While Lara's recent adventure is fun and engaging, it ends too soon, leaving you wanting much more.
First things first, though: Is it good? Sure. Is it great? Well, not quite.
Graphically the game is just right. The environments, the characters, everything looks just great. Lara's animation is smooth and believable and you do get the feeling that you're exploring all those remote and exotic locations. Coupled with this is the sound which is also one of the game's stronger points. The ambient sound is fitting and solid and a special note should be said about the voice acting, which is by far one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game. You really get a feel for each of the character's attitudes and demeanour, specially Lara, and that adds some very welcome flavour to the game.
The gameplay is somewhat of a mixed bag. Lara controls just fine, the controls are smooth and responsive and the lenient attitude of the game towards the player helps pull off some of the more impressive moves without much trouble. The brief driving scenes are simple and straightforward, but feel way to arcade-like. The novelty (if you can even call it that), soon wears off. So, it's good that there are few of those. Beyond the jumping, tumbling and driving there's also the gunplay. The gunplay in TR: Legend is fun and varied.....if you want it to be. Sure, Lara can jump around foes, kick them, pull them with her grapple and whatnot, but you don't really have to. Most of the time, you can just pretty much stand there and shoot them out. They'll conveniently drop a health pack, which you can use, and go on in your merry little way. A little more challenge on this end wouldn't hurt.
The central piece of the game is, obviously, the puzzles. Be it the environmental puzzles, or the (apparent) tricky boss fights, these are the bread and butter of a game such as this. For the most part, they are interesting and really fun to figure out. Unfortunately they are also terribly simple and easy. There really isn't much challenge involved and you never really get that satisfaction of completing something truly unique once it's done. Also, most of them have a "deja vu" feeling to them, as most of the vaulting and jumping is very reminiscent of the Prince of Persia series.
The single biggest flaw of the game is how horribly short it is. Transversing the game in the standard difficulty setting, paying somewhat attention to the several hidden items you can find throughout the levels, will take you around 8 hours. Maybe even less. Which is simply not enough. The story, which is good without being great, seems rushed towards the end and, despite that, doesn't leave you with a sense of completeness and closure at all, which heightens the sense of how short the whole experience is.
Once you're done, there aren't really any truly compelling reasons to go back and seek the 100% mark. The side chapter available, of the Croft Manor, in which you go around Lara's house solving puzzles and collecting items is a notable exception, but even that is short and not that challenging. The other extras are mildly interesting, but nothing mind blowing. In such, a game that can be finished in a day, and truly completed in a weekend without much effort is only worth a purchase to those really big fans of Lady Croft's endeavours.
To sum it up, Tomb Raider: Legend is a good game, providing a good amount of fun while it lasts. The problem is, it doesn't really last all that long, and that is unfortunate.