The_Terminator
12-06-07, 17:00
Hello Everybody,
I wrote a review of Anniversary, and I made it downloadable in a nice pdf format for your reading pleasure.
Right Click and "save target as" on this sentence. (http://home.comcast.net/~mroberg/TRA_Review.pdf)
I know it's long, so I appreciate those that take the time to read it and comment on it.
I'm copying and pasting the whole thing here for those that don't feel like downloading it.
This is not my "assembly" of other people's opinions, or just parroting over what others are saying.
This is my genuine feelings and thoughts of the game.
Thank you in advance for any feedback, criticism, and comments.
And now, the copy and paste:
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This is a very extensive review of the new Tomb Raider Anniversary. It is long, so I thank you in advance for investing the time into reading the whole thing. It is important to note that this review is heavily based on my humble opinion, which is probably different than your opinion. Also note that I am only reviewing the actual game, and not all of the extras or unlockables.
I will first list some general observations of the game, and then get into a brief level by level review.
I will break up the review into bite size pieces so that it is easier to read and understand.
About the Reviewer:
I am a fan of the series since the original. I’m in my mid thirties and have been gaming since I was a little baby with things like the Odyssey, Atari 2600, the earliest pong style machines that hooked up to the TV and played through “channel 3”, etc.
I was old enough and experienced enough when the original Tomb Raider came out to know that something special was introduced to the gaming world. It was a totally immersive experience which had to be played to be believed. I knew it, and gamers all over the world knew it. We have all wanted something to recapture the magic ever since that time.
Every now and then, a game is released that gets so many thing right on so many levels, that it sets the bar so high, that it’s almost impossible to create a sequel to it. Tomb Raider was one of those games. The atmosphere, the sound, the music, the graphics, the game play, the puzzles, the cut scenes, the length, the difficulty, the immersiveness, the freshness of it all, etc. It was so right and so special, that it spawned a multi million dollar franchise with a video game character that became a cultural icon.
The Issue:
Therein lies the difficulty of creating a remake or “re-imagining”. One of the reasons why the first is so special is because it was totally fresh and new. A remake is not fresh and new. The graphics can be updated, and puzzles can be added or changed. But it is not new. No matter how spectacular the T-Rex is, you know it’s coming. And so it is for many of the other surprises of the original. It’s like watching “The Sixth Sense” a second time. If you’ve never seen that movie, I won’t spoil it for you. (but watch it now before someone does spoil it for you, but I digress….)
Indeed, it is extremely tough to create a remake of game that was so right the first time around.
(side note: another great example of this concept is Unreal Tournament. The game was so right, that all of its sequels never reached the pinnacle of gaming that the original had in 1999. The graphics kept getting better, but the die hard fans never felt that a worthy successor had been made.)
This review will be a mixture of judging the game on its own merit, and comparing it to the original.
Some Details:
I played the game on the following home built hardware with the following settings:
• Pentium4 - 3 GHz
• 1 Gb RAM
• nVidia 7600GT 256Mb AGP
• 1600x1200 @ 85hz
• All full screen effects
• All graphical options enabled
• Full screen 2xAA
• Sound system: My computer is hooked up to a home theater system with a real home theater amp, speakers and a real sub.
With this in mind, we can dig into the actual game.
Overall - The Good:
It is important to start any review on a positive note.
• I am glad that Crystal Dynamics and Eidos have released this game and I’m thankful for all of their hard work.
• The game is gorgeous! Some areas more than others, but there are some spots that simply take your breath away.
• The details: There are many areas that have such fine details, that it is awesome to look at. I cannot get over the details in the carvings and etchings in the Peru walls.
• Some levels have been truly updated: The puzzles and sequences are really fabulous in some areas. I can’t get over how good they are. We will delve into them as the review progresses. But simply put, St. Francis’ Folly was something special!
• Level Load times: They are very quick!
• The Music is excellent and is fresh, while also being reminiscent of the original.
Overall - The Bad:
Please remember that this review is based heavily on OPINION, and your opinion will be different than mine. This section is going to upset a lot of people, as it gets ugly and criticizes the game. But that’s what reviews are for. It is a spring board for discussion, and maybe the developers will glean something from it as well:
The movement is dreadful: I’m sorry. It’s just downright dreadful. There are several ways to implement the WASD and mouse controls. One way is like Anniversary and Legend (and Indiana Jones and the Emperors Tomb, for example). The other way is like Quake, Unreal Tournament, and countless other first or third person shooters. For those that have never played these games, that means that your character faces one direction, and the WASD keys allow you to run forward, backward, or strafe side to side WITHOUT CHANGING THE DIRECTION YOU’RE FACING!
You want to change direction? That’s what the mouse is for. If you’ve never played a game with this configuration, you need to try it just to see how much more logical it is.
When trying to nudge Lara a little to the left or right to line her up for a critical jump, you don’t want her changing directions. I often left my pistols drawn because this forces Lara to move in normal WASD configuration. I just had to change my combat mode toggle in the options to allow my pistols to remain drawn until I put them away.
To add insult to injury, there are many times where the same key combos don’t yield the same results in the exact same locations. Sometimes a running jump will allow Lara to grab a ledge, and sometimes, the same key combo in the same location will just cause her to Jump forward without grabbing that ledge. Very frustrating. Sometimes when she’s hanging off a ledge, tapping the space bar will vault her onto the ledge. Sometimes, because you didn’t wait the half a second, you will have to tap the space bar again. Sometimes she’ll do the headstand even though you had no intention of doing it.
When wall running, depending on your placement of the goofy camera, the right/left keys will cause the wall run. Other times, it’s the up/down keys. Depending on her orientation on the wall run, sometimes she will jump forward where she is supposed to. Other times, she will jump off the wall to the side and die, forcing you to go back to the previous checkpoint. This is something that happens over and over and over and over again. How fun is that!?
To compound that issue, there are puzzles later in the game that REQUIRE you to change her jump direction off the wall. Since it’s a goofy move to pull off, most often you will die and be forced to go way back to a previous checkpoint. Sometimes 20 to 40 times.
There are numerous other examples of this goofy and frustrating movement. As much as I hate to say it, Tomb Raider on the old grid system was consistent. You got the same results EVERY TIME with the correct key combination. I’m wondering if Tomb Raider just needs a heavily updated grid engine circa 2008 as opposed to the new “free environment”.
When walking off a ledge, Lara is supposed to turn around and auto Grab the edge while hanging from said ledge. The problem is, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes she grabs it, and sometimes she walks off and falls to her death. St. Francis’ Folly relies heavily on dropping and hanging from ledges, but sadly, Lara will walk right off and die a hundred times in this level, forcing you to go back to your previous checkpoint, and do whatever sequence you were doing all over again. Grrrrr! Gimme back my reverse roll with the grab keys! They worked perfectly EVERY SINGLE TIME!
How come when I hold down the walk key to walk up to an edge, I walk right off the ledge? Isn’t that the purpose of the walk key like it is in countless other games? Is there a reason that Crystal did away with one of the more standard video game conventions? Is there ever a reason to walk in this game without it?
The swimming controls are just as dreadful and irritating. If we can control the position of the camera behind Lara, do we then need two separate additional buttons for swimming up and swimming down? Just dreadful.
Yes, you get used to the controls and the movement, but that doesn’t make it good. You can get used to flat soda and old coffee too.
Combat:
There are several problems with the game combat. The biggest is the single fire per button press. At least let this be an option that can be toggled. I don’t know about anybody else, but firing 400 - 600 pistol shots into the T-Rex was largely unsatisfying. I put more wear and tear on my mouse in that five minute fight than I have in the past ten years. Granted, I didn’t know how to properly use the adrenaline dodge and the spike structures. That’s what happens when you try to figure things out on your own without the aid of walkthroughs.
