Gun-toting adventurer Lara Croft is back in the latest “Tomb Raider” to fight for new players but she comes gadget-free, without the improbable curves and trademark braid, and with an adults-only rating. Development company Crystal Dynamics has stripped Croft of her previous history in the game published by Japan’s Square Enix, and reinvented her as a 21-year-old novice with no experience of raiding tombs, climbing or shooting. Instead of the confident Croft seen in previous games and in the two movies with Angelina Jolie, the first “Tomb Raider” game in three years begins with the archaeologist as a terrified woman who is unsure of her footing but is desperate to survive. The story of the new “Tomb Raider” was written by Rhianna Pratchett, ex-gaming journalist and daughter of fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett, who relished the challenge of rebooting and reimagining one of gaming’s few female protagonists. “That’s a real once-in-a-lifetime thing, especially with Lara Croft, as pretty much everyone knows who she is, whether they’re into games or not. My mum knows who Lara Croft is,” Pratchett told Reuters. The rebooted Croft was devised after years of declining sales for “Tomb Raider” which is now ranked at about 28th in a list of best-selling […]
