The levels are structured so that although there is a bit of exploring to do, the emphasis is on figuring out and surviving the traps and puzzles. And then there are the platform elements as well. It won't be long before you're comfortable with throwing your body off stupidly high ledges, trying to catch onto seemingly unreachable ledges elsewhere. Tomb Raider just can't compete with the feeling of satisfaction you get after making a real heart-stopping jump in POP3D.

But there's more. Platforming and puzzling are all well and good, but they're nothing without their big brother - fighting. Lara can keep her guns; fighting doesn't come much more satisfying than lopping someone's head off with a big sword. And for a bit of variety, a rather wonderful bow and arrow sequence kicks in on the later levels for those who really like to prove how much of a hotshot they are.

It does have problems, though. One of the design flaws of the 2D games has managed to get dragged into the 3D arena: sudden deaths. There's nothing more frustrating than getting through a level, not having saved for a while, and then getting killed in an instant by something you couldn't have possibly known about. Annoying. Very annoying. Oh, and the controls are a bit of a nightmare as well. Tight turns and corners seem to be a problem for our hero as there's a horrible delay between pushing your button and the action happening. But hey, you can't have everything, can you? At last, we have a contender to Tomb Raider's Christmas crown.