A few familiar names crop us as CLAIRE PULPHER takes a look at some of this month’s latest game releases

Time flies, doesn’t it? I remember when we were all celebrating the fact that we, Great Britain, were to be hosting the Olympics in 2012.

Now, what only feels like 20 minutes later, it’s the closing ceremony of the Paralympics, it’s been nearly 20 years since the Spice Girls released their first single and, to make you fellow gamers feel even older, it’s been sixteen years since Eidos’ classic Tomb Raider was released.

For me, Tomb Raider was the game that made me who I am today. Seeing a woman as a lead character in an adventure game was unusual to say the least and to see her as feisty, dangerous and invincible as Lara Croft made her the gamer-girl’s perfect role model.

I can’t quite shoot wild eagles while swinging with one arm from the Sphinx yet but I’m working on it. Eidos, Core and several other developers that jumped on the bandwagon have sealed the releases of many games in the Tomb Raider series – including an excellent remake of the first title. Now, however, like every successful series, it’s being ‘respawned’ with a completely new style.

Simply titled Tomb Raider, the new release – which is expected to be seen on shelves in early-mid 2013 – is set to be an open-world adventure that pays no relevance to previous titles. Known for her ability to be completely invincible, show no pain or even need to have a drink, Lara Croft will be seen as more ‘human’ in this episode with even just the first screens requiring her to find food.

As nice as it is to finally bring Tomb Raider down to earth and make it realistic, I am quite disappointed that it’s no longer possible to fix a Tyrannosaurus Rex bite with a plaster.

Tomb Raider isn’t the first game to re-release itself in a completely new light. Ubisoft took the ‘Rayman’ series, originally the fantastic 2D platformer for the Sega Saturn and created several sequels and spin-off series (Rayman’s Raving Rabbids) before re-releasing the original concept with the latest title, Rayman Origins.

After personally experiencing quite a few severely disappointing remakes in the past, I didn’t build up high hopes for this one. I was pleasantly surprised, however, as although they clearly tried to re-enact the first game with the original jungle levels, Betilla the Fairy and the famous pink mosquito, characters from other games were involved such as Globox who first appeared in the sequel. This was a little bit confusing but then the whole game isn’t exactly clear. The gameplay itself however is fantastic and if you’ve played the original Rayman, this is a treat.

Another game that had the makeover treatment recently was the classic mascot of Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic is a personal favourite of mine. I mean I’m pretty much obsessed with the character to the point that if I were to go on Mastermind, it would be my specialist subject.

Last year saw the release of Sonic Generations – probably the best Sonic game since the 90s classic Mega Drive titles. The clever storyline consisted of a rip in the time space continuum meaning that ‘old school Sonic’ had to work alongside ‘new school Sonic’ to save their friends (a fox with two tails and a pink hedgehog to name a few).

These game designers have imaginations that are borderline genius and completely insane.

For retro gamers like myself, this game proved to be pretty much what we’d all been waiting for. The levels were simply direct remakes of classic levels from previous games but enhanced to match the new style of the series. I even noticed a few treats for very nerdy gamers hidden within such as the music from a rare Sonic spin-off game (Knuckles Chaotix, Sega 32X).

This was such a joy to me. It actually felt like a genuine ‘thank-you’ from Sonic Team to all of the hardcore fans. Although the game might not make perfect sense to new players and while it isn’t exactly gripping if you haven’t played the relevant games, it’s an absolute MUST for anyone that is even remotely familiar with a previous Sonic title. Probably my best purchase for the PS3 so far.

My game of the week would definitely have to be Sega’s London 2012 Olympics on the PS3 and Xbox 360. I love everything about the Olympics – from the way it affects our community to the recognition of disabilities. However, from a gamer’s perspective, there is often no better release than the compulsory Olympics video game that comes with it. From ‘Barcelona 1992’ on the Mega Drive to the ‘Mario and Sonic’ series, the games are always a joy to play. This year’s release is no different and definitely worth a play.