Tomb Raider Scavenger Hunt Promotion: Let Adventure Find You

Tomb Raider fans, at last your encyclopedic knowledge of Lara's world might actually pay off! Crystal Dynamics has just announced the Tomb Raider Scavenger Hunt. Players in the U.S. and Canada who pre-order the game from select retailers gain access to weekly photo and trivia challenges with chances to win downloadable game content, Tomb Raider-themed consoles, life-size Lara statues, a Tomb Raider all-terrain vehicle, and the grand prize: an adventure holiday for two in Fiji!

No worries if you've already pre-ordered. You can still participate. There's also a way to enter without buying the game. For details and complete rules, visit the Official Tomb Raider Blog.

Good luck, friends! And if I win, I promise to send you a postcard from Fiji. ;)

Thank You for Your Support!

While I'm in the end-of-year holiday mood, I just wanted to say thanks once again to everyone who helped support Stella's Site throughout the year. Whether you made a donation; bought games and other goodies through my affiliate links; joined our Team for the Extra Life charity marathon; or helped spread the word about the site through shares, tweets, links, etc., I sincerely appreciate your kindness! Happy holidays and raid on in 2013! :D

Santa Lara - Click to enlarge.

Tomb Raider "Survivor" Trailer Premieres at 2012 Video Game Awards

In case you missed the festivities last night, Crystal Dynamics presented a new Tomb Raider trailer at the VGAs. Lara Croft voice and mocap actor Camilla Luddington made the introduction, and composer Jason Graves led a live orchestra accompanying the video, which made a big splash with fans in the audience and watching at home. My Twitter stream seized up, and #TombRaider was trending worldwide for quite a while. Here's the trailer that has everyone talking.

Visit Stella's YouTube Channel for the HD version without cutaways.

Camilla Luddington introduced the latest Tomb Raider trailer at the 2012 Video Game Awards. Photo courtesy of Tomb Raider Univers.

Tomb Raider composer Jason Graves conducted the orchestral accompaniment.

P.S. Tomb Raider didn't win Most Anticipated Game after all. That honor went to Grand Theft Auto V, but I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of action at next year's VGAs.

IGN Launches Week of Exclusive Tomb Raider Previews

In case you haven't heard, IGN's Tomb Raider Week begins tonight with the premiere of a new Tomb Raider trailer on the 10th annual Video Game Awards. Tomb Raider is also one of the nominees in the viewers' choice category Most Anticipated Game. Tune in live this evening (Friday 12/7, 6 p.m. PST / Saturday 2 a.m. GMT) on Spike TV, Spike.com, GameTrailers.com or Xbox LIVE.

A trailer for a trailer? How "meta." ;) But anyway....

The full presentation, including introductions by Samuel L. Jackson and Camilla Luddington, can be seen in tomorrow's post.

The festivities continue throughout the week with these highlights. I'll be adding videos as they become available.

Monday, 12/10, 5:30PM PST · Tomb Raider Live Stream: IGN and developer Crystal Dynamics show an hour of new Tomb Raider content. Then, for another half hour, the creators will be taking fans' questions live and explaining game mechanics.

Tuesday, 12/11 · IGN Rewind Theater: Tomb Raider Survivor Trailer: IGN staffers do an in-depth analysis of the latest TR video trailer. Warning: Contains some fairly significant spoilers.

Wednesday, 12/12 · The Tombs of Tomb Raider: It's one of the most frequently asked questions about the new game—where are the tombs?! Don't worry; they're in there. This TR week installment examines a few.

Thursday, 12/13 · Upgrading Lara Croft: An exploration of Tomb Raider's RPG elements, including how Lara upgrades her skills and equipment.

Friday, 12/14 · Tools of Survival Trailer: An exclusive new trailer exposing the survival skills Lara is forced to learn on this dangerous island.

Additional details can be found on IGN.com's Tomb Raider Week page.

Celebrating Classic Tomb Raider Games on Steam and GOG - Win a Copy of TR1

This week Steam added a roster of classic Tomb Raider titles to its extensive offerings. GOG (Good Old Games) has had all six games for a while. Their prices are a bit better, but keep an eye on Steam as they hold frequent sales and special offers.

If you never played the originals, now's a great time to catch up before the new game comes out in March. And what a thoughtful holiday gift for that budding raider friend or relative. ;)

Today Only (Dec. 1-2) win a free Steam Tomb Raider download. For a chance to win one of two TR1 download codes, just let me know why you love the classic Tomb Raider games. Post a comment below, send me a tweet @Stellalune or comment on our Facebook page. Two winners will be chosen Dec. 2 around noon (EST).*

UPDATE 12/2/12: The contest has finished and our winners are Angeline Currie on Twitter and Maxine Anderson, who entered on Twitter and Facebook respectively. Congratulations, ladies! I hope you enjoy the blast from the past! :D

Classic Tomb Raider download details and links:

Steam (steampowered.com)
Tomb Raider · $9.99/€9.99/£6.99
Tomb Raider II · $9.99/€9.99/£6.99
Tomb Raider III · $9.99/€9.99/£6.99
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation · $9.99/€9.99/£6.99
Tomb Raider: Chronicles · $9.99/€9.99/£6.99
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness · $9.99/€9.99/£6.99

Good Old Games (GOG.com)
Tomb Raider 1, 2 & 3 bundle · $9.99
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation & Chronicles bundle · $9.99
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness · $9.99
(For UK Pounds and Euros, current conversion rates apply.)

*Two winners will be chosen at random from among all the comments and tweets received by December 2, 2012, 12 p.m. EST (5 p.m. GMT). Thanks to Crystal Dynamics for providing the game codes. :)

Tomb Raider Composer Jason Graves Featured in The Final Hours Episode 3

 Tomb Raider Composer
 Jason GravesAt long last Crystal Dynamics has revealed the identity of the composer for the upcoming Tomb Raider game. Jason Graves has scored dozens of video games, including the Dead Space series, for which he won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award. He has also worked extensively in film and television.

The latest episode of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider includes interviews with Graves and the TR audio team. As you'll see in the video, not only did Graves compose the new soundtrack, he also worked with Matt McConnell of McConnell Studios to build an amazing instrument (photo below) just for the task. Watch and listen here:

"The Instrument," a collaboration between composer Jason Graves and sculptor/designer Matt McConnell, was fabricated from steel, glass and fibreglass, and used to create the unique soundscapes featured in the upcoming Tomb Raider video game. For details visit McConnellStudios.com.