ANGEL OF INCOMPETENCE: Lara Croft - Death of a Brand

A fourth episode was the centrepiece of Eidos’s masterplan for continuing its path as a technology growth stock. Core reverted to the original concept in a game that was clever, compact, tense, tightly designed and very brown. Perhaps the developers were burnt out, or felt they had written a masterpiece, but at the end of the game they left Lara for dead. The assumption at the time was that they had bought themselves some breathing space to regenerate the franchise.

The reviews for this game were much better, but sales were not as strong. The new gamers burnt by the third game may have kept them away, or the repetitive franchise simply looked too tired. In any case, the brand appeared past its zenith just as the PlayStation platform was consolidating its hegemony and reaching maturity. It was a shame, as this game was a pleasure to play.

There was a consensus in the specialist press that Tomb Raider would need some time in development, most likely waiting for the coming generation of consoles, to return to glory. For Eidos, however, the year had been bad, with its share price crashing down from its highs. It would have made little sense to the decision-makers to have the most valuable asset on its balance sheet unleveraged for a year.

The fifth game was an afterthought. The development team have reported that they were initially despondent at the prospect of producing the game, and propped up their interest by copying their favourite films. It sold poorly for a Tomb Raider game, and although seemed tired, was probably more ignored than harmful.

It’s now three years of postponements and an unimaginable amount of managerial heartache later, but the public appear keen on a new game. Lara Croft is still as recognised as ever, although not so much the face of the moment. A strange mishmash of a film has appeared, with another soon to come, but it’s hard to believe that they have the weight to be the driving force of the franchise. Revival hangs on this game.

And this chance has been missed. The game, rushed even after these delays to meet a financial reporting deadline, is uninspired and bugged. New features seem random and compromised, and the environments are no longer majestic.

But the biggest cruelty is that these flaws have attacked the heart of the brand – the player has lost their grip on the character. Like a zombie, the Lara that has risen from the grave is a stumbling, pallid impression of her former vitality. The marvellous athletic elegance with which the player could once tackle devious architectural trials is lost in the frustration of flailing controls and unfair failure. It’s infuriating and tragic to see her flail past a ledge or jump idiotically to her death. A key bond of empathy with the character has been broken.

Why be concerned with the new game at the top of the charts? My guess is that this is the last chance the franchise had to impress consumers. Its flaws have now been widely shown, and the Lara Croft brand is now a greatly devalued property. She may look stylish and knowing, but its difficult to see her being treated with the same admiration if her audience can’t connect with her anymore. The game has already been blamed for the poor performance of the second film.

Can the brand be saved? It certainly can’t rely on the films. It never broke Japan at all. It won’t die, it’s much too valuable, and many more attempts will be made to revive it. A return to the conventional controls, stripped down to the fundamental gameplay, or new gimmicks. Who knows, they may succeed.

But it’s not FIFA or James Bond. The brand doesn’t live without the games – and those games were at their peak when the technology was younger and the industry was breaking into markets that are now maturing. Now consumers will want something new again, and the new Lara Croft is unable to make that jump. Or any other, for that matter.