TRL: превью, интервью и обзоры
#76
Отправлено 16 March 2006 - 18:29
#77
Отправлено 21 March 2006 - 09:12
Eidos Interactive, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, today confirms that Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend will be released for Xbox 360T video game and entertainment system from Microsoft on April 11th in North America and April 7th in Europe, in line with the release of previously announced versions for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC.
Delivering unbelievable visuals that take full advantage of Microsoft's next-generation video game and entertainment system, Lara's premiere on Xbox 360 is grounded in the series' tomb raiding roots. Created by Crystal Dynamics, Lara exploits the power of Xbox 360 with its newly created graphics system for Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend.
With support for real-time per pixel lighting, shadows and normal-mapping among other improvements, the Tomb Raider world achieves new heights of atmosphere, tension and beauty. New levels of detail and texture yield realistic effects on Lara herself as she gets dirty and wet during her expeditions through the rugged terrain of the environments she explores.
"Xbox 360 allows us to bring Lara to life like never before with intricately animated expressions, fluid movement and realistic abilities like never before," said Matt Gorman, Senior Brand Manager for Tomb Raider, "It enables us to make the Tomb Raider experience far more realistic and immersive in a next generation, high-definition world; dynamic, lush, living realms that are wholly Tomb Raider, and that belong completely to Lara Croft, the likes of which has never been seen on any console."
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is the seventh title to be released in the Tomb RaiderT series, which originally launched in 1996 and is still one of the best selling videogame franchises of all time, with over 28 million copies sold.
#78
Отправлено 21 March 2006 - 17:38
#79
Отправлено 22 March 2006 - 19:58
#80
Отправлено 16 March 2006 - 18:12
Будем играть на хард'е.
#81
Отправлено 16 March 2006 - 18:56
На Ларе 24 мб текстур и 20'000 полигонов(это объявили для Xbox360 версии, а ПК версия почти такая же). Представляешь сколько мб весят все модели Лары в каждом костюме? Около 400мб точно. И это только Лара. А есть еще и все остальное.
Новое превью Xbox360 версии с www.Gamespot.com
Tomb Raider: Legend Updated Hands-On
We get our hands on a near-finished version of Lara's next adventure and play through some of the early levels.
If you've been following our previous coverage of Tomb Raider: Legend, you'll know that we've been very much looking forward to getting our hands on something other than a demo of the game and spending some quality time with it. Our wish was granted earlier this week when we took delivery of a near-finished Xbox 360 version of the game, and we've subsequently played through the first four of its dozen or so levels in order to get a feel for its storyline (which we won't be spoiling for you) and for some of the very different environments that you'll get to explore. Specifically, we've played through the first level set in Bolivia in its entirety for the first time, visited Peru both in the present day and in a playable flashback level, and pitted Lara's skills against those of the Yakuza in Tokyo.
Since this is the first time that we've had the opportunity to spend any length of time with the Xbox 360 version of Tomb Raider: Legend, it'll likely come as no surprise to you that the first thing we noticed was simply how good it looks. The Bolivian environment in which Lara's adventure gets underway is one that we've seen on other platforms previously, but even on a regular 4:3 TV the improved visuals were difficult to ignore. As in previous Tomb Raider game environments, even the most organic locales have no shortage of right angles and perfectly straight edges to facilitate Lara's climbing and acrobatics, but the difference is that in Tomb Raider: Legend their appearance rarely detracts from the overall look of the game. Normal-mapping techniques and great lighting make even the most geometrically sound rock formations look like the work of Mother Nature on the Xbox 360, and you'll find that the results are more impressive still if you're in a position to take advantage of the game's high-definition and widescreen options. Of particular note is the water in the game, which looks almost as impressive in puddles and small pools as it does in fast-flowing rivers and waterfalls.
