Suckfest II: Tomb Raider's Delayed, Too

No sooner do we find out that the most anticipated game of the year — BioShock Infinite — has been delayed to 2013, than we get hit with another blow. Go ahead and scratch Tomb Raider off the 2012 release list, too.

Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher announced on the Eidos forums that the hotly-anticipated reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, originally targeted for this Fall’s (admittedly crowded) release calendar, has been delayed. Now, fans who can’t wait to guide Lara through her dark, survivalist adventure will have to wait until Q1 2013.

Gallagher’s stated reasons for delaying echo those of BioShock‘s Ken Levine: “We truly believe we have something very special on our hands… Our priority is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game.” In other words, they’re adding some additional coats of polish, shaping and honing the game to perfection. Unlike BioShock Infinite, Crystal Dynamics and its publisher Square Enix are still planning to show Tomb Raider at E3 next month.

As I said last week, I’m sure this extra bit of effort will result in a superior game. And it’s not that I’m not willing to wait for a better game. I’d much rather play a game that’s the best it can possibly be, than play a game right now that could have been better. In the end, I’m sure this is the smart move for Tomb Raider.

But the excruciatingly long wait for a game that looks this amazing… just bites.