The last Tomb Raider game I finished (or enjoyed) was Tomb Raider 1 in 1995. I tried TRII and one of the other sequels, but they were just missing something that made them... fun.
But for some reason, Tomb Raider Legend stuck out to me as something worth looking into. The demo was pre-loaded on my 360, so it was one of the first impressions the 360 made on me. At any rate, I picked up all 3 360 games this fall and started with Anniversary.
AnniversaryT was a nice trip down memory lane and I thought they modernized it very well. (The available commentary has the original designer and the remake designer comparing notes. It's pretty interesting). Anniversary was released after Legend, but looks and plays like a slightly older game- so I think it was wise to start there.
Legend was really fun. They seem to have morphed Lara into half Indiana Jones and half James Bond. This is what I think they were trying with the 90's sequels, but it never gelled well. Legend was "lighthearted" and had plenty of "action set pieces" aside from the normal puzzle, exploration and basic action elements. The story really moves and seems to be one that you can actually follow.
I'm about halfway into Underworld. It's a direct sequel to Legend, but it seems to have changed theme quite a bit. It's more focused and driven, also darker and more serious. The graphics also underwent a massive upgrade which gives the game a nice slick look. It also brings in elements of Anniversary- both from a game mechanics perspective and a storytelling one as well. So it nicely ties the three games together.
In all, the three new games seem to avoid whatever was dragging the 90s sequels down and making them "unfun." It seems that Tomb Raider borrowed from the original Prince of Persia and and then improved on it, then Prince of Persia Sands of Time borrowed back and then improved on it again, and now Tomb Raider has borrowed the best from everything including the new Uncharted games. So If you liked the original game from way back when, you might want to give the new ones a shot. If you've been looking at the games wondering if they were any good, you can know that I at least have found them to be very fun.
Now only if they would lower the price on the two DLC levels for Underworld. I spent $10 on the game, and they're asking me to spend $20 on the DLC? Where is Adam Smith's invisible hand?!?!?!