29-08-18, 14:05 | #1 |
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Does anyone else think AOD is overly praised?
Please remove.
Last edited by jackraider; 16-10-18 at 18:41. Reason: waiting for admin/ mods to remove. |
29-08-18, 14:25 | #2 | |
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I consider it a middle-ish game, not a completely buggy unplayable mess as some make it out to be, but it ain't the best game in the series by a long shot. I personally consider it one of the somewhat replayable ones, it doesn't have many of the unfair moments that plagued pretty much every Core TR game after 1: TR3's MANY almost unavoidable first time through instant kill traps, extra points if its on the ps1 version with limited saves. TR4's complete lack of hints, I don't want Reboot-style hints, but a Underworld-style hint system (which was actually initially planned for TR4) would have greatly helped, since most of the time when you get stuck, you have SEVERAL huge levels to comb through, at least tell me WHICH level I need to still look in. TR5's sometimes has TR3 style traps, such as the VCI lasers that you can only see by pausing to use the vision mode that kill you instantly (like going right after going through the metal detector, there isn't even any sort of panels in the wall for them to come out of) AOD really only has Brother Obscura and arguably the bomb part in the Louvre as unfair moments. it's fun, but its definitely flawed. Last edited by Samz; 29-08-18 at 14:27. |
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29-08-18, 14:43 | #3 |
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It's absolutely normal to have such impression if you use TRF AoD section forumers as your statistical population. But aside from them, who could be counted on the fingers of one hand, almost no one else in the world seems to share the same passion towards the game.
The press destroyed it and sales were under expectations. Also, Steam reviews speak for themselves. |
29-08-18, 15:09 | #4 |
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Coming from a huge AoD fan myself, I also think it is kind of overly praised, at least by some (emphasis on some).
I find it just a little bit odd when I see people saying it’s the best TR game and it’s almost like an example that all TR games should follow for the most part, and they’re usually going off of what the game would have been and not what it is. It’s their opinion, and they have their right to it obviously, but it does kind of make me scratch my head. It’s my third favorite TR game and I love it to death, but I think some people lose their crap over the game in an odd way. |
29-08-18, 15:18 | #5 |
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I enjoyed the game with all of the official and fanmade patches applied to it. That way it felt like a decent game. It has a certain charm to it, even with all it's bugs and unfinished things, which I cannot really explain. I agree that it gets a little overpraised here, but every member or player has his own opinion as you can tell by reading some of Shadow's comments for example. I found the game an enjoyable and memorable experience in Tomb Raider history, but I will never blame Eidos or Crystal Dynamics for rebooting the series into a fresh start.
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29-08-18, 15:21 | #6 | |
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Oh, and you are forgetting the Boaz boss fight and Kurtis levels. That was just utter crap especially the boaz fight. The PS2 manual didn't even explain the most essential mechanic on beating boaz — changing targets! So bad. I can't believe I spent the full $49.99 USD price when that game came out in 2003. AOD was so over-hyped and a small niche of fans still overly praise it. The whole goth approach to Croft was so gimmicky and was popular trend (dark alter egos) at the time. A lot of developers were going the darker route with games like Jak2, SA2 (Shadow), and Mario Sunshine (shadow Mario) just to name a few. To be honest, Legend was such a breath of fresh air. I remember being pleased w/ the return of zip lines and Lara's Mansion too. Legend has its flaws, but it just felt more in tune w/ the earlier TR games with some obvious homage to the Jolie films. Last edited by jackraider; 29-08-18 at 15:27. |
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29-08-18, 15:23 | #7 | |
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29-08-18, 15:40 | #8 | |
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29-08-18, 15:47 | #9 | |
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Didn't really notice anything wonky with Kurtis's animations last time I got to his part, I do like how even his similar moves are different though, such as using a military-crouch instead of Lara's crawl. Yeah the slug-ish turning (which I didn't have too much of a problem with) gets worse with Kurtis, its not game-breaking, but it does have an element of "Why would you do this Core?" I didn't die or get stuck on stuff alot because of it, but it was still a bad design choice. Last edited by Samz; 29-08-18 at 15:50. |
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29-08-18, 15:52 | #10 |
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It's incomplete, but I appreciate what the game was going for. Unfortunately it landed in the same trap as KOTOR2, except there weren't enough assets to recreate what once was into the game through mods and patches. Music is great as well, and some levels are a delight to go through (some. a small few. Such as the Sewers and Hall of Seasons hub.) It's a shame what it was released as, it was 5 years ahead of its time in what it wanted to accomplish.
When I say I praise the game, I'm saying I praise the story it was trying to tell (before it was mashed up and cut back and forth), the soundtrack, and the break from grid-based level design (though the grid was still partially there, just smaller squares and introduction of angles). |
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