Tomb Raider IV is to be released in a simpler US format for American kids with ten-minute attention spans. The British version of the game has been deemed too difficult by its manufacturer Eidos and so it has made the puzzles easier to solve. The game, which features the pneumatic Lara Croft, combines shoot-'em-up action with a range of brain-teasing challenges that have to be completed to progress through the game. However, according to an Eidos representative, research has shown that Americans only play computer games for brief periods before going off to watch the TV. If they haven't solved a puzzle within this limited time span, interest in the game drops off. The Register despairs. Kids these days, eh? Eidos is also changing the game for the Japanese market -- but not to make it easier this time. In Japan Lara will suffer penalties rather than get killed off as she would in the British version. Why? Because the Japanese never want to die during a game. She will also change the way she dispatches the bad guys because of the deeply-held fear of dying a "dishonourable death". Odd as it may seem, a computerised woman with abnormal body shapings has become a cultural indicator. Welcome to the 21st Century. ®