Some people feel this makes the game more interactive. Could be, but at least let it be an option.
Why can’t Lara use her guns while crouching? I escaped from a bear to a crouching area, only to find that I couldn’t fire at it because I was crouching.
In combat, the camera goes behind Lara’s head and blocks the view of what you are shooting at. Bleh.
Manual Grab: We all asked for this one. We begged Crystal to make the game harder and allow for manual grab. Well, we got what we wanted, and thank goodness, it’s a toggled option. Why thank goodness? I’ll tell you why: Because it’s really poor.
I was all set to play this game like “good old Tomb Raider”. The first thing I did before playing the game at all was to turn off the auto grab. But you know what? The game relies so heavily on the grab function, that it was totally tedious to play the manual way. I tried to like it, and tried to get used to it, but in the end, due to the level design, the game was simply more enjoyable with auto grab enabled. Thank goodness we’re given the option.
Checkpoint System: I feel like killing somebody for this one! The checkpoint save system is really poor for this type of game. Why? Because this is the type of game that requires ungodly amounts of trial and error. When trying to solve a puzzle, you need to be able to save the game, do your trial and error, and if it fails, easily reload the game and try a different option. Can we do this? No. There is even a “save game” option to tease you, but it only allows you to restart from the most recent checkpoint of your saved game. Which genius thought of that?!
Here’s an example: You’re in the Lost Valley, you crossed the wood bridge near the top of the second waterfall, you shoot out the bridge, and now you’re looking at a ring in the ceiling, a fallen bridge, the top of the waterfall, and the hole which leads to the shotgun. You need to do some trial and error to figure the game out. That’s what exploration is all about, right?
You try to grapple swing to the top of the waterfall. Perhaps there are some goodies there. You miss, and fall in the river, and go all the way back to the beginning of the level with the river current. Yay. Can you reload a save game to try something else? Nope. You go to a previous checkpoint. You finally get back and try to swing into the hole which leads to the shotgun. It doesn’t work, and you fall in the river, and go all the way back to the beginning of the level with the river current. Yay.
Can you reload a save game to try something else? Nope. You go to a previous checkpoint.
This only gets worse as the game goes on. Just wait till you have to do this a hundred times in the tomb of Qualopec, St. Francis’ Folly, or Palace Midas.
Perhaps the worst offenders are in Atlantis, which require more ungodly trial and error than all that came before it. Yet the game will force you to go back to a checkpoint, and kill the same two mutants over and over again. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a checkpoint AFTER killing them? This is very poorly thought out.
This game desperately needs a normal Save Game system like the original game. How many people reading this review were save game freaks? I know that I used to save every ten steps to minimize how many times I had to repeat a simple jump! I know that many of you were the same way.
The Background Sounds: I can’t really believe it, but the background sounds in the Peru and Greece levels were better and more atmospheric in the original than in the remake. I mean, come on! In the ten years of technological advancement, the effects soundtrack of the original is better? There is no excuse for this. What a disappointment. The clanging and bass rumbles of Caves and Vilcabamba are utter rubbish compared to the original. What a disappointment.
Level Design: Overall, most of the levels are visually smaller and feel smaller than the originals. Some of them are very linear as well. We will get into this in the level by level review. The best example of this is the Coliseum, which feels like it went through the drier and completely shrank. I could not believe how small it was. However, I must add that some levels were very nicely done: St. Francis’ Folly was fantastic and parts of Palace Midas were great as well.
Crystal’s use of finger ledges for getting around is overly excessive. Almost every puzzle and location requires finger ledges that are clearly marked in white, that need to be scaled vaulted, shimmied, etc. to travel around the environment.
The original had many platforms, but the remake has many finger ledges. It’s been said before, but perhaps a spiderman costume should be the first unlockable outfit since that is how you will spend most of the game. It’s almost as if Crystal is a one trick pony. The answer to all situations is a series of white ledges.
Some blocks or obstacles are climbable, while other blocks of the same height are not. This seems totally arbitrary. For example, why can’t Lara vault onto the porch of Tihocan’s tomb when fighting the centaurs? That might be a poor example, but it’s one that comes to mind.
General Conclusion:
That about sums it up for the overall observations. The next section will briefly review each level and how it felt to me.
Level 1: Mountain Caves
A nice intro to the new TR. The level is short, and the animals are good looking. Again, it looks and feels smaller than the original it replaces. The fact that we can play the intro with the guide is a nice touch. The background noises aren’t as atmospheric as they used to be. The detail on the walls and doors is superb. There is a nice feel to some of the items which are faithful to the original, including medipaks that are in the same locations as the original.
Level 2: City of Vilcabamba
This level again is smaller and more linear than its predecessor. The same comments from level one apply here. One noted exception: the view when first entering the level with the waterfall in the distance is jaw droppingly beautiful! A graphical masterpiece. It’s curious that Lara can not break through the measly wooden gate doors that cover some of the hut entrances, but this was true of the original as well. Overall, this level is mildly disappointing.
Level 3: The Lost Valley
Another beautiful level, but this one starts to get tedious. Sure, everyone and his brother can now fly through this level, but going through it the first time was very tedious with trying to discover everything and falling in the water where the current carries you to the beginning. The actual valley was a graphical masterpiece, but the T-Rex sequence was largely unsatisfying.
Sure, the cut scene was cool, but I didn’t catch the “interactive” part of it the first few times, which caused the game to force me to watch the same cut scene over and over again. Then I had to try and kill the dumb thing by pressing my mouse button 400 to 600 times. Wow. That is just really intelligent combat. Not. Besides, I accidentally ran to an area near a spike thingy and discovered that the T-Rex will just stand in front of you and bark while you can fire away at it. So much for being tough. And this is all without knowing about the adrenaline dodge as previously mentioned.
I do like the way the cog assembly cut off the waterfall at the end of the level though. Very nicely done.
Level 4: Tomb of Qualopec
Well, here it is folks. This level is an astounding achievement in graphical quality! The main area is something to behold. There is just something special about the details, the colors, and the lighting effects. I had to stand there and marvel at the beauty.
This level had me scratching my head for quite a while trying to figure out how to get from the main area to the side areas as the tall movable platform refused to move the first two time I tugged on it. I must have pressed the wrong keys.
The area where the floor breaks away before the switch was very frustrating as the climbing sequence needed to be repeated over and over again from the checkpoint as I trial-and-errored my way through. The scion cut scene was nicely done, and the Larson sequence was nice as well.
The level was somewhat linear, but overall, this was one of the better levels of Anniversary. The elevator FMV was nicely updated as well. Good Job Crystal!
Level 5: St. Francis’ Folly
This level is the saving grace for the entire Anniversary game. There is no other level that is as awesome as this one in terms of raw, difficult puzzle solving thrill. The first room to the Folly is shorter and visually blander than the original, but adds the nice element of puzzle solving with the wall mural and light points.
The passageway that transitions from the front area to the tall room with the four god keys is surprisingly bland compared to the original. Did Crystal simply run out of time and have to compress the level? Who knows.
But the tall room itself is something to behold. It is similar yet different to the original, and involves some really great puzzles. I think it was obvious to Crystal how many fans were really looking forward to this particular level remake, and it shows in the level design.
I spent hours resuming from various checkpoints since Lara refused to grab ledges as she walked off of them. For some reason, she would just drop to her death instead of auto grabbing. I was ready to kill somebody! One thing to note though is that the bottom floor of the Folly is a monumental achievement in graphical quality. The broken stone tiles and the reflections in the puddle have to be seen to be believed.
