Tomb Raider Video Game

Tomb Raider is a series of video games, comic books and movies, centering around the adventures of the fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft (The character portrayed by Karima Adebibe in real life for Eidos). Since the release of the original Tomb Raider in 1996, the series developed into a lucrative franchise of related media, and Lara went on to become a major icon of the video game industry. Even Guinness Book of World Records have recognized Lara Croft as the "Most Successful Human Videogame Heroine" in 2006. Six games in the series were developed by Core Design, and the latest two by Crystal Dynamics. All the games were published by Eidos Interactive, which holds the rights to the Tomb Raider trademark and characters. To date two movies, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, have been produced starring American actress Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. The Tomb Raider video games have together sold over 30 million units, making it one of the highest selling video game series of all time. The highest selling Lara Croft game was Tomb Raider II which sold over 8 million units.

The central character in Tomb Raider is the hard edged, British archaeologist Lara Croft, a female Indiana Jones in search of ancient treasures. According to the official backstory, Lara's interest in archeology was sparked at an early age, but her confinement to the upper society to which her parents belonged prevented her from actively taking up the profession. All this changed when, after a skiing trip in the Himalayas, her plane crashed and Lara was left to fend for herself as the sole survivor. The experience altered her life completely and she began to travel the world, learning about the ancient civilizations of the past. As a result, she was disowned by her father, Lord Richard (Henshingly) Croft, and she began to work as an archaeologist for hire, acquiring artifacts and rare treasure for some of the most wealthy collectors in the world. Lara's evolution through the Tomb Raider series. Lara's evolution through the Tomb Raider series.

Lara was created by one-time Core designer Toby Gard, and grew out of a number of ideas discarded in early concepts. She appears almost invariably with short brown pants, a blue top, holsters on both sides of her hip for dual wielded pistols and a small brown backpack. Over the course of the series, she has undergone minor adjustments, such as smoother facial features, enlarged breast size and free moving hair.

Several real-life persons have taken on the role of portraying Lara Croft in flesh, especially the very star of this website, Karima Adebibe, but also most notably British actresses Nell McAndrew (who was an official model) and Rhona Mitra (in the early days of the games' success), and Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider movies. In addition, playing Lara at game conventions is a popular type of modelling work.

Ten years after the release of the original game, Lara is still one of the most durable and recognizable video game characters. Alternatively viewed as a feminist icon or a sexist stereotype, the impact of her character on popular culture is undeniable.