Tom@LCO

perhaps an option off or on and a volume control

I'm sure Eidos won't put Lara in a place she was before unless there is a good reason for her to go back there in keeping with a storyline. I think they work very hard to try to find interesting new locations for Lara and us to explore. I am still waiting for them to have Lara do something in New York City hopefully someday I think that would be an adventure for sure!

A lot of people always wonder if they'll be able to play the next game on their current pc or the pc they played the last game on. I always tell them you can't stop the wheels of progress and if you want to keep up with the Jone's it costs money. You'll be able to play it but most likely not be able to enjoy all the extras and might have to turn some content off to have a smoother game and especially if you want to kick in a next gen feature if that is offered. My sister just got a quad core pc with a 512 video card and 22 inch wide screen and it plays all games smooth as silk. Am I jealous? A little lol but I do know If you wanna keep in the race and play the games you need the car with the fastest engine. Beef up the ram and the card and cross your fingers because I bet at Eidos they probably are using one of those pc's my sister just got.

and blow bubbles

For Lara's Birthday Keir aka Mr. Goodness at Eidos UK sent us a high rez pic for Underworld! Get it here. More Underworld in the gallery here.

The Mac demo lets you play through part of the Lost Valley level in Peru. Mac Games System Requirements Intel Required Minimum System Requirements Processor: 1.83GHz RAM: 512MB Graphics: 64MB Mac OS: 10.4 Recommended System Requirements Processor: 2.4GHz RAM: 1GB Graphics: 128MB Mac OS: 10.5 Feral Interactive 273 mb Download here

laracroftonline.net is the new forum address. There is a re-direct from the old link for now so people get here without hunting lol Thanks to Craig once again for the help moving! We had to move the forum to it's own space because it was freaking out the server!

Very nice! Good work there

Welcome to the board! I see Lara could use a shower in your Sig picture. We'll have to suggest that to Eidos if they plan on making Lara dirty lol We don't need a stench meter.

As far as I know it is what it is... It fit my desktop and laptop 1440 x 900 and 1280 x 1024 I guess you have an older pc or you might want to try increasing the resolution in your display properties as these sizes are most common today. Sorry 'bout that .

I really like the western digital MyBook any size is great and they are known for a great hard drive.

Tomb Raider: Underworld PS3/XB360 - Eidos - Fall 2008 The Agenda: It's a credo worthy of an embossed bracelet, complete with a snappy acronym. "W.C.L.D.: What could Lara do?" says Eric Lindstrom, creative director at Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics. "We're always asking ourselves that." The Lara in question, natch, is Her Royal Hotness Lara Croft, back for more relic-hunting and cave-spelunking in Crystal D's third Tomb Raider title since the studio inherited the sagging series from original developer, Core Design. Lady Croft brings along her still-fresh-from-the-shinkwrap grappling hook, now more functional in a game world where the physics play an even larger part in the puzzles. In one Mayan temple in a stormy Yucatan rain forest, for instance, we saw her use a far wall as leverage to heave-ho her cable against a column and send it crashing through the floor. It's just one example of Lara doing what you logically think she can do when true physics rule. "It's a way of having the players apply their own intuition," says Lindstrom. "They don't have to memorize a bunch of arbitrary game rules." The W.C.L.D. credo applies to her new move set, too. She can now perch atop poles rather than just swing from them, free-climb walls, chimney climb crevices, and chuck anything she picks up. Her motorcycle isn't relegated to bonus stages this time; she can ride it anywhere in the levels. And when it comes to her dual guns, she can aim two targets simultaneously--a good thing, since the game's animal enemies will go where she goes. "It's not just like the old games where you can climb out of harms way and shoot fish in a barrel," says Lindstrom. Skeletons in the Closet? Lara's nearly ruinous legacy of all-too-similar annual sequels is still fresh in many gamers' minds--and developer Crystal Dynamics, who are making their first go at a true Raider sequil here. "A lot of what happened in the cranked-out sequels was there was this level-editor and new-art aspect to it that people wearied of," says Lindstrom, "whereas for us...it's not just about laying out mechanical challenges in a pretty world. It's about spending a lot of time and energy and detail on the experience of it that's emotional, that's exciting, that's relevant." Electronic Gaming Monthly Thanks to Gia for typing

