Eidos Interactive has announced today that the Xbox 360 console version of Tomb Raider: Underworld will be benefiting from nearly 6 hours of additional gameplay time in the form of two additional chapters titled “Beneath the Ashes” and “Lara’s Shadow”.

The DLC will be available via the Xbox Live Marketplace, with the first chapter (Beneath the Ashes) expected to hit this Christmas, and the second (Lara’s Shadow) unloading in early in 2009.

Eidos promises that both chapters will provide a unique experience, and Sean Vesce, General Manager for Crystal Dynamics, adds that the “retail release of any videogame is just the start of the player experience.”

It seems that Microsoft has bought into Sean’s philosophy, as they appear to be buying up exclusive content left and right. While it may be extend the life of a game, it remains to be seen whether or not it will drastically improve a console manufacturers bottom line.

You won’t have to hold your breath till December though, in addition to the DLC, it was also announced that a demo of the game will make its way on to XBL in October.

Full press release available after the jump.

EIDOS AND XBOX ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOADABLE CHAPTERS FOR TOMB RAIDER: UNDERWORLD

First New Chapter Rolls Out in Time for the Holidays with Game Demo Available in October

Redwood City, Calif. – October 6, 2008 – Eidos Interactive, creator of some of the world’s leading video game properties, today announces an agreement with Microsoft to release two brand new downloadable chapters in the continuing Tomb Raider adventures of Lara Croft. Containing up to six hours of new gameplay and content for Tomb Raider: Underworld™, the chapters will be available exclusively on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®. A demo for Tomb Raider: Underworld will also be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in October.

Offering entirely new content specifically designed to extend the Tomb Raider: Underworld experience, Tomb Raider: Underworld – Beneath the Ashes and Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow will deliver two very different single player gameplay experiences. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Beneath the Ashes takes place after the Underworld story has finished and will feature an incredible new environment to explore, additional secrets to unlock and different enemies to fight. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow will introduce players to a new kind of playable character and create a unique Tomb Raider experience.

The first new chapter, Tomb Raider: Underworld – Beneath the Ashes, will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace this Christmas. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow will follow in early 2009.

“We are constantly looking at ways to extend our franchises, whilst developing a deeper relationship with our players. The retail release of any videogame is just the start of the player experience, from there it all depends where you want to take the player in terms of ideas and innovation,” said Sean Vesce, General Manager for Crystal Dynamics. . “With these additional chapters and the online reach of Xbox LIVE, we are able to deliver exclusive content to millions of gamers worldwide.”

“We’re thrilled that Xbox owners will be able to extend their Lara Croft adventures with exclusive Tomb Raider: Underworld episodes,” said George Peckham, General Manager of Global Third Party Publishing for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. “We look forward to continue working closely with our great publishing partners to deliver the most robust gaming experiences, only on Xbox 360.”

Today, Eidos Interactive revealed the first gameplay footage, as well as some screenshots for the PS3/Xbox 360 versions of Tomb Raider: Underworld. They also announced a release date of November 18th of this year for the Xbox 360, PC, PS3, and PS2 versions of the game.

While the trailer is done as if for a movie, it’s great to see some footage of the game in action. I haven’t played a Tomb Raider title in a while, so I’m definitely going to be checking this one out. Plus, she encounters a giant freaking squid. Hit the jump for the gallery of screenshots.

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Creative advertising 101. In an effort to beef up their gaming coverage, Playboy Magazine will be running the following advertisement/interview with Kane of the upcoming Kane & Lynch video game. The piece will be titled “A candid conversation with a convicted killer about a final assignment that left 25 dead and why he looks forward to his own execution”.

You gotta’ give it up to the individual(s) who thought this up, as it kills two birds with one stone, acting as an advertisement as well as giving readers a glimpse into the character, ultimately reinforcing the brand.

After all, brand awareness is huge in an era where games cost $60 a pop and the competition is stiff.

Playboy: Do you deserve to die?
Kane: That’s what the judge said.

Playboy: Do you feel guilty for your crimes?
Kane: I’m about to put on an orange jumpsuit and get on a bus with barred windows. I sure as hell am not innocent. I acknowledge the pain I’ve caused. But I’ll be honest and say that I’m not really feeling much anymore. You get numb as the years go by.

Playboy: How do you want your family to remember you?
Kane: [Pauses] I don’t want them to. It will be easier that way.

Playboy: Are you saying your family isn’t important to you?
Kane: I’m saying my family is important to me. That’s why all they need to remember about me is that I was sorry tat I left them when they needed me the most. I’d do anything to make that up to them.

Playboy: You sound as if you’re looking forward to your execution.
Kane: That’s what prison food will do to you. [Smiles] Not everything you’ve heard about me is true. Most of it is. By now, dying is the easy part.

Playboy: You’ve been linked with high-profile heists, bank robberies, and murders around the world. Was it hard to go to work every day?
Kane: In the beginning, yes. But I’ve never had the choice not to go–I’ve never had the opportunity to return to a normal life. I lost that privilege a long time ago. But yes, I did enjoy the money.

Playboy: Tell me about The 7.
Kane: [Smiles] Is that your lucky number?

Playboy: Or an international criminal organization that is believed to have stolen more than $14 billion in the past 20 years, leaving hundreds dead in the process. It’s also rumored that The 7 is the only group to have ever successfully broken into the United States Treasury.
Kane: You think you know a lot of things, don’t you? [Pauses] There is no 7, not [cut off of advertisement]

Three additional caption/quotes that appear below three photos just under the interview above…

“I have been waiting my entire career to meet a member of The 7. I am surprised to see the clear intelligence in Kane’s eyes. He is not crazy. He is relaxed and almost humble. That makes him even more frightening.”

On the smoking: “Kane smokes an entire pack in 10 minutes. I ask him why he smokes so much and he says he wants the cigarettes to get him before the electric chair does”

On the movie: “Most people, killers or not, would love a movie and game created about their life. Not Kane. Look he says, I’ll be dead and my family won’t get a dime.”

Kane & Lynch: Playboy Interview/Advertisement (click to enlarge)

Credit: Kotaku