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Last year, we spoke with Crystal Dynamics' global brand manager Karl Stewart, about the studio's new three team structure: the "pillar" team was hard at work on the new Tomb Raider reboot, one of the highlights of this year's E3; the experimental team was working on smaller games under the "Lara Croft" banner; and the brand team, which looks after the lucrative Tomb Raider brand and, ostensibly, oversees projects like the upcoming movie.

At that time, Stewart told us, "The experimental team is basically just looking at the IP going forward and how we can take Lara to new and exciting places." The first and, as it turns out likely the last, place they took her was last year's Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, an excellent isometric downloadable co-op game. So is Crystal Dynamics still looking to take Lara to new and exciting places? Outside of the reboot, it sounds like the answer to that question is in the negative.

"We're not making a second one," Stewart told me.

"Not yet, or just not?" I asked.

"Oh no, we're not making a second Lara. For us, that Lara Croft was, in a way, it was sort of the furthest possible extension of that iteration of Lara. Once we finished Guardian of Light, obviously we knew we were making this version of Tomb Raider," Stewart told us, referring to the reboot they were showing off during our interview.

Stewart was clear that the game performed well financially. "In business terms, it was very successful," he told me. What was less successful was the implementation of its online co-op feature. "In terms of issues, the one issue that plagued us all the way through, which looking back we would've changed our minds to do other things, was definitely the online," Stewart lamented. "I wish if we had the ability and had the information, we could've been a bit more transparent."

While the studio isn't pursuing the experimental Lara Croft series, it does recognize it as a successful "creative side endeavor" for the studio. In fact, Stewart told us that Daniel Neuberger, game director on Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, is now the game director of the new Tomb Raider.

#comeback At the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, game designer Keiji Inafune, then at Capcom, said the Japanese game industry was "finished". At this year's E3, one Square Enix exec seemed to realize just that. More »

All we can say is that whoever is playing as Agent 47 in the trailer is definitely not getting the "Silent Assassin" award at the end of the level.

#subtlebutsexy Not me! One Japanese blog did, pointing how just how erotic Serah Farron is in the trailer Final Fantasy XIII-2. The result is a catalogue of cleavage and panty glimpses. More »

Of all the surprises Nintendo tossed out during E3, none was as random as Fortune Street. And it's weird whether you know the history or not; if you don't pay attention to old imports, it's just a Mario/Dragon Quest board game for Wii, which is unquestionably bizarre. But for those of us in the know about relatively obscure crossover games, Fortune Street is the left-field localization of a series that has been a fixture in Japan since 1991: Itadaki Street.

Itadaki Street, created by Dragon Quest's Yuji Horii, is a video board game series about buying shops on spaces on the board, charging other players for occupying those shops Monopoly-style, and increasing your wealth by clever placement of yourself and your holdings (passing by the "bank" increases the value of stuff you own, as does owning contiguous blocks) and through manipulation of a "stock market."

I didn't happen to see the stock market in my quick demo, but I did buy a clothing shop and other assorted businesses on the board ... as a slime, which is pretty wonderful to think about. The corners of the Bowser-themed board had playing card suits (spade, club, etc.) which would deliver a cash bonus if all four were collected and then the Bank was crossed. I didn't hit that milestone, but I did land on one of those suits, which gave me a chance to draw a card for a random effect like more pay for my businesses, or (what I got) the opportunity to buy any one space on the board.

Some previous Itadaki Streets have featured crossovers between Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest; the 2007 DS iteration was the first to mix Mario and the RPG mainstay. This first-ever North American release will be out on Wii this holiday season. Check out a trailer after the break.

