Game Name: Tomb Raider Anniversary
Series Number: Game 8
Developer: Crystal Dynamics®
Publisher: Eidos Interactive®
Release Date: June 5, 2007
Reviewed by: Scorpian
Official Metascore: 81/100Reviewer's Score: 91/100
Alright, this game was developed as a basic enigma from the Tomb Raider series. The original Tomb Raider was released in 1996, which (last year) was 10 years ago. Thus, Eidos decided to remake the game with modernized graphics and game play to celebrate.
Originally, it was to be created by the original duo (Eidos & Core Design). After game play footage was released publicly by an independent source, Core Design announced that the game production had been canceled. The next day, Eidos announced that it was, in fact, still being produced, but by Crystal Dynamics, the company that designed Tomb Raider Legend.
It was only 5 days ago that it was released. It took me 3 days to complete. That's an accomplishment. It usually takes a day to a day and a half for me to complete a game. Here's what I have been able to conclude from the game:
Gameplay: 38/40The controls are much better than they were in Legend. It is a HUGE improvement. It's similar to the original controls in previous games in the series, yet related to controls commonly used by most current games. I had no problem adjusting to these.
As for the levels, they were all very complex, yet simple enough to follow. You can really tell that a lot of effort went into making this. There was some revisiting involved, which can get confusing. It was made very simple, though. You always knew exactly what you were doing. If you didn't, you are given Lara's journal, where you can see her thoughts. This proved to be quite helpful in some cases.
Now then, what's a game without secrets? Every Tomb Raider game has had secret areas, prizes, rewards, etc. This one was no different. You could find either artifacts, or rewards in this game. The more you found, the more extra stuff you unlocked. This "stuff" ranges from commentaries to outfits to cheats and much much more.
Level & Character Design: 16/20Absolutely gorgeous. I love how areas that are far away from you are blurred. That makes it much more realistic. What I didn't like, though, is how this game strayed from reality. It was just too easy to tell that it was a game. In the ideal game, you get lost within it, and can't tell you're actually playing it. It feels like you're there. This game just didn't suck me in.
Also, the one thing that made the original Tomb Raiders so great has finally returned: the puzzles! This game actually makes you think. Put your noodle to the test by running some of these complex puzzles. That, of course, was good... too good, in some cases. The amount of work required for these puzzles made it easy to die, forcing you to do all of it again. That led to intense frustration in more than one occasions.
The Storyline: 30/30I had absolutely no problems with this. It follows the story of the original game. Here it is in general:
Lara is hired by the mysterious Natla to try and retrieve the fabled pieces of the Scion of Atlantis. This is an artifact that both Lara and her father had spent their lives searching for. With the location given to her by Natla, Lara can simply not refuse this offer. She travels from her manor in London to the mountains of Peru, then to the temples of Greece, the pyramids of Egypt, and a mysterious lost island (possibly Atlantis).
Cinematics & Cutscenes: 7/10The graphics were better, no doubt there. However, the cutscenes in the original were better. It looked like they tried to improve them, but didn't do as good as they could have...
Aside from that, though, they were very good. The addition of interactive cutscenes put me in control of the game even more than before. That was, of course, very good.
Final Score: 91/100This game was one hell of a good game. I would recommend it to anybody looking for a great game. The secrets and extras presented by this game will also make you more interested in completing it 100%. That makes it last longer. But wait, it gets even better: It's only 30 bucks! Well worth it, to.
