Lara's beginnings more than live up to her legend in a game that's thrilling, intense, and fun to play
Environments are varied throughout the game, from foggy forests to dark caverns to a shantytown. Hidden in these areas are seven optional tombs to explore. These are the parts most like past Tomb Raider games- entering a tomb, solving a puzzle, and finding a treasure. They make for a nice break from the more action filled main story sections, as you aren't menaced by any enemies in these tombs. The platforming works excellently, with tight controls and good camera angles. The camera is much better than in past games, and if you're unsure as to where to go a press of the L2 button gives you visual clues by highlighting things in gold. Most times you won't need this, but it's nice to have.
Combat has also been upgraded for the reboot, and the cover system works to perfection. Cover can be destroyed in most cases, so you're always kept on your toes. There's no auto aim, so getting a bead on your enemies in the heat of combat can be a challenge, but never so much that it becomes frustrating. Battles can be won in a variety of ways, from placing well timed headshots to blowing up the ever popular red barrels to waste groups of foes. The barrels may be a well worn and even overused shooter trope, but they're still fun.
Story wise the game is very strong, as Lara and her friends are part of an expedition in search of the legendary island of Yamatai. The other characters are for the most part well done, even if they're all types we've seen before. Graphics are filled with nice details, and the music by Jason Greaves is perfectly suited to the game. Camilla Luddington does an outstanding job taking over as the voice of Lara, imbuing her with a great mix of fear, determination, and curiosity. Her confidence grows as the game progresses, and it always seems to do so in a logical manner. In this way Lara has become a more full fledged character than she has been in past titles.
The game is not completely perfect, however. Minor glitches pop up now and then. For myself they were very rare and very minor, but other players have reported some more substantial issues. There are plenty of QTEs throughout the game, and at times they can be unforgiving. Thankfully, the button doesn't change, so even if you miss it the first time you should easily get it the next time around. These were minor quibbles overall, and didn't detract in the slightest from my enjoyment of the game.
Tomb Raider in short is just fantastic, and a must play, if not a must buy. It's of a decent length- my first time through took me between 12 and 15 hours. After the story is over, you can continue to explore the island for any goodies you missed, at a much more relaxed pace. There is multiplayer for those who enjoy that sort of thing, but I haven't tried it yet so I won't comment on whether it's worth your time or not. The single player is well worth your time, however. This could be an early GOTY contender.