Tomb Raider 8 Lara Croft's next crusade pushes adventure gameplay-not just graphics-to new levels When the Tomb Raider franchise was snatched away (or possibly rescued) from the series creators Core Design and delivered into the eager hands of Crystal Dynamics, it required a near-complete overhaul. Fresh off a series of successful Legacy of Kain titles, Crystal Dynamics then delivered the goods with the superb Tomb Raider: Legend. The team succeeded in updating iconic heroine Lara Croft's looks and delivering a blend of imaginative puzzles, solid combat, much-need control changes, and a damned fine story. Many of the gameplay improvements-including some new mechanics-found their way into last years PS2 redux of the very first game in the series. Building on this solid foundation, we're expecting the evolution on to the PS3 to be so much more than a prettier version of Legend. The Story So Far Still tentatively titled Tomb Raider 8, the development team confirmed that it is set after the events of Tomb Raider: Legend, but doesn't necessarily run with or tie up any unresolved plot threads from that game. What we do know is that, contrary to intarwebz speculation, the game is not titled Tomb Raider: Underworld and that, while mysteries of the Mayan calendar and belief in an underworld ruled by the dead are part of the game, that's definitely not the extent of the adventure. In fact, Lara will be traveling around the globe once again, handling the mythologies of her destinations, and connecting them to a larger, still top-secret, overall story. As a tease, the team promised that Lara will be going to one location that will have players saying "They really did that?!" We pushed for more, but could only get them to divulge that it's somewhere Lara would go if she could, and that it requires the might of the latest technology to pull off. Atlantis? Space? What's your best guess? Love at First Sight As the massive HD panel being used for our hands-off demo powered-up, we got our first glimpse of the new Lara; standing in dense jungle with ruins in the distance, rainwater ran down her clearly more detailed body. While many of the tweaks made to her appearance since Legend are subtle, they add up to a Lara that is the closest to looking like a real woman yet, and conveys the character's athleticism better than ever. As our tour guides were quick to point out, Lara's moves have been freshly motion-captured for her eighth outing, hand tweaked, and joined with an advanced animation blending system akin to that used in Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. So not only to her moves look more natural, they flow together just as you'ld expect from a real person. It goes as far as her pushing foliage aside with both hands as she passes through it, or only one if she's carrying something. The enemies she'll encounter have also benefited from the new animation approach; in this case, we witnessed her fighting poachers and panthers. Speaking of Fighting Among the many new mechanics introduced in Legend were Lara's close-quarters moves: launching off enemies' bodies, kicking them into the air, and just plain kicking them...below the belt. Moves of that sort will return, but she'll be able to employ some equally cool new tactics in battle. For one, she can target two enemies at once while using her trademark dual pistols, or any pair of one-handed weapons. She can also pick up objects (a pole in our demo) and club enemies...or throw it as a spear. More exciting yet, combat is being much more tightly intergrated into the platformer elements, which is getting a boost as well. For instance, she'll be able to dual-target while perched on a balance beam, and use a free hand to shoot enemies above and below while climbing-even on vertical columns. About That Platforming Much of the evolution in play mechanics we've witnessed thus far has to do with Lara's acrobatic traversal of levels. The game's creators have a simple design philosophy: "Would Lara be able to do this, given her skills?" So we now have free climbing where there are hand holds on walls, no-jump gaps where she simply reaches to the other side with one hand and pops over, jumping off and onto corners, climbing into a perch atop pillars, and the ability to not just swing from horizontal bars and poles, but also to pull up and stand on them as platforms to jump from. We've mentioned picking up objects as weapons... but those objects will often factor into platforming. The stick that could be swung or thrown? It can also be planted into a hole in the wall to create a makeshift swing pole in order to reach an otherwise inaccessible next area. One of our favorite additions in Legend-Lara's grapple line- is back, and more useful. One puzzle-solving example we saw involved using leverage to force a block off the top of a pillar and through a breakable floor. Shooting the grapple to a pole on the opposite side of the block, and moving Lara to the far right of the long platform she was on until line tension sends the stone cube sliding off. Oh yes... sliding. It was very rainy outside the Mayan ruins that made up the demo level. As the buildings were ruins, rain poured inside, sheeting down walls and across ledges Lara would need to traverse. As expected, she could jump and grab them, but would quickly slip off if not for a quick button press to secure her grip. The Bike is Back It had its own level in Legend, now Lara's motorcycle is set to play a more significant role in her latest adventure. It's now a tool in her adventuring arsenal that she'll frequently use to leap chasms and traps on the way to tombs of the raiding variety. We got a taste of what to expect after Lara solved a puzzle involving the five "missing" days from the Mayan calendar (it only had 360) and opened the gateway to the underworld. She couldn't possibly get to it fast enough on foot before it resealed, so, while totally under our control, she dashed for the bike and tore down a previously traversed path littered with pits and traps. As she rocketed down the ramp and through the gate, an in-engine cinema kicked in, revealing what was at the end of the ramp (and our demo)-a spike pit. Fortunately for Lara, and everyone eagerly awaiting her return in 2008, she slid to a stop, and we were left asking when we could see more of what is sure to be one of the PS3's biggest games this year. Randy Nelson PSM Thanks to Gia for typing the article