The Hammer room puzzle was very nicely updated, but the Damocles (sword) and Poseidon (water) rooms were marvelously done. A really fresh update that was an achievement and a joy to solve. The additional puzzle of getting in and out of each room through the broken doors was a nice touch as well. Verdict: This level is what a remake is all about! Awesome stuff.
Level 6: The Coliseum
A disappointing level. The graphics are great, but there just isn’t much going on here. The gorillas are cool, but this level is just smaller than the original on all accounts.
Kill a few animals (that disappear) run around the very small coliseum, find the one key, run around the rest of the coliseum, and you’re done. Bleh.
Level 7: Palace Midas
Again this level is very good looking, but a lot shorter than the original. The entire level is comparable to the one original big room with the five switches. That’s it.
The Midas statue is much smaller than the original and once again, I think that Crystal has missed the sheer scale of the feel of the original. The architecture of the original was huge and felt huge, whereas Anniversary just feels cozy like some big office atrium that you’d see in downtown Chicago.
However, the torch pillar room has been very nicely updated and provided some challenge, and the rising pillar/platform room has a new twist which makes it a great puzzle. These two rooms are quality gameplay and worthy successors to the original. It also makes more sense that the bars fit into the base of the Midas statue rather than some arbitrary wall.
Overall, an enjoyable level.
Level 8: The Cistern/Tomb of Tihocan
This level is officially called the Tomb of Tihocan, but it is in fact the cistern as well.
You see, Crystal took the main Cistern room and added a swimming tunnel directly to Tihocan’s tomb. Yes, the actual tomb that is flanked by the two centaurs. We have officially been gypped out of two levels! Whoa. It is curious that Crystal didn’t put as much time into this as they did for the Folly, because many people feel that this was one of the best levels of the original. I think they simply ran out of time because the cistern leading straight to Tihocan feels disjointed. Just a guess though. I wonder if they needed to rush the game out for its end-of-May deadline.
The level is great looking of course, and is somewhat faithful to the original in its layout.
Forget the fantastic background sounds of the original though, b/c they have been replaced by something lesser.
I struggled greatly to figure out how to solve the block puzzle without looking at a walkthrough. I spent hours trying every single item till I finally solved it on my own. It was actually frustrating instead of fun. Once you know the trick though, I imagine this level can be completed in ten minutes as there are really only two puzzles to solve. (edit: I just read an official walkthrough which solves the block puzzle differently than the solution I stumbled upon. The method I found may help complete the level quicker.)
After solving the Cistern portion, you swim to Tihocan’s tomb. The switch is located in a similar location to the original, so it’s easy to find.
The shortness of breath while swimming is annoying to me, as it forces everything to seem rushed without the option of looking around and exploring underwater.
Crystal did a nice job on the ensuing cut scenes, and then the fun begins:
Battling the Centaurs!
I spent two nights fighting the centaurs. They are some of the toughest bosses I’ve encountered in any game. I actually wondered if I could skip it just to get to the next level as I was running out of patience. Keep in mind that you need to keep pressing that fire button on the mouse. I wore off the paint on my left mouse button from those two nights. That single fire per button press is a pain.
I finally threw in the towel, and viewed the excellent boss video created by Mona Sax of Tombraiderforums.com. As it turns out, I was missing the critical piece of the “adrenaline dodge” b/c Lara was always putting away her pistols too early. Once I switched my combat mode config in the options menu to keep the pistols drawn, the adrenaline dodge became easy to perform and I defeated the centaurs in very short order. I salute anybody that was able to figure out this whole battle sequence on their own. That is simply amazing.
The music is epic, the graphics are fantastic, the lighting is superb, and the centaurs are tough. This was very nicely done. I’m still shaking my head over the sloppy combination of these two levels though.
Level 9: Temple of Khamoon
Egypt looks great and is nice and dusty. Crystal did a fantastic job of creating the illusion of sun-blindness as you traverse from indoor areas to outdoor areas. As is the theme in this review, the graphics are simply superb.
I feel that this area of the level was actually slightly ruined by the famous “leaked footage” video of Egypt, as it was very easy to figure out where Lara needed to go. I guess “spoilers” are aptly named, eh? The mummies are a little tough but nothing that some mindless jumping around with incessant firing can’t handle.
Once again, the level is somewhat linear as you are forced through winding hallways with nowhere to go but straight ahead, however, the statue room inside the sphinx was nicely updated. The sound effects in Egypt are kicked up a notch and the grinding stone sound and background effects are of a higher caliber than the previous levels.
There are several areas that are reminiscent of the original which is nice. There is one puzzle atop the sliding statues which is made very difficult by the dreadful controls and camera positioning. I literally had to reload from a checkpoint almost thirty times to get this timed puzzle. Tomb Raider frustration is back, baby! It is at times like these that the game ceases to be enjoyable and just becomes a silly pain. This is not classified as a hard or challenging puzzle. It is hard due to the silly controls, camera, cinematics, and the tediousness of not being able to save a game properly.
The level ends with a nicely done puzzle which is classic Tomb Raider.
Overall, an enjoyable level.
Level 10: Obelisk of Khamoon
This level is nicely reminiscent of the original as well. The puzzles have been tweaked and there is some great spiderman climbing to do. There is one thing that must be noted though: The graphics in some areas is so awesome that it has to be seen to be believed! Granted, stone textures are some of the easiest to make realistic, but they knocked the ball out of the park on this one.
In the tall room that you traverse from bottom to top, there is one area where you need to wall run on a large Egyptian mural. The realism of the textures and lighting in this spot has to be seen to be believed. It’s simply awesome!
…and I did get to marvel at it quite a bit, since that particular wall run is difficult and I repeated the sequence over fourteen times.
There is another switch high up in the tall stair room that requires a very frustrating wall run / double grapple, as Lara needs to change directions for the two grapple points. This was frustratingly difficult to pull off, as it relies somewhat on the goofy camera positioning, and lousy controls.
I believe I encountered a bug as well near one of the closing wall traps where you have to jump to a post while crossing a deep pit. Lara refused to land on the post and died over twenty times in a row. I quit and restarted the game and it went away. Maybe it was my control of Lara, but I’m skeptical, b/c I got her to land on every other post without any problem.
I have to comment again on the outstanding job that Crystal did when Lara enters the sunny outdoors when exiting the tunnel. The temporary sun blindness is done so well, that my jaw dropped. I have not encountered such a thing in any other video game that I’ve played. Overall, the level was gorgeous and felt very Tomb Raidery. Good job!
Level 11: Sanctuary of the Scion
The level itself just doesn’t have the feel of magnitude of the original.
I feel this comment is prevalent for most of the levels. It’s as if the scale of objects compared to the scale of a human being is not of epic proportions. This is a subject which I studied in college, so I may be more familiar with it than others.
In the original, Lara was often dwarfed by the sheer size of the room, temple, or environment, i.e., the coliseum or the huge sphinx. There isn’t really a place in Anniversary where Lara is dwarfed by the architecture and the environment. Refer to my Palace Midas level review for more on this subject. I don’t know why Crystal didn’t enlarge the environment. The rooms are small, the architecture is small, the ceilings are low, etc. A replay of the original will help illustrate what I’m referring to. Perhaps the original was just better at blacking out the background creating the illusion that it was very far away. In Anniversary, the background is very clear. You can see swing poles from one side of the huge sphinx all the way to the other.
After the signature staircase level entry, there’s a great hieroglyph puzzle which is classic Tomb Raider style. It brought a smile to my face. Continuing to the big outdoor area, the environment feels more constructed and less “barren desert wilderness” of the original, with it’s ladders and platforms.
The standard fare of ladders and finger ledges ensues to open the doors to the ankh keys, but the puzzles for the ankh keys are very nicely done. The rooms and their water reflections on the walls are gorgeous.
