6. Tomb Raider 2 Showers and Shotguns
When it came to Lara Croft, nearly everyone was a pervert. Dont deny it, you know it to be true. Hell, even the game designers were open about this, freely admitting they enlarged the avatars breasts because having a shapely female protagonist would boost sales. Theres a reason why as games got more realistic, Lara stopped looking like Jessica Rabbit with the worlds most impressive sports bra. Yet in the halcyon days of the first Tomb Raiders, the predominantly male gaming audience was enamoured with the first lady of gaming, and not for altogether wholesome reasons. So when the urban legend came about that you could see her naked, naturally, the rumour spread like wildfire. Were probably all slightly ashamed of ourselves now, but we were young and foolish and slightly perverted. Of course, Core Design knew about the unadulterated lust that was coming their characters way and did absolutely nothing to reduce it. In fact, come Tomb Raider 2, they actively encouraged it before flipping all the randy fanboys the bird with the now-infamous shower scene. Basically, come the end of the game, were treated to a cinematic of robe-clad Lara about to step into a shower, and teenage boys up and down the country were probably salivating with glee. Yet then came the kicker she saw the camera, told the player wed seen enough and shot-gunned the screen. It was a simple and effective way to call out an audience on their unashamed perverted-ness, subverting the whole sexy lead character thing with a knowing wink and an up-yours message. Bravo, Core, bravo.