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 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.
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.
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.
For more information, please visit www.laracroftandtheguardianoflight.com or follow on Twitter and Facebook - @Crystaldynamics – Facebook.com/LaraCroft
About Square Enix Ltd..
Square Enix Ltd., a part of the Square Enix Europe business unit, is a London-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world. Square Enix Ltd. publishes and distributes entertainment content from the Square Enix Group including Square Enix, Eidos and Taito® in Europe and other PAL territories. Square Enix Ltd. also has a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos-Montréal. The Square Enix Group boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 97 million units worldwide, DRAGON QUEST® which has sold over 54 million units worldwide and TOMB RAIDER® which has sold over 35 million units worldwide, together with other well established products.
More information on Square Enix Ltd. can be found on the Internet at http://www.square-enix.com
DRAGON QUEST, FINAL FANTASY, SQUARE ENIX and the SQUARE ENIX logo are registered trademarks of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. TAITO is a registered trademark of Taito Corporation. LARA CROFT, EIDOS, TOMB RAIDER, CRYSTAL DYNAMICS, the CRYSTAL DYNAMICS logo and LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT are registered trademarks or trademarks of Square Enix Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
