Tomb Raider

2007/06/18

And there we have it. Daily training aids agility even in old age. Proven to us by good old Lara Croft in her “latest” adventure. In contrast to the very first Tomb Raider, she has gained a huge arsenal of new moves, weapons and gimmicks. Her curves have also changed considerably. So how do you manage to grow older and still look better than ten years ago?

Simple. Take a few scoops of the storyline and levels of the first Tomb Raider, add to it the graphics engine of the last Tomb Raider and bung it all on one DVD. Then sell the end product under the name of Tomb Raider: Anniversary

If you’re expecting Tomb Raider: Anniversary to be a podgy remake of the first Tomb Raider, you’re in for a surprise. The game has been significantly shaken up. As mentioned previously, Lara has a few new moves. These may have already been seen on Tomb Raider: Legend, but it is a pleasure to steer Lara through the levels with newfound grace. The graphics and game play of the levels have also been overhauled. The switching puzzles were adjusted to Lara’s new moves. This makes for a recurring nostalgic factor, but even Tomb Raider veterans will not get bored with this game.

The biggest innovation in the game, however, has to be the magnetic grappling hook, which Lara has taken from Tomb Raider Legend. This allows Lara to swing across chasms or run along walls for short periods of time.

Adrenalin moves are also new. These only really come to use with the intermediate enemies, however. The moves are activated by making the enemy “angry” through fire. When the “anger bar” is full, the enemies run headlong towards Lara. In this short time, a nice blurring effect covers the screen and Lara has to avoid the enemy with the “roll” key. Two crosshairs then appear above the enemies, moving towards each other. When they meet, pressing the fire key allows Lara a headshot. The controls sound complicated, but come naturally after two or three failed attempts.

Nice: In some intermittent sequences you have to intervene by pressing the direction keys as shown, similar to games like Fahrenheit, Resident Evil etc.

That’s what the developers Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider: Legend) seem to think. As a result, the levels shine with the beautiful Legend graphics engine (without Next-Gen effects), but the whole thing seems relatively dull. Here there is a lot of room for improvement. More or less the whole thing is set in caves and ruins. The enemy hordes have also been transferred from the original without any truly innovative improvements. The same applies - little variety.

As the puzzles have partially been reconstructed, the difficulty has risen a bit. With the increasing difficulty, the game quickly reaches a demanding standard, but stays fair and motivated. What may initially appear demanding (timed jumping and climbing) becomes routine after a while and can sometimes even become annoying. With a playtime of comfortable 20 hours, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is well worth the money.

Technically, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is based on the graphics engine already seen in Legend, just without the (jittering) Next-Gen effects. This doesn’t get in the way of the sublimely soft movement and otherwise gorgeous graphics that give Lara the look that she deserves.

Unfortunately, the sound can only be heard in stereo, but this doesn’t matter, as Tomb Raider is quiet most of the time anyway. The great ambient sounds work wonders. Synchronisation is very successful and breathes credibility and life into the characters.