In 1996, Lara Croft changed the landscape of action gaming. Not often did we get to play with hot babes in video games. Only hulking space mercs blowing up everything in sight, hopefully removing some alien threat or evil spawn from the depths of Hell. Now we have a cool Brit babe wielding a pair of pistols and running around in short shorts. Face it, no one will ever remember who was saving the planet in Doom or Unreal, but we'll never forget that hot chick in Tomb Raider - Lara Croft.

And I must hand it to the powers that be in Hollywierd, they sure did cast the right woman to play her. Angelina Jolie captured the young adventurer aristocrat to the skimpy Tee (pun, intended), in the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider . Now, before you scarf at me - I am well aware that the official "model" for Miss Lara is a 6 foot euro-model (Angelina is 5'7"). But if you look at X-Men, you might notice a far taller actor portraying the 5'3" Marvel character Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman is a full foot taller).

In the 2001 film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, non-gamers are introduced to the adventuress, while both old and new fans are treated to a fresh quest in the Tomb Raider saga. Including, a rare cameo from Angelina Jolie's dad, Jon Voight, playing Miss Croft's own papa, Lord Croft. Lord Croft is deceased, but that doesn't stop him from leaving mysterious clues to a key that will unlock an ancient artifact with the power to control time. She battles and races against a small army obsessed with unlocking the object before the planets align (which occurs only once every 5000 years). Holding this power may bring her beloved father back to her, but at what price?

In the follow-up, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, the young aristocrat travels to more exotic locales, locked and loaded with cool weaponry and blatant exploitation of the latest models in the auto industry. This time, she is hot on the trail of Dr. Reece, who is searching the globe for the Cradle of Life. Legend has it that an Egyptian Pharaoh once found the power over life and death contained within a box ... Pandora's Box. The box is tucked away in a mysterious place he fondly named - The Cradle of Life. But this place, and it's mythical box has never been located, until now. And, of course, this is another of a long line of ancient artifacts that could be potentially used as a massive weapon, particularly devastating in the wrong hands.

Normally, Lara would handle these long quests solo, but this time enlists the aide of an imprisoned fellow trekker, Terry Sheridan, to help locate the mysterious map that will pave the way to The Cradle of Life. But just how far is she willing to trust the charming bad boy? Time is running out, as the inevitable baddies keep popping up to keep Miss Croft from getting to Pandora's Box before they do.

Lara Croft's trusted right and left hands, Hillary and Bryce, also return in this latest adventure of the legendary Tomb Raider.

Good Guys:

• Lara Croft - Angelina Jolie (look for her in her first starring role - the 1993 sci-fi sequel, Cyborg 2, and she seems to be settling into Brit life nicely with next year's, The World of Tomorrow)
• Hillary - Chris Barrie (Arnold Judas Rimmer from UK's popular sci-fi series, Red Dwarf)
• Bryce - Noah Taylor (Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky)

Possible Allies:

• Terry Sheridan - Gerard Butler (Dracula 2000, Attila, Reign of Fire, and the upcoming Timeline, and next year as The Phantom of the Opera)
• Masai Warrior - Djimon Hounsou (Stargate, Deep Rising and unforgettable as Jabu in Gladiator)

Bad Guys:

• Dr. Jonathan Reece - Ciaran Hinds (the fantasy classic, Excalibur, and the 2000 television version of Jason and the Argonauts)
• Chen Lo - Simon Yam (Hong Kong megastar of more than 100 films)

Release Date: July 25th, 2003

http://www.tombraidermovie.com/

And let's not forget about the chain of video games that created the phenomenon. I played some of the early levels in the first PC game, but it got packed away in some mysterious box , located in a dark, web ridden garage that I am not so adventurous to dig back up. Currently, I am playing The Last Revelation on a broken Sony PS1 console, but it rarely let's me successfully save to complete the game. There six game titles in this series from Eidos Interactive: Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider III, The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and the recently released - The Angel of Darkness, where we get a taste of Lara's darker side.

http://www.tombraider.com/