Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Armed with the survival skills she learned and honed in her previous games, Lara Croft here does what she has to survive, and save the world, in this stunning end to her prequel trilogy. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara travels to Peru, where she once again has to climb up rocky cliffs to explore dark caves and catacombs where ancient people built tombs and other intricate structures. She'll fight off numerous bad guys with a wide variety of weapons, including her trusty bow and arrow, firearms, or explosives. Along the way, Lara will scrounge around for resources and supplies, solve situational puzzles that unlock new areas of the world, and generally have the kind of adventure Indiana Jones would have if someone made a third-person adventure game about his younger days.

But while Shadow of the Tomb Raider works as well as the previous two installments, and shares their smooth, intuitive controls, this sequel also gives our hero new things to do. The tombs she raids are bigger and more elaborate puzzle set pieces. These are slightly easier to explore thanks to her new grappling hook and her recent swimming lessons, allowing her to dive into underwater caves and lakes to collect sunken treasure. She also visits some villages, including a rather large one, where she can pick up some side work or go shopping for supplies. Lara's also a lot sneakier than before, and doesn't just take out unsuspecting enemies from behind. This time, she can cover herself in mud to escape detection, and can also hide in bushes or up in trees to make stealthy attacks on targets. Sure, the game may have some of the same minor issues as the prior two games -- such as lacking the elaborate acrobatics that were the highlight of earlier games in the storied franchise -- but Shadow of the Tomb Raider is still an effortlessly exhilarating end to this saga, and easily one of the best games of the year.