Although we'd played through portions of the Bolivia and Peru levels before, having the opportunity to do so again made it clear that the game's visuals aren't the only area that's benefited from some developer love in the last month or two. Areas that were devoid of enemies the last time we played, for example, were now home to vicious jaguars, and we also had a lot of fun searching for the bronze, silver, and gold secret items that are now hidden throughout every level. The bronze through gold naming of the secret items is a reference to how difficult they'll be to find, so while many of the bronze secrets are difficult to miss during the course of just playing through a level, you'll definitely need to explore and stray from the most obvious path in order to locate the silver and gold ones. Besides adding an additional layer of challenge to the game, the secret items on the Xbox 360 will be one of a few different ways that you can earn achievement points, along with beating the game on different difficulty settings, and playing through individual levels against the clock. It's conceivable that the secret items we collected might also have contributed to the number of bonus features we unlocked at the end of each level, which included art galleries, movies, and different outfits for Lara.
On the default difficulty setting, none of the four levels that we played through on this occasion posed much of a challenge, though that's certainly not a criticism given that the first two are basically just action-packed tutorials. The most obvious explanation for the ease with which we were able to get through the first four levels is the large number of first aid kits that we found, combined with the fact that Lara is able to carry three of them simultaneously for use later. Again, this isn't a criticism, because given that the game's gymnastics and puzzles are unlikely to change according to your chosen difficulty level, it stands to reason that the main differences between the easiest and hardest settings will be the strength of enemies and the number of first aid and ammo pick-ups available. The game will also become progressively more difficult as you get further into it, of course.
Besides the presence of first aid kits, features that all of the levels we played had in common included plenty of gunplay (Lara's guns have a very limited range, so most of this is up close and personal), puzzles involving weight-activated floor switches, and traps and "super action" sequences that sometimes managed to kill us the first time we encountered them and were taken by surprise, but which weren't nearly as effective the second time around. Floors collapsing under Lara's feet, for example, require very quick thinking the first time you step onto them, but if you die and try again moments later, you'll know exactly what's coming and can plan accordingly.
You won't just be exploring tombs and ancient ruins in Tomb Raider: Legend, of course, and although the only modern level we've played thus far is the one set in Tokyo, a quick look at the list of achievements that can be earned playing the Xbox 360 game revealed the names of some other destinations in which Lara might choose to wear heels instead of hiking boots. The good news is that although levels like Tokyo look very different to those set in ancient underground cities, the gameplay, at least based on our experiences thus far, really isn't any different. You might find yourself scaling a skyscraper instead of a statue, or defending yourself from a big guard dog instead of a big cat, but the emphasis is still very much on exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat, though not necessarily in that order.
The only areas of Tomb Raider: Legend that we know will stray from that formula are the vehicle-based portions of the game, which we got a taste of in both Peru and Japan. Both of those levels see Lara climbing onto a motorcycle for a short time, and we can report that the handling characteristics of said rides lean towards accessibility rather than realism, which is good news for any of you who dislike or have little experience of racing games. The longer of the two motorcycle sequences that we played took place in Peru, and tasked us with shooting at enemy bikers while racing through a desert and using a combination of ramps and exploding barrels to overcome obstacles in our path. The chase wasn't particularly challenging on the default difficulty setting, but it made for a nice change of pace, and it wasn't long before we found ourselves underground and on foot again.
To tell you much more about our experiences with the near-finished Xbox 360 version of Tomb Raider: Legend thus far would be to risk spoiling the game for you. We're still hopeful that Crystal Dynamics' first Tomb Raider game will mark a return to form for the series, and all we'll tell you about the story is that we can't wait to see where it's going next. We'll bring you more non-spoiler information on Tomb Raider: Legend in the coming weeks.
