The Non-Stradamus Effect: The Lara Croft Prophecy

One month ago I predicted that Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light would round out Xbox 360′s Summer of Arcade 2010. Today, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix Europe confirm my prophecy…

Unlike Nostradamus, whose prophetic quatrains were steeped in mystic prose, my prediction was based on a Press Release and the official Summer of Arcade calendar. Coming in at just over 2GB, Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light is set to be one of the largest Xbox Live Arcade games to date.

But wait, there’s more! In a move surely inspired by the late great Billy Mays, Crystal Dynamics will be offering the first Guardian of Light DLC pack for FREE on Xbox Live for the first 30 days after (edit: the DLC’s)launch!

LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT
RELEASES THIS WEDNESDAY ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – August 16, 2010 – Crystal Dynamics®, a part of Square Enix Europe, is pleased to announce that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light™ will be available this Wednesday, August 18th, on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft as a part of Microsoft’s third annual Summer of Arcade program.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is the first fully downloadable title from developer Crystal Dynamics as well as Lara’s first downloadable Arcade adventure which introduces a franchise first isometric camera and two player cooperative adventure.

“We put everything we could into our first downloadable adventure and we’re very proud of what we have created,” said Darrell Gallagher, General Manager of Crystal Dynamics. “We designed a game that can be played in three ways; as a compelling single-player adventure, as a fun local co-op game and as a wider online co-op experience and we’re pleased that gamers will have the chance to play both single player and local co-op modes on their living room couches at launch, with online co-op allowing gamers to play across multiple couches arriving shortly afterwards.”

There is also a full slate of DLC coming throughout the rest of the year; which includes three gameplay packs focusing on combat, exploration and puzzles and two character packs which allow the player a chance to experience the adventure with other well-known videogame characters. A free update will come soon after launch on Xbox 360 offering online cooperative play (offline cooperative play will be available on August 18) and full leaderboards.

”We believe we have delivered a game which opens up new types of gameplay that will excite not only Tomb Raider fans, but all fans of digital gaming. The launch of Guardian of Light is just the beginning, we have a lot of additional content planned and we will be offering the first DLC pack for free for the first 30 days, exclusively on the Xbox 360, so that gamers can get a taste of some of the exciting extras we have in store,” continued Gallagher.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light begins with Lara searching for an ancient artifact called the Mirror of Smoke. Upon reaching the mirror, she is ambushed by a mercenary army who steals the mirror and releases an ancient evil named Xolotl. Xolotl proceeds to wipe out the armed force and escape with the artifact. Luckily, the disturbance also awakens the Guardian of Light, Totec. In order to track down and stop Xolotl, Lara must join forces with Totec and ensure the world doesn’t plunge into an age of never-ending darkness.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be available this Wednesday, August 18th on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points and will be available for the PlayStation®3 PlayStation®Network and PC (via Steam) on September 28th, 2010 for $14.99. The game is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

For more information, please visit www.laracroftandtheguardianoflight.com or follow on Twitter and Facebook – @Crystaldynamics – Facebook.com/LaraCroft

Popularity: 1% [?]