Pluck an average man or woman off the street, show them a picture of a dual pistol-wielding buxom brunette and ask them who she could be and they will undoubtedly utter two words: Lara Croft, a gaming figurehead who long ago achieved that rare crossover into mainstream pop culture. For proof, look no further than an announcement last month that a ring road will be named after her in Derby. When even old codger councillors bow down before the might of Lara’s weapons you know she has achieved iconic status.

Famous heroine, check. But what about the other key ingredients that make a video game franchise successful?

Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider'Tomb Raider was released in 1996 and helped Sony’s Playstation establish a stranglehold on the console market. With combined sales of 8 million copies, men everywhere bought Tomb Raider and drooled over the female protagonist’s (unfortunately triangular) breasts. The reason they kept playing after every misjudged jump that led to a screaming death was for the game itself. The original developers, Core Design, succeeded in creating a game which pulled in players through its atmospheric sound and visuals, and kept their attention through often ingenious and always infuriating puzzles.

In my humble opinion, the original Tomb Raider and its follow-up, Tomb Raider II, remain the best instalments in the TR series. The Crystal Dynamics’ 2006 reboot Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary do deserve special mentions, though.

Legend was a short and sweet sliver of dessert that kept you wanting more; a perfect antidote to the previous title Angel of Darkness, a game so buggy jagged rocks never seemed so appealing and where every plummeting Lara death towards them was intentional, not misjudged.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary was longer but part of me missed the Dynasty-like, soap opera cutscenes of Legend. All Lara needed in Legend was some shoulderpads and she could double for Joan Collins.

The most recent game in the series, Underworld, handled well, sold well but, well, was a bit pants. The player was going through the motions, as it were, but nothing was really being accomplished; staleness had once again crept into the series.

The developers, however, seem well aware of this. Just last week a new, co-op spinoff entitled Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light was announced with no Tomb Raider name in sight. Lara Croft is the true behemoth brand, it seems. Can the Tomb Raider franchise ever live up to their heroine’s success and infamy?

The upcoming game is a departure from previous titles, with an arcade-style and an isometric viewpoint. Designed as a $15 taster and not a fully-fledged game, I feel confident that the game will breathe new life into the series as a whole. What this means for the as-yet-untitled main Tomb Raider 9 game remains to be seen.