Сообщение изменено: ACE (16 March 2006 - 19:06)
#82
Отправлено 18 March 2006 - 13:59
Tomb Raider: Legend: Hands-on Impressions
Lara strips for action, invades Tokyo, mounts a motorcycle, and gets her spelunking on.
by Douglass Perry
March 17, 2006 - Adventure games are kind of a relic these days. Like platformers, their kind has gravitated toward other genres. Instead of adventure games, we get action-adventure games (like The Suffering). Instead of point-and-click adventure games we get platformers (Psychonauts). And instead of platfomers, we get furry shooters (Blinx, Jak, or Ratchet). Then there's the indefatigable Prince of Persia, an genre-blending game that's equal parts action, adventure and platforming.
What's Tomb Raider? It's somewhere in the Netherlands of action-adventure and straight adventure. Returning Lara Croft to her roots, Crystal Dynamics has aimed straight at making a good healthy Tomb Raider, the kind we always wish we had. We recently got the chance to play four whole levels of the game, and though much of what we've learned isn't terribly new, the experience of playing the game continually from beginning to middle has given us new insights.
The first level is very familiar: it's the Bolivia mission. This was recently issued on a demo disc for all PS2 owners to play; it gives gamers a quick insight into the game's controls, mechanics, and visuals. It's the training level, though in the game proper, the level is much longer than in the demo. Visually, whether you play it on Xbox 360, Xbox, PC, or PS2, Crystal's take on the game is relatively the same. Lara is slimmer, more realistically curved than before, and the details in her clothing and facial features have been paid great attention. There are more polygons on the Xbox 360 and PC versions, but the PS2 and Xbox versions hold up very well with solid framerates (it holds at around 30), exactly the same character animations, and lots of little details in the environments, the enemy AI, particles and lighting systems. For instance, Lara is regularly offered interactive environments on which to swing (using her magnetic grappling hook), jump onto, or shoot.
For instance, in Bolivia you'll notice movable boulders. They're about ankle high and Lara can kick them. Seems like no big deal. But later on you'll find that using them to create a ruckus might help her sneak past a guard. Moving rocks and boulders also play into physics puzzles. In one section, Lara enters a dark, dank cavern. She starts on a higher plateau, with the lower one having ankle deep water and a teeter-tooter like device in it. There are also large suspicious boulders around, three to be exact, all on the lower level. It won't take you long to figure out the three boulders should fit in three square interactive platforms on the upper level. Ah, but it's getting those boulders into the platforms that's the trick. Here, it's a simple logic puzzle with a bit of newly added physics in the mix. When Lara places a boulder on the lower end of the device and jumps on the upper end, it catapults the boulders to the upper level. After a simple bit of heavy lifting, the three items solve the puzzle and Lara is able to exit the lonely chamber.
What's nice about the full, seamless experience of playing four straight levels is seeing how Crystal has paced the game and how the team introduces new elements to the mix. In the first five to 10 minutes, you'll have learned to perform all her major moves, after which you'll learn special combat attacks, the swimming mechanics, and the combination of acrobatic moves to complement combat attacks. In previous articles I spoke about these killer moves, so I won't fully list them here, but suffice to say, she's got handy bullet time attacks that will really please long-time Tomb Raider fans. To go along with these moves is a fully functioning Lara. In case you've been spelunking in a cave somewhere, Crystal has revamped her movement system so that Lara is a freed woman. She moves in 3D without magnetic boots and an electronic grid. She's nimble and athletic, and she has swift smooth animations to back most of these moves up.
Tomb Raider: Legends doesn't just tell the story of Lara in the present, it recounts events from the past. Crystal D has seamlessly worked in flashback sequences -- also used extremely well in movies, TV and in poetry -- to reveal old stories from the past that relate to and have impact on incidents in the present. When Lara sees an old relic site in one level, a dramatic scene flashes back to Lara as a little girl on an airplane with her mother. This first scene is a pure cutscene, but it reveals a dramatic character-shaping event in her past, and also provides clues to the current day mystery she's trying to solve. In another flashback sequence, we don't just get a peak at her past, we play it. One scene returns us to Lara's old days, when she was exploring with Amanda Evert. You can tell it's the old days because Lara wears that tight, light blue shirt, khaki shorts and the girly backpack. It's like a little nod to the not-so-old days, and it's a reflection on an outfit we're really glad she's not wearing anymore. In a way, it's like looking back on someone who really embraced disco and disco clothing, or Flock of Seagulls and Flock of Seagulls hair. It hurts, yet it's sadly hard to turn away.
