This game takes two steps backwards from "Legend"... are the other reviews based on wishful thinking?
Before everyone screams at my review - I offer a few examples, and I would like you to give yourself an honest answer about it. 1) In the PERU section you have to move some platforms around, run around and climb back up, try to jump to the platforms then to the next entrance... almost impossible to avoid some annoying trial and error until you get the platforms in the right spot. This is fun?
2) In the greece section there is the infamous wall grapple run jump to land on pillar moment - in which you will try too many time and fly at some weird angle onto the ground. Not challenging - just dopey.
3) Several times you will navigate through some stuff and flip a switch - seemingly to a check point - and then possibly slide off a ledge to your death (which happens way too often compared to Legend) - and find that the switch IS NOT down. SO you have to go through maybe 2 of 3 excercises again trying to find the switch that got undone. Frustrating.
4) The adrenaline controls? What the heck? Is it you need to hold the L1 or it doesn't work, or tap the circle? Or hold the circle? Or do it as soon as you get the blur? Or is it just before the beast takes half your life? Or go sideways only? Huh? I've seen enough posting on this to know I'm not the only one who struggled with this. 5) Too much repetitive going into four doors to get four keys stuff. Backtracking in games is never too good an idea. ... In general, every time I just started getting into the flow of the game some "burp" in the play would mess up the fun. And not the challenging kind. Personnaly, I miss the radio banter in Legend which added so much personality to the game. You can't deny that you can never hear enough of Lara's great British accent (Kudo's to the voice actor) - yeah, yeah, I'm sure there is some "purist" reason for leaving it out to match the original release... but would you purists really be upset if they added more of Lara's voice? Legend was such a milestone in the series. If Anniversary came out two years ago I might be more tolerant, but this is feeling like other set back games to me. Prince of Persia 2 - everyone drooled over until a year went by and everyone admitted it was lame... it is even in some worst games ever lists (which I think is going too far the other way). James Bond "Everything or Nothing" was such a milestone and the Sean Connery sequel to that, again, felt like it was made two year before the other, I never even bothered to finish those two.
Rent this game first!! Fair enough, right! If you disagree with my review, then go ahead and buy it - replay the levels and all that. If you haven't played Legend I would rent that and see if you don't like it better.
But I hope that Eidos does a better job next time - and I hope there is a next time (probably on the "next gen" consoles). This is such a good series, and it's rebirth with Legend was a great step. I'm going to rate this a 7.0 becasue it's such a great series - but I would be inclined to give it a 6.5 because of too many murky, unpleasant mood killers that EASILY could have been smoothed out.