Before Nathan Drake, there was Lara Croft. The intrepid British adventurer became a pop culture icon in the '90s before fading a little after some poor sequels. 2013's reboot brought her back up to speed, but for all of its clever characterisation and focus on Lara's origin story, it didn't feel like a genuine Tomb Raider game. Rise of the Tomb Raider is aiming to correct that, not only giving Lara a deeper personality but also throwing in some all-important tomb raiding for good measure.

The 2013 game focused on Lara's first steps to becoming a legitimate badass, and Rise continues the transition - she's not quite made the full journey yet. However, the Lara we get this time is more assured and confident, and is certainly just as brutal - the level of violence is quite shocking, allowing Lara the chance to take down enemies with a wide range of weapons in gory fashion. As she grows, she gains experience points and unlocks, and these add to the feeling of progression. You can also craft items, which is more engaging that it might sound.

The plot is pure hokum as you might expect, but it does give Lara the excuse to explore some absolutely jaw-dropping locations that could only exist inside a video game - or an Indiana Jones movie. Crumbling cities built by long-vanished civilisations beg to be traversed and conquered, and it's during this moments that Rise truly nails the classic Tomb Raider feel. The puzzles which reside in these environments are pleasingly constructed and a joy to solve, and there's a real feeling of trepidation as you gingerly explore unstable yet imposing structures.

In terms of visuals, Rise is a notable improvement over its forerunner. Lara's animation is perfect, and her character model packed with detail. The aforementioned locations are even more striking, boasting incredible scale and realistic visual touches. In fact, the entire package is blessed with an epic feel.

Exclusive to the Xbox One until next year, Rise of the Tomb Raider was supposed to be the console's answer to Uncharted 4 this festive season - but Sony's game has since been delayed until 2016. While the lack of a show-down at Christmas may have disappointed Microsoft, Lara's latest adventure is a worthy rival to those of Nathan Drake, and will keeps long-time fans of the series - and Xbox One owners - busy and thoroughly entertained.
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