德国杂志报道

作者 TombCrow, 2005 十二月 15, 05:34:49

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TombCrow

Page 44:
Captions (from top to bottom):
,,A Typical Riddle

In the gigantic hall of an Inca temple, Lara has to operate three pressure plates in the right sequence to open the gate to the next room.

The first metallic boulder lies next to one of the plates. Quickly we roll it onto its place. The boulder's surface is stunningly realistic thanks to ,normal maps'.

The remaining two boulders are hidden high above on remote ledges. We're only able to reach them after difficult jumping and climbing maneuvers.

As soon as we've operated all the pressure plates, a huge ray of light appears in the center of the hall, showing us the way to the exit – just like in the first Indiana Jones movie."


,In GameStar 12/1997...' box:
,,...the third GameStar issue ever, Michael Galuschka tested Tomb Raider 2 and rated it a high 89%. For many fans, the second part is still the highlight of the series. They're right: The action game offered more diversion, harder riddles and a bigger showdown than the original – assuming you owned a Pentium 133 with 16 MB RAM and a 3Dfx graphics card."


Article:
,,Let's Rock, Baby!

Even the tutorial – set in Bolivia – starts in a spectacular way and immediately stimulates ,old' Tomb Raider emotions. In a cutscene (using in-game graphics), Lara climbs a rock like Tom Cruise in ,Mission: Impossible 2'. Once on top, we're supposed to jump over (sic) several ledges in a vertigo-inducing height, hang on narrow eges and roll through crevices, taking advice from Lara's yet-secret assistants by means of her radio.
Donig all that, Miss Croft moves as lifelike as never before – even the flexible Prince of Persia looks as wooden as Pinocchio compared to her. The developers animated all of her moves by hand as opposed to using the common motion capture method, where actors are filmed.
When we follow a river through a beautiful valley after our climbing adventure, we're confronted with the first riddle: Lara should climb a high waterfall, but the walls are too slick. Looking for help, we notice a log lying on a rock in the shallow river bed – like a seesaw. There's a big boulder balancing on a ledge a few meters above it. We climb onto it and push the boulder down – thanks to the new physics engine. Now the seesaw's charged on one side and offers us a practical opportunity to jump – we made it! Tomb Raider pros might wrinkle their noses over such simple riddles, but they can be reassured: The game will become more difficult soon enough.

Running the Gauntlet? Not Anymore

Change of scene: In one of the later levels, the tomb raider explores an Inca temple in Peru. Greg [Hounsom, Senior Producer with Eidos] tells us something about the story: ,Some years ago, Lara was on an expedition here with some friends. A member of the team fell in a hole, into a widely ramified tunnel system, missing ever since. Now Lara wants to know more about her friend's [in the German text: male form] whereabouts. And find the parts of a historic artifact, scattered all over the world.' We couldn't get him to tell us which artifact this could be – judging from his smile, it seems to be worth the hunt. We find out soon how somebody could get lost in the temple. In a barely lit corridor, we suddenly encounter rotating blades, speeding at us in a wild staccato –Prince of Persia sends its compliments. By timing our actions well, we manage to jump over the first blade and roll under the second one. A trickier version is already waiting beyond the next corner. Thank God the game saves automatically after every obstacle, keeping the frustration level very low.

Breathless Heroine

,Lara obviously isn't the only one looking for the artifacts', Greg says. ,She's got an evil opponent who's killed her best friend [female form] years ago.
She was crossing a bridge in the South American jungle, an he cut the rope. She'd got too close to him and his plan with her research.' The special thing about that: During the game, you'll return to the place of the incident, and you'll travel back in time to the moment where she falls into the abyss. As a younger Lara, you're supposed to find a way down into the valley and look for her. In order to do that, the heroine has to survive long diving sequences and solve underwater riddles. Those are as nerve-racking as usual due to Lara's limited air supply."


Continuing on #7 (page 46).


TombCrow

> Page 42:
The first Lady of the action

Tomb Raider Legend

Eidos animates that series of belief dead with a new developer team, old strengths and modern technology. We saw the preparations for Laras comeback in London and San Francisco - and are convinced: it will be a success!

