Lara, Lara, Lara, where have you been? Arousing my attention as a devoted SEGA Saturn gamer back in 1996, a string of uninspired sequels, seeing your face on absolutely everything, and worse still, your disastrous next-gen (at the time) debut in 2003's Angel of Darkness. Three years however has been a long time, the dust has been left to settle and gamers are once again intrigued to see what your new creators have in store; talk of a new Tomb Raider is met with interest instead of the typical disdain that greeted your many sequels.

The story behind Tomb Raider: Legends needs little going over; having lost confidence in Core's ability to continue the brand that they created, a vulnerable Eidos took the title out of their hands and put control in the capable hands of Crystal Dynamics. Fans perhaps left disillusioned by the move were no doubt pleased to learn of Lara Croft's creator, Toby Gard, joining the team after his tempestuous attempt to strike out on his own with Confounding Factor. Unfortunately the actual story behind Tomb Raider: Legend remains far more illusive as Eidos attempts to conceal such matters until the game's release. We do know however that a dangerous figure from Lara's past, Amanda Evert, makes an appearance along with an episode told in flashback to describe their story, whilst what happened to Lara as a child in the Himalayas should also be resolved.

The woefully short preview build (we'd be more inclined to call it a demo) treated us to a level staged in Bolivia, which tasks Lara to investigate the Tiwanaku temple and retrieve an ancient stone dais. It's not long however before unwanted guests turn up, and the ruthless Lady Lara finds herself having to dispose of these as well.

Immediately Tomb Raider: Legend feels drastically different to its predecessors, removing the grid-based movement structure that governed the series but thankfully coming nowhere near to the convoluted attempt witnessed in Angel of Darkness. Instead Crystal Dynamics appear to have taken a simpler, more traditional approach, which no longer requires two steps backward before every jump, whilst adding a handful of subtle innovations such as rhythmically tapping a button to climb and swing across ledges quicker. Camera control still has the customary loose feeling at present, often requiring a lot of effort to maintain a correct angle; however generally Tomb Raider: Legend looks likely to put the series back to where it belongs, Lara back to doing what she does best and the fun well and truly back into tomb raiding.

After scaling the side of a cliff (without the assistance of climbing gear), the opening section provides the chance to reacquaint yourself with the basics; death-defying leaps, ledge hops and dual handguns being the order of the day. Jumping across gaps now has Lara making a swaying motion, requiring players to jump whilst she's swaying forward to achieve the safest jump; conversely if you miss a jump slightly a button appears on-screen to tap and attempt to grab a more secure holding. From the briefest of playtests, combat appears to be largely rudimentary, but fits the fluid nature of the game, leaping into areas and laying down the fire with dual handguns - just what you want from Tomb Raider.

Not only has Lara learnt a handful of new tricks and techniques, but also has a new belt of gadgets that would make even the caped crusader envious. A magnetic grappling hook looks to be the most significant addition, which enables Lara to interact with the environment and swing across huge chasms. A personal light provides illumination in the many dark situations Lara finds herself in, along with a waterproof PDA that provides essential mission info and inventory information. Significantly this stage within Tomb Raider: Legend felt less isolated then previous Tomb Raider titles, with a headset keeping her in communication with colleagues back at the Croft Manor.

Having scaled a few cliff faces and solved the slight puzzle of pushing a boulder from a ledge to counterweight a lever and access a higher ledge, Lara finds herself before the ancient tomb with a number of patrolling guards to take out. Scattered across the stage are environment sensitive actions that can be performed, such as shooting a group of boulders to create a landslide on unsuspecting victims below or bring a pillar collapsing to the ground - handy and providing a good sense of interaction with the environment.

Within the temple Tomb Raider: Legend continues the resurgence of the series, with the reappearance of classic traps. These range from swinging over a chasm full of spikes to pushing a crate between crushing walls, preventing Lara's shrinking waistline from becoming even thinner; if you're a fan of the series it's exactly what you're after from a Tomb Raider title.

Eventually working our way into a central chamber containing numerous chains and weights, the challenge before us was a classic homage to the block pushing puzzles of old. This early example hopefully suggests Tomb Raider: Legend will contain a substantial amount of thought-provoking puzzles and satisfying moments when their solutions become clear.

Regrettably just when the solution became apparent "Coming Spring 2006" popped up onto the screen - and we were just getting into it!

Lara's back to what she does best and has actually left us anticipating her latest adventure - something we never expected to be saying after the low of Angel of Darkness. Eidos made a tough decision when taking Tomb Raider from Core's books and choosing Crystal Dynamics, however the decision appears to be justified with a new title that puts the series well and truly back on track.

In recent years titles such as Prince of Persia have picked up where Lara left off, so it will certainly be interesting to see whether she's got what it takes to to regain her throne.