Spelunking
Legend has taken most of what was aggravating about the previous Tomb Raider installments in terms of controls and has thrown them out completely in a long delayed refresh. Those dump truck tires strapped to Lara's feet for the past six titles have been replaced by the weathered hiking boots of a far more intuitive and polished system that is comparable to that found in the Prince of Persia franchise.

What this means for players is that jumping from ledge to ledge, pulling off acrobatic stunts, and rolling beneath blades and over pits has never been easier in. Veterans are in for a treat while newcomers should be able to quickly take to the game. Tutorial hints will show up on the screen to remind players of the controls, leaving the learning curve in the dust.

She'll even try and reach out with one arm to catch ledges that are almost out of her reach, hanging on for dear life until the player hits the "Y" button to bring up her other arm to pull herself up. Little nuances like this are found everywhere. There are also certain sections that present themselves as 'interactive cinematics,’ where you might find Lara doing several things at once with the appropriate button coming up for you to hit at just the right moment. I didn't think they were bad and they do look great, but some players may feel that this kind of Dragon's Lair gameplay doesn't really belong amidst all of the other spelunking that you'll be doing.

The game is viewed from a third person perspective that is easily controlled by the player. There are times when it can get a little "in your face" from certain points of view as you do things in the game, but those moments were few and far between. Again, to veterans from the previous Tomb Raider titles, this is going to be something that they have waited to see for some time. The camera, in addition to the polished movement controls, make Legend extremely easy to handle and get into. The camera can be positioned most anywhere without trouble to give you the best view on whether or not you'll be able to make that backwards leap to the next crumbling ledge.