Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

Though its puzzles may occasionally infuriate, the real source of frustration regarding Zack & Wiki stems from the fact that nobody bought it. Every year has its share of titles that deserve an audience yet never find one, and in this regard, Zack & Wiki is easily one of the most tragic games to put an uncontrollable smile on your face. Relentlessly charming and beautifully presented, the debut of Capcom's choc-chomping pirate and his simian sidekick challenges the mind and warms that cynical, meh-spouting lump in your chest. How refreshing it was to overcome obstacles and bosses by choosing the power of the mind over an impossibly large bazooka.

Hungry for more tomb raiding? Have you squeezed out every possible ounce of entertainment from Tomb Raider: Legend? Have you suddenly developed an aversion to disc-based media? Well then, do we have a deal for you. Seemingly out of nowhere, the previously promised downloadable version of Tomb Raider: Anniversary is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The game has been split into two significantly more than bite-sized chunks, each of which will run you 1200 MS Points or, in the common vernacular, $15. Put them both together and the game costs as much as its PS2 counterpart and actually $10 less than the retail Xbox 360 version. Just make sure you still have a Tomb Raider: Legend disc lying around, as the downloadable Anniversary requires it.

Lara Croft's superb re-quel, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, has finally clambered onto the Xbox Live Marketplace after being unearthed in June and delayed from an initial September release. If you missed it on the PlayStation 2, the PSP, the PC or even the Xbox 360 (in ancient disc format), now's your chance to relive the iconic grave robber's best adventure in the form of two downloadable chunks. The catch, of course, is that it functions as Tomb Raider: Legend DLC and will require you to have that disc handy.

Each half of the game will set you back roughly 1.5GB in bandwidth and 1,200 MS Points ($15) -- in combination, that puts it on par with the PS2 version and $10 beneath the disc-based Xbox 360 version. If this still isn't the opportune moment to explore Lara's treasure-laden crevices, you still have the hands-on Wii version to try out (it's out in the UK too this December).

When imagining ways for the Wiimote to be incorporated into the Wii release of Tomb Raider Anniversary, you probably let your evil imagination wander to some ... unfortunate situations, and we want you to know that we're personally very disappointed in you. Lara Croft uses the Wiimote for science, mister, and don't you forget it.

As you can see in the video, the Wii is incorporated into all sorts of archeological pursuits, from column turning to dust brushing and, lest you begin to flashback to 9th grade history class, shooting bears. Only about 25 percent of the activities shown here look tacked on or contrived, which, all things considered, is fairly impressive.

[Via CVG]

Jacqueline Natla is quite obviously the villain in Tomb Raider: Anniversary. In the 1996 original, the only initial clues to her evil nature resided in a somewhat condescending tone of voice and a far too serious haircut. The opening moments of the Crystal Dynamics remake, however, show a more conniving woman with flowing blond hair, almost alien facial features and suspiciously long fingers. Still a bit of a condescending hag, though.

"My company has recently turned its focus on the study of ancient artifacts, and I am lead to believe that with the right incentive, you are just the woman to find them for me," she says, addressing one of gaming's most iconic characters, Lara Croft. "I'm afraid you've been mistaken," comes the decorous reply. "I only play for sport." Ah, but Natla's done her research. "Which is precisely why I've come to you Miss Croft. This is a game you've played before..."

Though trusting the words of a noticeably vile video game character is generally not advised, they're true in this case. Tomb Raider: Anniversary is indeed a game you've played before, at least if you had the good sense to play Tomb Raider at some point in your fulfilling life (replace "fulfilling" with "miserable" if you haven't). The reworked puzzles, contemporized controls and modern presentation may set Anniversary apart from the groundbreaking effort by Core Design, but beneath those layers lies the same game with the same ideals. Either Tomb Raider was nearly eleven years ahead of its time, or the games we play just haven't changed all that much.

A fresh batch of screen shots from Lara Croft's upcoming Tomb Raider Anniversary go-round on the PSP shows a prettier and less "chunkier" Tomb Raider than Legend was, though at this point we're more curious as to how it plays. Last year's Tomb Raider Legend turned out pretty decent, but frame rate issues, chunky textures and clunky controls hurt the overall reception of the title. Feast your eyes on the recent released screenshots of the PSP-bound title and let us know if this reiteration is still on your radar. Despite the slight delay from its original June release, Tomb Raider Anniversary is still on the agenda for a late July arrival. Lets hope the extra time spent on its development results in a classier and smoother ride.

Eidos UK announced that Tomb Raider: Anniversary will be 4 pieces of episodic content, playable through Tomb Raider: Legend, with the first two episodes releasing in September. The complete set, (including a the Croft Manor as a free download), will come to 2400 MS points, or 600 Microsoft points per episode. Since playing requires having Legend handy, those strictly wanting the content alone can wait until later in the year for the retail release. So, in short we were right, but it still leaves a question lingering. Since the episodes will be tied to Legend, is there going to be a maximum of 250 Gamerscore to be given out, if it even has additional Achievements? If that's the case, then what about the retail release, will that have 1000 Gamerscore? Either way, this could be breaking new ground on Xbox Live.

