10 Great Video Games That Almost Never Happened At All

6. Tomb Raider: Legend

It's hard to appreciate - even now her renaissance is in full swing - just how big a deal Lara Croft was during the mid-nineties. Considered to be a major factor in the success of the original PlayStation, she was one of the first major female leads in gaming, and having become an instant icon, she made millions for developer Eidos, leaving a film franchise, a Walk of Game Induction and a place in the Guinness world records in her wake. Unfortunately, few franchises have felt rot wear in as quickly as the tomb raiding temptress, and by the third installment, critics had already begun bemoaning the lack of originality in the series. Much like fellow nineties icon Crash Bandicoot, Lara Croft was dying the slow death of mediocrity, and Legend was not even the first attempt to revive the series. The Angel Of Darkness brought in a new story, setting and revamped gameplay, but was a critical disaster which left the series reputation in tatters. Core Design had actually killed Lara off at the end of The Last Revelation, presumably feeling they had run their course with the franchise, and after being dragged into making a sequel, it seemed to be only a matter of time until the old girl was finally going to be put out to pasture. Thankfully for us, parent company Eidos made the call to take the series away from creators Core Design, who were a shambles by the end of 2003. Instead of letting Croft fade away, new developer Crystal Dynamics resurrected the franchise with a bold, exciting new direction that paved the way for the wonderful Tomb Raider (2013). A narrow escape there: one close enough to make Lara herself break a sweat.