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Unacceptabley Awful

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 41 / 47
Date: March 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In this day and age, are we as gamers really expected to put up with this level of crap? Possibly the biggest disappointment in the history of videogames since the Sega Saturn, 'Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness' is the first next-gen outing for the intrepid Ms. Croft.

Stuck in development hell for the best part of 2 years, Core and Eidos should be very, VERY ashamed of themselves for allowing such a bug-filled, poorly thought-out piece of software onto the shelves, much less a game with such a rich and popular reputation to live up to.

Put simply, 'Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness' is an absolute dog.

First: The graphics just do not cut the mustard. Granted, the human characters in the Tomb Raider series were never graphically astounding, but here they're just badly done. Textures are pixelated and the frame rate is low. Lara's animations are smooth and her new costumes are diverting, but that's it. Characters like Bouchard and Carvier are not good enough for the PS 2, being underdetailed and very badly animated.

Level design is very substandard for a TR game. And, horror of horrors, there's only one tomb, The rest of the game is like a horrible cross between Metal Gear Solid and a weak RPG, where Lara is forced to run about Parisian streets and warehouses with no real sense of raiding anything.

Second: The control system is an absolute abomination. Lara is just not meant to be analog. Gone is the intuitive quad-style floor layout and now jumps and falls are impossible to judge, the upshot of which is Core have created a game which is insanely easy to beat. Lining up the camera, controlled by the right analog stick, every time you want to make a jump, is just annoying, and the collision detection is ridiculous.

Third: This is such an easy game to beat. Although I should point out, you'd better get to like the phrases 'Overwrite Successful' and 'Load Successful', becuase you'll be seeing them a hell of a lot. Thanks to the ridiculous control system, Saving and Loading happens far more often than is acceptable, and when you do manage to make the jumps and climbs without the control system hampering your every move or the game crashing out (happens a lot, sound and event glitches abound) you wonder what happened to the rest of the level.

A horrible, horrible game that yields no rewards, and will cause great distress to fans of the TR series, 'Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness' is something we should all forget.

Core, never let this happen again.

Not great, but good...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: July 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've played all of the Tomb Raider games but Chronicles. AOD should satisfy any fan, despite all of the criticism that you read. It takes a little while to get used to the looks and feel of the new game, which kicks into high gear once you get out of the Paris Ghetto. As for the controls, yes they do take a while to get used to, but you do get used to them. Some people mention that they cannot step sideways or back to set-up a running jump: read the instructions, it's there, stop whinning.

Here is a list of the positives and negatives that I have encountered, and some things that I would have liked to see in AOD.

Positives:
1) The graphics are great, including Lara herself, with even some jiggling you-know-where.
2) The story line is a great combination of the first movie and the previous games, mixing murder plot and traditional site exploring.
3) New moves like peaking around the corner and sneaking up on people.

Negatives:
1) The game slows down in certain places. Really annoying.
2) The controls are not responsive enough.

Some things I miss:
1) The mansion.
2) Lara saying 'u-huh' when she finds something.
3) She loses some of her English accent. It's there, but it's really light.
4) I would have preferred a greater variety of sites to explore, including outdoors. Instead, it's really Paris and Prague (so far).

Lara has jumped to the next generation, and what a jump!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 53 / 97
Date: July 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Framed for a crime she didn't commit, Lara is on the run from the police and people who framed her. And her enemies will never let up. She'll truly have to watch her back if she hopes to make it out of Paris alive.

1. While the PSone sequels introduced little in innovation or originality, this PS2 version looks to revive the series.

2. The graphics have definitely made the jump to next-generation...for the screenshots.

3. Lara uses moves taken almost directly from Metal Gear Solid 2 to stealthily approach and take out the unsuspecting guards.

4. This game will be a lot darker than the past games and its storyline will be far more complex.

5. Unlike past games, a majority of this sequel isn't spend down in dimly-lit tombs. Lara will actually get to explore Paris from the surface.

