Ah Lara. How we adored you in your tight tops and even tighter shorts. Your beautiful though unrealistic feminine form helped us through hours of jumping, puzzling and shooting. But then you went a little off colour and this reviewer admits to not even playing the last game in the series, frightened off by the vitriolic reviews that spewed forth on its release. But thankfully, as stated on the back of the game cover, Lara Croft is back and yep she's still wearing shorts tighter than a fish's bum.

However this is no longer the young, adventure-seeking Lara that many of us remember; dark happenings in her past and a mystery that has its tendrils in her family are the impetus for the story. The main game centers on Lara's exploration into why her mother mysteriously disappeared after a plane crash many years ago, as well as an expedition where most of her team ended up dead. Not exactly grumpy, this Lara is a bit more... seasoned and quite happy to kill anyone who gets in her way.

Tying the plot together is what the game refers to as the monomyth: the tale in many cultures of the sword in the stone and the lady of the lake which just so happens, in our culture, to refer to the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The sword itself is an ancient relic, millennia older than the myth itself, broken into many pieces, which Lara inevitably manages to piece together over the course of the game. As camp as the story sounds it actually comes across quite well and you'll no doubt be hooked by the game's many cut scenes and story moments.

To the uninitiated, Tomb Raider Legend's gameplay is basically a toned down version of the recent Prince of Persia series. Lara's moves are a fair bit slower and less extensive than the Prince's but throughout the game's many environments there are well-designed acrobatic runs and suitably 'tomb-y' environs to explore. I guess those tight shorts have the purpose of reduced air resistance when leaping from ledge to ledge or something...

There's also much swimming, shooting and puzzling to be had. A nefarious senator's son is also after the artifact for, well, nefarious purposes and at every turn Lara is thwarted in her quest and has to follow the bastard's trail to get what she needs. Most of the combat is against other humans but there are also a few animal encounters. The only difference is that human opponents have guns and Lara has a special move whereby she can jump off a human enemy and the game's version of bullet time kicks in, allowing you some reprieve in tight situations (the combat kind, not Lara's raiment).

Speaking of raiment, as you progress through the game you unlock special rewards such as outfit changes, cinematics and character bios. This is tied to game progression and how many special relics you can find in the game's levels. Glowing bronze, silver and gold relics hidden throughout the game, combined with your performance in level time trials, unlocks cool stuff such as pistol upgrades and extra outfits - so it's actually worth going out of your way to find a few. Croft Manor serves as your point of departure between levels and is actually a level in itself with hidden switches, relics and items to discover.

It's a good thing too because the main game itself is very short. I played through in just under six hours so how much dedication you have to finding hidden stuff and completing speed runs will affect your play time a lot. Having said that the game itself is still extremely enjoyable although it's doesn't exactly break any barriers. There are few true innovations on display here - but hey, at least you get to play as a sexy chick!

Most of Legend's puzzles employ both physics and Lara's brand new toy - the grappling device. She also has a nifty pair... of binoculars, which have a RAD mode. No I don't mean it's really cool; it stands for Remote Analysis Device which basically means that a touch of the Y button allows you to discern which objects in your field of vision are movable, fragile, flammable, or part of some ancient machine - which you invariably have to get working again in order to progress.

The puzzles vary from mildly interesting to frustrating. Often you'll have to move something heavy onto a pressure switch and then go swinging and climbing to reach the next room. Other puzzle variations employ levers and nasty traps that can be avoided by pushing boulders or blocks into so Lara doesn't end up as sushi. Puzzles take on a different flavour with the grappling device, and in a good way. Lara can use this to pull object like floating rafts or hanging platforms towards her as well as use it to latch onto objects mid-leap and swing over insurmountable gaps. The X button fires the grapple and the Y button hauls in whatever you've attached it to.

There are a few boss fights and most of these are more than just straight run-and-gun affairs. They involve manipulating parts of the environment with either your grapple or guns. Spicing up the game action a little are specific moments where you need to press a particular button to avoid danger - much like Fahrenheit's interactive elements though less complex.

In terms of looks the game is almost as drool worthy as a real-life version of Lara would be (no, not Angelina 'water balloon lips' Jolie). Water looks great and the level design, though very linear, depicts ancient ruins in a fairly realistic fashion. Of course you can only ever interact with things in a finite manner and objects that are breakable or moveable seem to glow incongruently, but you'll be too busy looking for that next handhold or grapple point to really care.

Combat is helped by an auto lock-on (hold down the L trigger) and you can flick between targets with the right thumbstick. Lara can only carry one weapon other than her infinite-bullet pistols - but later on in the game, for an achingly short time I might add, you get something cooler than all the guns combined! You can also use the Y button while locked-on to shoot any environmental elements that are explosive such as barrels or even rock pillars that fall upon the hapless bad guys.

Perhaps the only thing that hampers both combat and exploration is the camera. Whilst serviceable for most of the game there will be moments when Lara's boof head fills most of the screen, making the choice of where to leap/go next very difficult. The camera's also not entirely free-roaming and can often get stuck on objects or walls at inopportune moments.

Now for more bad stuff: I'm sorry but the two motorbike sections of the game are absolute rubbish. They are too long, too linear and rather than riding a motorcycle it feels like Lara is tobogganing through the level. Basically the bike levels throw a crapload of baddies on bikes and cars at you and you shoot them whilst avoiding a few environmental hazards - yeah great fun indeed.

But I'll forgive the bike sections because they are balanced out by generally excellent voice acting and production values. Lara is constantly in contact with her posse at the Croft Manor and they'll quibble and wisecrack throughout the level as you come across situations. They aren't gut-wrenchingly funny but the constant communication introduces a team-like atmosphere to the game which is quite welcome.

One last note: without giving too much of the story away I think it's safe to say that there will be another Tomb Raider title on the way. The game ends rather abruptly (think Halo 2) and some gamers may be a bit grumpy that the story does not tie up nicely at the end of the game. Excited and intrigued or a disappointed gamer - it will be up to you.