> Page 43:
Caption:
> Immediately three opponents take us under gunfire. There's only a leap to the side that helps. Nice detail: Lara will carry her equipment in the future at the belt.

PICTURES OF THE CONSOLE
In our visit, we could only see the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions of Tomb Raider: Legend. The PC-frame is yet in a clearly earlier stage. Therefore all screenshots of the Xbox 360 come or directly from the engine. In the engine-pictures are missing normally - and specular-mapping, in the finished game, yet should look better than that of all. We marked the origin of the pictures with following symbols:
blue dot - Engine; green dot - Xbox 360

Article:
What this woman did not join in everything. 1996 as an icon of a new genre celebrated, climbed as the first computer figure to the unprecedented media starling and movie theater starling, feel Lara Croft in the last years in the bottomless. And the former player-darling became counted completed a playful zero number, after the flops of 6 games and 2 films as Miss Croft.

Eidos pulled the final stroke - however not under its developer Core Design. For a new beginning, the Publisher gave work the project at the Action specialists of Crystal Dynamics (Legacy of dock: Defiance), that now already for two years at the new part.

We visited Eidos in London and Crystal Dynamics in San Francisco and played the first adventures of the new grave hunter (that meant Tomb Raider in German) sample. Eidos\' task at the developers: Lara Croft should be in Tomb Raider: Legend celebrating a magnificent comeback. A comeback how it is arrive no of its hero colleagues before( [Confused]http://www.tombraiderforums.com/forums/confused.gif\" border=0> ).

Globetrotter Deluxe

What settled the attraction of the early Tomb-Raider-parts?, we ask Greg Hounsom, senior Producer in Eidos. The answer fells easily: exotic wings, gloomy graves, refined falling. That, exactly, should be the main component of Tomb Raider: Legend.

Who wants to go already like in the predecessor game in Prague or Paris on treasure that which is sought?, means Greg. Lara is in its element if it investigates somewhere in the Pampa age old temple ruins, instead of in metropolises, on houses roofs around-zuturnen ( [Confused]http://www.tombraiderforums.com/forums/confused.gif\" border=0> ).

Indeed, the selection reads itself at places that Lara explores in the (linear) progress of the game, like the trip plan of Indiana Jones: you are supposed to be able to visit Bolivia, Peru, Burkina Faso and the Himalaya in the finished game. Possibly even yet further goals follow.



TombCrow

\"WE DIDN\'T HAVE A CHOICE\"

\"http://joseph.tombraiderforums.com/Images/gamestar1.jpg\">


We had a conversation with Riley Cooper, Lead Game Designer at developer Crystal Dynamics about Lara\'s future, Angelina Jolie and the obligation to make a new Tomb Raider game.

Riley Cooper was committed as Designer at Crystal Dynamics to the Legacy of Kain series (Soul Reaver 1 & 2, Defiance), prior to taking the design work for Tomb Raider Legend.

Gamestar Tomb Raider used to be developed by Core Design in the UK. How come Lara ended up at your place?

Cooper (laughs) We didn\'t have a choice! We all were pretty excited to be allowed to work on the latest Tomb Raider. After we thought a little about it, it struck us how much people still are fond of Lara Croft and loving the adventurous roaming around in old ruins. At the same time many were somewhat annoyed that the gameplay hasn\'t changed much since the first episode. This is our chance to make a good game for a good character.

Gamestar Have you considered digitalising Angelina Jolie\'s appearance?

Cooper Angelina Jolie has represented Lara Croft fabulously, so we indeed took in consideration to put her into the game. At the end however we decided that Lara is not dependant of a famous face, but exists on her self, independantly. And we have moulded her appearance, her looks her physics over and over again. You just cannot imagine how we discussed every detail - Lara was our main subject anyway. Next most important to us was that the atmosphere of the temples, ruins and other environments Lara visits throughout the game, had to be perfect. That is what some of the previous episodes of this game had lost focus about. From the start of this project we haven\'t left a single stone untouched.

Gamestar Due to the weaker volumes many people lost faith in the series.