The room with the two huge statues returns, but the statues feel smaller than the original. I swam around looking for goodies as in the original, but there were none really. Crystal did come up with a clever version of getting to the top though.
Retrieving the last piece of the scion utilized a good pillar climbing puzzle, but I deeply missed Larson with his famous, “I’ve got a pain in my brain” dialogue. The ensuing cut scenes are very nicely done. Overall, a decent level
Level 12: Natla’s Mines
This level has some nice touches and details from the original. Obtaining the three fuses was a great puzzle that required some trial and error frustration, but was classic tomb raider style. Exiting the pit where the blue fuse is obtained was also done well.
A new Larson sequence is introduced which I feel was done very well. Back in 1996, we didn’t know of any previous relationship between Larson and Lara. In Anniversary, we are lead to believe that their paths have been intertwined in some fashion for quite some time. Therefore, I feel that it works particularly well that Lara feels sorry she had to kill Larson. Perhaps Crystal is paying homage to the TR2 movie were Lara feels sorry she has to kill Terry Sheridan, but I hope not, b/c that movie is not worthy of anyone’s homage. But that’s for a whole different review.
The remainder of the level is cut very short. You don’t get to fight any of Natla’s henchman as they are all disposed of in cut scenes. Nice cut scenes, but not like actually fighting them. I find it funny that Kold can take a dozen bullets before dying, and the skateboard kid can’t hit Lara with two fully automatic SMG’s from four feet away. But hey, that all fits with the spiderman lara theme. She has spider sense, and the proportionate speed and agility of a spider!
The level finishes with one last new puzzle that takes advantage of the new pole-balancing move.
Overall, the beginning of the level is great, but the end is so so. I did enjoy the distorted vision due to the heat of the lava though. A very nice detail.
Level 13: The Great Pyramid
Here we are in the heart of Atlantis, and something is sadly missing. Crystal did a great job with the colors and look of the Atlantis levels, but they are nothing like the original. The shape of the hallways and the architectural ribs would look more at home on the starship Enterprise.
The fleshy walls aren’t very fleshy, there is no pulsating, the sacks or eggs on the wall don’t pulsate, and there is no heartbeat sound. Overall, it’s a lot less fear inducing than the original. But it is good looking, and the style elements are coherent, so the game stands on its own. It is only in comparison to the original that it disappoints.
The level is a lot shorter as well. The one tall chamber is the main area without all of the side rooms of the original. It is in this tall chamber where one of the worst moments in tomb Raider history will be recorded:
There is one platform which you must shoot the target to extend the poles and grapple hooks. Then you need to kill two flying bat-lanteans that appear out of their eggs. You dispose of them, and then need to complete probably the most difficult timed jump sequence in the game. This is all fine and dandy, except for two problems:
First, the checkpoint is before killing the batlanteans. So after you fail at the jump sequence, and fail you will, you have to resume from the checkpoint, and kill them again. And again. And again. And again.
It is heinous that there isn’t a checkpoint after killing them.
Second, the camera changes and alters the movement of the keys. So now the most difficult jump sequence in the game is confounded by the horrendous controls. All this on a timed switch is the ultimate frustration.
You might be lucky and get this on your first try or two. But It took me hours and hours of restarting from that blasted checkpoint and having to kill the batlanteans again. This is clearly where the game stops being fun and becomes mind numbingly frustrating and stupid.
Challenging games that are skillfully and mentally challenging are awesome. Challenging due to poor controls and silly programming is just frustrating. I compare this to trying to play Tomb Raider on a laptop while riding your bicycle doing a wheelie with no hands. It is way more challenging than playing not on a bicycle, but the challenge has nothing to do with the game. The challenge emanates from silly circumstances.
I had to walk away from the game at this point as it was nothing but frustrating. I played for three more of these “frustration sessions” and finally made it across. To be perfectly honest, I was prepared to just shelf the game until the winter when nights are long and it’s cozy to be indoors. But I did make it through after being stuck for three days, so I forged on.
A few more platform jumps brings you to the famous Bacon Lara puzzle which is nicely done. It is very reminiscent of the original and will bring a smile to the fans of the original. Verdict: The level is short and maddeningly frustrating in it’s own right, and even worse compared to the original.
Level 14: The Final Battle
Another great cut scene with Natla and Lara, but sadly, Crystal felt it necessary to remove on of the most famous lines from the series: “Too late for abortions now…”
Lara is pensive and emotional as she was in the Larson cut scene, but it feels totally out of place here. It actually detracts from the cut scene. Lara mentions her father here, and it starts to bug me. Crystal feels this need to tie Lara’s family into the games, and psychologically, I see the merit in this endeavor, but here it feels forced and silly. I guess it goes along with Lara looking at her hands for no reason?
The old Lara Croft would often grit her teeth and fire away like a mercenary with a mission. The new Crystal Lara is very emotional and somewhat sappy. I don’t think it’s as effective as the original version of Lara.
Anyway, you begin the main fight with the torso which as you know by now required the use of adrenaline dodge and bullet time. We are supposed to be in Atlantis, but apparently, we are in the Matrix
After defeating the Torso (which can be accomplished with the pistols?!) you continue the linear level to the room where you need to open three underwater doors, which is a decent puzzle, and then enter the next area of frustration.
Traversing the hot lava waterfalls is a great puzzle, but is sadly crippled by the stupid checkpoint system. Since you can’t save your progress at different points through the lava, you are forced to restart this blasted sequence over and over again. This is one of the places where the game stops being fun and becomes mind numbingly frustrating and stupid.
Furthermore, the controls are once again confoundingly irritating, as sometimes the forward jump hesitates a bit, or Lara will walk off the edge into lava instead of jumping forward. Many reviewers have called these controls “fluid”, but they are anything but fluid. They are clumsy.
Traversing the lava is very reminiscent of the original, but doesn’t last very long. Sadly, this level feels like an afterthought. Where are the spike pits? Where are the Indiana Jones style falling boulders? Where are the swinging blades? There just isn’t much here.
Lastly, we enter a small circular room to have another adrenaline dodge boss fight. The centaurs are the only bosses in this game that are worth anything, all of the others are simply rehashes of the adrenaline dodge. Natla looks quite different but good, in my opinion, and the cut scenes are done well. Not the interactive cut scenes though. By this point, I was starting to hate them. Watching carefully for those little white arrows is something that belongs in Dance Dance Revolution.
The game finishes with the final cut scene, and once again, Lara stares at her hands. Why is she staring at her hands? Perhaps this is the great secret that will be revealed in Crystals next game? Or perhaps she can’t believe that her hands still function after holding on to 30,000 ledges in the past 20 hours.
Lara sails into the distance, and the game is over.
Croft Manor:
Croft Manor is different than the original, but is actually one of the best levels of the game. It is real Tomb Raider style, with solving puzzles and obtaining pieces in one area that need to be used in a totally separate area. The manor feels smaller than the original (none of the rooms are very big) but was one of my favorites. This was done exceptionally well.
Conclusion:
I feel that this game needs to be looked at in two ways: On it’s own, and as a re-imagining of the original. On its own, it is a good game, and provides some great gaming moments. I’m giving it 7 out of 10 as it’s mostly enjoyable, but crippled by very silly controls on the PC, mindless boss battles, and linear levels.
Compared to the original however, I give it 5 out of 10 as the original offered so much more on so many different objectives of game play. It’s nice to have both though, and I’ll probably continue to play both when I’m in the mood.
The Final Thought:
If Crystal had put the same time and effort into all of the levels as they did into St. Francis’ Folly, this would have been one of the best games of the decade.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any comments or criticisms. Special thanks to the Tombraiderforums community for the best tomb raider discussions on the internet.
