Open-world Tomb Raider coming to 360, PC, & PS3?

Source: An advance copy of PC Gamer obtained by Eurogamer.

What we heard: Following the poor reception of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness in 2003, then-independent publisher Eidos Interactive rebooted the series with Tomb Raider: Legend in 2006. The new game showed off a completely redesigned Lara Croft, with the heroine sporting both a more practical outfit and realistic proportions.

Now, one month after the download-only Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light made a critically hailed debut on the Xbox 360--it hits the PC and PlayStation 3 next week--the next Tomb Raider game may have surfaced. According to Eurogamer, advance copies of PC Gamer magazine reveal that the next Tomb Raider--published by Square Enix under the Eidos name--will reboot the series for a second time.

The game will apparently be an origin story set on a Japanese island and featuring a younger, less experienced Lara Croft exploring the isle's jungles. It will reportedly be an open-world title, allowing the young heroine to overcome puzzles and obstacles via a variety of methods. The game is also apparently in development for the PC, PS3, and 360 and is set for a late 2011 release. No developer was named, even though the franchise has been at San Francisco Bay Area shop Crystal Dynamics since 2004.

The official story: Square Enix reps had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Too little to go on. Although a secondhand account isn't exactly gospel, a sandbox reboot sounds like the sort of shake-up the series could use.

[UPDATE] This story looks a little less bogus--and a lot less timely--as it appears to stem from more solid reports from July 2009. That's when leaked scans of a Nielsen survey surfaced which reportedly revealed the open-world, origin-story nature of the game.