Cooper True. That\'s why we are very cautious this time, with what we announce and promise, untill we really can show the proof. That may be frustrating to you and your readers, but we don\'t want to fool anybody. Instead, everybody should play and control Lara theirselves for a few moments, to only conclude that we really solved the problems of the predecessors. We play without tricks or hidden meanings.

Gamestar So this time no expensive lunch-parties with Hollywood stars then?

Cooper Absolutely. And talking about Hollywood: to us it is important that the story of Tomb Raider: Legend is not just put into the game at the end of its developement. From start our team has been focused on giving to the player the levels and the controls for a cinematic experience that is as much as possible melted to one with the story. Too often it is not the case: first they make the controls, then the levels and at the end comes the story. To us all 3 dimensions are equally important, and we don\'t want to go into a compromise with any of these.

Gamestar Earlier, the stories had hardly more depth than \"Lara seeks for artifacts in old ruins.\"

Cooper That will be evidently different this time. Lara is preoccupied with many questions about her past. They give her the reason to explore various exotic places and artefacts.

Gamestar So in the end no questions will remain?

Cooper I worked on Legacy of Kain. With that one we had some cliffhangers that were a bit too large - making one wonder in the end what it was all about. At the end of Tomb Raider: Legend you will know a lot about Lara Croft\'s past and get answers to questions that rise and occupy you during the game. Of course, some will stay unanswered - when everything is explained that would be boring, no?

Gamestar The final Boss escapes after a 15 minutes battle, leaving us standing in the rain?

Cooper Definitely not. The gamers will be very satisfied with the end-scene of Tomb Raider. Promised!

\"http://joseph.tombraiderforums.com/Images/gamestar2.jpg\">
A life-size Lara Croft statue decorates the developement studios of Crystal Dynamics.


Translation: Joseph @
http://www.tombraiderforums.com/\" target=_blank>//www.tombraiderforums.com

TombCrow

Page 46:
Captions (from left to right and top to bottom):
,,Quite like Indiana Jones with his whip, Lara swings over chasms using her grappling hook.

All the levels have been lit extremely atmosperically, like this Inca temple.

Lara has to overcome underwater obstacles, too.

From time to time, Lara wreaks havoc using stationary guns."


Article (cont'd):
Women and Handbags

No need to tell that – like with the other Tomb Raider games – the designers have put a lot of work into Lara's looks (more on page 50, ,The New Lara'). She doesn't carry the grappling hook and the other equipment in her backpack, but on her belt. ,We wanted to make Lara more realistic', Greg explains. ,It's not very timely that she puts weapons, equipment and tons of other stuff in such a small backpack. Plus, as it is now, the player can immediately see which weapons Lara carries along and how many flares she's got left.' Beside the previous games' well-known flares, the heroine's got a flashlight on her shoulder, helping her see in the sometimes pitch-black levels. The batteries last for two minutes max, then they have to recharge. It's a bit annoying that Lara can't use the flashlight and grappling hook at the same time, we have to light our few flares when having to swing across a gorge in the dark. Multi-function binoculars are another piece of equipment, which she can use Splinter Cell style as night-vision goggles or a thermal image camera to spot hidden enemies. According to rumors on the internet, she can also use it to see brittle walls in the levels – Eidos didn't want to give us any details on this.

Jumping Ballerina

Riddles and jumping sequences are alright, but what about some action? ,The ratio between solving problems and shooting is about 70 to 30', Greg answers. Nothing to worry about for the fans of ,fighting Lara': As rare as the shootouts are, they're a lot of fun. Like in the previous games, Lara aims automatically at the closest enemy. This lets us concentrate on the heroine's evasive movements while we spectacularly shoot several wooden crates to splinters and send the enemies crouching behind to kingdom come. When Lara runs out of ammunition, she continues fighting using her pistol grips in hand-to-hand combat. Anyhow, it's much more fun to throw the grappling hook at enemies in order to knock them over or into a pit. Lara's arsenal isn't much different from the earlier games' – she can choose from seven guns, ranging from the inevitable pistols to a machine gun, manual and automatic shotguns and a powerful rocket launcher. It remains to be seen if the well-done shootouts ever get boring with the invariable baddies of our test adventures – Eidos won't say much about the enemies' variety. We guess you'll have to fight a lot of animals, too, like in the predecessors. Also, Greg didn't want to say anything about driving sequences.

