An unenthusiastic recommendation...
I got this game on the launch date. Two years have passed and I have finished it a total of 4 times, each time leaving with a different opinion from when I last played it. I believe i've hit the maximum replay value on this game now, and i'm pretty sure I wont pick it up again in this current generation of gaming. So let me express to you my final and informed verdict on Tomb Raider: Legend.
Judging by the fact that I had never played a Tomb Raider game properly before this one, except the first Tomb Raider for half an hour before giving up, I didn't have a lot of experience or knowledge on the Tomb Raider games when going into this. Fortunately you don't seem to need any, as I understood everything very clearly - Information on Lara's family and past are slipped into the story which is very accomadating to TR newbies such as myself.
The gameplay has been dumbed down a lot from what I remember from the first Tomb Raider, and I find that its very arcadey and easy. Strangely everything I disliked about Tomb Raider (high difficulty, having to make precise jumps, really hard puzzles and terrible controls) have been completely fixed in this new installment. But I still can't help feeling that maybe they fixed it TOO much. Everything about the game screams "Dumbed down to appeal to everyone." There is no sense of danger or challenge because the enemies pose no threat, the environments are small and easy to navigate, and the puzzles have obvious solutions. But there are some obnoxiously repetitive boss fights where seemingly human enemies wearing no armour take 100 or more shots to kill. Something painful to see in modern video games that try to attempt realism.
The two characters Alistair and Zip constantly banter into your headset while you play, sprouting cheesy unfunny lines. They are also mostly unlikeable and just completely annoying. And you have to put up with them throughout the whole game. There is a section somewhere in the middle where it sounds like they have been attacked, and I basically thought: "Oh YES. PLEASE let them be dead." But no such luck, unfortunately. Lara says her fair share of cheesy dialogue too, but mostly shes quite likeable. Her accent probably makes up for a lot, though.
The grapple is another niggle I had with the game, its an easy way out for the designers who obviously can't be bothered to make some nice ledges to navigate, so instead just make a big hole in the floor and ask you to grapple on some convieniently placed chandeliers in the ceiling and swing to the other end. I wouldn't mind if it didn't happen all the time, but it does. And you also have to use the grapple to pull things such as boxes and levers in the wall constantly. Why can't they just make a way for lara to reach these things herself? Its much more Tomb Raider-like that way.
The graphics in Legend are quite clean and nice, bright and colourful. Lara looks great, I especially liked how she stays wet for a while once shes been in water, its a nice effect. But the only reason that effect is there is so nerds can oggle at her dripping wet.
This leads me seemlessly to my next point about the games camera, because instead of moving to a good position to see where I have to jump next, it has an obsession with fixating on Lara's body. This is very frustrating because a lot of the time you need to see which direction to jump and the camera doesn't show you so you have to make a guess. Normally resulting in falling to your death. Crystal Dynamics, I think I vouch for a lot of (mature) gamers when I say that I would rather be playing the game and being able to see where i'm going instead of my view being blocked by Lara's ass polygons.
Although i've ranted a lot about whats wrong with the game, I totally contradict myself by thoroughly enjoying it. Its a guilty pleasure. It has a LOT of faults if you compare it to what Tomb Raider is supposed to be like, and what the previous games have been like. But on its own, if you just think of it as a game by itself, its still flawed but very fun and action-packed. A little on the short-side definately, but you will have a blast playing it.
If you've never played a Tomb Raider game before, you'll enjoy it. If you played the others and didn't like them, you'll probably enjoy this one. Younger gamers are more likely to enjoy it but adults can too if they dont try to take it seriously, and long time fans of the series will probably be disappointed by how different and easy it is compared to the other games, and I think they are unfortunately the mostly likely candidates for hating this game.
I'd also like to add that Tomb Raider Anniversary fixed a lot of things that were wrong with Legend and was much better recieved. So if they are using Anniversary's blueprint as the guide to making the next Tomb Raider game, (they certainly should be) then the next game and the games after that SHOULD be great.