Being a long time player of Tomb Raider (I bought the first one in 1996, and I’ve bought every one since) I was very interested in the fact that they were going to reboot the franchise. There was so much hype approaching this release and everyone was asking “will it be worth it-” Well – yes it is. This game is awesome!

The graphics are amazing. The environment throughout the game is minutely detailed, and when you’re standing on a cliff top, the island seems huge. The character models are extremely well-detailed, especially Lara, and as the game progresses she receives more injuries, and her clothing gets dirtier and more damaged.

There are various levels of detail in the setup menu, and if you choose the higher levels, there is something called TressFX, which, when enabled, renders Lara’s hair almost strand by strand. You need a reasonably powerful PC to run this, though. I only have a GTX580 graphics card and I can enable TressFX, but at times I have quite a lag. Hopefully there should be some new drivers coming through which will fix this. Still, with TressFX disabled, the graphics are just as amazing.

Sound is very well done. Voice acting is excellent and the ambient sounds give you a feeling of desolation and dread (that’s a good thing). The music is brilliant and gives a very cinematic feel to the game.

Interestingly, the tombs in this game are an option. If you really want to raid tombs, there are plenty hidden on the island, but if you want to complete the story without the tombs, then you can do that too.

So what about Lara herself- Well, this time around she is 20 – 21, fresh out of archaeology school and still naive. She’s a little athletic, but not superhuman, and you have the opportunity to level up her combat skills during the game. Lara is very vulnerable, and very unsure of herself, but as the game progresses, so she progresses into a very determined and more confident woman.

This game is very realistic and very gritty and the developers have carefully thought through every minute detail. For instance, Lara suffers a very bad injury at the beginning of the game, and throughout the game you can see that the injury is bothering her. In fact, about three-quarters of the way through she reopens the wound and is unable to make any jumps at all until she can find some way of treating it.

So, yes – this game is worthy of the TR name, and any TR fan should love it. People new to the franchise should also pick it up, as it’s a completely engrossing and enjoyable experience. Great graphics, great sound, amazing attention to detail and a brilliant storyline. Highly recommended.

Doesn't have much of replayability. Also feels a lot more linear than other tomb raider games. Doesn't give the same free roaming feel that older games did.

I went into the game unsure, not being a fan of franchise reboots and found myself pleasantly surprised. It's not the tomb raider I remember, the exploration is less frustrating and the story and world more engaging, I finished the game feeling positive and that I would enjoy more.

The changes to the combat system and less acrobatic Miss Croft did feel unusual but the switch to a more visceral fight where aiming and melee felt more important seems like a move in a better direction. The ‘survival’ nature of the game is a little weak, It's more like xp grinding on woodland creatures.

Plenty of hints showing this Lara shaping up to become more like her iconic self but maybe with a bit more character as well. All in all I'd recommend playing and I'll certainly buy the next.

(Some of the death scenes can be grisly or shocking, parents of young children be advised.)

Bring on the dinosaurs!!