TombRaider
I bought TombRaider on Steam during a sale. An impulse buy. I only heard good things about TombRaider so i gave it a try and i really had fun playing it.
The first Impressions: Lets shoot stuff !
I really enjoyed the gun play ! The gun handling is fun and precise and makes for satisfying moments during the play through. Its really fun to get a headshot streak or make good use of the alternate fire modes (granades, silencer etc). Then there is the jumping and climbing which is good too, nothing completely new, but some great locations and good camera angles provide some really good moments here.
A little bit disappointing but still fun though: Exploring the Tombs
Now i want to mention the exploration which i felt was a bit disappointing. You can look around off of the beaten path and try to find some treasures and some salvage (required for upgrading weapons) but the areas are not really open (dont think skyrim here) and some tombs (which you can "raid" and find treasures there) are not really hidden in any way or shape. The tombs consist of small puzzles which are fun to solve and provide some nice atmosphere too, but they arent really that big, they arent really hidden and there reward is just a map of other hidden items in the respective area.
The Story
Storywise Tombraider is good, certainly not great, but good. I really can confirm that the side characters arent as well developed as Lara which makes for some predictable moments, Lara is the hero and so on... But there are also some ok moments in the story and the voice acting is quite good.
Atmosphere ? Check !
In fact sound design and music are quite good too and create a very nice atmosphere sucking you into the adventure as a result. The echos of gunshots travel through the ares really nicely and the energetic music provides the perfect support for the tense gun battles. Musical clues also provide you with information about the enemies which i personally found really well done and also quite helpful.
Final Thoughts
Finally i want to say that the gunplay felt really good, the areas were varied and surprising and the music and sound were great therefore making TombRaider a really good action game. Playing Lara actually really feels like controlling a complete bad ass sometimes which i didnt expect at all. All in all i want to certainly recommend TombRaider but i would give out a slight warning as the adventure and exploration parts are a bit underdeveloped, which for me made the overall experience good rather then great.
Appendix: System Requirements
I played TombRaider on a mid 2011 iMac with really not so good hardware. 720p, with no effects. But the fact that it ran pretty good is a testament to the fact that TombRaider should be running on a wide range of systems....