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Lara Croft uncovered

Lara Croft uncovered

Lara Croft uncovered

Next year’s Tomb Raider reboot is not only one of the most anticipated games of recent years, it’s become one of the most intriguing because it promises to show how the heroine became the woman we know today.

We picked up the controller about half an hour into the story. Lara’s a mere teenager, not yet a famous tomb raiding, endangered-species slayer. Shipwrecked on an island, she’s already witnessed the death of one friend at the hand of the inhabitants (think Lost’s Others).

The island is structured as a series of mini hubs. The first one sees us find a bow, gruesomely attached to the hanging corpse of someone who ran foul of the islanders.

The task is hunting deer for food. A few wobbly bow shots later, it’s mission accomplished. Before long, we’re back into classic Tomb Raider scenarios – crawling through enclosed spaces and finding missing tools to open doors.

The final section we played saw us briefly reunited with our shipmates before the locals came for us. Adrenaline kicked in. We tried to run. We were given no choice…

We scrambled for a gun, picked it up and fired. Lara’s first kill. It was her or him. They’ll probably come easier from now on. Endangered species beware…

Tomb Raider will be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013