But I digress (isn't it interesting/disgusting how everyone, including myself, has to comment on how Lara looks at every phase of her life?). In the flashback, she jumps into a cave after Amanda, and Amanda, who's reckless and brazen, gets stuck behind some rocks. Then as Lara is about to save her from the cave's implosion, Amanda's ankle gets stuck in more rocks and Lara is suddenly caught behind a trap door. Water instantly floods the caves, and Lara tries in vain to get past the trap door to save Amanda. No luck. She watches as Amanda not only drowns, but as giant boulders come crashing down upon her. Lara must swim back to the surface before she, too, drowns. The flashback breaks up the game a little and it works, even if it sounds incredibly silly.
Crystal is also breaking up the adventure with different methods. Lara won't just find keys, open doors and solve water and rock puzzles. She'll ride a motorcycle. Just like back in the day, when she drove ATVs, rode kayaks, and drove cars, Lara rides a bike in one stripped-down all-motorcycle-action sequence. The level is one long sub-canyon run, replete with side routes, jumps and obstacles, and once Crystal trains you to ride the bike and shoot simultaneously, enemies will spawn and it's on. The sub-mission is really basic. It's not terribly stunning motorcycle racing or anything, but it's decent fun. To be honest, it was fun once I stopped dying. Throughout the whole four levels of play, I died more in the motorcycle run than in any other part.
Tomb Raider: Legends also takes some tips from the eponymous Angelina Jolie movies. At one point, Lara is back at HQ with a tech team of racially mixed folks: One well-built black guy, another rather curious Indian fellow, and later on, a black female engineer. I guess Crystal feels it should be representing a more modern version of England, and the result is nice. I'm not quite sure what all these people do exactly, but you get the feeling like they're all part of a smart young adventure squad fully equipped with the latest technology. Weeee!
As with all classic Tomb Raider stories, you quickly learn that uncovering ancient relics often stirs up more than just memories. In Legend, Crystal Dynamics dabbles in mythic demons and powerful pre-civilization gods. Lara's mother is taken by one such angry power and apparently Amanda is influenced, saved, or resurrected by another. If you read our "Amanda Exposed" article, you'll know that Lara's friend supposedly dies and then later on in the story reappears as one of Lara's central enemies. A little bit of a spoiler, but I guess there are more because Eidos wanted to reveal this fact early.
Finally, while Crystal D wanted to return Lara to the exotic landscape of previous games, restoring her love for grand environments and exciting, dangerous locales, apparently the Menlo Park developer couldn't help but bring her back to civilization as well. In Tokyo, Lara finds herself dressing for the evening in nothing less than a slinky, breast-friendly, strap-on nightgown, and preparing to carouse through the party looking like a tomboy in a prom dress. OK, she looks hot, whatever. In Tokyo, the same elements of adventure apply as when she's in the wild, but instead of rappelling up canyon walls, she's climbing up skyscraper building walls. As you can see by the screenshots, however, she does strip down to a slimmer outfit and finds herself using insanely springy acrobatics while taking out the Yakuza. What a party life.
In short, Lara is back in classic Tomb Raider fashion. Not Tomb Raider 3-7, but rather, the Tomb Raider we've always hoped she would be in: Nothing too flashy, nothing terribly out of the ordinary, just good solid Tomb Raider for the modern spelunker
Сообщение изменено: ACE (18 March 2006 - 14:00)
#83
Отправлено 19 March 2006 - 12:48
Сообщение изменено: ACE (19 March 2006 - 13:25)
#84
Отправлено 21 March 2006 - 11:50
#85
Отправлено 21 March 2006 - 17:46
- Tomb Raider Legend (PS2, Eidos): 8/10
#86
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 18:15
#87
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 18:27
Редакция OPS2M тоже не знает, что Казахстан - не Россия?
