Lara Croft bounces back in a Tomb Raider trailer

GAMING'S FAVOURITE UPPERCRUST UK babe Lara Croft is bouncing back with a franchise reboot set for release at the end of next year.

Games publisher Square Enix announced the sequel a while ago but set the date of the new Tomb Raider game for the last quarter of 2012. Not wanting to leave fanbois without something to keep 'em keen, the publisher also added a pretty impressive cinematic teaser trailer to the new Tomb Raider web site, which went live yesterday.

Of course, the implication of a franchise reboot is that your brand is getting mouldy. Lara Croft has sagged of late with outdated game dynamics and misjudged attempts to keep her fresh so you can't see the wrinkles.

But this re-tooled Tomb Raider game was always on the cards and Square Enix handed Miss Croft's ample proportions back to Crystal Dynamics, which made the decidedly meh Underworld. That said, it did a much better job with the excellent Legend a couple of years later, so hopefully our lady adventurer is in good hands.

Apparently, the plot takes Lara back to her teenage years and reveals how she became a raider of tombs in the first place, and the gameplay is going to encompass more of a survival horror feel. At three minutes, the trailer itself is surprisingly long for a teaser, but it doesn't give much away. However, you do get stunningly rendered CGI with Lara getting battered by a storm at sea on a ship called Endurance. The ship sinks, Lara finds herself on some strange new land, and the fun begins. µ