Tomb Raider Underworld First Look

Enemies were given a few new behavioral patterns, which, reportedly, make them more competent and slightly smarter at dealing with Lara. Unlike before, foes are now more persistent to get their hands on Lara (who wouldn't be, eh?); so much so that they'll follow her onto surfaces or locations that are very difficult to reach. Enemies also won't always rush blindly into a hail of bullets. Instead, they often take cover and use environmental tactics in order to outwit their sexy antagonist. Admittedly, all these additions should create a far more challenging atmosphere than before.

A few more additions have been revealed at this point. Players will come across intricate puzzles and other various challenges. Given the new physics, tougher AI and increased overall realism, many of these puzzles will be a handful to say the least. However, Miss Croft isn't without aces up her sleeves. If nothing else, she gets her trusty bike back, which she may take with her wherever she travels and, as we understand it, the bike will prove more than useful on a number of occasions.

The past two games we experienced restored our faith in the popular action adventure franchise and we'd honestly like to see the developers succeed in making yet another worthy tribute to a game character that's been around for almost twelve years.

We're waiting for Tomb Raider Underworld to arrive during 2008 for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and DS platforms. A specific release date is yet to be announced.