The next installment of the Tomb Raider franchise is set to release on March 5 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PCs.
The game will be a reboot of the franchise and will tell the story of a young and inexperienced Lara Croft as she fights to stay alive after being shipped wrecked on a deadly island.
But those facts are well known by gamers who are eagerly anticipating the game's release. In a recent interview with USA Today, Darrell Gallagher, head of studio for developer Crystal Dynamics, shared five facts about Lara's latest adventure.
Here are the five facts from the newest Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider reboot:
5. New Musical Instrument Created for Game: British Academy of Film and Television Arts award winning composer Jason Graves collaborated with sculptor Matt McConnell to create a sculpture-cum-instrument. The newly created instrument was used to bring life to Tomb Raider's island setting. According to Gallagher, "The music accompanying the beginning sequence of the game is played entirely on the sculpture."
4. Lara's almost new haircut: In the process of reimagining Lara Croft, Crystal Dynamic experimented with giving her a shorter hairstyle. But Gallagher says "as time went on the team realized that there are certain signature features which make Lara recognizable - including long hair."
3. Horse Travel: Originally the developers created technology for Lara to use a horse for traversing through the islands' landscapes. "One of the ideas was on horseback, and the technology for this was actually developed and tested," Gallagher told USA Today. "Ultimately we discarded the horse as it would have implied the game is free roaming, which is not the case for Tomb Raider." The island is instead made up of hubs including forest glades, abandoned WWII bases, shantytowns and other locations. Gallagher says that this makes the game's travel mechanic "not overly conducive to horseback."
2. The Dragon's Triangle: The game will take place in the Devil's Seas also known as the Dragon's Triangle. The Triangle is a region of the Pacific around Miyake Island and about 100 km south of Tokyo. Gallagher says, 'Off the coast of Japan, almost exactly on the other side of the world from the Bermuda Triangle, the Dragon's Triangle is also noted for foul weather and mysterious disappearances." The development team used the location because it is the rumored area where Amelia Earhart disappeared. Earhart is one of the inspirations for the new version of Lara Croft.
1. Non-playable Character Companion: Lara almost had a young girl as a NPC companion. She would've had to protect the young girl but the development team decided that Lara would have a better character-arc by going through the adventure alone. Here is what Gallagher told to USA Today:
"In the early stages, we had Lara shipwrecked with the only other immediate survivor a young girl who she would have to look after and protect. But as the story developed we felt Lara's character development risked dilution, so we opted for her to be rescuing a group of survivors. This move allowed us to focus more on delivering a stronger character arc and personal journey for Lara."
Tomb Raider will release on March 5, 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Learn more about Lara Croft's personal journey here and here. Find out about Lara's inability to swim here. Learn more about Tomb Raider's multiplayer mode here.