Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary - first look

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The landmark adventure series goes back to its lonely, exploration-focused roots

Not all the animals are that restrained, however. Since this is the Lost Valley level, fans will know it as the place where Lara fights living, breathing dinosaurs. The velociraptors look a damn sight better than they did a decade ago, and they like to move in packs, so Lara will have to be quick on the draw with her pistols.

Not all the animals are that restrained, however. Since this is the Lost Valley level, fans will know it as the place where Lara fights living, breathing dinosaurs. The velociraptors look a damn sight better than they did a decade ago, and they like to move in packs, so Lara will have to be quick on the draw with her pistols.

Unfortunately, the appearance of dinosaurs also heralded the end of the demo; as fans will remember, the Lost Valley is also home to a tyrannosaurus that makes one of the most dramatic entrances in videogame history. This time around, it happened in a cutscene; after gunning down a few velociraptors, Lara had to duck as one of the big lizards sailed through the air and smashed into the rock wall next to her. A close-up on her horrified face zoomed out with each booming step, and when the camera had pulled back to the point where she was almost in the distance, a single, gargantuan, clawed foot stomped into view. A zoom back in on Lara's suddenly determined expression quickly gave way to a "Coming soon…" screen, however, so we didn't get to see our old nemesis just yet.

It remains to be seen just how well the mix of old and new will come together when Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary is released in the spring, but so far the game looks to have a lot of promise. And given Crystal Dynamics' work on the stellar TR: Legend, we're confident they'll do Lara's original adventure justice - or at least make it palatable for those who missed it the first time.

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.