Ah, Lara. How we’ve missed you.

Actually, I haven’t really missed Lara over the past couple years as I’ve wished she’d just up and leave. A once-proud franchise reduced to copycat sequels and horrible movies that discredited the wonderful actress sucked into them…there for a while, it seemed as if Tomb Raider was destined for the deepest of tombs in the most barren of desserts.

And after the dismal Angel of Darkness, I was fine with that.

But what’s this? Eidos gave the development over to Crystal Dynamics, which promptly promised to start from scratch and rework everything in an effort to bring Lara back to what made her so appealing in the first place? Are you people serious?

No…you can’t be. These promises have been made before; game makers always tell us they fixed what was wrong with the games before, that everything we hated was gone, replaced by new and exciting features that were bound to wow and amaze us.

Only it never happened; we were force-fed the same crap we grew tired of years ago. So you’ll understand my skepticism.

Yes, I realize the screenshots and the media buzz in the previews are nice. Anyone can show me pretty screenshots with today’s technology; the PlayStation2 and Xbox might be five or so years old, but they’re no slouches when it comes to technology. If pretty pictures made good games, The Bouncer wouldn’t have sucked as bad as it did.

But wait a second…positive review after positive review. Game Informer, EGM, GameSpot, IGN, Edge over in England…okay, maybe you guys are onto something after all. I guess I can invest a bit of cash and give the virtual archaeologist one more try.

…

Well, I’ll be damned. Crystal Dynamics did it. They actually pulled off what I thought couldn’t be done. Not only is Tomb Raider relevant again, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is a wonderful game. A near masterpiece that reminds me of why I fell in love with the series all those years ago, when the original hit PlayStation.

Gone is the horrid grid system, the awkward controls that positively screamed 1996. Gone are the jagged graphics, the kind that made Lara look less like a human being and more like a pointy-breasted alien. In their place is a magnificent world full of a wonder and magic, a world I can’t help but get lost in for hours, just running around exploring.

Puzzles are no longer pointless and demeaning; now, they’re stimulating and specific to the level objectives. Combat is still hit-or-miss—God of War this ain’t—but that’s okay. Tomb Raider was never about combat anyway.

Legend knows what it is, and it sticks to what works. Core Design lost sight of this years ago, churning out sequel after carbon-copy sequel annually to pull in the almighty dollar. The franchise, which hit bottom after two bad movies, a haphazard comic book, and the putrid Angel of Darkness, has risen from the ashes, back from the dead to bring us all that videogame adventure we feared (or hoped) dead.

But Crystal Dynamics…you get it. You know what makes a game great. It’s not digital breasts or flashy casuals; it’s smooth controls, intuitive missions, a solid plot to tie everything together, and an experience that overall enthralling and ultimately satisfying.

It wasn’t too long ago I was begging for Tomb Raider to never return. Now, as I make my way through the fantastic adventure known as Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend, I can’t help but beg for a sequel.

Welcome back, Lara. How we’ve missed you.