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: Legend
The game was initially announced for PlayStation 2 (PS2), Xbox and Windows personal computers (PC). "Legend" marked the "Tomb Raider" series' debut on Microsoft game consoles with versions for both the Xbox and its successor the Xbox 360 (360). The 360 version acted as the "Tomb Raider" series' debut on seventh generation consoles. The 360 version incorporated new visual effects and lighting mechanics. While the base engine was carried over from the other versions, the lighting system needed to be entirely rewritten. The 360 version was given equal development priority with the PS2 version. After the success of "" on the GameCube, Eidos announced their decision to port "Tomb Raider: Legend" to that platform, marking the series' first appearance on a Nintendo home console. The GameCube version was a port of the PS2 and Xbox versions.