Tomb Raider Player Survey

I recently connected with a new friend, Izzie, a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, who's doing a research project for a media studies class. She asked some interesting questions about how players of both genders connect with the game. I hope you'll give her a hand with her investigation.

Izzie writes: I'm conducting a small research and analysis about Tomb Raider for a class about "Media environment and sub-cultures of screens" (we study anything which uses the screen as a support, from internet to video games and cinema). I've read many studies about players' perception of Lara Croft but none were satisfying, so I'd like to initiate a quick survey on my own.

My subject is: What attracted you to the game?

1. Was Lara's feminine identity what appealed to you?
2. Was it more the gameplay/adventure history which got you into playing it?
3. About Lara's physical appearance: were you ever annoyed by it or was it never a concern?

Feel free to add any comment, but you can just reply by yes/no.

Could you please indicate your gender (it matters since the research is gender oriented)? The only condition is that participants must be American (sorry about this restriction, but my research concerns American cultural studies).

If you'd like to participate, either post your answers in a comment here, reply to Izzie's thread on the Video Game Forums (you can read my response there as well), or send me a message and I'll forward it to Izzie. Thanks for sharing!

The deadline for submissions is January 15th.

Happy Holidays from Tombraiders.net!

Wishing you a warm and wonderful holiday season filled with many magical moments. Peace and love,

Have a Very Crofty Christmas. Click for full-size image.
(Makes great desktop wallpaper.)

Underworld $7.49 Special on Steam

If you're a PC gamer and haven't already tried Tomb Raider: Underworld, this could be the offer that clinches the deal. Valve's Steam download service is offering Underworld at 75% off its already reduced price, but only until Monday. If you have a Steam account, just log on and check the latest Update News. Otherwise, visit the Steam site to join. Or, go right to the Underworld page for more details.

I can't think of a better way to to spend a snowy weekend than adventuring with Lara. If you already own the game, you may be interested to know that Steam also has a gift-giving option so you can share the Tomb Raider fun with a friend. :D