"Lara's Story" Tomb Raider Group Play

Hi, all. My friend EldinSuper is hosting a group play similar to the ones we've done before. His ambitious plan is to gather a bunch of devoted fans and play through the Crystal Dynamics trilogy, beginning with Tomb Raider: Anniversary. By playing in chronological order, rather than in the order the games were released, we'll follow Lara's evolution from novice adventurer to seasoned raider, as she searches for clues to her mother's disappearance...together.

As in the previous offline group sessions, you can play at your own pace. Then just share your impressions with the group by posting on the forum Eldin has set up just for this. Ask questions, brag about your achievements, post screenshots, videos, bug reports, whatever you like. Then read and comment on other players' posts, and before you know it, we've built a little community.

We had a blast playing Tomb Raider 1 and 2, as well as Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, this way. I'm sure this will be just as much fun.

Anniversary play starts Wednesday, December 1. Legend and Underworld will follow. I hope you'll join us! Here's the link:

http://tombraider.betaboard.net/your-first-forum-f1/tomb-raider-anniversary-t2.htm

Tomb Raider: Anniversary screenshot courtesy of Katie's Tomb Raider Site.

PC Guardian of Light Now Has Online Co-Op

The Windows PC version of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has at last been patched to include online cooperative play. If you already have the PC game, just log into your Steam account for the update. Or visit the Steam web site for more info. Huzzah!

Included in the patch:

• Online Co-Op play added! Play online with your friends as either Lara or Totec.
• Improvements to in-game mouse/keyboard and gamepad controls.
• Improvements to overall performance and stability.
• Additional audio and visual polish.

Guardian of Light Online Co-Op Patch for PS3

The PlayStation 3 version of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has at long last been updated for online cooperative play. According to Keir Edmonds, our community rep at Square Enix, in a Twitter update this morning, the PS3 online co-op patch is available for download now through the PlayStation Network.

UPDATE: Apparently the second expansion pack, officiallly titled "Things That Go Boom Challenge Pack 2" is available free on PlayStation Network until December 21. It includes four new explosive challenge maps featuring a variety of tense puzzles, deadly traps, and relentless combat encounters.

The Xbox 360 online co-op update was released October 27, along with the free download "All the Trappings Challenge Pack 1." The online co-op patch for the PC game came out November 24 through Steam, but so far there have been no additional downloadable content for PC. Stay tuned....

A Survivor is Born: Shipwreck Image Hints at Tomb Raider 9 News on the Horizon

Could a big announcement about the next Tomb Raider game be on the way? It's still just rumor at this point, but the rumors are starting to cluster. The latest issue of Game Informer includes a teaser for an upcoming feature with the tagline "A Survivor is Born" and a promised reveal date of December 6. A new web site with the same mysterious tagline, asurvivorisborn.com, suggests there's more to come.

In case you weren't following the rumors last summer, leaked artwork and info suggested that the next Tomb Raider could begin with a young Lara Croft shipwrecked on a mysterious and remote island off the shores of Japan. (See my post "Tomb Raider 9: Revamped Origin Story?" from July 2009.) Could the "Survivor" in question be Lara?

Developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix refused to comment last summer except to insist that the leaked information be removed, and they have yet to comment on this latest development. So we'll just have to wait and see what news comes out next month.

Thanks to FourPlayerCoop.com for the original leaked info, EuroGamer for reporting this most recent development and Tomb Raider Chronicles for tweeting it to my attention.