Да, кстати, подсказки можно и отключить(по крайней мере во всех играх динамиков всегда была такая возможность).
#88
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 18:34
#89
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 22:20
#90
Отправлено 17 March 2006 - 11:01
Tomb Raider: Legend
by Jeremy Parish 03/16/2006
At the 1UP offices we've been spending some quality time with Lara Croft lately-- generally impressed and genuinely enthusiastic to see her in a game worth our time at long last. Tomb Raider Legend is important for reasons beyond its quality as a game, though; equally significant is that it marks the series' jump into the next generation.
Despite having been designed primarily for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Legend will be appearing on Xbox 360 just a few weeks after its current-gen debut. This isn't the first time a TR title has spanned multiple generations, of course. But unlike the pitiful Dreamcast version of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Legend's 360 iteration is more than just a higher-resolution version of its more humble siblings.
That being said, Legend on 360 still appears to be the same basic game as it is on current hardware. Having played through the first few levels of both versions, we didn't notice a single difference in the level layouts, puzzles or enemy encounters. Even the secret collectible treasures are placed consistently.
That's certainly no bad thing, as Legend is shaping up to be a downright exceptional game. But it does mean that the improvements offered by the 360 version are entirely cosmetic.
Crystal Dynamics has indicated that every visual asset in the game has been recreated for HD, and it really shows. Characters and many objects are clearly built of more polygons than on PS2, and textures are much more detailed. Some of the changes are a little strange (like the realistic bump-mapping on young Lara's lips, which seems terribly at odds with the simplified and slightly cartoonish character designs) but for the most part they look stunning.
Of particular interest is the improved lighting in the game, which truly brings the game world to life. Lara is just about the only thing in the world that casts a true shadow on PS2, which leads to occasional moments of silliness when you can look down from a ledge and see her shadow all by itself on the floor below. That is absolutely not a problem with the 360 game; every wall, ledge, trap and mechanism casts a shadow. Exploring the ruins on 360 leads to moments of genuine visual splendor where light streams in through windows and holes in the surrounding stone, casting deep shadows and adding a diffuse glow to the air. It's not something you notice while exploring the outdoor areas, but the dynamic lighting adds an amazing sense of life to the crumbling ruins of Bolivia and Peru.
Also of note is the fact that the 360 version gives you a better sense of what's underwater when swimming. Taking a dive can be a risky proposition on PS2, as you can't always tell what the topography of the ground below the surface is like. Those details are much easier to discern in HD, which means less time wasted becoming oriented and more time getting to where you want to go.
Of course, no one is going to mistake Legend on 360 for a cutting-edge next-gen title; next to something like Ghost Recon it falls a bit short. Still, 360 owners who feel they've been abused by low-effort conversions like Gun and Tony Hawk should be pleased to have a game that shows off some of their system's whizzy features and looks so much better than its last-gen peers. And considering that Legend is one of the best-looking games on PS2, that's no bad thing at all.
Не стоит путать грабительские раскопки с археологией.
Я в соц. сетях:
vk.com/tombraider_ru
instagram.com/tombraider_ru
#91
Отправлено 22 March 2006 - 14:03
#92
Отправлено 17 March 2006 - 09:48
#93
Отправлено 16 March 2006 - 18:07
+ Новая Лара исключительно хорошо анимирована, отличная артикуляция и выражения лица.
+ Новейшая система управления отличается беспрецедентной для Tomb Raider лёгкостью, делая «Легенду» самой приятной в этом отношении игрой серии
+ В игре воплощено всё лучшее, что может предложить технология Xbox, в том числе ожидаемый атмосферный звук
+ Дополнения вроде свободного изучения особняка Крофт и других unlockables
- Игра короткая и легкая в прохождении, головоломки несложные, а враги смехотворно слабы
#94
Отправлено 17 March 2006 - 09:03
Из ревью Official Xbox Magazine UK (сканы в соответствующей теме)
а само поместье гигантское – его полное исследование занимает больше времени, чем прохождение любого уровня.
