Tomb Raider is an incredibly popular game that has inspired a movie starring Angelina Jolie. The game was first developed between 1993 and 1998, with it originally being sold in 1996.
Different to other games, Tomb Raider follows the journey of Lara Croft who is travelling the world to collect rare and valuable collectables. She must overcome a number of obstacles in order to do this. She has to travel through ancient tombs and through water.
Although it sounds simple and different to other games, it’s not. She must still overpower the bad guys and the villians. If she doesn’t then she won’t progress forward or be able to collect the items she’s seeking. The idea is that she has powers such as the ability to swim, which she must constantly use.
She does have her weaknesses though like characters in all video games. Despite being able to swim, she can still drown. She can also be burned, electrocuted, stabbed on spikes or she can fall from a height.
Since the original version here have been 17 versions of the game made, with 11 being created in the new series. The most recent was made in 2013.
There is also a handheld series with four options available, and the Lara Croft series has four games.
The most popular games within the series are probably the Lara Croft spinoffs. It could be assumed that they became popular because of the movies starring Angelina Jolie. The original Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie hit cinemas in 2001 and although it grossed $274 million, it was heavily criticised by movie reviewers who said the storyline was boring and bland. Reviewers have said that Angelina Jolie is the best thing about the movie, but not even she can make the movie good, when the plotline is so bad. The movie, just like the games focus on Lara’s backstory which has included her father, her mother and her butler, so it’s safe to say that she comes from a wealthy family. Throughout the course of the movie, she regularly receives communications from her father who gives her advice on how she can get the items she needs to.
Unlike other video games, the Tomb Raider games are very character driven and let the player really get to know Lara and where she’s coming from.
The games released since the movie have been in one of four categories: the original series, the second era, the third era and the spinoffs.
The major difference between Tomb Raider and other games is that the main character is a female which, although it’s becoming more common in video games is still fairly uncommon. That makes it a bit of a novelty.
Overall the game has been fairly popular despite its poor reviews. 7.5 million copies of the game have been sold around the world. The games have been available on different formats including PC, Xbox, Playstation, PSP, Android and iOS so people can play no matter what device they have or where they are.