Yeah it's for kids a minor step up from Telletubbies IMO

Personally I think the PC is becoming a way to go. You make the investment of a good pc then you have the tools to buy pc games and save your money on somthing else. PC's are all fast and a video card is a cheap upgrade as well as ram. If you try to keep up with all the systems you'll end up in the poorhouse or in serious debt lol. Also if you can buy used. Used games are just as good as new and even systems used are good. I have yet to get a dud game or system that was used. Will I buy a ps3 ? Eventually but I am in no hurry and TRU for PS3 will have to have special features and content for me to get one just for Tomb Raider. I bought a 360 for TRL and I loved it but as I said the pc is a lot of fun too especially when you can tweak it and download saved games!!

I bought the collection in one big book great stuff.

Roxio Easy Media Creator® 10 Suite The new Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 gives you creative inspiration and all the tools you need to enhance your digital lifestyle. Create, share and enjoy your movies, memories and music as only you can. * A 3 step wizard lets you auto-edit your movie. Then upload to YouTube in one click or put it on DVD. * Capture and edit HD video and add surround sound playback. * Record internet radio, batch convert files, backup your iPod and more. * Enhance photos and video taken on your mobile devices and use them in projects with your other media. * Certified for Windows Vista and fully supports Windows XP. 80 bucks best you'll ever spend.

Merry Christmas Everyone hope Santa gets everyone what they wanted because they all were good this year at LCO and I was watching and checked things twice no one was naughty for the most part and everyone was very nice!

Made an Xmas piccy using some 3D apps I've been messing with. Enjoy!

