Tomb Raider is an amazing adventure that is a wonder to behold.
Tomb Raider isn't a remake or sequel, but an origin story behind how Lara Croft becomes the raider of tombs. And boy is it good. The story, combat, exploring and so on, Tomb Raider is a masterpiece.
The story, to start off, is yeah, a little cliched. Lara is on a ship, out to explore the world, ship capsizes, blah blah, crazy people. But i's not about the cliche. But about how well it's executed. The story is engrossing due to the fact that Lara is completely green. She doesn't have any true skills (besides the tiny bit of survival training she got from her mentor Roth) therefore, giving you a feeling of helplessness as you scuddle around a broken island, riddled with bad guys, dangerous tombs, and crazy set pieces. What I loved most about Tomb Raider, was as the game progresses, so does Lara. She slowly but surely becomes the Lara Croft we all know and love. She receives a glove, another glove, her pistol, her second pistol, and she slowly but surely starts to grow into the badass that wears shorts.
Now, the gameplay in general, is awesome, and entertaining. To start off, the combat is great, because it's not forced like other cinematic games such as Uncharted. You get pinned down by crazy peeps who shoot at your every move. You get pulled out of cover by thrown molotovs. And you get killed in horrific, cinematic ways. No, you don't just die and restart. You die, WATCH Lara die, and THEN restart. It's that type of thing that pisses you off because it puts an emphasis on why and how you died, therefore, you must atone for that error, and destroy that thing that killed you. Bugger... Moving on, with the combat being as good as it is, the exploration is wonderful. It's an action game, yet you have the choice to go through the game as an action-esk game, or make the game into an epic adventure. The tombs are optional, but passing by them is disheartening because there's so much to do outside of the main story. Raid tombs, collect collectibles, and so on. I loved this, because it makes me feel happy, knowing that I can go back and explore the world all over again (or island, whatever.) And that i did.
Graphics wise, the game is wonderful. You see the pores on Lara's skin, the shine of the wet rocks and the hair that whisks in the wind. I mention hair, because Crystal Dynamics introduced TressFX. It's a new hair rendering filter that makes Lara's hair look absolutely fantastic. Sure this is a little thing bu it really does look nice. Lotsa strands alright. Though it will take a toll on your frame rate, due to the fact that it is adding a lot more strands onto your screen. But, I digress and move on.
Tomb Raider is a wonderful game with very few flaws, yet,those flaws get stomped on by the great features this game has. Exploring the island is a blast. Killing bad guys is satisfying and rewarding, and the environments you tread in are magnificent to behold. Lara Croft has entered my heart once again and I welcome her awesomeness that is Tomb Raider.