Tomb Raider: Legend

Judging by some of the other reviews I guess I was one of the lucky ones who didn't experience any technical issues with this game and, in fact, I was surprised that it just works out of the box without any major tinkering. Even my wireless Xbox One controller was detected right away and the default mapping matched that of the console versions so I could just jump right in after maxing out the graphics settings. Anyway, as for the game itself, I gotta be honest - never was a big fan of the classic Tomb Raider games from CORE Design so I generally passed on most of them back in the day. However, I am a fan of Crystal Dynamics and their work on the Legacy of Kain series, so I was delighted to find that they were the ones to take the mantle and continue the series back in the mid-2000s. Replaying this game right now, I'm surprised at how well it holds up. The controls are tight, the stylized graphics still look very pleasant, and it has cool music, fun levels, and set pieces... heck, even the story is somewhat engaging. The moment you start the game and right up until the end credits roll, I was just having a lot of fun with it. From nicely balanced challenges in the platforming and puzzles to kickass and over-the-top combat and vehicle chases, it's just a thrilling, globetrotting adventure that never lets you be bored for a minute, and it doesn't overstay its welcome either. I wish that the developers would go back to this style of Tomb Raider instead of continuing with the drab and gritty tone of the modern games in the series. It was fun, light-hearted, and filled with a sense of adventure, as a game about a badass and sexy treasure hunter should be.

Exploration, climbing, atmosphere, level design, Lara's personality, here everything comes together perfectly. The controls are great, as is the camera (which made problems sometimes in the later games). This is one of the examples of a well done reboot. As a bonus it still looks very nice!

The Steam version of this game has severe frame passing, stutter, missing textures and crashing problems when Next Gen Content is enabled. GOG version works perfectly without stutter even with Nex Gen activated. This is quite close to PS3 version. Gongrats GOG team for fixing the game.

Start this game after TRA and it was.... not a pain, but disappointment. Controls are worse, game design and puzzles are much more straight-forward, the story is... good. Crystal Dynamics did a great job improving concepts of this game in TRA. I don't know, maybe I get old, but this game is too bloody and violent compare to what I remembered. Freaking nostalgia( So about the game + it is still good looking ++ Croft manor is astonishing (return to TRA and see how they deconstructed familiar places, very nice) + so many Lara costumes ;) + locations overall - they all are different and interesting - "next generation" mode is a bit buggy and can cause crashes at some points, so if you crash, try switch it off - too much shooting and the shooting part is bad (most of the times you will exchange shots with opponents with 0 chance to dodge, almost impossible to beat this game with 0 damage taken - the game is designed to tank through, using medpacks - bike levels!!!) - camera in bike levels is literally awful (cmon its not Resident Evil, I want to see what is in front of me when i ride the bike on 100 km/h - too simple in some moments (even on hard) and too cheesy in others, too straight-forward (Hint - you can cancel reload animation of any weapon by ducking - might help when using assault rifle and MP5. Shotgun is trashy) When I was younger I liked this game much more. And I fell in love with TRA again. But this one - no. See you in the TRU review!

This remains my favorite of the Tomb Raider games. I enjoyed the "Indiana Jones meets James Bond" vibe. Going from ancient ruins to crime boss skyscrapers. It's a fun style that I wish the series would go back to. Gameplay, it's a good mix of combat and platforming. The QTEs are annoying however. Overall, if you need a break from the more grim recent games, this one is good one to try out.