The World Exclusive of Lara's Next Generation Debut by Play Tomb Raider 8 Well boys and girls, looks like Santa came a bit early this year... And left an amazing gift at our doorstep. Yes that's right, we have Tomb Raider 8: Underworld pictures and info!!!! From what I've read in the article, the enviroment will be much like Legend, but vastly improved. "Remember those massive environments from the first Tomb Raider when the gameplay was so fresh and new, where you had no idea what to do or how to do it? Well, that sense of awe is back, only tenfold, as the terrain has become a living part of the game. Everything you see is dynamic. It's pure woman versus wild. If Lara's negotiating a wet ledge she's more apt to slip or lose grip, and if she picks up a stick to use for leverage it becomes a physical part of the game." Some excerpts from the Q & A with Crystal Dynamics: One of the coolest new refinements has to be the way water cascades down her skin and the way she gets muddy and/or wet, and then dries off realistically. Is this a product of your specific technology? I've never seen it done to such a degree. The model for Lara Croft is a showcase of are and technology that we are very proud of. She has more than a dozen layers that determine her skin tone and texture, how light reflects or scatters, how shadows form, etc. We use these layers to not only make Lara look more amazing than ever, but we manipulate them in various ways to make her appear wet, sweaty, dirty, muddy, and more. I know that you can't divulge any story elements but can you explain how the game unfurls in terms of locales? Is it set in one massive region or will Lare take to globe hopping? The adventure Lara pursues takes her around the world, where shediscovers and explores the mythical underworlds of multiple ancient cultures. What about vehicles? I've seenthe (early) bike, but what other means of transport will she control? Stay tuned!! You mentioned that there were very few armed enemies inthe game. Does thismean that Lara will use her firearms less as well? Hardly any of Lara's enemies will have guns but she will certainly need hers. Her quest takes her far from civilization, discovering ruins no onehas ever seen before, so she has few encounters with armed humans. What she finds down in these underworlds are dangerous cryptids (creatures that are presumed extinct, or have yet to be discovered) and other guardians that aren't natural in origin, and many ofthem can take a lot of bullets before going down. What types of melee abilities will she posses? Will they evolve in any way or is Lara Lara? Lara Croft is and continues to be a skilled combatant, and this will include gun play and melee abilities. Lara's physical attacks focus on repelling enemies so she can shoot them with less risk to herself. These skills are with her from the start, but as the player explores deeper into the underworlds, they become increasingly necessary to use and use skillfully. Toby(Gard) keeps a careful eye on the line between sexy and trashy. How is this being handled given the authenticity of such a detailed new model? Our belief has always been that Lara is sexy because she is beautiful, strong, skilled, stylish, and confident. Once those elements are established, overtly sexual elements of any kind, be they physical or behavioral, actually detract from Lara's attractiveness. Lara will have realistic secondary motion throughout her model as she moves, but along with everything else from her clothing choices to her tone of voice, only as a way os supporting those core elements of Lara's appeal. The result on the whole is really compelling. Will Keeley Hawes reprise her role as Lara? We are very pleased to say that Keeley is the voice of Lara Croft for this adventure. How long a game are you shooting for? Or does it depend on how you play? Based on what I saw I know I'll be stopping often to soak in the sights. The length of the game will depend more than ever on play style, given the different possibilities and optional exploration rewards. What also makes the playtime hard to predict is that the process of exploring and solving various challenges the first time will last significantly longer than subsequent replays. Is there a central "bad guy" or is Lara up against something omnipotent? It's safe to say that what Lara is up against is unlike anything she's done before. More Images and Full Size Mag Cover in The Gallery Under Tomb Raider 8 News Page and The Gallery . Source: Play Magazine January 2008 Issue Thanks to Gia Assist. Admin for Typing the article.

The World Exclusive of Lara's Next Generation Debut by Play Tomb Raider 8 Well boys and girls, looks like Santa came a bit early this year... And left an amazing gift at our doorstep. Yes that's right, we have Tomb Raider 8: Underworld pictures and info!!!! From what I've read in the article, the enviroment will be much like Legend, but vastly improved. "Remember those massive environments from the first Tomb Raider when the gameplay was so fresh and new, where you had no idea what to do or how to do it? Well, that sense of awe is back, only tenfold, as the terrain has become a living part of the game. Everything you see is dynamic. It's pure woman versus wild. If Lara's negotiating a wet ledge she's more apt to slip or lose grip, and if she picks up a stick to use for leverage it becomes a physical part of the game." Some excerpts from the Q & A with Crystal Dynamics: One of the coolest new refinements has to be the way water cascades down her skin and the way she gets muddy and/or wet, and then dries off realistically. Is this a product of your specific technology? I've never seen it done to such a degree. The model for Lara Croft is a showcase of are and technology that we are very proud of. She has more than a dozen layers that determine her skin tone and texture, how light reflects or scatters, how shadows form, etc. We use these layers to not only make Lara look more amazing than ever, but we manipulate them in various ways to make her appear wet, sweaty, dirty, muddy, and more. I know that you can't divulge any story elements but can you explain how the game unfurls in terms of locales? Is it set in one massive region or will Lare take to globe hopping? The adventure Lara pursues takes her around the world, where shediscovers and explores the mythical underworlds of multiple ancient cultures. What about vehicles? I've seenthe (early) bike, but what other means of transport will she control? Stay tuned!! You mentioned that there were very few armed enemies inthe game. Does thismean that Lara will use her firearms less as well? Hardly any of Lara's enemies will have guns but she will certainly need hers. Her quest takes her far from civilization, discovering ruins no onehas ever seen before, so she has few encounters with armed humans. What she finds down in these underworlds are dangerous cryptids (creatures that are presumed extinct, or have yet to be discovered) and other guardians that aren't natural in origin, and many ofthem can take a lot of bullets before going down. What types of melee abilities will she posses? Will they evolve in any way or is Lara Lara? Lara Croft is and continues to be a skilled combatant, and this will include gun play and melee abilities. Lara's physical attacks focus on repelling enemies so she can shoot them with less risk to herself. These skills are with her from the start, but as the player explores deeper into the underworlds, they become increasingly necessary to use and use skillfully. Toby(Gard) keeps a careful eye on the line between sexy and trashy. How is this being handled given the authenticity of such a detailed new model? Our belief has always been that Lara is sexy because she is beautiful, strong, skilled, stylish, and confident. Once those elements are established, overtly sexual elements of any kind, be they physical or behavioral, actually detract from Lara's attractiveness. Lara will have realistic secondary motion throughout her model as she moves, but along with everything else from her clothing choices to her tone of voice, only as a way os supporting those core elements of Lara's appeal. The result on the whole is really compelling. Will Keeley Hawes reprise her role as Lara? We are very pleased to say that Keeley is the voice of Lara Croft for this adventure. How long a game are you shooting for? Or does it depend on how you play? Based on what I saw I know I'll be stopping often to soak in the sights. The length of the game will depend more than ever on play style, given the different possibilities and optional exploration rewards. What also makes the playtime hard to predict is that the process of exploring and solving various challenges the first time will last significantly longer than subsequent replays. Is there a central "bad guy" or is Lara up against something omnipotent? It's safe to say that what Lara is up against is unlike anything she's done before. More Images and Full Size Mag Cover in The Gallery Under Tomb Raider 8 News Page and The Gallery . Source: Play Magazine January 2008 Issue Thanks to Gia Assist. Admin for Typing the article.

