On this day, November 21, in 1998, Tomb Raider III – Adventures of Lara Croft was released.
Facts
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft was the third game in the Tomb Raider series and the sequel to Tomb Raider II – starring Lara Croft. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive in 1998 for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows and for the PlayStation Network in America in 2009. A release for the European PlayStation Network followed 2 years later in 2011.
In the third Tomb Raider game, Lara Croft travels around the world to find four lost pieces of a meteorite. Lara visits the Indian Jungle, the South Pacific Islands, Nevada, London and the Antarctica.
In the year 2000, Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artifact was exclusively released for PC and later also for Mac OS. It was a mini-sequel to Tomb Raider III and was initially sold as a standalone product.
Tomb Raider III Trivia – Did you know?
- In a storage room in Lara’s Manor, you can see the items that Lara retrieved from the previous Tomb Raider games: The Scion from Tomb Raider I, and the Dagger Of Xian from Tomb Raider II, as well as a mounted T-Rex head above the fireplace.
- There was some concerns at the time of the game’s release that the use of the Shiva Statues (a.k.a. Hindu deity) in the “Temple Ruins” level as a “baddie” might cause offense to Hindus.
- A bonus level titled “All Hallows” is unlock-able if you collect all the secrets in each level.
- Sophia is the last female character Lara will encounter until “Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness”.
- Features more living species of dinosaurs than the previous Tomb Raider games.
- The only game in the Tomb Raider series in which you can choose in which sequence you play the majority of the levels.
- This game is set one year after Tomb Raider II.
- The Element 115 artifact you obtain at the Area 51 level is also known as Ununpentium. Which is the element that Bob Lazar claimed it can be used as nuclear fuel for vehicle purposes.
- The name “Aldwych” (the name of the second level in London) comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “Ealdwic” meaning “old settlement”. Between the fifth and eighth centuries A.D. Saxon merchants founded a trading post “Lundenwic” outside the Roman city of Londinium on the banks of the Thames, possibly to avoid the Roman equivalent of the congestion charge. Eventually, as the focus of the city was moved back to within the old Roman walls, Aldwych gained its new name.
Lara Croft’s World Trip in Tomb Raider III
If you would really like to re-visit the third installment in the Tomb Raider series, we recommend to read an article which was published a while ago as part of the Memorable Moment Mondays series here on Tomb Raider Web. Featuring screenshots, level descriptions and quite a sense of Tomb Raider-ish humour, this article is not only for veteran fans but also for those who are quite new to the franchise.
Here you can find the above mentioned article “Memorable Moment Monday – Lara’s World Trip in Tomb Raider III”.
The Iconic Tomb Raider Music
Something Spooky in that Jungle, She’s Cool, Tony the Loon … sounds familiar? In case you missed it, the original Tomb Raider music by Nathan McCree, which also includes the most iconic tracks of Tomb Raider III, was extended and re-recorded with a live orchestra at Abbey Road Studios earlier this year.
The digital download of “The Tomb Raider Suite” album is now available here!
Tomb Raider III HD Remaster
If you still cannot get enough of Tomb Raider III, make sure to have a look at this fan project – an outstanding HD remaster of said game!
TOMB RAIDER WEB 
I played it for the 1st. time in 2018 and finished it right before the end of the year, just in time for the 20th anniversary.
It was an absolute blast, with the music by Nathan McCree being one of the highlights. However, there were certain sections that took immersion away and put me off, like the fact that the locations in the London levels felt rather disjointed from each other.
But I have fond memories of other parts of the game after all, too! E.g. when I was in High Security Compound, the sensations of stealth and precaution were nearly real, even when the game’s engine doesn’t support such game mechanics.
And, to my amazement, bits of randomness were present: without weapons of any sort and being chased by a guard, I thought my best bet should be to jump past over him and reach a button that closes a door, in order to leave him out of the room.
What was the actual outcome of my plan? Upon closing the door, the guard ran through as it was closing and it ended up smashing him and taking his life! That was indeed priceless and, most incredibly, make Lara appear a girl with great luck when in dire straits.
To sum up, I think it’s a great game and a major improvement over the past two entries. At the same time, unfortunately, it brings some noticeable flaws with it. But anyway, it provided me with yet another unforgettable experience, as TR has got me used ever since I first dove into the series in 2016.
Wonderful memories, thank you for sharing these! 🙂
Thank you for making a space where devoted TR fans can express themselves, like me 🙂
Also, there is one more thing that I enjoyed from the 3rd instalment, and that I would like to share.
Having climbed up out of the meteorite cavern, and having disposed of the three or four flamethrower guys out there, I raised Lara’s “head” camera up only to find a lovely landscape.
What I saw could have not made for a better ending to a thrilling adventure: it’s as if the snow falling, the quietness of the place, and the moon shining in the night of the Antarctica had been all put together to portray the ultimate moment of peace that appears after the fight and tension of the final mission.
So, I felt I couldn’t finish the game without taking a picture of that moment. Not only did I do that but I retouched it slightly, put a few additional effects, and ended up turning it into a special image for paying homage to the 20th anniversary of the game.
I sincerely hope you like it.
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Oh, I have realised the link did not appear in the posted comment. Are links allowed in your site?