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.
Third-person shooter
"Tomb Raider" (1996) by Eidos Interactive (now Square Enix Europe) is claimed by some commentators as a third-person shooter, and Jonathan S. Harbour of the University of Advancing Technology argues that it's "largely responsible for the popularity of this genre". Other commentators have considered it influential on later third person shooters such as "BloodRayne" (2002), "The Contra Adventure" (1998), "MDK" (1997), "" (1998), "Burning Rangers" (1998), and "" (2000). The game eschewed the popular first person perspective of games such as "Doom", instead making use of "third person" viewpoints, wide 3D environments and a control system inspired by "Prince of Persia". "Mega Man Legends" (1997) by Capcom is another early 3D third person shooter which took a different approach to the genre, mixing this with a role-playing game influence. Around the same time, "Deathtrap Dungeon" (1998) by Eidos Interactive and "MediEvil" (1998) by SCE Cambridge Studio (then "Millennium Interactive") were some of the first 3D games in the genre to include third person shooter influences in a fantasy setting, with fictional or alternative weapons achieving the same effect as a gun for the player. "Die Hard Trilogy" (1998) by Fox Interactive was met with critical acclaim at the time of its release, and the section of the game based around the first "Die Hard" film in the trilogy was another early take on a 3D third person shooter.