Eidos has secured the domain name Tomb Raider Underworld. Story from Trademark Tomb Raider Underworld On November 21, 2007, video game developer Eidos Interactive filed to protect the trademark Tomb Raider Underworld in relation to, what else…a video game. Mork suspects that this might be the name of Tomb Raider 8, which is currently in development at Crystal Dynamics. The storyline is rumored to be based around the Mayan Calendar. During five nameless and dangerous days at the end of the calendar called Wayeb’, portals between the mortal realm and the Underworld dissolve, allowing ill-intending deities to causing disaster and mayhem. Sounds like an exciting premise and setup for the next Tomb Raider installment. Lara Croft Online has the domain tombraider-underworld.com for a micro-site once officially confirmed by eidos.

Thanks edited to 9th

It's that time of year folks when we have our holiday chat event and give away a few prizes and soon after in February we celebrate Lara Croft's Birthday and Lara Croft Online's 7 year Anniversary and give away even more prizes! The schedule for the December chat event is December 22, Saturday 2 pm est or 7 pm gmt The following prizes for the event will be... 2 copies of Tomb Raider Legend PC and the grand prize Tomb Raider Action Adventure DVD where you play Angel of Darkness using your DVD remote. The event for Lara Croft Online's Anniversary and the ageless Lara Croft's 41st birthday will be on February 16th at 2pm est or 7pm gmt a Saturday. The prizes for this event will be... 4 copies of Tomb Raider Legend PC Grand Prize a copy of the Tomb Raider Action Adventure DVD game. Hope to see you all there for the fun and prizes!

Well let's take on the keeping with the Jone's factor and say PS3 Xbox 360 and Wii again and if ps2 sales are still profitable maybe but I wouldn't bet the ranch on it this time around. I think the specs for a decent performance will be a dual core 1.8 or better with 256 but 512 preferred video ram and a lot of disk space maybe over 10 gig or more this time around. The cinematics will probably be more intense as everything across the board will be so 10 gig is a borderline and I'm thinking 2 DVD's install minimum. Will run on Vista and XP and if you have one of those built in video cards sucking off all your resources forget about it. Laptops are getting pretty fast and some of the higher end ones will probably play on it without some bells and whistles. I think we might even see a gig of video ram and quad 4 on this one as an optimal figure if of course we are keeping with the Jone's . This is all speculation of course but I think my figures are realistic.