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The Xbox press conference at E3 2014 certainly had more than a few game reveals to its name, with one of the heaviest hitters of their two hours worth of exclusives and announcements being Rise of the Tomb Raider, the sequel to the origins story of Tomb Raider that was released just last year.

Hinted at as early as this morning, with the purchase of two domain names by publisher Square Enix, it was already suggested just which direction Lara Croft’s adventures would be taking her next. Now, thanks to this CGI trailer (there was just a hint of what the gameplay would be like rather than a tangible view of the title in action, unfortunately) we can further pinpoint where the studio is headed in the sequel.

As predicted, Rise of the Tomb Raider will show Lara (again voiced by Camila Luddington) overcoming events from the island of Yamatai that saw her kill for the first time as well as [spoiler alert] witness the death of several of her friends - and long-time mentor. Understandably, part of her ‘rise’ to become the tomb raider depicted in past Lara Croft games will involve a great deal of therapy - which we see in the above trailer has seemingly been quite helpful.

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft

Lara’s attempts to test her thick skinned resilience as well as the thick leather on her boots also fits in with the Tomb Raider series of comics which were set to be connected to 2013’s Tomb Raider game along with the inevitable sequel. In the very first issue of the comic gamers saw Lara waking from a terrible nightmare in which the reanimated corpses of her dead friends and foes plagued her.

It is unclear if Lara’s surviving explorer companions will make it into the new game and perhaps provide some much needed support (in the aforementioned comic it’s her long-time best friend Sam who aims to comfort her) but many enjoyable gameplay elements from Tomb Raider, along with the next-gen rerelease Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, will return.

Rise of the Tomb Raider Gameplay

Those gameplay elements include stealth attacks, kills with Lara’s trademark crossbow, and climbing with the pickaxe. Interestingly enough, that crossbow appeared to have a dedicated scope which wasn’t one of the upgradeable options in 2013’s game - so perhaps Lara’s will require better gear for an even more dangerous adventure in Rise of the Tomb Raider.

She’ll certainly need, since the game will feature “globetrotting” - a detail that was suggested ahead of Rise of the Tomb Raider’s official announcement.

Darrell Gallagher, Head of Product Development and Western Studios at Square Enix explains:

“With the power of the new generation, and our proprietary Foundation engine, our high octane action moments will be even more epic. Multiple locations around the world will be filled with exploration spaces that are some of the most beautifully hostile places on earth and over three times larger than we could achieve before. Our digital actors will rival CG quality, and after hearing the cry from our fans loud and clear, we will put the tombs back into Tomb Raider, all in our gritty Survival-Action style.”

In addition, tombs are confirmed for the game - which is once again being developed by Crystal Dynamics. Rhianna Pratchett, the lead writer of last year’s Tomb Raider, is also on board as lead writer - which should be exciting for fans.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider Trailer

Another vital thing that we don’t know (and that has yet to be revealed by Crystal Dynamics or Square Enix) is where any of those tombs or "multiple locations" will take gamers. Still, one of those aforementioned leaked domains did point to somewhere called ‘The Temple of Osiris’ which is said to be the tomb of Osiris, “God of the Dead and the Underworld” - located in Egypt.

That’s everything we know for now but Crystal Dynamics is usually quite forthcoming with information and there’s still a few days to go at E3 2014 - so stay tuned to Game Rant for more.

Game Rant E3 2014 Live Coverage

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Rise of the Tomb Raider will be released for PC, PS4 and Xbox One in early 2015.