14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix have announced that the launch date for the rebooted Tomb Raider is now set for March 5, 2013, when the game is available on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Windows-powered PC.
The trailer embedded below is the first time fans have been able to see gameplay since the Tomb Raider reboot was announced during E3 2011.
There are two halves to the footage, showing Lara explore the island environments and a battle which sees her and some other shipwreck survivors face off against unknown assailants.
Initially, the Tomb Raider game was set to arrive during the fall of 2012, but both developer and publisher agreed that the game needed more time for polish work and pushed it back for another six months.
Crystal Dynamics has said that the reason for the delay was in no way linked to the slate of high-profile titles that were launching during autumn, including a Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which could have limited the sale of the rebooted title.
The new Tomb Raider is being created using an upgraded version of the engine that also powered last year’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the action role-playing game that quickly became one of Square Enix’ biggest Western-oriented releases.
Lara Croft is no longer the almost all powerful heroine of previous Tomb Raider titles and gamers will have to deal with a 21-year old who has never actually been under pressure and must learn the rules of survival in the wilderness as she goes.
Players will have limited gears and abilities and they will be encouraged to revisit locations in order to make sure that they explore them thoroughly before tackling a new challenge.