[Via Joystiq. Thanks, Bob]

Eidos UK has officially announced Tomb Raider: Anniversary for the Xbox 360, confirming almost all of the theories originating from the ESRB listing we unearthed earlier this month. We say "almost," because one of said theories had the game being distributed via antiquated catapult. That's clearly and unfortunately not the case, as Anniversary will initially arrive on the Xbox 360 as a set of four downloadable episodes incorporated into Tomb Raider: Legend. The publisher notes that this marks the first occasion of a full game being serialized on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

As suggested in the earlier article, the episodes should be split across the various locales Lara Croft explores and inevitably desecrates in the Crystal Dynamics remake of the 1996 original. Lady Croft's manor will be offered as a free download, while the complete set of episodes will cost 2400 MS Points -- $30 and on par with the cost of the already released PC and PS2 versions.

Eidos promises to release Episode 1 and Episode 2 in September, with the final two episodes following "shortly afterwards." Those bemoaning the fact that they've since traded in Tomb Raider: Legend (understandable!) or never bothered to pick it up (unacceptable!) can wait for a retail version of Anniversary to be released on Xbox 360 "later in the year."

Is there anything the ESRB can't do? Routinely revealing numerous Xbox Live Arcade games, the ratings board has now revealed that Tomb Raider: Anniversary is headed to the Xbox 360. In an interesting twist, the ESRB actually lists five different entries for the game, each with a different locale specified. In all, Peru, Lost City, Greece, Egypt, and Croft Manor are listed. This specificity leads us (and Joystiq) to conclude that Anniversary will be offered as downloadable content. Whether this is done via Tomb Raider: Legend or as independent downloadable episodes remains to be seen (if we had to guess, we'd say it'll be Legend DLC). Considering Anniversary costs $30 on other platforms, a $5-6 price tag for each episode on Xbox Live Marketplace would be reasonable (though we're not necessarily expecting it).

We really enjoyed Lara Croft's first outing on the 360, so here's hoping Eidos makes an official announcement soon.

[Via Joystiq]

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board is probably due for a shiny PETA trophy by now. The organization's online ratings database has let many a cat out of cruel prison bags, with today marking the release of gaming's most agile feline. The website currently lists not one, but five separate entries for an Xbox 360 version of Lara Croft's latest romp, Tomb Raider: Anniversary.

More interestingly, each entry specifies a locale featured within the Crystal Dynamics remake. Peru, Lost City, Greece, Egypt and Croft Manor are all listed and rated, leading us to conclude that Anniversary could very well be making its way to Microsoft's system as downloadable content. Whether it would be offered as downloadable content for Tomb Raider: Legend (which utilizes the same graphics engine as Anniversary) or as episodic titles on the Xbox Live Marketplace is a matter of pure speculation. Certainly, a cost of $5 per level would compare well to the $30 PS2 and PC versions released yesterday.

In news that is sure to set tongues wagging and arms waggling, IGN reports that Lara Croft will soon raid a more modern tomb -- your Wii's game shelf. In a press release issued by an international Eidos branch, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is stated as being in development for Nintendo's popular console. Previously, the remake was only slated for release on the PC (including GameTap), PlayStation 2 and PSP.

With Eidos holding out on costly PS3 releases until 2008 and with no Xbox 360 version of Anniversary in sight, it seems the Wii is benefiting for once by being lumped in a similar technological bracket as the PS2. It makes for a quick and financially sensible port, it's only challenge being the tacking on implementation of unique motion controls. We're hoping for an ice-cold virtual hand to poke Lara into position for those tricky jumps.

No Anniversa-Wii date has been set, but other platforms begin festivities on June 5th.

Referred to as May Day on their design blog, Turner's buffet-esque gaming service, GameTap, has some huge announcements today. The headliner of which is a real doozy. Through a deal with Eidos, the upcoming Tomb Raider: Anniversary will be made available on the service come launch day, June 5th, and at no extra cost to subscribers. The title will also be available to non-subscribers via their upcoming digital distribution store as well.

GameTap has been offering brand-new, original titles at no extra cost for a while now (see: Sam & Max, Myst Online), but to take this trend and run with a third party is huge.

Closing out May Day is May 31st where GameTap will crack open its doors a bit with a new free-to-play portal. Not regulated to chump titles, the new service will launch with games such as Metal Slug, Bust-a-Move and Tomb Raider: Legend. This will be made possible with their new three-tiers of membership and a handy-dandy chart to explain these tiers (two of which are free, by the way) has been made available after the break.

In other GameTap news, both the press release and blog have mentioned the Metal Slug and King of Fighters series coming to the service. Nice.

The upcoming Tomb Raider Anniversary is a complete re-imagining of the original PS1 classic. Anniversary, for PS2 and PSP, will include a brand-new graphics engine, and many of the acrobatic moves from the last Tomb Raider game, Legends.

We haven't seen any footage from the PSP version of the game, but we're hoping it'll look as stunning as what we see above. Anniversary hits stores this June.

Ever wanted to go back and play the original Tomb Raider, but couldn't stand the old control scheme or graphics? Well. you're in luck, because Tomb Raider Anniversary will give you the chance to replay Lara's first game adventure but redone by the folks at Crystal Dynamics. Interested parties can explore the Tomb Raider Anniversary site to see screens, a trailer, info on the game or just to find out more about Ms. Croft herself. Since the last Tomb Raider turned out so well, there's a very good possibility this remake could be better than the original.