Tomb RaiderIII

Graphics - Re-vamped game engine. Use of triangles for more natural curving landscape. Reflection system for realistic transparencies and shadows. Weather effects including rain, snow and mist. Moving water surfaces and particle systems for added realism. Improved dynamic lighting and multi-coloured lighting for more atmospheric environments. Hi-resolution screen graphics for the first time on the PlayStation

Environment - More natural looking. New traps, like quicksand and security systems. Tarzan-like swing ropes.

Lara looks - More detailed skin, ears(!).

New costumes - Yes, but no details yet... A cat-burglar outfit is expected.

Control - Dual Shock Analog support for the PlayStation as well as the traditional control system. We would like to have force feedback support for the PC.

New moves - Speed dash, crawl and swing-ropes.

Enemies - New enemies with improved AI.

New vehicles - Yes, but no details yet...

Gameplay - New game structure enables the player to choose the order in which to play levels. More free style play.

Levels and locations - 15 levels with three (or four) adventures in London, the South Pacific, India and even Area 51 in Nevada

And, hopefully, some more surprises.

Tomb Raider 3

From a distance, TRIII is all but indistinguishable from Lara's previous adventures. Up close, the graphic touch-ups to Lara's newest world become apparent: The shadows and lighting are cleaner and more crisp (especially when using flares), the water has a translucent element to it, and so forth. It supports the analog pad (finally), with one stick controlling movement while the other pans the camera (vibration is in, too); it's in hi-res; it packs particle effects and colored lighting; and its enhanced, sped-up geometry engine allows for more natural-looking, curving environments. Oh, yeah, and Lara has ears now, too.

The game's divided into 15 levels, which in turn are divided into three separate adventures you can play in any order. This time around, Lara will be visiting London, the South Pacific, India - even Area 51. The levels promise to be much less linear than in the previous games; you now find several routes through each stage. The mission objectives themselves will be more varied, too. In London, for instance, Lara - clad in a tight-fitting cat-burglar outfit - must scramble across rooftops and into a building where she must retrieve an artifact. Yet instead of blasting every baddie in sight, she'll have to rely more on stealth, avoiding guards and security systems (think GoldenEye and Metal Gear Solid).

While we've heard that Lara packs more than a few new moves, the one we've seen is a squat/somersault combo. No doubt puzzle elements within the TRIII world will be constructed to accommodate this new move. As for weapons, let's just say it's Tomb Raider II all over again. The grenade launcher has undergone a bit of cosmetic reconstruction, but that's it. So how do those old weapons work in this new world? Easy - the same. The auto aiming is intact, and Lara's fighting quirks have not been tinkered with. On the upside, the guns eject shell casings and smoke curls from the barrels. Nice touches. But from what I've seen so far, the logic behind the puzzles hasn't changed, and by extension it's a safe bet her globe-trotting adventures will include everything you've seen before.

The game will also pack new vehicles, new weapons, new traps (such as quicksand), 3D ropes for Lara to Tarzan over chasms, and new enemies (although the first game's dinosaurs make a return appearance). And since this is the first Tomb Raider game developed especially for the PlayStation, it'll easily be the best, most stunning of the batch.