Canada’s videogame event Festival Arcadia is holding a special “Virtual Fashion” show on November 8 at the Society for Arts and Technology where the worlds of fashion and videogames will converge and cause a rip in the space time continuum. Well, maybe not, but other than the odd gamer T-shirt or other wearables broadcasting to the world your love of all things gaming, fashion and vidoegames usually are not uttered in the same sentence. Times are a changing though, and pixilated heroine Lara Croft will be helping to usher in a brand new eon where all can co-exist peacefully.

On November 8, a Virtually Fashionable evening will feature 10 of Quebec’s best-known designers as they present creations designed specifically for Lara Croft on real-life models as they strut their stuff down the runway. After the show, judges will pick the best one which will be implemented into Lara’s wardrobe as downloadble content after the launch of Tomb Raider: Underworld and the winning designer will take home a cool $3,000. The other creations will be judged by the public and both outfits will be available via Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 version of the game.

So it is quite possible that Lara will be fighting bad guys, crawling through the mud and fighting giant squids in a hot-pink full length sequined gown or something just as odd and maybe even a bit revealing. It just would not be a Lara Croft game if she was not dressed a bit vampy. No word yet on just how much, if anything, these downloadable outfits will cost or how soon they will hit Xbox Live after the game lands November 18, but as soon as we hear something we will be sure to let you know.

Today is GameTap Thursday, like most Thursdays here at Gaming Today, and just look what the folks over there have in store for you:

• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory: Yes, Sam Fisher is once again out to save the world in this third installment in the stealth-action series. Against the background of rising tensions in the East, protagonist Sam Fisher (Michael Ironside) is once again called into action, utilizing brand new stealth mechanics and close-quarter combat techniques to diffuse the situation before it’s too late. And with major graphical and lighting improvements, Splinter Cell looks better than ever.

• Ocean Express: This puzzle game from Strategy First has you working on the docks so to speak. There’s ships to load and money to be made! But filling those big barges is more complicated than it sounds, and only the most efficient shippers can possibly hope to earn a profit. You’ll start with just one barge and grow your shipping empire, one crate at a time.

Added to the ever growing roster of free games this week is none other than the illustrious Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Anniversary which will be free-to-play for an entire week. Should you not be interested in this game or if you already own it, take heart because they have 143 other free games to play which is enough to keep even the most hardcore gamer busy for more days than one would care to mention.

The full list of free games can be seen after the jump or you can head on over to GameTap yourself and see what hoops you have to jump through to become a gold member. Personally I recommend doing a few summersaults and maybe a back-flip with a full twist. Okay, I am kidding, all you have to do is register and you will be guided through the process from there. If you are strapped for cash and just want the freebies, you still have to register.

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The final two Tomb Raider: Underworld gameplay videos are out and available on FileFront. These gameplay videos don’t lose any of beautiful graphic quality of the premier trailer sent out by Eidos. With the new skills for Lara that can be executed with the Wiimote and it appears as though you have a game to look forward too. Hopefully Underworld can live up to the high expectations its setting.

In the first video, watch as Lara leaves the safety of her yacht and dives into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, only to be confronted by dangerous sharks at every corner. Help Lara solve puzzles to unlock secret caves and further navigate the deep sea underworld.

In the next video, trample through the jungles of Mexico with Lara on her all-terrain motorbike as she searches for an ancient temple. Utilizing her flexibility and agility, watch as she scales the temple walls, walks along narrow beams and uses her grapple tool to explore the ancient ruins of Mexico, letting no obstacle get in the way of her search for the truth.

Once again, GameTap Thursday is here, and that means that another episode of Grimm has been released.  Per the usual, it is free to play for the first 24 hours of release just like past episodes.

• American McGeee’s Grimm: Godfather Death: When a couple gives birth to their 13th child, the father ventures out to find a godfather for the boy and chooses … dum dum dum.. Death. Raising the boy to become a famous doctor who has a “knack” for knowing who can be saved and who cannot; all seems well until the boy falls in love with a girl whom Death has laid claim to, so he tricks his father into sparring her life. Should be interesting.. we all know what happens when you try to trick Death, just look at the mess Peter Griffin got himself into.

• Sub Command utting you at the helm of one of three legendary submarines you much choose whether it will it be the Akula, Russia’s nuclear-powered silver shark? Will it be the Seawolf, America’s fast and stealthy secret weapon? Or will you pick the extremely versatile 688i, capable of top performance under the most adverse conditions? The choice is yours! Woo Hoo! We all love choices, don’t we?

• Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?: Ok, I have no clue if Jeff Foxworthy is in this game or not, but regardless, you can still figure out if you learned anything in school when playing this quiz game. Based on the popular FOX Television game show, Valusoft’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? pits your mind against those of average grade-schoolers. How much knowledge have you retained from your youth? Find out with over 3,000 unique questions.

I am assuming that no free games were debuted this week because of the Grimm episodes, which – btw – only has two more episodes left.

September 11             The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs
September 18             Beauty and the Beast

However, there are 142 games free over on GameTap for you to choose from, and if you are so willing, I have posted the entire list after the jump. As always, check out the official site for yourself to see what goodies are hiding within the hallowed servers of GameTap.

