girl, fighting to survive.

Throughout the stage demo, the character animation and the voice acting drove this point home. Lara stumbles and staggers at the appropriate times, and grunts and screams realistically. This is no longer the pristine, quasi-Wonderwoman we fans are used to, but rather, it seems that Tomb Raider will put us in control of a more grounded, realistic, relatable heroine. I hope you guys are ready to feel every cut and bruise. I know I am.

The pretty lady in the pretty game

Whilst watching the stage demo, once I had recovered from the fact that my badass tomb-raiding chick was now a scared girl, the next thing that hit me straight in the face was how incredible she looked. From a graphical standpoint, the game looks amazing. With a great use of light and shadow, realistic water effects, impressive dust particles, gorgeous textures and pretty, pretty fire, the short E3 demo made me 'ooh' and 'aah' more than I care to admit. Considering that everything shown took place inside a dark cavern, I can’t wait to see the rest of the island that Lara has found herself stranded on.

Tomb Raider and the Uncharted School of Cinematic Gaming

One of the first games I ever slid into Polly, my dear-departed PS3, was Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Whilst playing the game, I can remember that I would think to myself, "this is Tomb Raider; this is what Tomb Raider will be on my PS3". Fast forward to Tomb Raider: Underworld, and its underwhelming presentation, and it became quite clear that Ms. Croft’s game was nowhere near the cinematic experience provided by Uncharted. Nathan Drake was beating the lovely Lara at her own game.

If the E3 demo is any indication, Lara’s ready to fight back with her next outing. The movement of the camera around Lara was awesome, as our view of Lara adjusted to each situation, pulling in tight and panning out wide when the game required it. Likewise, the animation and voice work were both stellar; as Lara pleads with herself to find a way out of the cavern in which she is trapped, you can’t help but feel drawn into her despair, compelled by it. Although the demo was brief, everything seems to indicate that a Tomb Raider game finally has the quality production values and set pieces which she deserves.

Puzzle me this, puzzle me that

Towards the end of the demo, Lara enters a wide open space, complete with some strange contraptions. As she looks around, it becomes quite clear that she is being faced with a classic Tomb Raider environmental puzzle.

Or is it?

Although the 'spirit' of a Tomb Raider puzzle seems to be retained, everything in the room - including the puzzle itself - seems much more organic than in previous games. No switches to pull, no boxes to push. Cerebral tomb raiding with a twist? More, please.

To say that I am very excited about this game would be an understatement. Check out the E3 demo if you haven’t already. And, while you’re at it, tell me what you make of the ship graveyard which surrounds Lara at the very end of the demo.

Just what is going on in this island? Autumn 2012 can’t get here soon enough.

Labels: 2011, E3 2011, E3 Impressions, Feature, Joey Núñez, Tomb Raider

E3 isn't far off. As a matter of fact, we're actually less than a month away from experiencing all the news and delicacies that keep you drooling at the mouth annually. There's quite the lineup this year and, with big-name rumours alongside inevitable surprises, I'll take a chance here and say that this year will be one of the more definitive conferences.

Saying that, it's time we made a wishlist of what we're expecting to see at E3 2011.

One of the most anticipated announcements will come with Nintendo's press conference. Should they unveil the Wii's successor, some sort of cataclysm will surely surround the L.A. Convention Center. With developers already speaking out about it, I'm pretty certain that this rumour will turn out to be true, and we'll get some beefy details on the Super Nintendo Wii, along with its assortment of games. Will it have connection options with the 3DS? Will it play GameCube and Wii titles? How about the stuff we've already bought off the Nintendo Shop? I have no doubt this will all be addressed, and hopefully Nintendo will stick with what they've been saying and will garner more third-party support for their new platform. No crazy ass controllers with LCD screens can make up for the same shoddy lineup we've been receiving with the Wii.


Along the lines of new platforms, Sony has something to reveal in the form of their 'Next Generation Portable', or NGP, the working title of the PSP's new successor. Their press conference will likely delve into the madness that was the PSN outage, but I fully expect Kaz Hirai and his entourage to lighten the mood with some excellent announcements and further information on the NGP. After that, maybe we'll get some definite dates on The Last Guardian, and more Twisted Metal news. Oh, yeah, and you can't forget that Naughty Dog will undoubtedly be present showing off more Uncharted 3 goodness. Epic is almost certainly going to be showing Gears of War 3 at Microsoft's press conference, and with Killzone 3 already out, an Uncharted 3 stage demo is almost certain to happen.

The biggest tease going around at this moment is the Modern Warfare 3 quadra-trailer apocalypse. Regardless of what it looks like, the game is going to sell, but a lot rides on its execution. With the original Infinity Ward all but gone, the new staff have tremendous pressure on them to deliver a stellar, triple-A experience. If not, you'll probably find Call of Duty heading even further towards the waste basket than you previously realised.

Speaking of Infinity Ward...


Respawn, the new studio under EA headed up by major ex-Infinity Ward employees, has been extremely quiet. We know they're working on a new project but the legal troubles they've been tied up in with Activision is more than likely impeding their progress. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't hear anything at all from them this E3, but then again, EA has invested valuable resources in this project, so maybe something might manifest on the showroom floor.

Since we're on the topic of shooters, Gears of War 3 should have a tremendous presence this year, but I am expecting a reveal of the next Halo game sometime soon as well. Whether it be at Halo Fest later this August in Seattle, or at E3 next month, you know its coming. Plus, since we already know the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved is on the way, the new game could be closer than originally anticipated. Regardless of all this Uncharted, Gears, and Halo talk, my main hope and concern is that we're honoured with some solid info on Half-Life 2: Episode 3. It's been in the works for just about forever, and what with the Portal 2 release version containing more than a few Half-Life easter eggs, I'd be ecstatic to see that their next project is, indeed, this. Also, maybe seeing some Defense of the Ancients 2 footage wouldn't hurt either?


BioWare should, once again, set the show on fire with another tantalising The Old Republic trailer. I'm expecting more news on it, but I'd be taken aback if more people weren't actually playing the game this year than talking about it. Mass Effect 3 should also have its own panel Q&A sessions, and surely we'll be bombarded with information, since its release isn't too far off (beginning of 2012). I'd also like to hear gasps of excitement when Team Ninja shows new gameplay from Ninja Gaiden 3. Will it happen? Who knows, but we haven't had any news on it since the original teaser. Whyever not now?

Batman: Arkham City is going to be a great game, but new gameplay footage wouldn't hurt its cause. Starhawk, too, should be making its first official appearance, so we'll see what the big deal is behind the "spiritual successor" to Warhawk. Other than that, there's quite a bit else I'd like to jump into, but we'll have to wait to see what E3 brings. As long as I get an answer on HL2: Episode 3, see some Duke Nukem gameplay again, and get my questions about the new hardware aligned, I'll be a happy camper.

Oh, and I almost completely forgot. Dark Souls is going to be there. I really would like to see more of that heinous game.

How about all of you? Are there any games that you're wanting to make an appearance? What's your most anticipated of E3 2011? Sound off in the comments section below!

Labels: 2011, Andrew Whipple III, E3 2011, Epic Games, Gears of War 3, Microsoft, Naughty Dog, Nintendo, Sony, Uncharted 3