PlayStation Pro 2 - Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness Preview

Its Tomb Raider Friday, so here is the last batch of screenshots before the game arrives in stores June 20, 2003.

We've known for quite a while that Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness for the PS2 had been delayed even further into 2003, but Eidos Interactive made it official today. According to the company, Lara's latest quest has indeed been pushed back into spring 2003. The game was originally intended to ship in February after it was delayed from its initial fall 2002 release date.

"Whilst the release of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness has been delayed, we believe that the game will benefit substantially from the marketing of the new Lara Croft movie, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, scheduled to be released this summer," said Eidos CEO, Mike McGarvey.

Eidos Interactive has just released five brand-new screenshots from Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. Check them out in Screenshots 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

There are still four months left until Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is shipped to stores, but the game is already looking even better from our last preview. As you can tell by the name, Angel of Darkness will be a very dark game compared to previous titles in the series. And no, I'm not talking about the dark lighting effects. The storyline will be much more disturbing and complex. (read: Murder, betrayal, and all that other good stuff). Also, Lara's attitude has changed slightly as well (Although her taste for skimpy clothes hasn't changed at all).

Anyway, we have some new info on Lara's new partner, Kurtis Trent. Kurtis is out to seek revenge on the people who killed his father. As mentioned in my previous update, Kurtis's levels in the game are more focused on all out action, rather than stealth. His main weapon is called the Glaive -- which is basically a disc with five sharp blades attached to it. Surprisingly, he can actually control the disc in midair using his telekinetic abilities. In addition to the Glaive, Kurt also carries a gun with him.

Some of the new moves that Lara has is the ability to fight with just her bare hands (she can kick too). Lara can also sneak up behind baddies and snap their necks. Lara herself will be made up of more than 5,000 polygons -- which is a huge leap considering that the original PS1 Lara only had about 500 or so polygons.

Other new gameplay features include the ability to improve Lara's stats. For instance, if you find a secret area in the game, you can boost Lara's strength, jumping distance, running speed, or her lung capacity. This will make the game easier for the player and will allow for even more secret areas to be found.

Eidos Interactive has revealed the official title of the upcoming Tomb Raider game for the PlayStation 2 and PC this November. Tomb Raider: The Next Generation will now be called, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. In the latest game in the series, Lara will travel to locations such as Paris and Prague. Along the way, she will meet Kurtis, a brand new character to the series. Kurtis is your typical male bad ass who uses weapons to do the talking for him. Needless to say, Kurt will be a playable character in the game and will control slightly different than Lara and will have different moves and such.

Speaking of moves (such as animations), Lara herself will have over 150 of them - giving the player different options in different situations. In addition, the first part of Angel of Darkness will play much like a good old RPG. Lara will be able to talk to other characters and interact with them. Depending on your actions, those characters may help you out, ignore you, or try to kill you.

Sounds interesting. We'll have more info on Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness during this year's E3.