7 Reasons Why Lara Croft Is Our Video Game Heroine Of 2013

5. She Overcame Some Pretty Hefty Controversy

When Executive Producer Ron Rosenberg made some fairly erroneous comments and stated that Lara Croft was victimized and sexually assaulted by scavengers on the island she gets stranded on, the gaming world was appalled and the Crystal Dynamics studio had a volatile situation on their hands. The game's trailer certainly contained scenes that, out of context, supported Rosenberg's comments. It had a very sinister tone and felt more like Lara was the victim in a horror game as opposed to the adventurer we all know and love. Fans and critics alike were up in arms about the insinuation that this game was about Lara being abused and needing protection from players not necessarily just because of the potential inappropriate implications of that reading, but predominantly because this would have been a highly unfitting move for the franchise if Lara had been made a victim that needed saving as opposed to the heroine and would have taken this dark and gritty origin story to an unnecessary low. Of course, all of us who have now played the game know that actually, whilst still extremely sinister, the scene in question is completely void of any sexual abuse. Gritty origin stories (a la Nolan's Batman trilogy) have been a popular trend for a while and the Tomb Raider team jumped on board with this ominous reboot. A completely unwitting protagonist who is thrust into danger, this scene is more about putting Lara in the most vulnerable position in order to drive her to go to any lengths for survival. It is not about victimization. It is about forging a hero out of a naïve young woman. If you perform the instructed moves with accurate timing, this creep becomes her first kill. Would it make plausible writing if the character was morally and physically capable of killing right off the bat? Framing it as a scrappy escape rather than a cool-headed overpowering is entirely in line with her character development and is symbolic of how she becomes the Lara Croft we know. The fact that the controversy failed to prevent Tomb Raider from becoming a massive success is testament to the strength of Crystal Dynamics' characterisation and the effectiveness with which Lara Croft's journey is told. And what happens if you don't perform the moves precisely? He doesn't rape Lara. Just slowly strangles her. Much better!