Tomb Raider (2013 video game)
Crystal Dynamics began development of "Tomb Raider" soon after the release of "" in 2008. Rather than a sequel, the team decided to completely reboot the series, re-establishing the origins of Lara Croft for the second time, following "". "Tomb Raider" is set on Yamatai, an island from which Lara, who is untested and not yet the battle-hardened explorer she is in other titles in the series, must save her friends and escape while being hunted down by a malevolent cult. Gameplay elements focus more on survival, although exploration is used within the game when exploring the island and various optional tombs. It is also the first game in the series to have multiplayer and the first game to be published by Square Enix, after the latter's acquisition of Eidos Interactive in 2009. Camilla Luddington was announced to voice and perform as Lara Croft in 2010, replacing Keeley Hawes.
Tomb Raider III
Actual development on "Tomb Raider III" began in December 1997. At the time, lead programmer Martin Gibbins, who previously worked on the 1996 title "Blam! Machinehead", was tweaking the old "Tomb Raider" engine to build a new game with a stronger emphasis on action and shooting. The new team considered Gibbins' additional work to the engine valuable and decided to use it as a basis for the 1998 "Tomb Raider" game, which was originally intended to be a spin-off called "The Further Adventures of Lara Croft". However, as development progressed and more ideas were introduced, the company considered the number of changes enough to justify a complete sequel. The PlayStation served as the lead platform for the game, while the Microsoft Windows release is simply a conversion with slightly improved visuals. As a result, everything was built around the capabilities of the PlayStation hardware, with 16-bit palettes and high-resolution graphics, as opposed to the 8-bit palettes and "pseudo medium" resolution of the earlier titles, Core Design CEO Jeremy Smith explained.