A new Itadaki Street, Square Enix's Dragon Quest meets Mario board game, is headed to the Wii sometime this year in Japan. Pricing is TBA. [Famitsu] More »

#handson I've always thought that Final Fantasy XIII didn't get a fair shake. Admittedly, it was an overwhelmingly linear journey—player agency wasn't topmost among the priorities incorporated into its development. But it was an extraordinarily intentional game; nothing about it ever felt accidental or unplanned. It did a few things, but it did them exceedingly well: excellent combat, well-produced cut scenes, a surprisingly mature narrative, and quality voice-acting. But all of that deliberateness—of which I was a fan—came at the expense of a certain amount of freedom that many fans expect from the series. XIII-2 is looking to change much of that. More »

So let's be honest here: Even if you liked Final Fantasy XIII (and I did), odds are that you still thought the game had some issues. The battle system, while nice and complex, did take a while to really get rolling, and put a few levels of control between you and your characters. The world was very linear, making for a long chain of fights rather than any real exploration. And dead mother or not, (again, we're being brutally honest here) Hope was a whiner of the highest order.

The last time we had a sequel to a numbered Final Fantasy game, Square was coming off of Final Fantasy X, and they took the opportunity, with X-2, to go a little goofy with fan service ("Dresspheres"? Really?). There will be some of that in XIII-2, but the stakes are higher this time. The game represents two opportunities: the chance to re-introduce players to what XIII did right, and to smooth out some of the problems players had. According to a little hands-on time we had with the game last week, Square Enix is taking full advantage of that first opportunity, and only grudgingly stepping up on the second one.

The very first screen in the hands-off demo of Hitman: Absolution we saw at a pre-E3 event last month tells the story of what the fifth interation in this stealth assassin series is trying to be. The logo of the game appears over an extremely detailed window pane, with rain beating down on it from outside, and a blurry view of the Chicago skyline at night in the background.

The image could easily just be mistaken for a menu screen -- in high definition view, it looks just plain gorgeous, like a live action piece of art. But as soon as the player presses start, you discover that it's actually an in-game shot. A body flies through the window, shattering the glass, and the camera pans down to reveal Agent 47, inside what appears to be a library of some kind, hiding in the dark from Chicago police.

#absolutebaldguy Didn't we just post Hitman: Absolution screens yesterday? Sure we did, but they weren't all of the new Hitman: Absolution screens, and we're all about getting the job done, just like Agent 47. More »

#watchthis One question: if he's going to smash up the joint, why bother sneaking around in the first place? More »

#sequelswithinsequels Square Enix's role-playing sequel Final Fantasy XIII-2 is playable at Sony's E3 press conference. So, yeah, we went and played it. More »

#thirteentwo There's been precious few Japanese games on show at this year's E3 thus far. Let's remedy that, then, with a longer, more productive trailer for upcoming RPG Final Fantasy XIII-2 than we saw the other day. More »

#bangbang Not one screen, but two. Until now, we've only had 27 seconds of a teaser, but here are apparently Hitman: Absolution's first in-game screens. More »

#watchthis Some background: a preview build of the new Deus Ex game leaked onto torrent sites last week. So people out there, in the wild, are playing the early part of the game. And they're doing a better job marketing it than Square Enix could ever hope. More »

Following on its Halo: Reach figures, Square-Enix has announced plans to release more products based on the Halo franchise. In conjunction with the upcoming tenth anniversary of the series, Square is producing a pair of "re-envisioned" figures, one of a Spartan V and one of the Master Chief himself. As Square notes, the figures have been updated with "sleek lines" and "minor alterations," all resulting in "a sense of fictional reality and massiveness present in Japanese sci-fi entertainment." Or, to put it a little more delicately, dayum.

A release is planned for later this year, with a retail price of $54.99 each. The figures will also be shown at Square-Enix's booth during E3. We'll be sure to stop by and steal ... er ... take some pictures. Check out hi-res photos of both figures in the gallery below.

