If you're a Lara Croft fan or a player of the Tomb Raider series then you might as well sit down, take a deep breath and read the following lines carefully because Lara is embarking on yet another adventure, full of memories, leaving "footprints in the mud" that "wash away" in the rain. Next-gen Tomb Raider Underworld?

Sure, the mag's cover says it, but hopefully not only this, since everyone deserves to have a go with any of the series' installments and the latest one, Underworld, sounds most promising for newcomers and most rewarding for hardcore fans of the distinguished and determined character, going by the name of Lara Croft. So here's what tombraiderchronicles.com reports:

"PLAY magazine has scored an exclusive unveiling of Tomb Raider Underworld" which "features a world-exclusive including screenshots and an interview with Eric Lindstrom and can be purchased online and downloaded right now."

According to the magazine, "Lara's adventure takes place after the events of Tomb Raider Legend." It was only logical, since Tomb Raider Anniversary is more of a revamped TR one, rather than a new installment. So fans will be picking up "where the Scion left off" so to speak. As the description on Play Magazine continues "Her adventure will be a thrill ride for anyone new to the franchise. The emphasis is on bringing Lara's world to life, a lush, vast interactive world that reacts and remembers. It's pure woman versus wild."

PLAY's emphasis on one of the locations within the game reveals that "In the level where Lara explores Southern Mexico, she leaves footprints in the mud, but it's raining so they wash away," hinting at a graphically improved Tomb Raider installment, featuring even a new engine perhaps. "The bodies she leaves behind in combat encounters will stay, however, as will the debris from any destruction she causes," PLAY added.

So, as you can see, everything pretty much hints at a next-gen-only TR Underworld. But maybe Eric Lindstrom's comments on the technology they've used can shed more light... "we developed a hybrid lighting model that combines dynamic lights with carefully created light maps to make our world look stunning in ways that none of the available methods could achieve alone."... or not!

This is the third Crystal Dynamics-developed TR title so far and the 9th in the series. We'll have more details on the newly announced Tomb Raider Underworld very soon, so stay tuned!