I've got that old feeling back.  The one that makes me love this hobby.  I'm smiling from ear to ear and the reason why is because of Tomb Raider.

First off, the game looks great! For a cross gen title, it's the most "next gen" looking game that I own.  It's been a long time since I just wanted to look at an environment, animation, or effect. I'm not rushing through.  I'm savoring everything I see.

Second off, it feels like Tomb Raider.  That feeling of isolation. That feeling of awe.  The HUGE environments. They're all here.  The last one was a great game, in my opinion, but it felt different.  Like it was trying to be something it wasn't. It had a few pairs and some quests.  It was less "straight forward action" than some of its competition but it still required limited brain power and fast reflexes.  This one has me thinking from the very beginning.  I love it!  Two hours in and I've only used my gun a couple of times--and both times it was to solve a puzzle.

I'm just getting started and time will tell if it will devolve into a shooting gallery but right now, this is the Tomb Raider game we wanted.  It has the set pieces of the last game but... you can die.  The peril is there.  The adventure is there.  The exploration and reward is there. And Tomb Raider is back.

I'll keep you updated.

Oh, and its not all positive. Install/update was a bitch. Longer than most recent games. Took about twenty minutes. It said I was ready to play in five but the opening cutscene froze twice giving me some weird error about "misreads" and "wolves".

Great. I'm hoping it is very different to the reboot in order to give it a chance because I found the reboot decent at best and had no other choice but to rush through the second half of the game.

Just a question, if I've never played any tomb raider games before, would I be able to jump in this one and understand the storyline and all?

So far it seems pretty self contained.  The 2013 game is a good starting point but probably not necessary.

Ok, thanks!

We need to know about the more important things: does Lara at any point wear a wet tshirt?

I know nothing about the story of Rise of the Tomb Raider (don't wanna get me spoiled), but since it's the second game after the reboot and the fact that the reboot is a complete story, this game shouldn't have any connections to it (other than Lara herself).

Yes. And her booty after she gets wet ( after swimming) is magnifique!

self contained or not,.. go place the 2013 one.  it's fantatic!!