Kontraband Know It All

Who are the people behind the new Tomb Raider game? Where is it based?
Crystal Dynamics is the development team behind the latest incarnation of Tomb Raider which is scheduled for release on 5 March, 2013. This Californian-based software company has experience with the aristocratic adventurer, they also developed Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tomb Raider: Underworld and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. The publisher of the game is Square Enix, creators of the legendary Final Fantasy series of games.
The 2013 Tomb Raider is based in a tropical island in the Dragon's Triangle (also known as the Devil's Sea). This forebodingly named area is just south of Japan and it carries the same kind of mystical atmosphere to it as the more famously known Bermuda Triangle. Naturally Lara will be pitting her wits against diabolical hunters, scary indigenous types, perilous pitfalls and wishing she had finally bought a decent fitting sports bra.

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Why has the new Tomb Raider game been classified as 18 by PEGI (and M by the ESRB)?
Bad news for all those teenagers whose first experience of a virtually real woman is the alluring Ms Croft, as the latest game has been rated an 18 by the PEGI (Pan European Game Information). The situation is little better for North American game players with the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) giving the game an "M" classification for "Mature" (17 years old and above). So why have these learned panels made Tomb Raider so elusive for a huge portion of the game-playing market?
The game is violent; it actually features Lara killing someone up close and personal. There was some controversy surrounding the game when it was mentioned a villain would try and rape the heroine, causing her to naturally fight back, to a lethal degree. Considering the increasing maturity of games and the broadening appeal of the sector to all ages, it does make sense for the publishers to include darker themes into Tomb Raider. Apparently the next instalment, Tomb Raider: Rough Estate, may include binge drinking, glue sniffing and even a spot of dogging.

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Will Keeley Hawes be providing the dulcet tones for Lara Croft again?
The rather attractive actress Keeley Hawes has provided the voice for Lara Croft over 4 previous Tomb Raider adventures, but this time a new source has been found to give Lara Croft a voice. Another actress, Camilla Luddington, has become the new vocal talent for Lara. Naturally, Camilla is a bit posh, having studied at an all-girls school in Ascot and having played Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in cheesy TV film William & Kate. She has also been in Californication, True Blood and most recently, Gray's Anatomy.
The motion capture performance for Lara in the 2013 Tomb Raider game was also provided by Camilla Luddington. As a 29 year old svelte and attractive actress, Luddington seems more of an appropriate choice for Lara compared to the rather top-heavy 1996 version of the tomb raider. Legend has it that it was an "accidental" tinkering with the original Lara Croft's model design that led to her breasts being increased in size by 150%. Strangely enough, the creative team argued to keep her busty, after all it worked for Barbie.

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Who originally invented Tomb Raider and who was the first Lara Croft?
The British company Core Design created Tomb Raider. It was specifically Toby Gard and Paul Howard Douglas who created the best-selling series (it was Gard who "accidentally" made Lara's boobs unfeasibly large). Core Design, which was based in Derby, is now defunct after being bought by Eidos, which is now itself known as Square Enix Europe.
The original Lara Croft, the fantasy of millions of teenage boys in the mid to late 1990s, was apparently based on a cross between the comic character Tank Girl and the Swedish singer Neneh Cherry (hits: Buffalo Stance 1988, 7 Seconds with Youssou N'Dour 1994). The first model to portray Lara Croft was Nathalie Cook, closely followed by Rhona Mitra (who appeared in Ali G Indahouse and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans). Angelina Jolie was the first to play the intrepid heroine in film and Shelley Blond was the original voice for Lara Croft. Lara Croft holds a number of tenuous Guinness World Records including most recognised female video game character, most official real life stand-ins (really, someone counts them) and most ridiculous hotpants-to-bra ratio.

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