Press the Button Now!

,Even when the player's not shooting for a moment, there are plenty of action-packed scenes in Tomb Raider: Legend', Greg explains. He shows us what that's supposed to mean by demonstrating a ,Big Action Moment', which should appear at least once per level.
Those resemble Resident Evil 4 and Fahrenheit: You have to press the right button at the right time in spectacular cutscenes for example to make Lara traverse a collapsing hall with risky jumps while rocks and giant columns fall down all around her. The developers have included special animations and death sequences (should you react too late) for each part of those moments. ,I'm sure some fans will be tempted to press the wrong button on purpose just to see how many different ways of dying there are.', Greg says jokingly."


*Continuing on page 47*


TombCrow

Page 47:
Captions (from top to bottom):
,,A gentle touch of Sergio Leone: We participate in heavy shootouts with pistoleros in a rotting small town in Peru.

The designers have placed most of the 9.800 polygons in Lara's face."


Boxes (from top to bottom):
,,Making-of video on DVD

In Tomb Raider: Legend's First Look video – clocking in at over eight minutes – Senior Designers Toby Gard and Eric Lindstrom as well as Lead Designer Riley Cooper demonstrate the game's innovations on the basis of various movie tidbits. They talk about riddles, Lara's new model – and what she's learnt since Angel of Darkness.

Developer Check

Crystal Dynamics has been developing games in various genres and on several consoles since 1993. The company's become famous for their Jump&Run series Gex; in 1997, Gex 3D was considered the precursor of a new generation of Jump&Run games. After they were acquired by publisher Eidos in 1998, they started the successful Legacy of Kain series one year later with their game Soul Reaver. The series was concluded in 2003 with Legacy of Kain: Defiance. The company's based in San Francisco.

Published games so far (amongst others): Gex 3D, Legacy of Kain, Pandemonium
Currently developing: Tomb Raider: Legend

Tomb Raider: Legend
Genre: action-adventure
Developer: Crystal Dynamics/Eidos
Release date: Q2 2006
Status of completion: 50%


Daniel Matschijewsky: ,Lara, I like you again! You've gone back to the roots, you're exploring temples, caves and tombs again, you climb, puzzle and shoot like in your best days. It feels as if your recent adventures were nothing but a bad dream. But I'm worried about you nonetheless: You rise and fall with the story you tell. I'm hoping the best since Eidos is being so secretive about it. Love, Daniel.'

Potential: Very good [highest for a game in development]


Article (cont'd):
,,Dirty Girl!

The short days of the Angel of Darkness engine are over, Tomb Raider: Legend uses the more powerful, improved Legacy of Kain: Defiance graphics engine. Modern ,normal' and ,specular maps' add highly realistic corrugation to rock surfaces. The flares and the flashlight light dark passages more lifelike than in Chronicles of Riddick. And the complex temples and tombs create an intense adventure feeling with their countless details and dramatic lighting. Nice: Lara gets dirty when crawling through a muddy area, and she's dripping wet when climbing out of a river or lake.
The music adds a lot of tension even at this early stage. Every room will have its own theme to prepare the player for the traps and especially difficult riddles to come. ,Instead of using generic music, we wanted to create individual moments in Tomb Raider: Legend to make it a cinematic experience.', Greg explains. It works: As we're standing in a corridor before shaking floor tiles, the music literally lets us feel Lara's next step could be her last. Never before in the series have we suffered so much with our heroine in such a situation. If the gameplay's as spectacular as this ,in the thick of it' feeling, Lara will revive – in her old glory."


*Continuing on page 50*

TombCrow

> Page 45:

Captions:
(top)
> GameStar Editor Daniel Matschijewsky with senior Producer Greg Hounsom in Eidos in London.
> In the Himalaya, Lara in a warm pullover.
> Lara will look into the direction she will hop. So you jump no longer by mistake on target past.

