Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of silly persons!

The title is a quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, if you were wondering.....lol Oh and you've probably noticed the lovely picture beside this post. Yes there's few occasions where you see Miss Croft giving anyone the finger, but like some of us, I think she's had enough.

Recently a video had been released of the gameplay for Tomb Raider: Anniversary, shocking some with how "Legend" it was. Now starting debates throughout the Tomb Raider community as to whether or not Crystal Dynamics will make or break Tomb Raider as we know it. Since the firing of Core Design and the Eidos/SCi merger, things for Miss Croft and the Tomb Raider series have become somewhat shameful in the eyes of old fans. Bringing on a team of new developers was risky business and had fans nervous. The main fear was that Crystal Dynamics would ruin the series. Now depending on who you talk to the answer to that is a bit mixed. Some people believe they saved the series, while others think they have indeed ruined it.

During the development of Tomb Raider: Legend, fans had been promised all sorts of things, most not even coming to light in the final product. Along with empty promises we had to witness the shear unprofessionalism of Eidos Interactive, Toby Gard, and members of the Crystal Dynamics team. They bashed Core Design every chance they got during interviews in regards
to the new Tomb Raider game. Out of spite they erased the Lara we all fell in love with and replaced her with a cheery impersonation that needed help accomplishing her tomb raiding duties through a headset. Not only was the new Lara lacking in personality but the game itself lacked in substance as well. Every Tomb Raider game in the past was challenging and interesting, this game was easy and boring. The storyline was well thought out and definitely made for a good Tomb Raider game, but the way it had been executed left many fans disappointed. Legend was no more a Tomb Raider game as it was a superficial rip off. The unlockable outfits is a testament to the shear shallowness of the game. Tomb Raider wasn't meant for playing dress-up, it's about raiding tombs and shooting things. Which may not sound like much to Crystal Dynamics but that's who Lara Croft is, she shoots first and asks questions later. She doesn't spend her time trying on different outfits to see which one exposes more flesh so then she can run around like wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. The dress she wore in the Japan level was aweful, it was a "Janet Jackson at the Superbowl" waiting to happen (reference: During the halftime show of the Superbowl one of Janet Jackson's breasts had been exposed after a wardrobe malfunction).

Legend also lacked in originality, stealing many of Lara's "new moves" from the Prince of Persia games. With the recent leak of the Tomb Raider: Anniversary gameplay video, it seems Crystal

Dynamics is still lacking any originality, continuing to take the moves from the Prince. In the second trailer, along with the gameplay footage, Lara can now run along walls. Of course she needs the help of her grapple, but running along walls nonetheless. From the gameplay footage it also shows that pole swinging is going to be playing a big part in how Lara gets from one place to another. Dangerous long jumps are a thing of the past, now Lara can just push a button with her magnetic grapple to make a handy pole pop out of the wall. Clearly the Ancient Egyptians were quite adept in pole swinging, since the featured Egyptian level in the gamplay video shows a hell of a lot of poles. It's in no way realistic either, at least in Prince of Persia the poles were realistically placed as either lantern holders or flag poles. This is just silly.

Since it is still a bit early to pass a final judgement on whether or not Tomb Raider: Anniversary is going to be any good or not, none of us can really say for sure that this will turn into a disaster. The only thing we can really do is hope and pray, but until then it will be a continued debate on what the future of the series will be. Old fans are being forgotten and the developers are looking towards the future and towards gamers in general. So will the "Legend-Lara" phase out the real Lara Croft forever? Or will the sarcastic sociopath we know and love gain the upper hand?

Unfortunately if Tomb Raider: Anniversary doesn't deliver, and rekindal the flame, I think there will be less old fans buying any future Tomb Raider games made by Crystal Dynamics. I know I will be one of them. Some people say they'd rather have any Tomb Raider than no Tomb Raider at all. I say I'd rather enjoy the games that made me love the series and the character than have that feeling and the series be ruined for me forever.

Long live Core Design! And to Eidos and Crystal Dynamics, "You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called "Arthur King," you and all your silly English K-nig-hts."

Picture Credits go to Ashka and Lara's Album.tk. Quotes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.