1. Introduction
2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Tomb Raider franchise that includes a host of games, spin-offs (such as Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light), mobile games, books, merchandise, and even two movies. In celebrating the franchise, I am presenting a musical overview of the Tomb Raider games.
The first Tomb Raider game was developed by Core Design , released in 1996. Five more games were developed under Core (Tomb Raider- II, III, The Last Revelation, Chronicles, The Angel of Darkness) which are grouped together as the Original Series.
The games released after Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness were all developed by Crystal Dynamics, starting with Tomb Raider- Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld. These three are grouped together as the Tomb Raider Trilogy since they share the same cyclic story. Finally, Crystal Dynamics rebooted the franchise and released Tomb Raider (the same name as the original game in 1996), and Rise of the Tomb Raider. The last two entries are group together as the Reboot series.
The aim of this article is not to bring anything new to the table, but to introduce the reader to the music of the Tomb Raider games. Seven composers contributed to eleven games over a period of nineteen years (1996 - 2015). I will introduce the reader to the composers and their notable output, whereafter I will introduce the Tomb Raider games with selected musical examples. My article will exclude the music of expansion packs, focusing on the main Tomb Raider games.
2. Meet the Composers
Nathan McCree
Nathan McCree is a British video game composer and audio editor. Besides music for the Tomb Raider franchise, McCree also did work for FIFA 2006, Eurosport, Chime, and Silent Hill: Downpour.
Peter Connelly
Peter Connelly is a British video game composer and sound editor. His output includes work on games such as Watchdogs, The Crew, and The Fast and the Furious (video game).
Martin Iveson
Martin Iveson (also known under the alias Atjazz) is a British composer known for his work on video games as well as independent contemporary album releases (house, hip-hop, and other genres). His notable output includes Project Eden, and the Tomb Raider games.
Troels Folmann
Troels Folmann is a Danish composer, known for video game- and trailer music. His notable output includes work on Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, as well as Counter Strike: Global Offensive. He is also a founding member of the sound library software company named 8DIO.
Colin O'Malley
Colin O'Malley is an American composer whose output includes work for CNN, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, and others. His video game soundtrack output includes Madden NFL 13, and Superman Returns.
Jason Graves
Jason Graves is an American video game composer, with an output including notable titles such as Dead Space, The Order: 1886, and Far Cry: Primal.
Bobby Tahouri
Bobby Tahouri is an American composer. His output includes work on Despicable Me 2, Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans, and Iron Man.
3. The Tomb Raider video games
Tomb Raider
The first Tomb Raider was released in 1996, with a scored composed by Nathan McCree and sound effects by Martin Iveson.
Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II was released in 1997 with a score composed by Nathan McCree.
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (1998) is the third installation in the Tomb Raider franchise. Nathan McCree wrote the score whilst Martin Iveson returned to supervise sound effects.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Peter Connelly composed the soundtrack for 1999 installment of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, also compiling the sound effects for this game.
Tomb Raider: Chronicles
Soundtrack and score for Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000) were composed by Peter Connelly.
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was released in 2003. Peter Connelly and Martin Iveson both contributed to the soundtrack for this game.