(bottom)
THE SHOOTINGS IN TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND
> Through the well known automatic goal aid, you\'ll encounter even far removed enemies.
> In the near battle, Lara, with the handles of her pistols, distributes head nuts and so gets enemies of the feet.
> While a shooting ability, you switch over to push a button with leaps into all directions.

Article:
In addition the hero must immerse master again and again long passage and solve riddle under water. That are lived through Lara\'s limited breath supply nerve-rackingly.

Lara\'s Whip
The riddles should be constructed compacter in Tomb Raider: Legend than in the predecessors. Past therefore the time where you transfer a switch and must then through acrobatic brightness achievements the half levels of through-diagonal before the just opened door closes itself again.

In the central hall of the Inka temple, we should roll for example gigantic metal ball in the correct sequence on three pressure switches, open ourselves there with a gate (see riddle-box on side 44). Because the balls lie at heavily accessible advantages far above in the room, we must fall back on all new Lara moves.

So she can stretch swing recently like at one around branches and poles or hop in wall layer and rock fireplaces from wall to wall to reach around more highly lain platform - also that reminds of the Persian prince. Ledges arranged moreover limmt the hero even above one another by a powerful leap.

Nicely: if Lara hangs on an edge, she views always into the direction, in which she will jump. So you do not hop by mistake at the next platform past. Moreover Lara stumbles no longer awkwardly over reef if you come the edge by mistake to nearly. Instead the hero in the last moment holds herself or catches herself with an elegant, balancing step.

Crawl and Roll
The largest reform that Tomb Raider: Legend won is Lara's handle hook that reminds a few of Indiana Jones\' whip. For therewith the hero swings as well as at a Liane over abysses or stretches certain objects to here.

Practical example: in a gear of the Inka temple a tearing river blocked us. Because the current is too strong, swimming does not come into question, and for a leap over the floods, the opposite bank to far is removed.

Practically, that on the other side an out of loose boards and casks flowed hangs in the water. Through the shimmering surface of the metal containers, the game signals that the magnetic handle hook stop finds and we can pull it.. They should aim must for that only coarsely into the direction, Lara encounters then automatically into the black

*Continuing on page 52*


TombCrow

Page 50:
(from left to right and top to bottom):
,,
Bond's Q Would Be Jealous:
The New Lara


Backpack
Compared to the previous games, Lara's backpack has become much smaller. No wonder, she carries her entire equipment on her belt. The backpack's only used for stowing away discovered artifacts.

Flares
Flares are the heroine's only (and humble) source of light when she has to swing over deep pits using her grappling hook in the dark or when her flashlight's batteries have run out.

Grenades
Lara can carry up to four frag grenades. Every single one of them can take care of an entire group of enemies – assumed, Lara's aim is reasonable.

Binoculars
With these multi-function binoculars, Lara can discover remote ledges using the zoom function, see into dark corners with the night-vision goggles or spot hidden enemies using the infrared filter.

The heroine
The new Lara's had a complete makeover, she's been rejuvenated and clad into contemporary gear – the time of her turquoise top's over. Senior Designer Toby Gard has made a living and breathing game heroine out of the polygon bimbo. Her model's composed of 9.800 polygons (not counting the equipment on her belt). That's more than twice the amount of polygons used in Angel of Darkness. The developers have put most of the details in her face. The heroine looks more confident and mature, she can display emotions convincingly and speaks her lines in lip-synch. She's got long eyelashes, her braid's a bit shorter, just like the ultra-short shorts; ,normal maps' add realistic imperfections to her skin, Lara's body has muscle fibers and joints, the spine bulges under her skin.

Flashlight
Adventurers like Lara don't have a flashlight, but a ,Personal Light Source'. The bright ray lights dark passages for two minutes. However, Lara can't use the grappling hook at the same time.

Grappling hook
Lara's most important resource is her grappling hook. Using this, she can pull metallic objects towards her, swing over pits and even knock enemies over. You won't have to aim, Lara will hit her target automatically.