I wrote a review of Anniversary, and I made it downloadable in a nice pdf format for your reading pleasure.
Right Click and "save target as" on this sentence. (http://home.comcast.net/~mroberg/TRA_Review.pdf)
I know it's long, so I appreciate those that take the time to read it and comment on it.
I'm copying and pasting the whole thing here for those that don't feel like downloading it.
This is not my "assembly" of other people's opinions, or just parroting over what others are saying.
This is my genuine feelings and thoughts of the game.
Thank you in advance for any feedback, criticism, and comments.
And now, the copy and paste:
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This is a very extensive review of the new Tomb Raider Anniversary. It is long, so I thank you in advance for investing the time into reading the whole thing. It is important to note that this review is heavily based on my humble opinion, which is probably different than your opinion. Also note that I am only reviewing the actual game, and not all of the extras or unlockables.
I will first list some general observations of the game, and then get into a brief level by level review.
I will break up the review into bite size pieces so that it is easier to read and understand.
About the Reviewer:
I am a fan of the series since the original. I’m in my mid thirties and have been gaming since I was a little baby with things like the Odyssey, Atari 2600, the earliest pong style machines that hooked up to the TV and played through “channel 3”, etc.
I was old enough and experienced enough when the original Tomb Raider came out to know that something special was introduced to the gaming world. It was a totally immersive experience which had to be played to be believed. I knew it, and gamers all over the world knew it. We have all wanted something to recapture the magic ever since that time.
Every now and then, a game is released that gets so many thing right on so many levels, that it sets the bar so high, that it’s almost impossible to create a sequel to it. Tomb Raider was one of those games. The atmosphere, the sound, the music, the graphics, the game play, the puzzles, the cut scenes, the length, the difficulty, the immersiveness, the freshness of it all, etc. It was so right and so special, that it spawned a multi million dollar franchise with a video game character that became a cultural icon.
The Issue:
Therein lies the difficulty of creating a remake or “re-imagining”. One of the reasons why the first is so special is because it was totally fresh and new. A remake is not fresh and new. The graphics can be updated, and puzzles can be added or changed. But it is not new. No matter how spectacular the T-Rex is, you know it’s coming. And so it is for many of the other surprises of the original. It’s like watching “The Sixth Sense” a second time. If you’ve never seen that movie, I won’t spoil it for you. (but watch it now before someone does spoil it for you, but I digress….)
Indeed, it is extremely tough to create a remake of game that was so right the first time around.
(side note: another great example of this concept is Unreal Tournament. The game was so right, that all of its sequels never reached the pinnacle of gaming that the original had in 1999. The graphics kept getting better, but the die hard fans never felt that a worthy successor had been made.)
This review will be a mixture of judging the game on its own merit, and comparing it to the original.
Some Details:
I played the game on the following home built hardware with the following settings:
• Pentium4 - 3 GHz
• 1 Gb RAM
• nVidia 7600GT 256Mb AGP
• 1600x1200 @ 85hz
• All full screen effects
• All graphical options enabled
• Full screen 2xAA
• Sound system: My computer is hooked up to a home theater system with a real home theater amp, speakers and a real sub.
With this in mind, we can dig into the actual game.
Overall - The Good:
It is important to start any review on a positive note.
• I am glad that Crystal Dynamics and Eidos have released this game and I’m thankful for all of their hard work.
• The game is gorgeous! Some areas more than others, but there are some spots that simply take your breath away.
• The details: There are many areas that have such fine details, that it is awesome to look at. I cannot get over the details in the carvings and etchings in the Peru walls.
• Some levels have been truly updated: The puzzles and sequences are really fabulous in some areas. I can’t get over how good they are. We will delve into them as the review progresses. But simply put, St. Francis’ Folly was something special!
• Level Load times: They are very quick!
• The Music is excellent and is fresh, while also being reminiscent of the original.
Overall - The Bad:
Please remember that this review is based heavily on OPINION, and your opinion will be different than mine. This section is going to upset a lot of people, as it gets ugly and criticizes the game. But that’s what reviews are for. It is a spring board for discussion, and maybe the developers will glean something from it as well:
The movement is dreadful: I’m sorry. It’s just downright dreadful. There are several ways to implement the WASD and mouse controls. One way is like Anniversary and Legend (and Indiana Jones and the Emperors Tomb, for example). The other way is like Quake, Unreal Tournament, and countless other first or third person shooters. For those that have never played these games, that means that your character faces one direction, and the WASD keys allow you to run forward, backward, or strafe side to side WITHOUT CHANGING THE DIRECTION YOU’RE FACING!
You want to change direction? That’s what the mouse is for. If you’ve never played a game with this configuration, you need to try it just to see how much more logical it is.
When trying to nudge Lara a little to the left or right to line her up for a critical jump, you don’t want her changing directions. I often left my pistols drawn because this forces Lara to move in normal WASD configuration. I just had to change my combat mode toggle in the options to allow my pistols to remain drawn until I put them away.
To add insult to injury, there are many times where the same key combos don’t yield the same results in the exact same locations. Sometimes a running jump will allow Lara to grab a ledge, and sometimes, the same key combo in the same location will just cause her to Jump forward without grabbing that ledge. Very frustrating. Sometimes when she’s hanging off a ledge, tapping the space bar will vault her onto the ledge. Sometimes, because you didn’t wait the half a second, you will have to tap the space bar again. Sometimes she’ll do the headstand even though you had no intention of doing it.
When wall running, depending on your placement of the goofy camera, the right/left keys will cause the wall run. Other times, it’s the up/down keys. Depending on her orientation on the wall run, sometimes she will jump forward where she is supposed to. Other times, she will jump off the wall to the side and die, forcing you to go back to the previous checkpoint. This is something that happens over and over and over and over again. How fun is that!?
To compound that issue, there are puzzles later in the game that REQUIRE you to change her jump direction off the wall. Since it’s a goofy move to pull off, most often you will die and be forced to go way back to a previous checkpoint. Sometimes 20 to 40 times.
There are numerous other examples of this goofy and frustrating movement. As much as I hate to say it, Tomb Raider on the old grid system was consistent. You got the same results EVERY TIME with the correct key combination. I’m wondering if Tomb Raider just needs a heavily updated grid engine circa 2008 as opposed to the new “free environment”.
When walking off a ledge, Lara is supposed to turn around and auto Grab the edge while hanging from said ledge. The problem is, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes she grabs it, and sometimes she walks off and falls to her death. St. Francis’ Folly relies heavily on dropping and hanging from ledges, but sadly, Lara will walk right off and die a hundred times in this level, forcing you to go back to your previous checkpoint, and do whatever sequence you were doing all over again. Grrrrr! Gimme back my reverse roll with the grab keys! They worked perfectly EVERY SINGLE TIME!
How come when I hold down the walk key to walk up to an edge, I walk right off the ledge? Isn’t that the purpose of the walk key like it is in countless other games? Is there a reason that Crystal did away with one of the more standard video game conventions? Is there ever a reason to walk in this game without it?
The swimming controls are just as dreadful and irritating. If we can control the position of the camera behind Lara, do we then need two separate additional buttons for swimming up and swimming down? Just dreadful.
Yes, you get used to the controls and the movement, but that doesn’t make it good. You can get used to flat soda and old coffee too.
Combat:
There are several problems with the game combat. The biggest is the single fire per button press. At least let this be an option that can be toggled. I don’t know about anybody else, but firing 400 - 600 pistol shots into the T-Rex was largely unsatisfying. I put more wear and tear on my mouse in that five minute fight than I have in the past ten years. Granted, I didn’t know how to properly use the adrenaline dodge and the spike structures. That’s what happens when you try to figure things out on your own without the aid of walkthroughs.