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Alison Carroll made waves on the internet a couple weeks ago when she was crowned the new official Lara Croft model and the face of the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld. Now Eidos has released a video showing behind the scenes of a photo shoot where some of her Tomb Raiding skills get put to the test. It’s actually a little impressive to see the former gymnast flipping through the air and contorting herself much like Ms. Croft would. It is a little strange though that Eidos still has yet to reveal all that much about the actual Tomb Raider: Underworld game itself; especially since it’s due out in November. But on the other hand, a cute, flexible Brit in short shorts and tank top is always bound to get more attention than any video game.

Tomb Raider: Underworld is shaping up to be a very interesting game, which I for one am pretty excited about, and I have not been interested in a Tomb Raider title since the highly lamentable The Angel of Darkness. I have heard that Tomb Raider: Legend was palatable, but with the new turn that Crystal Dynamics is taking with Lara and her adventures, Underworld looks much more tantalizing than any Tomb Raider game released in years.

In the trailer, while searching for Thor’s Hammer in Thailand, the viewer is privy to some of the cool water dynamics, and lush environments that Cyrstal Dynamics have been working so hard on. Also of special note, are Lara’s enemies, which as always, come out in droves to impede her progress. With the prerequisite spiders and the huge leviathan she must subdue should she wish to continue her adventure, Lara must also solve mutli-stage puzzles, and use her unlimited knowledge of acrobatics to reach some of the most precarious heights imaginable.

Newly introduced to the series is the ability to kill multiple enemies with a dual-target system, a brand new shiny motorbike, ans state of the art gear with a new sonar map system. All of which should give long time fans and newcomers to the series a reason to have faith in gaming’s darling once again.

Coming to the PC, PS2, PS3, DS, Wii, and Xbox 360 on November 18, Tomb Raider: Underworld may just be the adventure game of the Fall, providing you are not a Fallout fan. Start crossing your fingers now.

New screens for the game can be found here.

A large part of me can’t believe they’re still doing this, but it looks like another new model has been announced as the official, real-life Lara Croft. A receptionist at a golf club in Great Britain, named Alison Carroll, beat out hundreds of other ladies to win the role of the Tomb Raider heroine. Now she’s set to travel the world to meet fans of the games and be the public face of Ms. Croft. She will be the seventh such model to do so since the first game was released in 1996, not counting Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of Croft in the Tomb Raider films. Carroll will also be promoting the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld, which is set to release on November 21st:

“Lara is strong, athletic, confident, and obviously very attractive. She has everything a man would want from a woman and everything a woman would aspire to be like. I’m really looking forward to playing the part.”

The phrase “glorified booth babe” comes to mind, but I’m not going to complain too much about the opportunity to post some eye candy.

Via The Sun

It’s time for me to be reminded about how badly I was ripped off with an annual subscription — that’s right, it’s time for the third episode of Qore! This month’s is special in that it’ll guarantee you access to the Resistance 2 beta. Annual subscribers will get in on the “premiere” status beta, which is just a fancy way of saying you’ll get in earlier than those who opt to purchase this single episode of Qore.

In the world of downloadable content, there’s a new track ($3.99) and several skin packs ($2.49 each) for NASCAR 09, a team mode add-on for Snakeball ($1.99), and new tracks for both Rock Band and Guitar Hero III.

One other noteworthy release is the PlayStation Home theme which, as we informed you earlier, will automatically enter you for a slot in the Home beta. You’re not guaranteed a spot, but this is currently the only way to get into the beta as it expands in late August.

Hit the full break for the full list of content.

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Last week during E3, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos offered fans of Tomb Raider looking forward to Underworld a behind the scenes look at the latest adventure for our heroine Lara Croft. While I enjoyed the video we posted very much, I was disappointed that an actual trailer for the game was not sent our way along with it.

This past Monday, however, the cinematic trailer for Tomb Raider: Underworld popped up on the official site, and it was absolutely lovely. The good news about this though, is now we have the trailer as well.

Tomb Raider: Underworld puts players in an epic adventure as Lara Croft, searching for the truth behind the existence of the Norse underworld and the mythical hammer of Thor. The game is designed with incredible attention to detail, bringing the exotic locales of the game into high-definition fidelity, and featuring large-scale environments to explore and master.

This is the first time in a very long time that I have looked forward to a Tomb Raider game, and from the looks of things, it is going to be a very interesting game indeed – especially in the way it will look and play.

The title ships on November 18th in North America on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PS2 and PC.

The Tomb Raider website has the first official Tomb Raider: Underworld trailer up. The footage doesn’t really give you an idea of what the gameplay will be like. However, it speaks volumes about the graphics and the engine. Lara is sporting a new outfit and hair style and moves fluidly thanks to being modeled on motion captured Olympic gymnast, Heidi Moneymaker.

You can view the latest trailer from Tomb Raider: Underworld on the official Tomb Raider website. For a behind the scenes look at Underworld from Crystal Dynamics, checkout the Tomb Raider: Underworld “Beneath the Surface” trailer on FileFront.