Tomb Raider: Anniversary Review - PC

7

Gameplay: 6
Graphics: 8
Audio: 7
Innovation: 5

Introduction

Tomb Raider Anniversary is a remake of the original Tomb Raider title, released over a decade ago to instant critical, commercial and cultural acclaim. Tomb Raider has been one of the biggest names in gaming ever since and, with the reinvention of the franchise in Tomb Raider Legend, Crystal Dynamics saw a perfect opportunity in Lara's tenth birthday to take gamer's back to where it all began.

Gaming has come a long way since the original Tomb Raider was released. Anniversary manages to take a few steps forward but, unfortunately, a few steps back as well. Dialogue and scenes have been rewritten but the story remains largely unchanged. Its execution, unfortunately, has suffered in the transition.

The original title used cutscenes sparingly, with little impact on the game or the story beyond the minimal justification for Lara's next exploit. The effect was one of isolation, enhanced by the silent presentation and the fact levels unfolded without interruption, even when a large T-Rex barrelled down on you from the darkness, cued only by dramatic music for narrative effect.

The frequent interruptions take control from the player, especially in scenarios where having control was more frightening than not, and it's a shame. Cut scenes happen with little warning in scenes where the player used to be in complete control. The fact that cut scenes use Real Time Actions, where button presses are used to continue the cut scenes, does not do much to resolve the issue.

Gameplay

The original Tomb Raider controlled like a 3D version of Prince of Persia, which back then had not yet been revived. The fact that the relaunch of the Tomb Raider franchise with Legend played so much like Sands of Time was not lost on many people but, unfortunately, Anniversary isn't quite up to the task.

For one, while the controls are responsive enough the camera isn't. Where Sands of Time pulled the camera back to a position that gave a thorough view of the situation, Anniversary keeps the camera focused on Lara, even to the point of being unable to see behind her, especially tricky when trying to see where you're going next when leaping backwards off a wall.

Combat also suffers from camera issues. Lara locks her weapons onto an enemy, and it can be tricky to refocus unless the player switches to the advanced combat controls. It's even trickier when the camera, for some inexplicable reason, locks in a direction facing away from the enemy being targeted.

It's not all bad though. There are some nice touches, particularly the bullet time moments in combat. When Lara has annoyed an enemy enough, it will roar and charge her. When that happens, the player can dodge the charge, rolling out of the way and, with ... (continued next page)