Some people feel this makes the game more interactive. Could be, but at least let it be an option.
Why can’t Lara use her guns while crouching? I escaped from a bear to a crouching area, only to find that I couldn’t fire at it because I was crouching.
In combat, the camera goes behind Lara’s head and blocks the view of what you are shooting at. Bleh.
Manual Grab: We all asked for this one. We begged Crystal to make the game harder and allow for manual grab. Well, we got what we wanted, and thank goodness, it’s a toggled option. Why thank goodness? I’ll tell you why: Because it’s really poor.
I was all set to play this game like “good old Tomb Raider”. The first thing I did before playing the game at all was to turn off the auto grab. But you know what? The game relies so heavily on the grab function, that it was totally tedious to play the manual way. I tried to like it, and tried to get used to it, but in the end, due to the level design, the game was simply more enjoyable with auto grab enabled. Thank goodness we’re given the option.
Checkpoint System: I feel like killing somebody for this one! The checkpoint save system is really poor for this type of game. Why? Because this is the type of game that requires ungodly amounts of trial and error. When trying to solve a puzzle, you need to be able to save the game, do your trial and error, and if it fails, easily reload the game and try a different option. Can we do this? No. There is even a “save game” option to tease you, but it only allows you to restart from the most recent checkpoint of your saved game. Which genius thought of that?!
Here’s an example: You’re in the Lost Valley, you crossed the wood bridge near the top of the second waterfall, you shoot out the bridge, and now you’re looking at a ring in the ceiling, a fallen bridge, the top of the waterfall, and the hole which leads to the shotgun. You need to do some trial and error to figure the game out. That’s what exploration is all about, right?
You try to grapple swing to the top of the waterfall. Perhaps there are some goodies there. You miss, and fall in the river, and go all the way back to the beginning of the level with the river current. Yay. Can you reload a save game to try something else? Nope. You go to a previous checkpoint. You finally get back and try to swing into the hole which leads to the shotgun. It doesn’t work, and you fall in the river, and go all the way back to the beginning of the level with the river current. Yay.
Can you reload a save game to try something else? Nope. You go to a previous checkpoint.
This only gets worse as the game goes on. Just wait till you have to do this a hundred times in the tomb of Qualopec, St. Francis’ Folly, or Palace Midas.
Perhaps the worst offenders are in Atlantis, which require more ungodly trial and error than all that came before it. Yet the game will force you to go back to a checkpoint, and kill the same two mutants over and over again. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a checkpoint AFTER killing them? This is very poorly thought out.
This game desperately needs a normal Save Game system like the original game. How many people reading this review were save game freaks? I know that I used to save every ten steps to minimize how many times I had to repeat a simple jump! I know that many of you were the same way.
The Background Sounds: I can’t really believe it, but the background sounds in the Peru and Greece levels were better and more atmospheric in the original than in the remake. I mean, come on! In the ten years of technological advancement, the effects soundtrack of the original is better? There is no excuse for this. What a disappointment. The clanging and bass rumbles of Caves and Vilcabamba are utter rubbish compared to the original. What a disappointment.
Level Design: Overall, most of the levels are visually smaller and feel smaller than the originals. Some of them are very linear as well. We will get into this in the level by level review. The best example of this is the Coliseum, which feels like it went through the drier and completely shrank. I could not believe how small it was. However, I must add that some levels were very nicely done: St. Francis’ Folly was fantastic and parts of Palace Midas were great as well.
Crystal’s use of finger ledges for getting around is overly excessive. Almost every puzzle and location requires finger ledges that are clearly marked in white, that need to be scaled vaulted, shimmied, etc. to travel around the environment.
The original had many platforms, but the remake has many finger ledges. It’s been said before, but perhaps a spiderman costume should be the first unlockable outfit since that is how you will spend most of the game. It’s almost as if Crystal is a one trick pony. The answer to all situations is a series of white ledges.
Some blocks or obstacles are climbable, while other blocks of the same height are not. This seems totally arbitrary. For example, why can’t Lara vault onto the porch of Tihocan’s tomb when fighting the centaurs? That might be a poor example, but it’s one that comes to mind.
General Conclusion:
That about sums it up for the overall observations. The next section will briefly review each level and how it felt to me.
Level 1: Mountain Caves
A nice intro to the new TR. The level is short, and the animals are good looking. Again, it looks and feels smaller than the original it replaces. The fact that we can play the intro with the guide is a nice touch. The background noises aren’t as atmospheric as they used to be. The detail on the walls and doors is superb. There is a nice feel to some of the items which are faithful to the original, including medipaks that are in the same locations as the original.
Level 2: City of Vilcabamba
This level again is smaller and more linear than its predecessor. The same comments from level one apply here. One noted exception: the view when first entering the level with the waterfall in the distance is jaw droppingly beautiful! A graphical masterpiece. It’s curious that Lara can not break through the measly wooden gate doors that cover some of the hut entrances, but this was true of the original as well. Overall, this level is mildly disappointing.
Level 3: The Lost Valley
Another beautiful level, but this one starts to get tedious. Sure, everyone and his brother can now fly through this level, but going through it the first time was very tedious with trying to discover everything and falling in the water where the current carries you to the beginning. The actual valley was a graphical masterpiece, but the T-Rex sequence was largely unsatisfying.
Sure, the cut scene was cool, but I didn’t catch the “interactive” part of it the first few times, which caused the game to force me to watch the same cut scene over and over again. Then I had to try and kill the dumb thing by pressing my mouse button 400 to 600 times. Wow. That is just really intelligent combat. Not. Besides, I accidentally ran to an area near a spike thingy and discovered that the T-Rex will just stand in front of you and bark while you can fire away at it. So much for being tough. And this is all without knowing about the adrenaline dodge as previously mentioned.
I do like the way the cog assembly cut off the waterfall at the end of the level though. Very nicely done.
Level 4: Tomb of Qualopec
Well, here it is folks. This level is an astounding achievement in graphical quality! The main area is something to behold. There is just something special about the details, the colors, and the lighting effects. I had to stand there and marvel at the beauty.
This level had me scratching my head for quite a while trying to figure out how to get from the main area to the side areas as the tall movable platform refused to move the first two time I tugged on it. I must have pressed the wrong keys.
The area where the floor breaks away before the switch was very frustrating as the climbing sequence needed to be repeated over and over again from the checkpoint as I trial-and-errored my way through. The scion cut scene was nicely done, and the Larson sequence was nice as well.
The level was somewhat linear, but overall, this was one of the better levels of Anniversary. The elevator FMV was nicely updated as well. Good Job Crystal!
Level 5: St. Francis’ Folly
This level is the saving grace for the entire Anniversary game. There is no other level that is as awesome as this one in terms of raw, difficult puzzle solving thrill. The first room to the Folly is shorter and visually blander than the original, but adds the nice element of puzzle solving with the wall mural and light points.
The passageway that transitions from the front area to the tall room with the four god keys is surprisingly bland compared to the original. Did Crystal simply run out of time and have to compress the level? Who knows.
But the tall room itself is something to behold. It is similar yet different to the original, and involves some really great puzzles. I think it was obvious to Crystal how many fans were really looking forward to this particular level remake, and it shows in the level design.
I spent hours resuming from various checkpoints since Lara refused to grab ledges as she walked off of them. For some reason, she would just drop to her death instead of auto grabbing. I was ready to kill somebody! One thing to note though is that the bottom floor of the Folly is a monumental achievement in graphical quality. The broken stone tiles and the reflections in the puddle have to be seen to be believed.
