Tomb Raider is one of gaming’s classic and iconic franchises, but it had grown stale of late. Developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix wanted to reinvigorate the franchise by relating the story of Lara Croft’s origin, and if the trailer shown at E3 is any indication, they will succeed.

Tomb Raider is going to be intense.

Continue reading after the jump…

The story revolves around a young Lara as a survivor stranded on an island as she fights for survival. A wide range of gameplay elements were shown off in the demo. The traditional platforming and acrobatics of previous Tomb Raider games were on display, but Lara can also hide behind cover and attack enemies with either ranged weapons or in hand-to-hand combat. In the demo, Lara is shown taking enemies out with a bow-and-arrow as well as a shotgun. She can also blast debris out of the way with a shotgun. 

Ms. Croft is also one tough cookie as she absorbs a ton of punishment in the trailer. She gets shot at, swept away by raging rapids, and tears through a forest in a parachute before falling through the branches.

The game looks fantastic. The environments are stunning and detailed, and the characters are well-detailed. The beautiful Ms. Croft is realistic; no short shorts and tight tank tops this time. Lara gets bloodied and dirty as she navigates her way through the harsh island environment.

Tomb Raider is definitely a game to keep an eye on and looks to be one of 2013’s must-haves. The game will be released on March 5, 2013.