Eidos Interactive has officially launched the new Tomb Raider portal - a destination for fans of the series to find the latest news, art, and announcements regarding Lara Croft’s newest adventure, Tomb Raider: Underworld. Developed by Crystal Dynamics, this entry marks the first Tomb Raider title built specifically for next generation consoles, bringing Lara Croft and her world into life-like detail.

Continuing the thrilling legacy of Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tomb Raider: Underworld represents an advancement in exploration-based gameplay, delivering an epic adventure that offers a new level of challenge and choice. Using every weapon in her arsenal – from her signature dual guns and expanded kit of archeological tools to her own physical prowess and the environment itself – Lara embarks on a quest that circles the globe to uncover the secrets of the Norse underworld and a forgotten power that, if unleashed, could lay waste to all civilization.

Visit www.tombraider.com to uncover exclusive developer podcasts and blogs, screenshots and other media, and all of the latest news.

Tomb Raider: Underworld launches November 2008 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo DS platforms.

I would unabashedly list Deus Ex as one of the most underrated games ever, because I personally hold it as the greatest video game made yet. This comes as joyous news to hear that Deus Ex will be an officially free and legal download next week! That’s right: free body augmentations, global conspiracies and paranoia for all!

Hit the jump to find out where to catch it!

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You must have been under the rock of ignorance, if you missed the Gerstmann conspiracy/controversy that’s doing the rounds the last half week. To summarize, the ever-popular Jeff Gerstmann got fired abruptly from GameSpot, and no official statement can be given as to why. But strong rumours are pointing that GameSpot was under advertising pressure, and fired good man Jeff for his low review of the actually abysmal Kane & Lynch.

While most of the internet world appears to be opposing GameSpot (several boycotts, subscription cancellations, spamming and stuff), it is nice to know that someone is fighting for GameSpot’s cause. Ziff Davis, the guys who own 1UP and FileFront, sent a bunch of their staffers to console the GameSpot staff. Constructing a friendly banner, they marched two blocks up, yelled their support for game reviewers (leaving most passers-by saying “WTF?”) and bummed around a bit.

Disconsider this not, reader. GameSpot is one of the biggest game reviewing and general information sites on the net, and if something serious is happening to GameSpot, something serious will happen to the gaming industry, especially game reviewers and their credibility. Considering our motley crew at StuffWeLike are part-time reviewers (except the charming Ted, who’s full-time), I have sympathy to what GameSpot must be going through. But I shall continue to neglect them just because they fired Jeff, good reason or not.

What do you think of this whole controversy? Are the rumours worth believing? Is GameSpot innocent? Was this all really Eidos’ plan? Is this a shadow of more sinister events to come? Involving aliens, dinosaurs, robots and cowboys (wow)? Discuss in the comments below!

I’ve always maintained that Deus Ex is the greatest game ever made by man, and with good reason. It was thought-provoking, immersive, intelligent and its unique game mechanics were plain perfect. While its sequel never lived up to its predecessor’s timeless glory, I still liked it for just being. I’m in need of underwear right now, because Eidos has just announced Deus Ex 3. That’s right, folks - Deus Ex is back with a vengeance!

Of course, Ion Storm saddeningly dissolved a long time ago, so this is Eidos’ Montreal studio’s first game, and that’s a blazing inauguration. Gamasutra reports the company’s structure, their goals and other details not concerning Deus Ex. What I found to be interesting was that Eidos mentions that the new studio will have tightly-knit, multi-discipline groups (at the most 80 people) working on a single project. Also, their development cycles will reportedly last 24 months, as opposed to the much lesser numbers of their competitors.

Eidos also released the teaser for Deus Ex 3, which you can find below. It’s as ambiguous as you’d expect from a teaser, and depicts a bio-augmented foetus, along with some mysterious words from a narrator. There are also a series of pictures that run damn fast. There’s a list of what they are at Wikipedia, if you’re that interested. (UPDATE: We have just learned that the guys at Shacknews have spent a good portion of their lives taking screenshots from the series of images. They have 20 images here right now, and I have no idea if those are all the images or not.)

While this is all excellent news, I have a strange fear in the back of my mind that this may get “consolized” as well, just like (*shudder*) Invisible War. Also, the fact that Montreal is facing a development cycle, no matter how long, hints at the same. Deus Ex, the beautiful game, in its unadulterated form is one that can only be reasonably played on the PC in its entirety. I hope that Montreal tries to recreate that, rather than tossing this legendary franchise into the unwashed masses of multi-console video games.