At its best this game is an okay attempt to blend action and adventure but there are too many flaws throughout.
Gameplay: 2.5/5
+ The game tries to blend too many types of gameplay elements, which I think leads to its ultimate demise. At its heart I think it's a platformer similar to Prince of Persia, since most of the time you'll be traversing caverns, climbing walls, swinging from ropes, etc. The problem with this, though, is that at least half the time you can easily misjudge the jumps and fall to your death. The camera plays a factor in this, never really giving you a clear angle of where you're headed and also switching at the wrong moments. Another factor is that you have to be in the exact right place when jumping or you'll end up going in the wrong direction when clearly you were pressing another. Another aspect of this game is the puzzles, which to be fair isn't half bad. Some of them are tricky and require you to think your way through, but none of them were hard enough to cause a lot of frustration. As long as you put yourself into the position of Lara and try to ask yourself what you would think to do if you were actually in the tombs, you should find a solution in short time. One major annoyance, though, is the pushing and pulling of objects. The control is so poor that it's nearly impossible to push a crate or block straight ahead. If you press left or right just a small amount you will start rotating off in a weird direction, and it usually takes two or three times longer than it should to move a block over a switch. The final aspect of the game, and the most aggravating of all, is the combat. There is virtually no aiming, and in order to shoot at an enemy you just "lock on" to them and start pressing fire. It usually takes quite a number of shots before they go down, and in the meantime the enemies are blasting your health away with ease. You do have an "aim" mode, but for whatever reason you're unable to move when aiming which makes this completely impractical for combat. Also, you only get two weapons--your default dual pistols, and one other weapon that you can pick up from enemies. This really doesn't offer much variety and after you run out of ammo (which can happen quickly) you're left with your pistols, so for most of the game you'll just be using those. The final major annoyance is the clear inability to port a console game's controls to a PC keyboard. The default bindings are all over the place, far from the left hand, requiring you to lift either your right hand or left hand in order to smack a button. The default button to use a health pack is Home and the default button to switch weapons is End. I'm not sure who thought of this, but I'm certain it was someone who rarely plays PC games. To be fair, this game does have its moments of fun but just when it starts to pick up you'll be brought back to reality that this game could have been so much better if more care was put into it.
Story/Presentation: 3/5
+ The plot is actually not too bad, and I did enjoy traveling to various locations and settings all across the world. It does get sort of "out there" and far-fetched at times, but I don't think it claims to be anything less, which is fine. What I thought could be improved was the character development. Most of the other characters seem so stale and lifeless and it was sucked all the believability out of them. Most of the time you'll be exploring areas alone so when you do encounter another person it should be a relief and exciting but instead it's disappointing.
Graphics: 3.5/5
+ The graphics are decent and for a four year old game they still allow you to play without much distraction. At the same time, the character models are all over the place. Some are decent, but others are clearly skewed and misproportioned (and here I'm not even mentioning how Lara looks). It's hard to tell if the characters are supposed to look realistic or cartoony since the spectrum varies between the two.
Value: 3/5
+ The game is really short, and you can easily beat it in around 6 hours. The good news, though, is that there are plenty of special items to unlock after you've played the levels if you're so inclined. The rewards vary from upgrades to art to movies. There are even time-trials for each level for you to attempt. Sadly, after beating the game once I really feel no desire to go back and play more. But the option is always there.