#playarts Square Enix Products has produced some lovely action figures in its Halo: Reach Play Arts Kai series. Now the company commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Halo franchise with a re-envisioned version of Master Chief and a stunning Spartan Mark V. More »

#theseriesthatneverends Deus Ex is being published by Square Enix. You wouldn't know it from first appearances, what with it not being called Deus Ex Cerebellum Equilibrium Perineum XIV-2 or starring teenagers with big hair, but a closer look in this screenshot gives the game away. More »

It's not like you really need a reason to watch a new Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer. That said, if you want one, we've got you covered. At around 1:20, hero Adam Jensen snaps an enemy's neck, and by "snap," we mean ... well, let's not completely spoil it.

#watchthis We've got some tips lately that a build of the new Deus Ex game had been leaked onto torrents. Sad business, but it at least explains where this video comes from. That and it's awesome intro. More »

A Dungeon Siege 3 demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo offers up a slice of the game's hacking and slashing and, as an added bonus, also features online and local co-op. That's a good thing because, let's face it, loot is more fun when it's being stolen from a friend.

Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment have released a playable demo of dungeon crawler Dungeon Siege III for Xbox 360 today. People who would prefer to play it on PC or PlayStation 3 will have to wait until June 7 to try it out. More »

#video Want your Deus Ex a little more action-packed? Our latest look at Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex: Human Revolution fits the bill. It's an opportunity to see protagonist Adam Jensen get his ass kicked and to bask in a whole lotta cybernetic gun fights. More »

We got a slight heads-up about Heroes of Ruin a couple of days ago thanks to developer n-Space. Now, Square Enix has decided to spill the full complement of beans regarding the co-op action RPG for 3DS.

Starring "four unlikely heroes" (presumably the four hero-looking people seen in the artwork), Heroes of Ruin features drop-in, drop-out co-op for up to four players locally, and connectivity for both StreetPass (which builds a shop out of items found by other players) and SpotPass (which provides "rare items or unique challenges" through discovered wi-fi hotspots). Players discover " new layouts and routes each time they play," suggesting the presence of randomly generated dungeons.

Descend into our gallery to find the first screenshots. Heroes of Ruin is scheduled for an early 2012 release.

#socialbutterfly What is Heroes of Ruin? It is Square Enix's stab at social gaming on the Nintendo 3DS. More »

#justthefax In a feature story published today in Sweden, the founders of GRIN lay their studio's precipitous demise at Square Enix's feet, saying the publisher reneged on payments during the development of a Final Fantasy game and saddled them with ridiculous requirements as the project went sour. More »

Developer n-Space (Geist, the Call of Duty DS games) posted some art to Facebook related to a 3DS game called Heroes of Ruin, which it's evidently making for Square Enix -- and then pulled the image. The developer didn't offer any additional info, but the artwork suggests a fantasy setting with some modern-ish technology (like handguns!)

It also suggests giant cat-men.

A picture of four fantasy-type characters fighting makes us think of Gauntlet or other co-op dungeon adventures, but that's just speculation. For real information -- like what exactly a "Hero of Ruin" could possibly be -- we must wait, either until E3 comes or Square Enix decides to tell us. In the meantime, find the full image past the break.

#moneybags Got too much money? Little sense? Like Dragon Quest? Square Enix has an offer for you! More »

Even though Square Enix has yet to iron out all the kinks in Final Fantasy XIV, it plans to announce a third MMO during its current fiscal year (ending March 31, 2012). According to CEO Yoichi Wada, the title will co-exist with the company's two existing MMOs, the aforementioned FFXIV and still-running Final Fantasy XI.

In Wada's recent investors presentation (translated by Andriasang), the CEO doesn't indicate when the company plans to launch the new title, but does say that the game should be announced before the end of the fiscal year -- so by next April. For now, Square Enix is focused on shaping up the troubled FFXIV in hopes of an eventual release on PS3.

In a financial meeting, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada said the company was working on a big MMO in addition to Final Fantasy XIV. "I think we will reveal it sometime this year," said Wada. [株式会社スクウェア・エニックス・ホールディングス] More »