When the new Tomb Raider game was announced I was not excited, in fact i really didn't care BUT then I saw the gameplay and the beautiful graphics and I HAD to get that game. I bought it with my last penny and i have to say it was worth it.

STORY: The story is tale of survival that is dark and gritty, with violence everywhere...that's right kiddos this game is violent as hell, anyway you start off the game stranded on a island with the crew of your research vessel and are forced to survive until you can find a way off. To avoid too many spoilers let's just say it's not that easy. Since the game is Lara's origin story we get the joy of her first kill and let's just say she did not like it as much as did, she cries and wretches over the corpse but then for gameplay reasons becomes the trained killer we all know today. Some people didn't like this because it was too "instant" but if we were forced to break down crying every time we kill someone in this game...well there would be one sobbing break down after another.

GAMEPLAY: Tomb Raider's controls are some of the best controls I have seen in a 3rd person action game in years, they are precise and tight with a good default sensitivity on aiming. The camera is also really well done here, during combat it is easily maneuverable and lets the player peek out of cover. During climbing sections it auto adjusts PERFECTLY to let the player see where they are jumping to. Oh and i have to mention the minimal GUI it's brilliant it only appears when aiming with a weapon and doesn't take away from the experience.

VISUALS: I really don't care about visuals that much but this game is breathtakingly beautiful! The backdrops are so detailed and pretty that i couldn't help but stare at them and the up close textures are also top notch. Characters are also very well done and look great even on consoles, the effects are well done as well with fires that glow bright oranges and red and lights that are (almost) too bright in the indoor levels.

MULTIPLAYER: I was not too sure about the multiplayer in tomb raider simply because it doesn't feel like a multiplayer game. Almost every review i have read says that the multiplayer is lacklustre and boring but i really enjoy it. The combat is good (not as good as the single player but good) and there are 4 fun game modes Team Deathmatch, Rescue, Cry for Help, and Free For All. Team Deathmatch is pretty standard, Kill the baddies who aren't your team. Rescue is basically capture the flag but instead of a flag you capture a medical kit with supplies to save someone, a team tries to cap it and the other stops them by shooting them with guns. Cry for Help is my favourite game mode because it is fun as hell to to scream back and forth to a friend as he murders you when your just about to activate the last transmitter, It is played kind of like domination in other multplayer games except that one team (the survivors) try to activate transmitters (flags) and the other team (the Solarii) kill the survivors and take their batteries and the first one to complete their goal wins. Finally there is Free for all which is also pretty standard (first to 15 kills wins) BUT there is a twist! If a player kills enough baddies without dying they become the "executioner" and if they kill a certain amount of people and don't die they win even if they didn't get the full 15.

FINAL SCORE: I loved Tomb Raider start to finish and it is my current game of the year for 2013. although it could use some more game modes in multiplayer and some weird lag issues also need to be addressed it is a FANTASTIC game and it is worth every cent! if you haven't bought it already go...buy it right now! I give Tomb Raider a 9.5 out of 10