Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris Patch Adds New Area: Sunken Chapel of Sobek Plus Community Challenges!

New content has just been added to the Overworld area in Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. If you follow the path to the southeast of the central Shrine of Osiris, where there used to be a broken bridge overlooking a deep ravine, that bridge now connects to a new explorable area: the Sunken Chapel of Sobek.

The Steam version was slightly delayed, but this new area is now available for all players. It includes more red skulls and health/ammo powerups to collect. For those who purchase the Season Pass, the Sunken City will eventually allow access to new DLC tombs—the Tomb of Hoarfrost and Tomb of the Embalmer—when they are released. Dates for these have not yet been announced.

The new Community Challenge feature rewards players for working together. If you want to get your hands on special items like gold weapons, bonus bags of gems, and a few surprises, check out the Community section in the game's main menu. Each week a new challenge will be posted. This week's challenge, "Burn Baby Burn," requires that everyone work together to kill 5,000 exploding, flaming mummies using SMGs. This particular goal has already been met, so everyone can now go to the Community Chest in the Overworld to find those special weapons waiting. (This is the treasure chest at the edge of the shrine to Osiris, where DLC items appear. It's shown in the screenshot below.)

Note that community challenges are run separately on each platform. That is everyone gets the same weekly challenge, but Steam, PS4, and Xbox One players will work with other players on that same platform. Challenges will run from Sunday (12:01 AM PM PST) to Saturday (11:59 PM PST) each week. The reward will be available in the Community Chest as soon as it is unlocked, but will only remain for 24 hours (11:59 Sunday night) after the challenge closes.

Visit this thread on the Square Enix forums for a detailed list of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris patches, including the Sunken City update, as well as various crucial bug fixes for all three systems. Check this thread for Community Challenges.

Square Enix Confirms Microsoft's Rise of the Tomb Raider Publishing Deal is Limited

Most of you probably saw yesterday's news that Rise of The Tomb Raider will be published by Microsoft when it comes out next year. Many gaming blogs, news sites, and gamers were speculating that this meant the end of any chance the game would come to PlayStation. Later in the day Crystal Dynamics told Game Informer, "Our partnership with Microsoft on Rise of the Tomb Raider does have a duration, but we aren't discussing those details at this time."

Then late last night Square Enix followed up with this comment: "Yes, Microsoft will be publishing Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox. Microsoft has always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and they will get behind this game with more support across development, marketing and retail than ever before, which we believe will be a step in continuing to build the Tomb Raider franchise as one of the biggest in gaming."

It's still unclear what all of this doublespeak means—or when and which other platforms will get Rise once the Xbox exclusive is over. The waiting game continues....

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris Gold Edition Unboxing with Meagan and Jenn

Crystal Dynamics Senior Community Manager Meagan Marie teams up with cosplayer extraordinaire Jenn Croft to show off Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris Gold Edition. There's been a bit of confusion about all the different versions available in different regions, so Meagan covers the various offerings and price points for Europe and North American, as well as what's in the Gold Edition box. The game releases next Tuesday, December 9, for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

The video also shows off the current and upcoming LCTOO T-shirt designs. You've probably seen the "Protectors of Fate" shirt before, but a new long-sleeved tee featuring Lara's silhouette on a background of hieroglyphs and a hoodie with a golden cartouche, will be available in the Tomb Raider Store around the same time the game launches.

If you haven't already pre-ordered the game, you can get it, along with the Gold Edition swag, through the Square Enix Store, Amazon,or your local game shop.

Tomb Raider 2 Now Available on iOS

In a stealth move worthy of Lara Croft, the 1997 classic Tomb Raider 2 appeared today out of nowhere in the App Store. This updated version for iPhone and iPad is optimized for touchscreen play and includes revamped graphics, multiple language support, and 50+ unlockable achievements.

Of course, some things never change....

Thanks to Rivendell for this blast from the past.

I don't own any Apple devices, but friends have been posting rave reviews all day. With a price tag of only $1.99/£1.49 for the full game plus the Golden Mask expansion, I don't see how you could go wrong!

If you've had a chance to try it, I'd love to hear what you think. Please post a comment below or tweet me @Stellalune.

UPDATE 12/6: According to Nash, who posted on my Facebook page, the PlayStation 1 PAL version cheat codes also work in the iOS version. Just sayin'.... ;)

Special thanks to Rivendell and José for these screenshots.

Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals Fan Reviews

Although I've managed to finish the new TR novel, Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals, I just can't seem to work up the enthusiasm to write a review. So I'm using the old blogger's cop-out of linking to other reviews that I agree with. My favorites so far come from Helen at Tangledwires and Noelle at Pfangirl: Through the Looking Glass.

Helen (a.k.a. @Lady_Scion) originally reviewed the book in a series of Tweets, which she has collected into a hilariously spot-on review on her blog, Tangledwires.

Noelle (@pfangirl) takes a more traditional journalistic route with her Ten Thousand Immortals review, but the upshot is the same. She notes that while the novel does include some snappy action scenes and dialogue, "There's a very good reason that people have sarcastically renamed the book Tomb Raider and the Ten Thousand Train Rides or Tomb Raider and the Ten Thousand Sips of Water." For an action-adventure, it's just plain boring. Check out her complete review, "Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals reviewed – from Reboot Lara to Robot Lara."

If you just can't leave well enough alone, I certainly wouldn't fault you. Like a good archaeologist, a good fan should investigate thoroughly and draw her own conclusions. You can find The Ten Thousand Immortals in local bookshops or online in paperback, Kindle, or iBooks format. If you've read it, I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below or Tweet me.

Order from Amazon US, Amazon UK,or iBooks.