Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword

Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword
North American box art
Developer(s)	Core Design
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive, Activision
Producer(s)	Andy Watt Mike Schmitt
Designer(s)	Jamie Morton Paul Field
Programmer(s)	Dan Scott Ian Manders
Artist(s)	Matt Charlesworth Fergus Duggan Paschal McGuire
Composer(s)	Manfred Linzner
Series	Tomb Raider
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color
Release date(s)	NA: 25 June 2001 EU: 17 August 2001
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword is a video game based on the Tomb Raider series, developed by Core Design. It was released for the Game Boy Color in 2001, and it is a sequel to the first Tomb Raider for the same system. The next Tomb Raider game for a handheld system was Tomb Raider: The Prophecy for the Game Boy Advance.

Plot

A long time ago, an evil magician named Madame Paveau rose to power in the underworld of New Orleans using her dark magic and sacrificing humans. The underworld became synonymous with fear, and only with the aid of a powerful, benevolent magician could people rise up against her murderous control. After a mob broke into her mansion and burnt it down, the evil magician was destroyed. Her body was shattered upon jagged precipices on the bottom of a nearby cliff.

People believed they were finally safe from Madame Paveau and her devilish ways, but they weren't aware that one of her apprentices had survived. He performed an ancient rite by her broken body and captured her soul in a sacred container. The minion then began his search for a suitable body and the proper spells that would bring his master back to life.

During a visit to an old friend, Jane, in a dark antiquities museum, Lara Croft witnesses the theft of a powerful sword from the museum. In the confusion and chaos of the theft, Lara is cut by the sword. Her blood on the blade makes hers the body that is needed for the ritual. The minion then sets off to gather the remaining objects needed to transfer Madame Paveau's soul into Lara's body.

Lara immediately starts pursuing the cult, hoping to save her soul. Lara eventually succeeds in retrieving the sword and breaks it in two, preventing Paveau from ever resurrecting.

Characters

• Jane: Jane is an old friend of Lara's who works at an antiques museum in New York. When Lara goes to visit her at the museum, she and Jane witness an ancient sword being stolen by a group of armed soldiers. While Lara goes to retrieve the sword, Jane remains behind at the museum. Jane is a young woman with short black hair and dark skin.
• Madame Paveau: Madame Paveau is an evil magician who rose to power in the underworld of New Orleans using her Dark Magic and sacrificing humans. Although she does not appear in the game as a person, Paveau plays an important role in the story and a portrait of her can be seen in a secret chamber in the level "Docks".

Development

In June 2001, Activision announced that they would be releasing the second Tomb Raider game for the Game Boy Color, titled Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword, on 25 June. The game utilises the game engine used for the first Tomb Raider handheld game, and would feature "new challenges, puzzles and enemies to conquer." According to Craig Harris of IGN, the game sees "Lara Croft get[ting] out of the ruins and into the cities as her adventure takes place in locations such as New York and New Orleans."^[1]

Curse of the Sword was programmed by Dan Scott and Ian Manders, and was produced by Andy Watt and Mike Schmitt. Jamie Morton and Paul Field were served as level designers.^[2] The graphics and animations were done by Matt Charlesworth; additional graphics for backgrounds and cutscenes were handled by Fergus Duggan and Paschal McGuire, respectively.^[3] The music and sound effects were created by Manfred Linzner.^[2]

Reception

The game received an average score of 76.71% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 7 reviews.^[4]

References

External links

• Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword at MobyGames