The great thing about Tomb Raider games is that they give you an outlet for the inevitable rage that builds up from playing Tomb Raider games. That outlet is Lara Croft herself: she's just so enjoyable to punish when you're pissed off. You can run her into walls, drown her in the surf, or make her fall to her death from clifftops--and as gracefully as she springs around in the demo of Tomb Raider: Underworld, man, she falls like a fucking brick when you want her to. Arms pinwheeling, legs kicking, she plummets face-first into the ground with a satisfying thud. Much in the same way World of Warcraft now lets you play Peggle to stave off the boredom of playing World of Warcraft, Tomb Raider lets you terrorize Lara to relieve the frustration of playing Tomb Raider.

When Lara isn't dying accidentally or being killed on purpose, she's hunting through ruins in Thailand, extinguishing whatever wildlife she comes across, and kicking priceless ancient urns into pieces to find out what's in them. The demo begins with Lara in a boat offshore, where after a short swim through shark-infested waters... Read more

Publisher Eidos has issued a trailer for the second Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable episode for Tomb Raider: Underworld, due March 10 for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Dubbed Lara's Shadow, the download has players controlled the doppelganger that pestered them thoughout the main campaign of the action-adventure. But while she looks like Lara, she plays differently, moving faster and relying more on melee combat.

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The $10 Tomb Raider: Underworld expansion "Beneath the Ashes" takes place following the conclusion of the original game, and promises to provide a new level and new enemies--some of which can be seen in the trailer below.

The Xbox 360-exclusive Beneath the Ashes DLC will be released tomorrow.

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Rising from the ashes of a recent delay, Eidos has announced that first of two Xbox 360-only downloadable episodes for Tomb Raider: Underworld hits February 24.

The $10 expansion, dubbed Beneath the Ashes, takes place after the action-adventure's initial conclusion, delivering a new level and new enemies. The second promised Xbox 360-exclusive add-on, "Lara's Shadow," is apparently still slated for March 10.

"Beneath the Ashes has passed all testing at Microsoft and has been given a confirmed release date of the 24th February 2009," reads a post from Eidos' Jason Walker on the Tomb Raider Forums. "Truly appreciate all your patience on this."

Beneath the Ashes will be accompanied by a hefty patch that resolves several issues, Joystiq adds. Those changes and tweaks are listed in full below... Read more

The Xbox 360-only downloadable "Beneath the Ashes" episode for Tomb Raider: Underworld will not hit its February 10 release date, publisher Eidos has revealed.

"An unexpected technical issue means that Beneath the Ashes will not be available to download on 10th February as planned," Eidos told Strategy Informer.

The $10 expansion takes place after the conclusion of Crystal Dynamics' action-adventure game, packing a new levels and new enemies. The second promised Xbox 360-exclusive add-on, "Lara's Shadow," is apparently still slated for March 10.

"We apologize for this delay and we are doing everything we can to bring you this exciting new content for Tomb Raider: Underworld as soon as possible," added Eidos.

Eidos has sent out a developer video for "Beneath the Ashes," the Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content for Tomb Raider: Underworld. The video touches on the new environments and gameplay elements found in the download.

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Beneath the Ashes hits the Xbox Live Marketplace on February 10 for 800 MS Points ($10). A second piece of DLC follows March 10.

The first of Crystal Dynamics' two Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable levels for Tomb Raider: Underworld, originally expected "in time for the holidays," will finally arrive in the online Xbox Live Marketplace on February 10, publisher Eidos announced today.

Titled "Beneath the Ashes," the episode picks up after the main game, with protagonist Lara Croft exploring "never-before-seen" caverns underneath her ruined estate. Six new costumes and 125 gamerpoints worth of new achievements will be included as well.

The second episode, "Lara's Shadow," will follow on March 10, bringing... Read more

The Writers Guild of America has released its nominations for the best-written videogames in 2008, and the result is a fairly eclectic mix.

Fallout 3, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Dangerous High School Girls In Trouble!, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Tomb Raider: Underworld all received recognition from the WGA.

Only games scripted by writers that belong to the WGA were eligible to be nominated. And the WGA charges dues, so who knows how many games they really had to choose from. Still, High School Girls!

The full credit list, via Variety: ... Read more

Those rumored layoffs at Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics have been confirmed by studio owner Eidos, with the company telling Joystiq that this was a result of an increased "focus on the Tomb Raider franchise at Crystal Dynamics."

Roughly 30 employees were laid off, including Tomb Raider: Underworld creative director Eric Lindstrom. It is not known if Crystal Dynamics was working on any non-Tomb Raider games--the studio is believed to be wrapping up the 360-exclusive TR:U downloadable content, and doing tentative work on the next Tomb Raider.

The layoffs came on the same day that Eidos expressed disappointment that Tomb Raider: Underworld only sold 1.5 million units, which may prompt a redesign.

That new direction could be "female-friendly," reports TimesOnline, adding that Eidos expected Tomb Raider: Underworld to sell 2 million--a milestone it missed by 500K.

"Look at how Batman changed successfully, from the rather sad... Read more

Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics today slashed 30 employees from its workforce, according to a Kotaku report citing "reliable sources."