The Hammer room puzzle was very nicely updated, but the Damocles (sword) and Poseidon (water) rooms were marvelously done. A really fresh update that was an achievement and a joy to solve. The additional puzzle of getting in and out of each room through the broken doors was a nice touch as well. Verdict: This level is what a remake is all about! Awesome stuff.
Level 6: The Coliseum
A disappointing level. The graphics are great, but there just isn’t much going on here. The gorillas are cool, but this level is just smaller than the original on all accounts.
Kill a few animals (that disappear) run around the very small coliseum, find the one key, run around the rest of the coliseum, and you’re done. Bleh.
Level 7: Palace Midas
Again this level is very good looking, but a lot shorter than the original. The entire level is comparable to the one original big room with the five switches. That’s it.
The Midas statue is much smaller than the original and once again, I think that Crystal has missed the sheer scale of the feel of the original. The architecture of the original was huge and felt huge, whereas Anniversary just feels cozy like some big office atrium that you’d see in downtown Chicago.
However, the torch pillar room has been very nicely updated and provided some challenge, and the rising pillar/platform room has a new twist which makes it a great puzzle. These two rooms are quality gameplay and worthy successors to the original. It also makes more sense that the bars fit into the base of the Midas statue rather than some arbitrary wall.
Overall, an enjoyable level.
Level 8: The Cistern/Tomb of Tihocan
This level is officially called the Tomb of Tihocan, but it is in fact the cistern as well.
You see, Crystal took the main Cistern room and added a swimming tunnel directly to Tihocan’s tomb. Yes, the actual tomb that is flanked by the two centaurs. We have officially been gypped out of two levels! Whoa. It is curious that Crystal didn’t put as much time into this as they did for the Folly, because many people feel that this was one of the best levels of the original. I think they simply ran out of time because the cistern leading straight to Tihocan feels disjointed. Just a guess though. I wonder if they needed to rush the game out for its end-of-May deadline.
The level is great looking of course, and is somewhat faithful to the original in its layout.
Forget the fantastic background sounds of the original though, b/c they have been replaced by something lesser.
I struggled greatly to figure out how to solve the block puzzle without looking at a walkthrough. I spent hours trying every single item till I finally solved it on my own. It was actually frustrating instead of fun. Once you know the trick though, I imagine this level can be completed in ten minutes as there are really only two puzzles to solve. (edit: I just read an official walkthrough which solves the block puzzle differently than the solution I stumbled upon. The method I found may help complete the level quicker.)
After solving the Cistern portion, you swim to Tihocan’s tomb. The switch is located in a similar location to the original, so it’s easy to find.
The shortness of breath while swimming is annoying to me, as it forces everything to seem rushed without the option of looking around and exploring underwater.
Crystal did a nice job on the ensuing cut scenes, and then the fun begins:
Battling the Centaurs!
I spent two nights fighting the centaurs. They are some of the toughest bosses I’ve encountered in any game. I actually wondered if I could skip it just to get to the next level as I was running out of patience. Keep in mind that you need to keep pressing that fire button on the mouse. I wore off the paint on my left mouse button from those two nights. That single fire per button press is a pain.
I finally threw in the towel, and viewed the excellent boss video created by Mona Sax of Tombraiderforums.com. As it turns out, I was missing the critical piece of the “adrenaline dodge” b/c Lara was always putting away her pistols too early. Once I switched my combat mode config in the options menu to keep the pistols drawn, the adrenaline dodge became easy to perform and I defeated the centaurs in very short order. I salute anybody that was able to figure out this whole battle sequence on their own. That is simply amazing.
The music is epic, the graphics are fantastic, the lighting is superb, and the centaurs are tough. This was very nicely done. I’m still shaking my head over the sloppy combination of these two levels though.
Level 9: Temple of Khamoon
Egypt looks great and is nice and dusty. Crystal did a fantastic job of creating the illusion of sun-blindness as you traverse from indoor areas to outdoor areas. As is the theme in this review, the graphics are simply superb.
I feel that this area of the level was actually slightly ruined by the famous “leaked footage” video of Egypt, as it was very easy to figure out where Lara needed to go. I guess “spoilers” are aptly named, eh? The mummies are a little tough but nothing that some mindless jumping around with incessant firing can’t handle.
Once again, the level is somewhat linear as you are forced through winding hallways with nowhere to go but straight ahead, however, the statue room inside the sphinx was nicely updated. The sound effects in Egypt are kicked up a notch and the grinding stone sound and background effects are of a higher caliber than the previous levels.
There are several areas that are reminiscent of the original which is nice. There is one puzzle atop the sliding statues which is made very difficult by the dreadful controls and camera positioning. I literally had to reload from a checkpoint almost thirty times to get this timed puzzle. Tomb Raider frustration is back, baby! It is at times like these that the game ceases to be enjoyable and just becomes a silly pain. This is not classified as a hard or challenging puzzle. It is hard due to the silly controls, camera, cinematics, and the tediousness of not being able to save a game properly.
The level ends with a nicely done puzzle which is classic Tomb Raider.
Overall, an enjoyable level.
Level 10: Obelisk of Khamoon
This level is nicely reminiscent of the original as well. The puzzles have been tweaked and there is some great spiderman climbing to do. There is one thing that must be noted though: The graphics in some areas is so awesome that it has to be seen to be believed! Granted, stone textures are some of the easiest to make realistic, but they knocked the ball out of the park on this one.
In the tall room that you traverse from bottom to top, there is one area where you need to wall run on a large Egyptian mural. The realism of the textures and lighting in this spot has to be seen to be believed. It’s simply awesome!
…and I did get to marvel at it quite a bit, since that particular wall run is difficult and I repeated the sequence over fourteen times.
There is another switch high up in the tall stair room that requires a very frustrating wall run / double grapple, as Lara needs to change directions for the two grapple points. This was frustratingly difficult to pull off, as it relies somewhat on the goofy camera positioning, and lousy controls.
I believe I encountered a bug as well near one of the closing wall traps where you have to jump to a post while crossing a deep pit. Lara refused to land on the post and died over twenty times in a row. I quit and restarted the game and it went away. Maybe it was my control of Lara, but I’m skeptical, b/c I got her to land on every other post without any problem.
I have to comment again on the outstanding job that Crystal did when Lara enters the sunny outdoors when exiting the tunnel. The temporary sun blindness is done so well, that my jaw dropped. I have not encountered such a thing in any other video game that I’ve played. Overall, the level was gorgeous and felt very Tomb Raidery. Good job!
Level 11: Sanctuary of the Scion
The level itself just doesn’t have the feel of magnitude of the original.
I feel this comment is prevalent for most of the levels. It’s as if the scale of objects compared to the scale of a human being is not of epic proportions. This is a subject which I studied in college, so I may be more familiar with it than others.
In the original, Lara was often dwarfed by the sheer size of the room, temple, or environment, i.e., the coliseum or the huge sphinx. There isn’t really a place in Anniversary where Lara is dwarfed by the architecture and the environment. Refer to my Palace Midas level review for more on this subject. I don’t know why Crystal didn’t enlarge the environment. The rooms are small, the architecture is small, the ceilings are low, etc. A replay of the original will help illustrate what I’m referring to. Perhaps the original was just better at blacking out the background creating the illusion that it was very far away. In Anniversary, the background is very clear. You can see swing poles from one side of the huge sphinx all the way to the other.
After the signature staircase level entry, there’s a great hieroglyph puzzle which is classic Tomb Raider style. It brought a smile to my face. Continuing to the big outdoor area, the environment feels more constructed and less “barren desert wilderness” of the original, with it’s ladders and platforms.
The standard fare of ladders and finger ledges ensues to open the doors to the ankh keys, but the puzzles for the ankh keys are very nicely done. The rooms and their water reflections on the walls are gorgeous.
