10 Essential Third-Person Gaming Shooter Levels You Must Play

For those Croft fans who preferred their heroine as a classic tomb-raiding adventurer rather than an all-conquering badass, the Lost City likely represents everything wrong with Rise. But for those partial to Tomb Raider: Legend’s lethal superhero, this was sublime perfection.

The level starts off slow, reeling players in with a hairy round of hide-and-seek against the imposing Deathless, the game’s toughest enemies (if you so choose: going to balls-the-wall primeval also works), and adding a dash of classic Tomb Raider with an optional tomb to explore.

But then, oh then things get real. One narrowly dodged flaming shot from a trebuchet later and you’re thrust headlong into a rapidly escalating avalanche of action, from brutal close-quarters arena battles against the Deathless, to a heart-in-mouth climb up a crumbling tower, to an absolutely insane pitched battle against gun-wielding goons by the dozens. All is set among jaw-dropping eye-candy in the form of stunning, monumental Byzantine-esque imperial architecture nestled within an immense, beautiful ice cavern.

Its thrilling, spectacular – and tough as old boots – gauntlet of a level, and all in the assured company of a Lara who is at her indomitable, and glorious, apex predator best.