The latest crossover character for Call of Duty is a 90s classic.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Lara Croft is now an operator in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Much like when Nicki Minaj was revealed as an operator, she gets a bundle all to herself.
The Tracer Pack: Tomb Raider Operator Bundle has three Weapon Blueprints, a unique loading screen, a sticker, emblem, and a Tomb Buggy vehicle skin.
Lara’s skin seems to evoke parts of her 2000s aesthetic, the original 1990s outfit, or her 2013 reboot. Her light green blue shirt does provide an instantly recognizable color palette, reflecting the need for such instantly recognizable signifier in 1990s video game characters.
But some fans may remember that that original shirt was actually an impossibly skintight number. Around the 2000s Core Design and Crystal Dynamics refined that to be an overshirt, with the same color, but closer to something a real trekker and mountain climber would wear. This all did happen before the big reboot, but for gamers who followed Lara all these years, these are recognizable changes.
Other elements of her aesthetic are recognizably classic Tomb Raider, including her little backpack, the long braid, and her dual wielding pistols. She does wear and remove those gloves between games, so that element could have been give or take.
If you’re wondering where the reboot Lara is represented, it’s in that jade necklace. As for her face, this may be a subjective matter, but it doesn’t seem that she is particularly meant to look like 2013 Lara or actress Alicia Vikander, who played Lara in the 2018 Tomb Raider film. Safe to assume it’s somewhat of a composite of some elements, intended to make her recognizable in Call of Duty’s battlefields.
Finally, we are all definitely wondering if this Lara is wearing her classic 90s shorts, or a more reboot-ish pair of long pants. Given that Activision hasn’t released the trailer yet, we actually don’t know for now, but they’ll definitely reveal that soon enough.
The three weapons Lara gets apparently evoke things in the video games. Of course, her dual wield Mach 5 pistols are indispensable. The Ice Axe is a recognizable item in the reboot Tomb Raider games, particularly Rise of the Tomb Raider. It’s not as clear what they ‘Mythic Defender’ SMG is supposed to be in reference to, but maybe Activision just needed to balance her character out for the sake of gameplay.
This addition is certainly a surprise, in spite of the early leak. As of now, the Tomb Raider property is owned by Amazon, so they were the people who signed off on this. Ironically, this will probably be the least violent game Lara has been in years.
