Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of 2012

#8 Tomb Raider

Lara Croft has been rebooted more times than a buggy computer, but Crystal Dynamics’ latest reimagining does a whole lot right. A prequel, Tomb Raider sees Lara Croft younger and much less experienced, shipwrecked on a mysterious tropical island. You’ll being the game with almost nothing, forced to scavenge for the items you’ll need to survive and escape.

For the first time, the franchise will be incorporating open-world elements, with portions of the island blocked off until you can find or build the tools needed to continue. An increased emphasis on combat and a grittier, less fantastical tone help make Lara feel like less of a witty superhero and more of a vulnerable, fleshed-out human being. That bodes well for the plot, which might well succeed where the earlier games found themselves mired in cheesy mythology.