

Lara's latest adventure opens in Siberia, and-aside from an early sojourn in Syria-that's where it stays. They're all still there, but take up significantly less of 15-or-so hour running time. There are fewer slow-mo QTE sequences, fewer awkward conversations, fewer by-the-numbers miniboss fights. It's not that Tomb Raider's missteps have been eradicated, but they've been dramatically reduced. There's a level of artifice to these sequences, but they operate within the framework of established interactions. There's still plenty of set-piece spectacle, but these pace-breaking action segments trust you to read the visual clues of the environment and react using the appropriate controls. From then on, Rise of the Tomb Raider sticks to a mostly consistent level of interactivity.

The opener is frustrating, but over quickly.
