Tomb Raider: Anniversary
"Tomb Raider" is the first game in the titular franchise, and introduced the series' gameplay standards and its protagonist Lara Croft. Developed by British studio Core Design, "Tomb Raider" was a commercial and critical success, and was followed by five successive games between 1996 and 2000. Their sixth "Tomb Raider" game "" was beset by developmental problems and rushed to release, resulting in low sales and mixed critical reception. The game's failure and Core Design's fatigue with the series prompted franchise publisher Eidos Interactive to move development of "Tomb Raider" to the American studio Crystal Dynamics, who rebooted the franchise with "". "Legend" released in 2006 to critical and commercial success.
Tomb Raider (1996 video game)
"Tomb Raider" was "Computer Games Strategy Plus"s 1996 overall game of the year, and won the magazine's award for the year's best "3D Action" game as well. It also was a finalist for CNET Gamecenter's 1996 "Best Action Game" award, which ultimately went to "Quake". "Electronic Gaming Monthly" named "Tomb Raider" a runner-up for both "PlayStation Game of the Year" (behind "Tekken 2") and "Saturn Game of the Year" (behind "Dragon Force"), commenting that both versions had been designed to take optimum advantage of each console's capabilities. They also named it runner-up for both "Action Game of the Year" (behind "Die Hard Trilogy") and "Adventure Game of the Year" (behind "Super Mario 64"), as well as "Game of the Year" (again behind "Super Mario 64").