It just goes to prove what I've always said.

Killing Nazis is fun.

Also, Lara Croft is overrated, old, tired, and is the process of fading away into oblivion...at least I can hope so. I am so not looking forward to what her older, still ardent fanboys will be like say 10 years from now, when the Special Limited Edition of Tomb Raider's then current iteration will be packaged with the future equivalent of Viagra.

I don't see how. Drake's Fortune was essentially just a Tomb Raider game with a different central character and a few game play mechanics that could be used by TR no problem. It was lauded to high heaven. The recent Prince of Persia games owed a lot to Tomb Raider. You could even say that Assassin's Creed was influenced by Tomb Raider, although that's a less direct link.

Strip away all of your pre-conceptions, that are possibly based on socially stunted nerds' reactions to a female character or the mainstream press' inability to moderate any games coverage, and the recent games stand on their own as genuinely good games.

No character or game series could stand up to the hype and glare that Lara Croft and Tomb Raider were put under. Anybody with a brain would have thought "oh no not her again." I certainly did.

However, starting with Legend, the Tomb Raider games have been re-started, in a Batman Begins type of way, and have, I believe, overcome the previous hype and disappointment that was crystallised by Angel of Darkness.

If you haven't played Legend, Anniversary or the new Underworld, give them a go, Legend should be available at bargain-bin prices now. If you liked the original Tomb Raider, Sands of Time or Drake's, then you have a good chance of liking Legend.

In case you didn't work it out, I'm a bit of a Tomb Raider fan. I've written reviews of the last three games; Legend, Anniversary and (just up today) Underworld. And I didn't need Viagra to get through any of them. :-)

i feel that nfs could have done so much better but fist of all there was no demo look at all the last nfs that have hit 360 all have had a demo and because last years nfs was crap people are not so keen on spending £40 on a game that might be crap
tomb raider is one of types of game that dose so much better when it is put in the bargen bucket / bog off shelf like i feel the mirrors edge will
we all new that call of duty waw will be at top spot as a result of call of duty 4 and mario kart is going to sell like hot cakes as people are wanting to get it for xmas presents

Yes quite esp. when the said Nazi is your best freind!

OK, test drove the TR:U demo.

It looks pretty. Wasn't impressed with the camera or combat, and being prompted to kill what I assume was a Bengal Tiger with a sticky grenade...well, deep in the darkest recesses of my triple-mortgaged soul there dwells an inner bleeding heart liberal and nothing in Manhunt ever prompted him to start shrieking as much as that did. Also, watching her climb up the walls looking up at her clingy shorts with the strappy accessory belt made me feel kinda pervy, in a way that would have been charming when I was a lad, now, not so much.

Not my cuppa, and the bitch has too much baggage, without showing me anything to make up for it...better combat, camera, and/or a more ecologically responsible (say using her jumping and leaping skills to avoid endangered predators while stealing the archeological treasures of the world) could have easily brought me around, but she missed the mark. I understand from reading your review that there is a trank gun available for use, which is nice, but are there any incentives to not slaughtering the native fauna? I'd need something more compelling than an Achievement/trophy, if indeed they bothered with such.

I just expect more from a current gen game in the area of controls, if I'm going to be frustrated by a game, I'd prefer it to be from my lack of skill or execution, and TR limits me on the control side. From your review, it appears that you expected a bit more from it as well.