The Lara Croft Redesign

[SturmDolch]

I wouldn't have bought a Tomb Raider before because I don't need out of proportion digital boobs flapping across the screen while I'm trying to play when I have dozens of real ones smacking me in the face and distracting me from the gameplay already.

Wait, no, that's not what I was going to say.

I wouldn't have bought a Tomb Raider before because I don't need out of proportion digital boobs flapping across the screen while I'm trying to play an adventure game. It's awkward and weird if people come in. Same would go for a shirtless guy.

 

[WolfThomas]

First impression...I like the change. To me she somehow looks more badass yet femine despite the downsizing of her most notable assets.

 

[WolfThomas]

Edit: Crap double post, I blame Captcha.

 

[Harrowdown]

EDIT: Didn't realise it was a prequel. Surely given that context, any complaint about her youth is silly.

Reboot, not prequel.

there is a difference.

Right, right. I had bad information. Nonetheless, it's an origin story, so my point stands. A couple of people on this thread have complained that she looks 'fresh out of uni'. Turns out, according to what i've read now, that's the whole point. She gets stranded on her first expedition after graduation or something. Sounds pretty rockin' to me.

 

[Amund]

I guess since your mom hasn't played any of the old ones she might be getting a more drastic appearance change, Lara's appearance looks like a redesign of her legend era design, it's still noticable in the eyes.
She's also gone down a few sizes.

She still noticeably looks like Lara Croft to me.

She's played every single Tomb Raider except the new one on 360/PS3 and the "Guardians of Light" on XBLA.

Well, I'm not going to dispute your Mom's gamer cred, or Lara love. I however was also able to see Lara immediately. I squealed with joy. Yes Lara looks different, but only because she looks more natural and younger. When you play the original Lara game, shes already a seasoned treasure hunter, when you play this game, she'll be out on her first adventure.

 

[Harrowdown]

Lol Sheva?

I mean c'mon their nearly exact.

Yeah, they are exactly the same.... This is so stupid... I'm so angry right now.

Last time I checked, people don't come in cookie cutter configurations. Forcing this ideal, AGAIN, makes me sick. If you want to make a female lead who is """"REALISTIC"""" then that woman should be the average, which is 5'3" and 164lbs and wears a size 14. (-ish) I would LOVE to see a game make that character!

Because normal, physically average people doing stuff from tomb raider games is totally realistic. Seriously, though. Realistic and normal are not the same thing. The gameplay of, say, assassins creed is realistic, in the sense that all of altair's/ezio's moves are physically possible. That said, I certainly can't climb tall buildings and kill people with swords. Action/adventure games like tomb raider, assassins creed, or any of the hundreds of others require a physically idealised character, otherwise the feats being achieved in game would appear unrealistic and ridiculous. You could make a game with an average, athletically unexceptional lead, but be prepared for some shitty action sequences.

 

[Amund]

I think it looks good, she looks more like a proportioned human being now but
ATTENTION DEVELOPERS!
you do NOT make a strong female character by making her manly, the original Laura Croft was fairly feminine and flirtatious then she turned into the emotionless tough girl that everyone expects from games and abandoned every personality aspect that made her female. so far the best representation of a strong female character is Bayonetta.
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/2/20608/1238292-bayo_bayonetta_super.jpg
so quick checklist
strong willed and doesn't need a man but is still attracted to them and shows it: check
still maintains a love for stereotypically "Girly" things because she personally enjoys them and knows it doesn't make her "weak": check
in touch with and in complete acceptance of her sexuality: check
maternal instinct without being "Baby crazy" or wanting children: check
one statement in Bayonetta summed up the whole character
"Do I look like I enjoy children? well making them, that's another story"
wow that was quite a rant.

Yeah, I love Bayonetta to. She's an amazing character. However having every character being as sexual as she is, could get old.

From what I've read, this new Lara is not a manly character. She's feminine without being girly, courageous without being fearless and sexy without being sexual.

 

[AdamRBi]

You know, it's a nice step in a nice direction, but I don't think it's very nice character design based on what I can tell from the image. It's my opinion (based on the image) that in trying to go "realistic," they forgot about making her a character. Characters are different then real people because they have distinct features that play to their personality. For a visual medium you want the character's very design to speak novels about the character's life, personality, and inner motives.

If I didn't know she was an Archeologist/Tomb Raider just by her established legacy I would look at this character and think she was a grizzled survivor of some massacre or some agent sent out to wreck some terrorist island, like a lot of characters in recent games that I haven't played not feel like looking up the specific names of at this moment. There's nothing interesting about this character design, this does not look like an Archeologist nor someone very equipped to raid tombs.

It's an improvement over the classic, but at least the classic had a little more character to it.

 

[teqrevisited]

It's a shame, but I really can't say that I rate anything other than the first 5. After the first one on PS2 it seemed like all the challenges had been reduced to toddlers' colour & shape puzzles. Especially after some of the later levels in Chronicles.

On the redesign: It's nothing too far from the Croft woman that we are used to, but to the story reboot I will always say Lara's first expedition was with Von Croy.

 

[Moeez]

You guys should all read the Gameinformer article. The game seems to start out more like a horror adventure game, with Lara always being in danger, from getting cocooned to being stabbed by island crazy people or bludgeoned to death by boulders.

Seems like a much more intense and cinematic game, aping Uncharted. Hopefully, not also losing the complexity, because Uncharted is as simple a game as you can get.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Meh LC needs a better gameplay foundation they never really found a good balance between exploring and fighting....... Thematic design and graphics I never paid much attention to.

 

[Geekosaurus]

I like how she's dropped down three or four cup sizes. I like the redesign. She actually looks like an explorer now.

 

[SaetonChapelle]

People are still chatting about this? Sweet~

I'm hoping she will have more characterization. I am guilty to say that after the first three games I didn't bother with the newer ones so any for of characterization she might have gained I'm ignorant to. I was so young playing the first set, not never really cared, so I never payed attention. Oo I was too into Resident Evil at the time... curses. I am really interested to try this one out though. :3

 

[Lyri]

Her first response was "That doesn't look anything like Lara Croft at all. It looks like a completely different character from a completely different game."

Her next response was "Why does she look like that?" to which I gave the gave the answer of the game is supposed to be a sort of re-start for the series, and that they wanted to make her look more "grounded" and "realistic".

"But she isn't supposed to be "realistic". She is supposed to be a fearless, beautiful treasure hunter who goes anywhere and does pretty much anything. This Lara looks like a random, average college student who looks like she'd shit herself at the sight of a large dog, much less having to fight a pack of wolves moments into her first adventure. If they're trying to "fix" the series, why would they mess with the part that really never had anything "wrong" with it?".

Bravo to your mother, she's hit the proverbial nail on the head with that one.

 

[kakaomasse]

at first i thought she was cut all over her face.
the tr series has been out of hands since core design was dropped...
they should rename it.
im completely on your mother's side. not bad, its just...not lara croft.