When I first played the original Tomb Raider on the PSOne all those years ago, girls didn't really interest me all that much. I wasn't even a teenager back then, so as long as I could have my milk and cookies, and as long as I got to watch the latest episode of Captain Planet, I was alright. Lara has evolved over the years though - as has my burning desire for beautiful women! She started off with cone shaped breasts and a bit of a square ass - which didn't matter to me - and she wound up with luscious lips, a curvy backside and breasts that appear to be more comfortable than my Ikea feather pillow, which cost me an arm and a leg. That's ironic really, because both of those body parts round off the sexy, sexy package that is Lara Croft. But what am I saying? Have I reached the lowest point in game journalism perversion? Probably, yes. But then, I'm just voicing what most of you are thinking when you see Lara in one of the cut scenes. Don't think that nobody can hear your thoughts - I can! By the way ladies, I hope you're still with me - and for your sakes' I'll snap out of my trace and get down to the wonderful action adventure puzzle game that is Tomb Raider Anniversary!

As you might already know, Anniversary is loosely based around the original Tomb Raider on PSOne. I say loosely, because there's a load of new content, extended tombs, more puzzles, ledges and a hell of a lot more raiding - and with so much new padding, it only seems a little familiar, even if you've only just come from playing the first one. Anniversary is like a trip down memory lane, except memory lane's post office has changed into an off-license and the pub is now a club, yet the cobbles on memory lane still remain the same. Obviously things in Anniversary had to be changed to accommodate the new Tomb Raider: Legend game engine; some jumps might have been stretched out further or grabs higher, but rest assured that if you have played the original, you'll love Anniversary.

The Legend engine means that Lara gets a grappling hook that opens up new possibilities when it comes to reaching new places. Unfortunately, you can only grapple onto hooks that are spread across the levels, but it's nice to look for hooks because they often lead to secret items - and yes - the jingle you hear when you find a hidden item is taken right from the original games! In fact, lots of the sound track is - the first thing I recognised was the opening music in all its glory. Of course, the music has been given a little bit of a Twenty-First Century spruce up, but nothing major enough to distract you from the familiar, heart warming sounds. And another familiar sound is the sound of the wolf, howling in the tombs - it's a shivery sound that only makes you even warier about treading further down those dark passageways, but then when that wolf hears my guns reload before a dozen deafening rounds explode from the barrel, I'm sure he's more scared than I am.

There aren't too many enemies to dispose of in Tomb Raider Anniversary, but you can bet your hiking boots that when you do come across an enemy, it will be an animal - and it will have a nasty bite. I can't get around this line without upsetting a few people, but it makes a change to finally be able to kill animals again; Tomb Raider just wasn't the same when it came to murdering other raiders. In Anniversary you can ensure that a rabid bear or a scary t-rex doesn't have its devilish carnivorous ways with you, because you can use new moves such as the Adrenaline Dash. When you target a bear for a certain time and then it moves close for a tasty cut from the leg of Lara, you can sometimes quickly activate the Adrenaline Dash, which allows you to jump out of the way, in slow motion, bullet-time style, then with the correct timing you can perform a head shot and drop that nasty animal like last month's fashion.

This month's fashion is all about jumping around though, and thanks to the Legend engine you can throw Lara off a ledge, safe in the knowledge that she'll spin around and grab hold before she falls to her doom. But you and Lara will face some difficult jumps from time to time - ones that you have to run at - and if you don't quite make the jump then you grab hold with one hand, tapping into Lara's strength by tapping triangle to help her climb back up. Lara can shimmy along ledges and leap across them too. She can even jump away from walls, grab hold of switches and levers and vault across poles. Pole dancing? That's right! In addition to all the jumping and swinging, you can also move boxes and interact with the rest of the environment to get around those sneaky puzzles.

I've already covered how good Lara looks, but tech heads will be glad to know that you can play this on the PS3 in progressive scan PAL-60 - which is good news for those PS3 owners who have nothing else to play! The environments simply look breathtaking when you're outdoors in the tropics, then you enter a large tomb laced with booby traps, with stunning waterfalls to distract you from the pain that the hidden firing arrows are inflicting upon you. Then the tomb becomes an open-air paradise once more at the other end - it's like being on holiday. This is definitely one of the best looking PS2 games around, it's just a shame it didn't get released for the PS3, as I'd have loved to play this game in true HD with no jaggies.

Tomb Raider Anniversary is a back-to-roots classic adventure - there's no annoying woman in your ear and no GPRS tracking or other fancy pants technology to distract you from your little piece of paradise gameplay. Unfortunately, the nature of a puzzle game is that there are puzzles aplenty, so don't think you're ever escaping such thoughts as "crap, I might have not picked up the shotgun" or "if I fall down one more time, I'm never playing this again!" - but even if you do get frustrated, you'll always come back and you'll always enjoy the experience when you return. There's a lot of replay value here too if you're a hardcore fan - you can unlock the traditional Lara Croft, you know, the one I was too young to appreciate, with cone breasts and a square ass! Aside from that pleasure, you can also partake in time trials, which are a challenge in their own right. So if you fancy taking a trip down memory lane, or down a brand new street with loads to see and do, then I suggest you pick up this little piece of gaming pleasure. Just don't let me catch you fantasising about Lara again, okay?

Ah, Lara. Now that we're alone.

Well...

Do you mind if I hang my jacket on your cones while I go and play Anniversary for a while?

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).