Weapons
As she can't carry all weapons at once, Lara will find three weapons max per level. She carries her 9mm pistols on her hips as usual while placing every other gun on her back, beside the backpack."


*Continuing on page 53 (the last one!)*


TombCrow

> Page 52:

"Lara: how she was"

TOMB RAIDER: A HISTORY

TOMB RAIDER:
Hard to say, what the bigger sensation is: a Jump & Run-game in 3D? A woman as an adventurer? In 1996, Tomb Raider is a never before seen, extremely elegant game experience with an extremely fascinating principle figure.

She was designed by the englishman Toby Gard. the game was created by the experienced British studio Core design - after more than 35 generally moderate works the team now succeeds the large throw. Tomb Raider appears in November 1996 and from start simultaneously developed for the Playstation and the PC.

The action revelation at the same time catapults the 1 year earlier into the game business arrived publisher Eidos into big business.
Probably no-one could have predicted which gold treasure they had captured. But when Tomb Raider begins to sell millions, Eidos quickly grasps how to make money out of Lara Croft.

Tomb Raider:
November 1996
Rating: 84
> Lara conquers the Action Package in the storm. The technically impressive game becomes the surprise hit of 1996.

Tomb Raider 2:
November 1997
Rating: 89
> The continuation makes all better. The best episode of the series becomes the leap board for Lara media renown.


TombCrow

Page 53:
(from left to right and top to bottom):
,,Lara Croft's been at the top before. Right now, she's hit rock bottom. How could an artificial character become a media star, why did she start to slip? The sensational rise and slow fall of a great game series, retold in six episodes.

Tomb Raider 4
After a surprisingly long time, the usual new Tomb Raider edition (subtitle: Last Revelation) gets serious competition for the first time in December 1999: LucasArts sends Indiana Jones to the Tower of Babylon. Lara wins the duel of the action-archeologists – by a margin. The challenger gets more sympathies anyhow, people get tired of Lara: The omnipresent polygon face has been seen too many times, the Eidos' yearly cash cow titles have been too similar. Tomb Raider uses – surprise! – the same engine as the previous games, but introduces 16-year old Lara in the flashback tutorial. Eidos' PR department sells combining equipment as a great innovation. What nobody expected: Lara dies in the end.

Tomb Raider 5
No hero's death has ever kept a company from milking a successful brand to death. The humble story of Chronicles (2000) makes Eidos' and Core's lack of ideas obvious: You replay the best adventures of the late action lady. Of course with the same engine, of course with a 16-year old Lara again, the model was still left from the fourth installment. As some sort of apology, Eidos includes the editor – those who haven't had enough of the same squared levels can build hundreds more. Critics and buyers react less than enthusiastic. The same year, Tomb Raider is released for Gameboy, the last marketing gap seems to be filled. In the summer, the official movie starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft starts. The action spectacle becomes a solid hit and surpasses the halfhearted game effortlessly.

Tomb Raider 6
After three years of development, Tomb Raider's ,new generation' returns in 2003. ,The new Tomb Raider will be quite a shock for the players of the previous five games', brand manager Jeremy Smith trumpets in advance. True, true, even if he meant it differently: Angel of Darkness turns out to be a disaster. Graphics are up-to-date, Lara's been beautifully designed, but not even all the congeniality in the world could save the horrible controls. Random logic shakes the story, bugs achieve the same with the player, the advertised learning system is ridiculous: Lara uses a gas mask in the Louvre and runs faster from that point. Core's planned two sequels. In vain – Eidos pulls the plug, the series is taken over by Crystal Dynamics. Currently, Lara trains for her comeback, planned for summer 2006.

Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation
December 1999
Rating: 83

Stagnation on a high level. Lara only travels to Egypt. The 3D engine gets old quickly.

Tomb Raider 5: Chronicles
December 2000
Rating: 78

Eidos puts several stories into one game, adding the editor. The end of the original series.

Tomb Raider 6: Angel of Darkness
August 2003
Rating: 52


The comeback attempt with a new engine is a flop. Angel of Darkness is a failure gameplay-wise.\"


That's it, many, many thanks to Joseph and Ben!

TombCrow


TombCrow