Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

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 on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft as a part of Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade program.

Experience the first ever co-op action-adventure game featuring Lara Croft. Team up with a friend or go at it alone as you traverse and solve deadly traps, traverse deadly traps and battle hordes of undead enemies.

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 the first 30 days for free, 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.

In the multiplayer, players will take the role as either Lara Croft or a 2,000 year old Mayan warrior named Totec. They will have to work together in order to stop the evil spirit Xolotl and retrieve the Mirror of Smoke. A single-player campaign mode will be available that will not include the non-playable character AI following or helping Lara. Guardian of Light will use the same game engine as Tomb Raider: Underworld, and will include modern visuals and physics. The video game was shown at E3 2010 on 14 June and was released for the Xbox Live Arcade on 18 August 2010, but online co-op gameplay will not be enabled until 28 September, the day of the PC and PlayStation Network release.

The game will be a departure from the main series as being a third person adventure game. Instead it will be a non-linear “arcade-inspired” action game played from an isometric viewpoint using a fixed camera. The game also features cooperative gameplay, and players will take control of either Lara or an ancient Mayan tribesman named Totec. Each playable character will possess unique weapons and skills. Lara will retain her dual pistols with infinite ammo and a grappling hook. She will be able to use her grappling hook to make it across difficult gaps and Totec can ride along.

Totec will carry spears which can be used as a weapon and on the environment. Both characters will carry unlimited “bombs” that can be dropped and detonated with a press of a button.

Tombs can be explored and some will have “booby-trap puzzles” to solve. The game will not have any loading times. Guardian of Light may be played with a single player, and a second player may join at any time, whether online or locally. In the single-player campaign the only playable character is Lara; Totec will not be available to assist. Lara will have all the tools required along with new abilities to make it through her own unique adventure. The puzzles and bits of the map will also be different. Creative director Daniel Neuberger said that this was because he did not want the player to get frustrated by having to rely on AI. The campaign will reportedly feature up to eight to ten hours of gameplay.

In multiplayer, teamwork will have a heavy emphasis on gameplay. Lara will be able to use Totec’s shield as a portable platform as he holds it above his head to make it a difficult height. She may balance on a stack spears that Totec throws in the wall; the spears will not be able to hold Totec’s weight. Totec can tightrope walk using Lara’s grappling rope. As the game progresses, Totec will learn from Lara how to use modern weapons, such as rifles. When enemies are killed, point scores will appear above their bodies—red or blue—depending on whether Lara or Totec did the damage. There will also be pick-ups, such as gems, scattered throughout the levels that will increase the player’s score. Receiving high scores in each level will reward the player with unlockables. To add competitiveness into the game there will only be a limited number of enemies and gems in the world so the player must beat their partner to kill and grab them all. The multiplayer mode will reportedly feature up to six to eight hours of gameplay, depending on teamwork.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is available now on the Xbox LIVE Arcade Marketplace for 1200 MS 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.