On October 14th 2008 Eidos kindly invited us and bunch of other journalists to the Luton Hoo Hotel for the day, not only to meet Lara Croft in person, but to engage in some rather entertaining physical activities.
The day began rather early, and after a jam packed ride on London's Underground where the pungent aroma of strong aftershave, delicate perfume and fresh armpits filled the carriage from Liverpool Street to Kings Cross. I hate getting this close to people unless I'm going to plant a heavy smacker on the lips, but such is life for the 1000's of travelers at this time of the day each and every day.
Having survived the tube ride in tact, albeit somewhat crumpled and creased as a result, my journey took me to the coach that would shuttle a number of us cheerful folk to Bedfordshire, the location of the Luton Hoo Hotel, or Croft Manor as it had become for the day.
After a fairly relaxing coach ride out of London, the fresh air of the great outdoors, free of wall to wall buildings and engulfing traffic fumes was a welcome change of scenery - well for me at least being a Londoner. As the coach arrived at the Luton Hoo, erm...I mean Croft Manor, we were greeted by Ms Croft herself who donned her typical adventuring attire.
After gaining our bearings in the rather massive and utterly impressive stately home that is Croft Manor, we were shuttled into a equally majestic room where a presentation of Tomb Raider Underworld was given by the developers. Sadly, we're not aloud to talk about the game just yet other than...erm it's Tomb Raider and looking pretty damn slick. The presentation was informative, and certainly has made me more interested in the game after seeing it in action for the first time. After the presentation, it was time to marvel at the room and the game as well on the rather uncomfortable Xbox 360 store pods that were set up.
After some hands on time with the game, (which we're not allowed to talk about just yet) it was time for some lunch, which consisted of some very well presented bites served in the most regal of dining rooms - well regal compared to my ultra modern dining room. With the chatter of small talk, and in depth conversations between mouthfuls of food and swigs of beer/wine; everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and really feeling positive towards the game.
After lunch, proceedings took a turn for the totally original and unexpected. We were ushered into a double decker coach and carted off to a nearby field within the Croft Manor grounds. The reason being, the afternoon was to be filled with various hands on activities that involved laser skeet shooting, knife throwing, archery, mini tank driving and a Pulse laser assault game. These activities were certainly welcome, and based on the reactions of those who took part (which was everyone) a lot of fun all round. Although throwing knives after a few beers could have had disastrous consequences - luckily there wasn't that "one guy" to be carted off to hospital minus an ear.
I really enjoyed myself and would have to say the skeet shooting and Pulse Laser game were the highlights for me especially as I scored 27 out of a possible 30 for the shooting. Luckily the gods were smiling on us, as the rain held off for the most part, although being in the outdoors was rather chilly at times, with a brisk wind blowing out the cobwebs. After returning back to the mansion, Lara made another appearance as host and performed an entertaining action sequence, which showed off how nimble she is, and I guess why she is so successful at what she does. After a quick presentation of prizes for the winners of each event it was time to say one last goodbye to Lara and Croft Manor, before we head off back to usual haunts in London.
I had an excellent time, as did the other guests, for what was truly a remarkable and well organized event. Stay tuned for more info and some impressions from Lara's next adventure, Tomb Raider Underworld.
Posted By: Robert Cram
Date: 2008-10-15
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