Impressive for a reboot

I was quite skeptical over the release of the game, but I decided to pick it up to give it a chance. The overall experience blew me away with how well it was put together.

The game had an authentic Tomb Raider story line that mixed both historical and fictional aspects into a well blended mix that created interest and awe. As Lara explored the different areas in awe, I myself was in awe at co-discovering what there was to find.

The gun/bow gameplay felt fluid. I was satisfied with the way combat felt with both melee and ranged combat. The animations of both Lara and the enemy AI was well put together, even though the enemies sometimes stuck their heads out in such a way it made them too easy to fire upon. The different types of enemies that came at you always gave you a sense to have to decipher what's happening, and made you plan your next move according to the environment and enemy type.

Visually, this game is striking. I was impressed with every piece of scenery that was laid in front of the screen. The flora/fauna accented the areas it inhabited very well, along with the varied types of structures that were sprinkled throughout the island. It really gave a refreshing feeling to exploring and kept me from being bored. During the writing of this article, there are/were some issues with coding on Nvidia cards and I unfortunately can't take advantage of some features like the incredible TressFX realistic hair features of tesselation. But these issues will be/are going to be fixed and I can get the perfect gameplay experience.

I'm looking forward to seeing whatever else Crystal Dynamics does with the series.