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When you first hear that the next Tomb Raider is called Underworld, there's a horrible feeling that Lara might be getting ready to do just that. Is this another dark new direction for Lara? Should we prepare for another unwelcome dose of gritty realism, Angel of Darkness style?

Luckily, no. The title actually points to the settings that will dominate the next game: a series of mythological underworlds where Lara will have to battle dark supernatural forces. From what Eidos has revealed so far, it seems that the focus is still very much on solving puzzles and battling the environment - which is exactly what Tomb Raider fans want most. To this end, the team at Crystal Dynamics is working hard on new ways in which Lara can interact with the environment, and the environment can interact with her. A new spherical harmonic lighting system means that light will reflect back from the scenery onto Lara and other people or creatures on the screen. Lush jungle vegetation will sway in the wind and bend as Lara or a lurking panther pushes through it. Rain will soak Lara through to the skin and make walls and beams more treacherous to walk or balance on. Mud, meanwhile, will stick to Lara until it is washed off.

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The new engine in Underworld has added a new layer of photorealistic detail to the game, with stunning weather effects, enhanced textures and a stunning spherical harmonic lighting system.

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In the meantime, Lara can affect the world around her in new ways. Physics simulated objects are now everywhere, and Underworld should go far beyond the fairly simple implementation we saw in Legend. There's nothing to stop Lara picking up a pole then using it to batter an enemy into submission, or even using it as a prop to climb a wall or bridge a gap. The world is more persistent too. If Lara knocks down some masonry, the debris will stay where it falls and remain there whenever she revisits the same area.

The new watchword seems to be flexibility. While old Tomb Raider forced you to walk one path, the new one seems happier for you to have things your way. Lara can now free-climb up walls, using any available lump, handhold or cornice to make her way up or across the obstacle. With many new moves to work with, Crystal Dynamics motion captured an Olympic gymnast to get things right this time. The result is the most fluid-moving, realistic Lara ever seen, and one with a larger range of contextual animations and facial expressions for every situation.

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In Underworld, Lara has the freedom to clamber anywhere there's a handhold, and use objects to make here way around the level.

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Lara might face more intelligent enemies - animals that stalk and follow, human enemies capable of squad and ambush tactics - but she also has the tools to face them with. She has a wider range of melee attacks, and her grappling hook has become a far more freely interactive tool this time around. The levels are larger and more complex, but don't worry: our heroine will have new vehicles to help her get from A to B, and some degree of freedom over when and where she uses them. We're not just talking pre-scripted motorcycle sequences anymore.

This all sounds extremely ambitious - but also extremely promising, and as you can see from the screenshots, it looks like Tomb Raider is ready to take the battle back to Naughty Dog's Uncharted as to who's the daddy (or the mummy) when it comes to ruined temples and dusty tombs. Will this be the greatest Tomb Raider of all time? Who knows? All we do know is that we'll have to wait until the end of the year to find out.

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