Изучение особняка также единственный момент в игре, когда вы самостоятельно ищете решения для загадок и проблем. В обычной игре на нормальной сложности вам постоянно подсказывают, что делать и куда идти. Даже после пяти-шести часов игры маленькие стрелки и всплывающие подсказки появляются, когда вы входите в новую комнату, создавая впечатление, что вы идёте по пути, проторенному до вас каким-то умником.
Если все это правда то как я и говорила игра будет детская....
лучше бы сделали уровни с головоломками посложней чем исследование какого то особняка....
#96
Отправлено 21 March 2006 - 11:49
Как и во всех классических историях Tomb Raider, вы быстро понимаете, что обнаружение древних реликвий вызывает к жизни не только воспоминания. В «Легенде» Crystal Dynamics обратились к теме мифических демонов и могущественных древних богов. Одна такая сила забрала Ларину мать и, очевидно, спасла, воскресила и подчинила себе Аманду – подругу Лары, которая до поры считалась погибшей и затем появилась на авансцене в качестве одного из центральных врагов Лары.
#97
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 17:52
Новый модернизированный стиль движения – это и благословение, и проклятье. Он позволяет вам перемещаться как никогда раньше, совершая стремительные, захватывающие дух акробатические приёмы, но вместе с тем исчезает опасность, исходящая от окружения. Случаи неожиданного камнепада или обрушения платформы есть, но они редки, и риск внезапной гибели героини на ветхом каменном полу сведён к минимуму.
Отметим также на удивление прямолинейный дизайн уровней: в перемещении от одной платформы к другой всегда видна логическая последовательность, и поэтому вы никогда по настоящему не теряетесь. Совершать прыжки с шеста на канат в сотнях футов над землёй – изумительное ощущение, но в отличие от предыдущих игр Tomb Raider, вам не придётся тратить часы на преодоление одного небольшого участка. Вам потребуется две попытки, максимум – три.
Игра упрощается ещё больше благодаря неистощимому запасу всплывающих подсказок и советам, которые постоянно дают Зип и Алистер из команды поддержки, базирующейся в Крофт Мэнор. Время от времени случаются забавные диалоги, но непрерывные объяснения могут мешать. Например, столкнувшись с необходимостью преодолеть электрифицированное препятствие, мы немедленно получили указание использовать магнитный крюк, поскольку трос был изолирован, и таким образом лишились шанса додуматься до этого самим. Спасибо, ребята, а как нам снова дышать?
#98
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 18:23
#99
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 18:29
Ну, мы же арендуем у них Байконур =)Редакция OPS2M тоже не знает, что Казахстан - не Россия?
В принципе, база заброшенная, то есть предполагается, что были тут русские во времена Союза, а потом ушли, так что, может, и зря мы на них бочку катим. Но сама идея санитариума и издевательств над людьми, как выяснилось, жива.
А вот про возможность отключения подсказок я ещё нигде не вычитала.
#100
Отправлено 23 March 2006 - 22:53
Когда игра для Xbox или Xbox360 завершена, разработчики записывают её на диск и отсылают в Microsoft, комиссии по контролю за качеством для финального тестирования. Для Xbox версии разработчики забыли записать вступительный ролик на диск и узнали об этом только тогда, когда игра прошла сертификацию. Можно, конечно, добавить файл, но это будет означать, что процесс ратификации надо будет начинать заново и платить за него снова. И Эйдос приняла самое простое, быстрое и дешёвое решение, полагая, что это никак не скажется на продажах, тем более сроки поджимают.
Но там сразу оговаривается, что это слухи, ничего больше.
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