If you're a fan of the Core Design Tomb Raider games for the original PlayStation, you may want to try this game, but don't expect a perfect one. This game IS buggy, and the negative reviews are warranted.
It was released rushed and unfinished.

Twelve years ago when I first saw it, it was the most beautiful thing to come after the person who introduced me to gaming completed Chronicles, it felt like such an improvement in some elements but lacking in other.

It copies mechanics from previous titles, but some have to be unlocked later in the game, like sprinting. Gone are the times you'd have to wait for Lara to pull a block for exactly one square, because the game has none.
New mechanics include hand-to-hand fighting, faster swiming after swan diving, poison damage, sprint-jumping and commando crawling.

The most innovative mechanic this game got was the introduction of a Stamina bar, which depletes when Lara traverses ledges or hangs onto them. It's a neat mechanic, and it makes sense given the fact that she's rusty after being in recovery from escaping a pyramid.
The way the upgrades are handled, though? Not good. Pull this specific thing or kick open this specific door to get a strength upgrade, most of the time.

The soundtrack is the best thing in this game and follows the whole story fittingly.
It was recorded in an orchestral manner and sounds so dark, nostalgic and gloomy.

One thing I should mention: Do NOT attempt to use the Setup on your own. Google is your friend on this one, because the settings are confusing.
My suggestion is either using Google to find the best possible settings in the Setup, or relying on the ingame settings, which at least have normal drop-down menus scaled from None/Off to High, for example.

BONUS!
My recommendation is to use TexMod and the community made HD Graphics Mod, right here:
http://www.core-design.com/community_hdgraphicspatch.html

There are tons of other mods that fix inverted polygon problems, restore some cut content, unlock further widescreen support and control fixes. Of course, some character model mods exist as well. You could play the whole game as Janice if you really wanted to...

The first image you see when looking at this page is a beta training level,
accessible only by cheats. It was supposed to be to the right of the dog at the very
beginning of the game, but the door there is now locked. TRAOD: SCU gets you past
this barrier if you want to explore an unfinished thing with voice acting and some pickups.

If you're a fan of the Core Design Tomb Raider games for the original PlayStation, you may want to try this game, but don't expect a perfect one. This game IS buggy, and the negative reviews are warranted. It was released rushed and unfinished. Twelve years ago when I first saw it, it was the most beautiful thing to come after the person who introduced me to gaming completed Chronicles, it felt like such an improvement in some elements but lacking in other. It copies mechanics from previous titles, but some have to be unlocked later in the game, like sprinting. Gone are the times you'd have to wait for Lara to pull a block for exactly one square, because the game has none. New mechanics include hand-to-hand fighting, faster swiming after swan diving, poison damage, sprint-jumping and commando crawling. The most innovative mechanic this game got was the introduction of a Stamina bar, which depletes when Lara traverses ledges or hangs onto them. It's a neat mechanic, and it makes sense given the fact that she's rusty after being in recovery from escaping a pyramid. The way the upgrades are handled, though? Not good. Pull this specific thing or kick open this specific door to get a strength upgrade, most of the time. The soundtrack is the best thing in this game and follows the whole story fittingly. It was recorded in an orchestral manner and sounds so dark, nostalgic and gloomy. One thing I should mention: Do NOT attempt to use the Setup on your own. Google is your friend on this one, because the settings are confusing. My suggestion is either using Google to find the best possible settings in the Setup, or relying on the ingame settings, which at least have normal drop-down menus scaled from None/Off to High, for example. BONUS! My recommendation is to use TexMod and the community made HD Graphics Mod, right here: http://www.core-design.com/community_hdgraphicspatch.html There are tons of other mods that fix inverted polygon problems, restore some cut content, unlock further widescreen support and control fixes. Of course, some character model mods exist as well. You could play the whole game as Janice if you really wanted to... The first image you see when looking at this page is a beta training level, accessible only by cheats. It was supposed to be to the right of the dog at the very beginning of the game, but the door there is now locked. TRAOD: SCU gets you past this barrier if you want to explore an unfinished thing with voice acting and some pickups.