The room with the two huge statues returns, but the statues feel smaller than the original. I swam around looking for goodies as in the original, but there were none really. Crystal did come up with a clever version of getting to the top though.
Retrieving the last piece of the scion utilized a good pillar climbing puzzle, but I deeply missed Larson with his famous, “I’ve got a pain in my brain” dialogue. The ensuing cut scenes are very nicely done. Overall, a decent level
Level 12: Natla’s Mines
This level has some nice touches and details from the original. Obtaining the three fuses was a great puzzle that required some trial and error frustration, but was classic tomb raider style. Exiting the pit where the blue fuse is obtained was also done well.
A new Larson sequence is introduced which I feel was done very well. Back in 1996, we didn’t know of any previous relationship between Larson and Lara. In Anniversary, we are lead to believe that their paths have been intertwined in some fashion for quite some time. Therefore, I feel that it works particularly well that Lara feels sorry she had to kill Larson. Perhaps Crystal is paying homage to the TR2 movie were Lara feels sorry she has to kill Terry Sheridan, but I hope not, b/c that movie is not worthy of anyone’s homage. But that’s for a whole different review.
The remainder of the level is cut very short. You don’t get to fight any of Natla’s henchman as they are all disposed of in cut scenes. Nice cut scenes, but not like actually fighting them. I find it funny that Kold can take a dozen bullets before dying, and the skateboard kid can’t hit Lara with two fully automatic SMG’s from four feet away. But hey, that all fits with the spiderman lara theme. She has spider sense, and the proportionate speed and agility of a spider!
The level finishes with one last new puzzle that takes advantage of the new pole-balancing move.
Overall, the beginning of the level is great, but the end is so so. I did enjoy the distorted vision due to the heat of the lava though. A very nice detail.
Level 13: The Great Pyramid
Here we are in the heart of Atlantis, and something is sadly missing. Crystal did a great job with the colors and look of the Atlantis levels, but they are nothing like the original. The shape of the hallways and the architectural ribs would look more at home on the starship Enterprise.
The fleshy walls aren’t very fleshy, there is no pulsating, the sacks or eggs on the wall don’t pulsate, and there is no heartbeat sound. Overall, it’s a lot less fear inducing than the original. But it is good looking, and the style elements are coherent, so the game stands on its own. It is only in comparison to the original that it disappoints.
The level is a lot shorter as well. The one tall chamber is the main area without all of the side rooms of the original. It is in this tall chamber where one of the worst moments in tomb Raider history will be recorded:
There is one platform which you must shoot the target to extend the poles and grapple hooks. Then you need to kill two flying bat-lanteans that appear out of their eggs. You dispose of them, and then need to complete probably the most difficult timed jump sequence in the game. This is all fine and dandy, except for two problems:
First, the checkpoint is before killing the batlanteans. So after you fail at the jump sequence, and fail you will, you have to resume from the checkpoint, and kill them again. And again. And again. And again.
It is heinous that there isn’t a checkpoint after killing them.
Second, the camera changes and alters the movement of the keys. So now the most difficult jump sequence in the game is confounded by the horrendous controls. All this on a timed switch is the ultimate frustration.
You might be lucky and get this on your first try or two. But It took me hours and hours of restarting from that blasted checkpoint and having to kill the batlanteans again. This is clearly where the game stops being fun and becomes mind numbingly frustrating and stupid.
Challenging games that are skillfully and mentally challenging are awesome. Challenging due to poor controls and silly programming is just frustrating. I compare this to trying to play Tomb Raider on a laptop while riding your bicycle doing a wheelie with no hands. It is way more challenging than playing not on a bicycle, but the challenge has nothing to do with the game. The challenge emanates from silly circumstances.
I had to walk away from the game at this point as it was nothing but frustrating. I played for three more of these “frustration sessions” and finally made it across. To be perfectly honest, I was prepared to just shelf the game until the winter when nights are long and it’s cozy to be indoors. But I did make it through after being stuck for three days, so I forged on.
A few more platform jumps brings you to the famous Bacon Lara puzzle which is nicely done. It is very reminiscent of the original and will bring a smile to the fans of the original. Verdict: The level is short and maddeningly frustrating in it’s own right, and even worse compared to the original.
Level 14: The Final Battle
Another great cut scene with Natla and Lara, but sadly, Crystal felt it necessary to remove on of the most famous lines from the series: “Too late for abortions now…”
Lara is pensive and emotional as she was in the Larson cut scene, but it feels totally out of place here. It actually detracts from the cut scene. Lara mentions her father here, and it starts to bug me. Crystal feels this need to tie Lara’s family into the games, and psychologically, I see the merit in this endeavor, but here it feels forced and silly. I guess it goes along with Lara looking at her hands for no reason?
The old Lara Croft would often grit her teeth and fire away like a mercenary with a mission. The new Crystal Lara is very emotional and somewhat sappy. I don’t think it’s as effective as the original version of Lara.
Anyway, you begin the main fight with the torso which as you know by now required the use of adrenaline dodge and bullet time. We are supposed to be in Atlantis, but apparently, we are in the Matrix
After defeating the Torso (which can be accomplished with the pistols?!) you continue the linear level to the room where you need to open three underwater doors, which is a decent puzzle, and then enter the next area of frustration.
Traversing the hot lava waterfalls is a great puzzle, but is sadly crippled by the stupid checkpoint system. Since you can’t save your progress at different points through the lava, you are forced to restart this blasted sequence over and over again. This is one of the places where the game stops being fun and becomes mind numbingly frustrating and stupid.
Furthermore, the controls are once again confoundingly irritating, as sometimes the forward jump hesitates a bit, or Lara will walk off the edge into lava instead of jumping forward. Many reviewers have called these controls “fluid”, but they are anything but fluid. They are clumsy.
Traversing the lava is very reminiscent of the original, but doesn’t last very long. Sadly, this level feels like an afterthought. Where are the spike pits? Where are the Indiana Jones style falling boulders? Where are the swinging blades? There just isn’t much here.
Lastly, we enter a small circular room to have another adrenaline dodge boss fight. The centaurs are the only bosses in this game that are worth anything, all of the others are simply rehashes of the adrenaline dodge. Natla looks quite different but good, in my opinion, and the cut scenes are done well. Not the interactive cut scenes though. By this point, I was starting to hate them. Watching carefully for those little white arrows is something that belongs in Dance Dance Revolution.
The game finishes with the final cut scene, and once again, Lara stares at her hands. Why is she staring at her hands? Perhaps this is the great secret that will be revealed in Crystals next game? Or perhaps she can’t believe that her hands still function after holding on to 30,000 ledges in the past 20 hours.
Lara sails into the distance, and the game is over.
Croft Manor:
Croft Manor is different than the original, but is actually one of the best levels of the game. It is real Tomb Raider style, with solving puzzles and obtaining pieces in one area that need to be used in a totally separate area. The manor feels smaller than the original (none of the rooms are very big) but was one of my favorites. This was done exceptionally well.
Conclusion:
I feel that this game needs to be looked at in two ways: On it’s own, and as a re-imagining of the original. On its own, it is a good game, and provides some great gaming moments. I’m giving it 7 out of 10 as it’s mostly enjoyable, but crippled by very silly controls on the PC, mindless boss battles, and linear levels.
Compared to the original however, I give it 5 out of 10 as the original offered so much more on so many different objectives of game play. It’s nice to have both though, and I’ll probably continue to play both when I’m in the mood.
The Final Thought:
If Crystal had put the same time and effort into all of the levels as they did into St. Francis’ Folly, this would have been one of the best games of the decade.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any comments or criticisms. Special thanks to the Tombraiderforums community for the best tomb raider discussions on the internet.