Lara Croft makes an impressive Game Boy Advance premiere in Tomb Raider: The Prophecy.

As with earlier Tomb Raider adventures, an ancient artifact entrains an adventure that's half puzzles, half action and all suspense. Here, Lara's translation of the medieval Tome of Ezekiel propels her on a globe-spanning search for three mysterious stones and the unspeakable secret of the Great Grey One.

From Tome to Tomb

Wild wolves, undead soldiers and wicked wizards jealously guard the game's tombs, temples and ruins, so master your three types of firearms -- Standard Guns, Uzis and, most powerful of all, Golden Guns. Be sure to scour all ledges and side rooms for small and large Medikits. You'll need 'em.

The first level drops a scantily armed Lara at the base of Sweden's Wolf's Fang Peak. She must brave a blizzard to scale the sheer rock face to reach the entrance to King Heort's Temple. The despotic king's tomb is packed with treasures and a loathesome wizard who's especially hostile to archeologists.

Out of the icebox and into the fire, Lara's next stop is the steamy jungles of Cambodia. The wolves prowling Angkor Wat Temple sure act hungrier than the chilled ones back in Scandinavia, so Lara will have to be even quicker. Things get hairier still in the Roman Ruins. What with all the undead centurions and a puzzle involving statues of four Roman generals, Lara won't have time to enjoy the quaint mosaics of leaping dolphins.

Looking Good

The three-quarters overhead camera gives you a good view of Ms. Croft exploring exotic, highly detailed environs. The figure of Lara seems a bit on the small side -- or is it she's just so darned thin? Progress is password-protected.