@mildmolasses: Oh, I don't deny it's fun. I actually enjoyed myself immensely, I would dare say that I had more fun than in Uncharted 2, since TR's enemies are not bullet sponges. I'm just sad that the game tries to tackle a theme it's ultimately uninterested in pursuing.

@tangoup: You have to have the weapon equipped, I think. Also, to perform those other skill-unlocked takedowns, you need to actually go to aiming mode and press the attack button. Unless you're referring to something else.

I played about an hour or so on Tuesday, but I was aiming to finish up Dead Space 3 first. On that note, I just spent like 4 hours playing DS3 so I think it's time for a break.

Also, as someone who doesn't own a PS3 (yet), I never got a chance to play the Uncharted series, so most of the combat and environment traversal feels pretty new and fresh for me. I'm really loving the game and can't wait to put some more time in with it. Next game I'm planning on playing is Bioshock so maybe I'll actually go for a nice 100% completion on this.

I am not actually playing the game, I finished it on Thursday. It's an adequate novelty but I'm not really looking forward to future iterations. Thought about trying some of the multiplayer but started playing Banner Saga: Factions instead.

The RPS review did an excellent job of expressing my views on the game for me.

rented it played it for less than an hour, moved on . everything it tried to do was already done by naughty dog a long time ago. It just has skill trees and "open world" linear areas one after another to give the illusion of depth

I could add to Lara getting called out for the killing by the incidental dialogue from the enemy encounters. There comes a point when a potential truce is proposed because of another threat and it ends before it begins. After that Lara is openly taunting the enemies during fights. I specifically recall her shouting, "That's right! I'm not dead!" when the enemies are surprised by their inability to kill her. They were also pretty bummed about Lara killing a specific guy and the enemies reference his death during future encounters with her.

To claim that "the endeavor never really changes her that much. There's no reflection upon what happens" seems completely unbelievable and I have to ask if you completely missed parts of the game.

I'm about 7 hours in. Still think it is my favorite game in a long time.

It really does seem to embrace the fun side of being a video game. Like it does the movie inspired story parts, but not to the point of compromising the game play in service of story (pulling back the camera super far). And it still nails the shooty game portions.

Do you even lift?

so everything about this sounds damn great and i should probably pick it up soon, eh?

Yes, I'm referring to that. When you unlock most of those counters, the game simply tells you to dodge and then press triangle or press the button shown on screen. I can't seem to do either. And anyway, how can you select the axe anyway? It's not a weapon you can select.

That's exactly what you do. If you want to do the shotgun one, have the shotgun equipped. It's just an evolution of the dodge stun.

Played it, finished it.

Liked: Lara's character is a lot better than in previous Tomb Raider games. The environments are great to look at, wonderful art direction. Some of the action sequences and set-pieces are pretty good. Generally alright traversal mechanics and combat mechanics.

Disliked: Puzzles are super-easy, "optional tombs" are very short, combat as a whole is also super easy, only becoming mildly difficult towards the end, QTEs are terrible.

It's alright. Brad's 4 out of 5 is pretty on-the-spot, considering that GB doesn't allow half-star reviews. I would have given it 3.5/5.

I too am loving the Descent homages in this game. Definitely one of the best horror films of the 21st century.

Same here...

Yes, Lara weighs as much as 4 gas canisters apparently.

So far, I think this Tomb Raider is a good start to the rebooted franchise. It is a little rough around the edges but it has good potential. I would like future titles to focus more on platforming and exploring ancient sites rather than fire-fights since that is what I always pictured TR to be about. Although one does have to wonder how you can turn platforming into a sandbox. There has to be an incentive for replaying other than trophies ...

And wolves are boring ... zzz

Got it. Just did the arrow counter on the giant dude on the ship.

I just booted this game up last night on the PS3. I am relatively new to the console and I have never play any Uncharted game. I am generally a PC gamer and almost always pick the PC version of a game when I have that option. This time though I chose the PS3. Dang thing was 60 bucks! lol.

First of all I am impressed with how this game looks on the console. I play on a Sony super fine pitch CRT, which is a wide screen HDTV. I am stunned by how gorgeous this game looks and how fast and smooth it runs. The last game I played on my PS3 was Dark Souls and this game looks even better, so yea I am impressed!

My next impression was the production. This is a genuine AAA game. I haven't gotten too far into it, I am taking my time, trying to savor the experience ( I wanna get my $60 worth-- what if it's a short game! ) but I can tell right off the bat that Tomb Raider has a lot of money and talent behind it.

The last time I found myself moving through the jungle like this was in Metal Gear 3, so not having played Uncharted that is my comparison, or what Tomb Raider most reminds me of early on.

This game is very cinematic and coming off Dark Souls feels very guided. The two gameplay elements that keeps it from being a totally led by the hand experience are the puzzles, which have been cool ( I hope there are more of them ) and the fact that you need to explore the environment for upgrades. The overall path you follow is predetermined and the jumping, climbing, log walking, are all pretty much done for you. Press X and you are good to go. I am having fun with the game, it is enjoyable and I don't want to come off like I am feeling disappointed with TR, just making observations about the game design.

Most of my time has been learning to handle this bow in a efficient manner. Swinging the bow around quickly and getting a bead on an enemy is not easy with a DS and thumb stick. Been practicing on wolves. I have the option to run past them but I am determined to kill them all! Besides I need to get better with this bow.

Finally finished it. The end game is easily the best part of the campaign. I limited myself to using the bow and the pistol during the entire campaign to make it more challenging so fighting the samurai at the end was hectic stuff. We need more games like Uncharted and Tomb Raider. It's always fun to play through adventure games like these.

That said a lot of the XP, salvage and weapon modifications were superflous. Right now it just looks like a bullet point on the game description. Either they make the mechanic deeper or remove the shallow version they have now.

EDIT: btw, nice tip 'o the hat to Skyrim with the 'Former Adventurer' trophy.