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 The ladies at Eidos are talking, and they're more than happy to do it since it's about everyone's favorite videogame hottie, Lara Croft.
In recent (separate) interviews with Videogamer.com, Senior Producer Sarah Van Rompaey and Senior Brand Manager Kathryn Clements revealed details on graphical effects, as well as the pressure that is on the latest Tomb Raider installment, Tomb Raider: Underworld (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PC).
Regarding the gameplay, Rompaey reveals that there will be differences to Lara's look. Don't worry, she will remain every inch the babe that she is, only now, she will be given a more three-dimensional feel. To be improved would be her facial expressions, cloth movement, hair movement and superfine detail on clothing.
Apart from this, the environment that she is in would also be more interactive, so to speak. Trees blowing, clouds moving, storms brewing - all these elements will be highlighted to get a more faithful feel to the environment. Not only that, but it will also be reflective upon Lara herself. "She will get dirty, muddy and wet to varying degrees depending upon what she is doing," explains Rompaey.
Meanwhile, Underworld seems to be pitted in the arena this early on in its development against Sony's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. But Kathryn Clements said of this premature comparison:
I have [played Uncharted]. I thought it was a good game. We've all played Uncharted at Eidos, and we all thought it was a great game, but actually having played the game, apart from the premise of the storyline and the fact that he's a treasure hunter, it's actually quite different to Tomb Raider, it's actually more focused on combat.
Because of the essential differences in gameplay focus, there seems to beno pressure for Underworld to outdo Uncharted. She also debunked speculations that there will be a lead platform for Underworld, stating that all platform versions are being developed simultaneously. "It's a huge job! But they (Crystal Dynamics) can do it, they can pull it off."
As a final note, Sara Van Rompaey explains why the game's release was pushed back to a Q4 2008 release instead of its summer date. "We wanted to give Crystal Dynamics the time they need to make what will be the best Tomb Raider to date."
Well then, if that's the deal, we don't see why that should be a problem, right?
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