New Lara revealed

Karima Adebibe, an unknown model and Top Shop sales assistant (apparently, UK folks know what this is), has been announced as the new face of Lady Lara Croft, the tomb-raiding adventuress and one of the most recognizable video game icons alongside Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.

The "real-life" Lara - who follows in the footsteps of beauties like Rhona Mitra, Nell McAndrew and Tomb Raider film star Angelina Jolie - has a daunting schedule to look forward to.

Karima will kick off with an SAS survival, combat and firearms training course in Eastern Europe, before hitting the books to brush up on archaeology, elocution and etiquette in order to properly portray the "epitome of British class, beauty and strength" that is Ms. Croft.

We've been going hands-on with early versions of the latest Lara - that's the game, Tomb Raider: Legend - and are optimistic thatMiss Croft's latest gaming adventure has been given the same level of rigorous preparation that her new real-world persona is about to experience.

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.