How does one improve on a timeless video-game classic like the first "Tomb Raider"?

If you're game publisher Eidos (www.eidos.com), you remake the original 1996 adventure by preserving much of its story, characters, environments, weapons and enemies — but giving it a cosmetic makeover, enhancing the puzzles and expanding the world.

"Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary" is a relatively affordable single-player game for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Windows PCs that reintroduces us to the curvaceous Lara Croft as she risks her neck spelunking through tombs, battling through ancient cities and scaling cliffs. The story surrounds Croft's quest to find a mystical artifact, dubbed the Scion, but she soon realizes the mysterious syndicate that hired her had an ulterior motive.

As in the original classic, you can first roam through Croft Manor to practice many of Croft's moves, including running, jumping, hanging on ledges, swimming, climbing, shooting guns and using a grappling hook. Then it's off to Peru, Egypt, Greece and other areas for her assignment in breathtakingly attractive environments. While the original game was advanced for its time, "Anniversary" greatly improves on the original's visual appeal by adding highly detailed characters, smoother animation and realistic-looking indoor and outdoor scenery.

Larger levels and new pathways to explore mean you will be able to play through this adventure in different ways instead of following the same linear path as in the first game. Enemy artificial intelligence has also been improved, so the baddies that attack Lara — such as supernatural creatures, giant rats, wolves, crocodiles, bears and even dinosaurs — behave in a smarter and more challenging fashion.

Along with tweaking Croft's acrobatic skills, the developers at Crystal Dynamics also enhanced the puzzle-solving component quite a bit. For example, you will have to closely study an environment to figure out how to get from point A to point B, which in turn introduces a new challenge, such as how to unlock a number of doors, many of which will lead to deadly traps.

While the game is an extraordinary remake, same nagging camera issues remain. Sometimes the camera locks behind Croft in a way that it obstructs what she's shooting at or swinging toward. On the PC version, it can be tough to juggle all the controls using the mouse and keyboard. Computers gamers might fare better with a gamepad.

Minor shortcomings notwithstanding, "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary" is an exceptional, value-priced remake worth playing through — even if you've completed the original game multiple times. From its enhanced game play and visuals to its entertaining story and cut-scene sequences, "Anniversary" won't disappointment.

Eidos says Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Portable versions are in the works.