- Platform: IBM PC Compatible
- Release Date: 2000 03
- Genre: Action
- Style: Action Adventure
- Similar Games: Tomb Raider (Sega Saturn), Tomb Raider (PlayStation), Tomb Raider (IBM PC Compatible), Tomb Raider II Starring Lara Croft (IBM PC Compatible), Thief: The Dark Project (IBM PC Compatible), Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (PlayStation), Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (IBM PC Compatible), Tomb Raider Starring Lara Croft (Game Boy Color)
Game Description
That intrepid and beautiful explorer, Lara Croft, is back to clean up some unfinished business in Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artifact. Developer Core Design Ltd. and publisher Eidos Interactive were not satisfied with leaving Tomb Raider III: The Adventures of Lara Croft as it was initially published. They have tweaked the original game and added five new levels for this action-packed expansion.Following up on the conclusion of Tomb Raider III, Lara receives a strange invitation to Loch Ness and the dastardly Dr. Willard's Scottish estate. She arrives at a derelict and empty castle, and must discover why the combination of the four original artifacts she had previously collected, (from Tomb Raider III), ended up turning Dr. Willard into a giant spider.
It turns out there was a little more to the puzzle than she originally expected, a newly revealed fifth artifact -- the Hand of Rathmore, and she's off to track it down. Lost for many years, the true properties of this final piece are yet to be known or witnessed.
As you delve deeper into the mystery, you will also learn that there are other parties who have a keen interest in acquiring the artifact -- for what appears to be a sinister purpose...
Traces found at the castle's subterranean laboratory indicate that the fifth artifact was indeed once there, but has been recently removed. You, as Lara, will pick up a dangerous trail that will lead to the discovery of the true properties (and purpose) of The Lost Artifact. A newspaper headline and photograph provide further clues -- an inexplicable disaster in the Channel Tunnel will take you south where you will become entangled in a sabotage attempt on the tunnel and discover a secret underwater facility used for government experimentation.
The trail then leads to France, where you must explore the Poissy Zoo and the Paris Catacombs in search of the awful truth behind The Lost Artifact.
Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artifact was one of the launch titles of Eidos' Premier Line of value-priced titles, published both in the United States (as simply Tomb Raider: The Lost Artifact) and Europe. Eidos' Premier Line was created to feature best-selling PC games as well as new unique titles at a value price for retail. Other Premier Line launch titles included Final Fantasy VII, Thief: The Dark Project, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, the original Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider Gold, and Gangsters.
~ Rich Hernandez, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
The series originated in 1996 on Sony's PlayStation videogame console. The first installment was ported to most of the major systems at the time (PC and Sega Saturn). Because the game was so popular, it spawned a sequal that disappointed most fans of the original. The third istallment, Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft brings the series back to its roots. It came out a mere two years after the original. Tomb Raider: The Lost Artifact is an expansion to Tomb Raider III and contains the complete Tomb Raider III game (more like an upgraded "gold" version).~ Rich Hernandez, All Game Guide
Production Credits
CORE DESIGN, LTD; Programmers: Chris Coupe, Martin Gibbins, Jurjen Katsman; AI Programming: Tom Scutt; Animators: Phil Chapman, Jer O'Carroll, Darren Wakeman; Level Designers: Pete Duncan, Jamie Morton, Richard Morton, Andy Sandham; FMV Sequences: Peter Barnard, David Reading; Additional Artwork: Matt Charlesworth, Mark Hazleton; Music: Nathan McCree; Sound Effects: Martin Iveson; Additional Sound Effects: Matthew Kemp; Game Testers: Tiziano Cirilla, Hayos Fatunmbi, Paul Field, Darren Price, Steve Wakeman, Dave Ward; Script: Vicky Ward; Special Thanks: Judith Gibbins; Producer: Troy Horton; Executive Producers: Jeremy H. Smith, Adrian Smith; EIDOS INTERACTIVE Producer: Mike Schmitt; Director of Development Operations: James Poole; QA: John Arvay, Tim Moore, Corey Fong, Rudy Ellis, Clayton Palma, Greg Coleman, Jeremy Hunter, Greg Rizzer, Franklin Vasquez, Kenneth Schmidt, Chris Charles, Eric Stephens, Peter Scmaltz; Product Manager: Kelly Zavislak; Marketing Support: Paul Baldwin, Sutton Trout, Gary Keith, Susan Boshkoff, Tricia Gray, Michelle Bravo, Lee Wilkinson; Special Thanks: Mike Kelly, Brian Gleason, Bryan Davies, Julie Arlinghaus, Kelly Haeussler, Phil Baker, Victor Waters, Phil Campbell, Rebecca Shearin, Matt Miller, Frank Horn, Tom Marx, Eric Adams, Mike Gillmartin, Mike Kawahara, Mike McGarvey, Keith Boesky, Dave Cox, Jo-Kathryn Reavis and Everyone else at Eidos Interactive.; Extra Special Thanks: Adrian & Jeremy Smith, Troy Horton, Ken Lockley, Andrew Thompson, Susie Hamilton, Sue Staiiner, and Everyone else at Core Design, Ltd.
~ Rich Hernandez, All Game Guide
