Tomb Raider: Chronicles – The Babe is Back

• publisher: Eidos

Lara Croft, the virtual babe who started the concept of a video game babe, is back in her newest adventure. Tomb Raider 5, also called Tomb Raider Chronicles, is the newest game in the long running Eidos series.

Chronicles takes up where Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation left off, Lara supposedly dead and her body mission. At her funeral, her close friends begin to remember her previous exploits, which have not been previously seen before. This is where the game takes place, you will play both the young and adult Lara in the flashbacks.

There will be four episodes in the game. They will take place on an Irish island, a German U-Boat, Roman ruins and a high-tech tower. The island episode will feature the 16 year old Lara (already a babe for sure) and she must use cunning instead of weapons. The U-Boat level will involve a lot more action, and the episode that takes place among the Roman ruins will be your classic puzzle game. The tower episode will feature hi-tech systems which Lara must slip through.

Chronicles will feature some graphical improvements including better lighting, increased detail, and more characters and objects. You also have more moves this time around, including the ability to search through files, drawers, and the like for useful items, and the ability to walk tightropes and swing from parallel bars. Lara also has two new costumes. The enemy AI has also been improved, enemies will react to sound, and line of slight will play a part in the game.

Tomb Raider: Chronicles is scheduled to be released in November 2000 for the PC, PSX, and the Dreamcast.