This genre isn't very popular on the PC. That being said, it is a welcome addition to the platform.
Graphics - 9
This game looks really good. I mean really good. You can crank the game out on max settings, and there's just all kinds of stuff to appreciate. There really isn't much to say here. The screenshots, as good as they look, don't really do the game justice. The animations are smooth, and everything is very crisp and clean. There is also a lot of eye candy to oogle and awe over.
One thing I will comment on specifically is this new technology with Lara's hair. It's called TressFX. Basically, it applies a bunch of cloth/particle physics to Lara's hair, which makes it simulate some slick animation on individual strands you would typically only see in the best CG renderings. It looks really cool, and you don't realize how much it adds to the game until you turn it off.
Which you will be doing if you care anything at all about smooth gameplay. Basically, this feature will eat your FPS quite a bit. While I appreciate the option, they really need to work on it's optimization in later installments to the series.
Sound - 10
I typically don't put a lot of emphasis on sound in games anymore. Unless something really stands out as either good or bad, I usually slap an 8 on here, and we're done.
But this game has some really good environmental sounds. You can hear the sharpness in everything, and it adds a lot of enjoyment to the game. I like crisp sound, and when you can hear lots of stuff clear as day all at once... I can really dig it.
I've missed the series theme though. Maybe it's in the game somewhere... I haven't heard it yet. To me, that's a disappointment as I think it was a very telling theme - very iconic.
Gameplay - 9
So, there is a lot I want to talk about as far as gameplay is concerned, but a lot of it is in a subject matter gray-area. So I will just put it into Value.
The bottom line is, when you press a button... the game does what it is supposed to do. You don't ever feel like you should be able to do something that you can't. And nothing about the game is overly frustrating because of mechanical failure, except...
The QTE's can leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth. It's not that these are bad or anything... it's just that they don't translate too well on a Mouse & Keyboard control scheme. I've found myself retrying every QTE I've come across, 5 or 6 times, simply because it's hard to perform the actions they want you to perform, because of the button presses - they're just unintuitive. I'm sure these issues simply don't exist with a gamepad, though. QTE's were designed for gamepads after all.
The way the game is set up, is you have a HUB. In this HUB space, you can run around, searching for stuff to pick up, and do all kinds of running and jumping. The focus in these HUB's is on collectables. You might run into the random bad guy here and there, or the occasional wildlife, and there may be a tomb hidden in the bush somewhere. But the point is that these areas exist to give you some downtime until you get to the next action sequence which usually forwards the story in some way. This is a good thing, because this is where you will find most of the Salvage you need to upgrade your gear.
Gear is your weapons and other items Lara picks up on her adventure that you use to... well... play the game. For instance, your Bow can be upgraded with a new string which makes it draw faster, and a reinforced arch which makes it able to bend further so it will do more damage. You will have similar upgrades for your other weapons, and you need salvage in order to upgrade them.
While I am getting a little bit sick of this unnecessary, obligatory "craft" mechanic that seems to be popping up in every major title whether it needs it or not, it is done very well in TR and seems to be quite fitting. For instance, this game gives you a far better sense of the idea of survival than say... Far Cry 3... which had a crafting system that was completely unnecessary, and added nothing relevant to the gameplay. While the whole idea of creating attachments and whatnot for an SMG out of salvaged parts from some ancient machine or wolf bone is beyond ridiculous, it translates well into the idea that salvage is just the game's currency, and you need it to buy better equipment.
The Skill Point mechanic is another unnecessary "obligatory" popping up in most major games. Frankly, I'm okay with it here, although it is rather shallow compared to most games. Fortunately, unlike most of those games... all of these Skills are worth something substantial. In other words, you aren't patronized by the designers with a bunch of fluff Skills that really only serve as time-sinks before you get the skills that are actually useful. In TR... there are only a few skills in each tree... but they all have immediate improvements on Lara that you come to appreciate pretty quickly.
The running and jumping in this game is just a gem. It is fluid and responsive and moves along at a good pace that doesn't make you yell at the screen with explicatives about how slow Lara moves. The combat is pretty slick and fluid too. SO much better over any game in the franchise. It's like a regular TPS, and frankly... I'm okay with that. No more of that auto-aim BS, thank you very much!
Value - 8
So, let's talk about this for a minute. There is some insinuation going on around the internet that suggests previous Tomb Raiders had a lot of "exploration" in them. The truth of the matter is... they didn't. Not really. At least, not in the sense of how we have grown accustomed to defining "exploration" (i.e. FarCry, Crysis, Skyrim, multiple MMO's.)
What you had were large set pieces that featured environment puzzles which relied on platforming prowess. Then you had branches from these set pieces where you would go off and find some sort of a key to use on the set piece. This branching mechanic meant that each level had quite a bit of length to them. Once you found the key in one area, you would take it back to the set piece, place it, and then move on to the next branch, and the next key.
However, they were all relatively linear in design - meaning, you really only had one way of doing things. You could choose to do things in the order in which you saw fit, usually, but each objective or key, only had one manner in which to acquire it. To the old games' credit, however, and more to what everyone is actually talking about when they say "exploration", the paths were not always apparent. I admit, I remember being stumped in a few of the games every now and again because I simply did not know where to go. It is also important to note that this "not-exploration", branching level design system was a very, very good thing. They were filled with exploration, but they were great because you had to think and figure stuff out.
I think this was the heart of what made the first gen Tomb Raider games (everything prior to Angel of Darkness) so endearing and good. The level design was just unparalleled, even by today's standards. They never should have messed with that formula. What hindered the original series was the dated graphics, and Lara's tank-like maneuvering. Tomb Raider's strengths were in its level design - not the character of Lara Croft, the story, or anything else anyone wants to pin its success onto. Even the character of Lara Croft was inconsequential other than the fact that she was the first real female video game mascot, and her boobs were huge. Never mind the huge boobs, she became a mascot because the games were that good. And they were that good, because of the superb level design. The Legend of Zelda series cut its fame and fortune on the very same premise.
Now then, how does this translate into TR 2013? Well, while I am not going to complain about the addition of a worth-while story, especially one that goes into greater detail about everyone's favorite video game heroine... I miss the originals' sense of great level design. This is what has been missing from this franchise ever since Angel of Darkness, and it is the only thing that makes those games worth going back and replaying, even after all these years.
They've tried to push a great story into the game before. It just didn't hit the mark. They've tried reworking the mechanics of running, jumping, and shooting before. Although, to be fair... it has never been THIS good. Still, they've done that before, and yet the game still didn't hold a candle to the originals. Why? Because they are not focusing on the same level of detail to level design.
Now I am not saying that TR 2013 doesn't have good level design. It is good when you compare it to something like Uncharted or Assassin's Creed. But it isn't good in the sense that you look around for what seems like forever, looking under every nook and cranny, thinking you've almost completed the level, only to be surprised after turning one corridor, that you have an entirely new area you didn't even know was on the map to traverse - and then it hits you.... you've still got a lot of work to do.
So, while this is definitely a great game, and I love it... I really wanted that old TR feeling from the originals. And... it just didn't hit that mark. To be fair... it hit it way more than Legends or Underworld ever did. Plus it has a better narrative. So... I call this one a success.
Tilt - 10
I want to love this game. Tomb Raider is my all time favorite game franchise. I have played every single game, multiple times, since the first one. And while I can't TR 2013 provides me with the same thrills and sense of discovery that the originals did.... it's gotten pretty close to giving me an equally "just as good" experience. Plus... as a gamer who plays exclusively on a PC... we don't get very many games like this. And that goes a long way with me.
Overall - 9.2