i use to think part 3 was lame too..i'm currently making my way thru that one right now.
Lara learns the sprint, and duck and crawl move, along with the monkey swing. Which is cool in TR 3.
..now what i don't like is the save mechanics. Why did core design go from save anywhere to save crystals?...
i think they did it to add challange to the game..that's the only reason i can think of why they did that.
Oh and the flares last half as long as on TR2..but you get like 2 extra flares per pick up which is cool. So i'm only out about 30 seconds of flare action.