The layoffs were supposedly carried out across the breadth of the company.

Crystal Dynamics owner Eidos earlier today expressed disappointment in the sales of Underworld, which has moved 1.5 million copies worldwide since its release--apparently a figure that did not meet Eidos' internal projects.

Tomb Raider: Underworld failed to meet publisher Eidos' internal projections, despite internal estimates that the game has sold 1.5 million units since its November debut.

As with many publishers in recent months, Eidos cited a "difficult North American economy" for "a lower start in North America." As a result, Eidos lowered its earning expectations for the fiscal year, from between $273-303 million to $242-273 million.

The lowered expectations may require Eidos to enter into discussions with its lending bank, the company said, along with word of passing its "peak net debt... Read more

Today's videogame news was pretty dismal. Case in point, I am now about to update you on the status of digital clothing available on Xbox Live. Two free wetsuit costumes for Tomb Raider: Underworld were released today. You can see them in the screenshots above. They're pretty amazing.

Equally stunning are the newly released Xbox Live avatar articles. Microsoft's Major Nelson gives us the runway rundown:... Read more

The first patch for Tomb Raider: Underworld has been released, updating the PC release to version 1.1. A 109MB download, the patch offers the following fixes

• Inability of users to map the mouse buttons.
• Inability of users to map the 'center camera' button.
• Some occasional crash fixes.
• Graphics card stability:... Read more

As Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider Underworld heads out to store shelves this week, publisher Eidos has tasked UK PR firm Barrington Harvey with managing the review scores, resulting in journalists being asked to hold off on negative reviews.

The story emerged after games journalist Guy Cocker reported, via Twitter, that Eidos informed him "if you're planning on reviewing Tomb Raider Underworld at less than an 8.0, we need you to hold your review till Monday."

Barrington Harvey confirmed the policy with videogaming247, explaining:

We're trying to manage the review scores at the request of Eidos.

We're trying to get the Metacritic rating to be high, and the brand manager in the US that's handling all of Tomb Raider has asked that we just manage the scores before the game is out, really, just to ensure that we don't put people off buying the game, basically.

It's the second review-related controversy for Eidos in the past year, following rumors that it pressured GameSpot into firing journalist Jeff Gerstmann for a negative review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, which was edited following his departure.

At the time, Eidos was heavily advertising on GameSpot. The site later claimed Gerstmann was let go "purely for internal reasons" that were "unrelated to any publisher or advertiser," though it noted Eidos' displeasure with the original review.

In a formal statement, Barrington Harvey director Simon Byron admitted the firm has "been working hard to ensure the launch scores of Tomb Raider Underworld are in line with our internal review predictions over the launch weekend - but... Read more

Eidos has released a pair of trailers for Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider Underworld, the latest adventure featuring famed heroine Lara Croft. Lara goes on a murderous rampage aboard a large ship, but she'll have to face the consequences.

A demo is out now for PC and Xbox 360, and the final game will launch for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS on November 18.

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For a developer interview video, check below... Read more

As expected, a demo for the PC version of Tomb Raider: Underworld is now available. Like the Xbox 360 demo released earlier this week, the 1.20GB download offers an introductory level set in Thailand. Tomb Raider: Underworld will be released for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS November 18.

On the Xbox Live Marketplace you can now find a demo for Tomb Raider: Underworld, the eight Lara Croft adventure due out November 18.

Available in all Xbox Live regions, the demo is a 1.27GB download and contains an introductory mission set in Thailand. In addition to Xbox 360, Tomb Raider: Underworld will also be released for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS.

Publisher Eidos, continuing its media barrage for Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld, has released a pair of trailers for the latest in the long-running action series. Today, heroine Lara Croft can be seen pulling off some Prince of Persia-esque gymnastics as she gets herself into and out of trouble.

The tomb-raiding antics will start on November 18 on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. Xbox 360 owners should be able to get their hands on a demo by the end of this month.

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For one more trailer, look no further than right below... Read more

Come November 18, Lara Croft will be raiding once again, so publisher Eidos has released new screenshots from the many versions of Crystal Dynamics' latest. Tomb Raider: Underworld and its action-adventure antics are slated to hit PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. The Xbox 360 edition will receive two exclusive story-expanding downloadable chapters post-release, with an Xbox 360-only downloadable demo expected to arrive by the end of October.

Following up on yesterday's announcement of Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content for Crystal Dynamics' upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld, publisher Eidos has affirmed that there are no plans to bring that content to other platforms.

While Tomb Raider: Underworld will hit PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and other consoles November 18, the two downloadable episodes are not a timed exclusive and will only appear on Xbox 360, an Eidos representative clarified to MTV Multiplayer. Furthermore, there are no plans to release additional content on other platforms.

Said to add six hours to the game, the chapters will arrive in two chunks. The first, Beneath the Ashes, is set after the game's conclusion and will hit by Christmas. The second, Lara's Shadow, should be released in early 2009.

That exclusivity apparently extends to the action-adventure game's impending demo as well, as Eidos stated that the PlayStation 3 will not receive the downlodable demo set to arrive in the Xbox Live Marketplace later this month.