6. See Lara adapt to how you play the game.

7. Get rewards for puzzle solving and exploration (including physical rewards like strenght)

8. Talk to other characters, but be careful, because how you talk to people and what you say to them will affect you till the end of the game.

9. Brand new game engine, bigger areas, very smart AI.

10. New levels of gameplay with hand-to-hand combat, stealth attacks, and more, much more.

11. Exclusive for the PS2 and PC.

12. Release date: November (11th - 15th)

What do you get when you add Lara Croft + Metal Gear Solid 2?

ANSWER: "TOMB RAIDER: THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS"

Lara Croft Needs New Management

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: July 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I could not wait to get my hands on this game, "Angel Of Darkness" was touted as a next generation in video game history. Reportedly Ms Croft would be revamped and reinvented...and return to her place as a video game icon; well don't hold your breath. "Lara Croft-Tomb Raider:Angel of Darkness", the oft delayed child of Eidos and Core is hardly worth the wait. I am a huge Tomb Raider fan, and this game has totally left me with the epihany that Lara Croft is not what she once was. Graphically I think the game excells, the levels are intricate and hugely detailed, with arcitecture that will just blow you away and wonderful lighting detail to boot. The story, about a outbreak of murders in Paris and the subsequent chase to find out who is behind all the drama, is the best the series has ever seen. It's cinematic and daring, and a real departure from the Indiana Jones-esque storys of the previous games (including all those on Nintendo's Game Boy systems). So where does Ms Croft fall short? The control. I can' say it enough--the control is the downfall of this game. While, with practice, you could manage quite well, but when it comes down to the wire...all bets are out the window. Lara moves so slowly, and I blame a lot of the sluggish response on Sony's controller specifications as well (which has always proven inferior to other consoles). Regardless of whose fault it is, \control issues are what turn many people off from "Angel of Darkness". Many times, when you push up to move forward, Lara's immediate response is delayed a second; adding to that no matter how hard to push the controller, she defaults to walking most the time. Her slow movement and delayed response make fighting fast moving enemies (especially those that fly) next to impossible. Core and Eidos also removed her ability to shot and jump at the same time, so fighting an enemy and running away can prove extremely taxing (for her to put her gun away or pick anything up is delayed as well--in fact anything Lara does is slow!!!). Core claims the delay was due to control issues, and if they are this bad now...I shutter to think how bad they were to start off with. Another huge issue is the slowdown...which is completely unforgivable. With the amount of huge, complex, and impressive games on the market; with no slowdown hindering gameplay, I can't get over the fact that this hugely anticipated, major league game is stricken with such consistent and distracting problems. The level "Hall of Seasons" can be made unplayable. When an enemy pops on the screen--forget about it, the game's framerate drops to levels that make you wonder just what Core has been doing this past 18 months. So what's my bottom line? As a huge fan of the series, I like this game (and even have moments of loving it) and am more than dissapointed at the final version of the game. I don't recommend this game to anyone who disliked Tomb Raider before, and I recommend a trial run before making the purchase. Core really dropped the ball this time around, and took Lara down with them.

Sorely dissapointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 18
Date: June 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Before I begin, let me say that I am the biggest Tomb Raider fan ever. I have a calendar at work (I'm 29 years old), I preordered my copy a full year before it came out, and I've played every Tomb Raider Game for PS1. Now, let me explain why playing Angel of Darkness was sorely disappointing from the beginning...
The controls are awful and the game is very, very buggy:
Five minutes into playing it froze on me. I restarted the PS2 only to begin the in-game training and find out that the controls are atrocious. Simply aligning the character to walk or jump onto a box will take several seconds longer than previous Tomb Raider games.
Thirty minutes later the game froze again. (For the second time.)
Now for the graphics: Backgrounds are noticeably improved over the PS1 versions, but the game still looks old when compared to many newer games on the PS2. (See Splinter Cell.)
The bugs are a programming issue, not a performance issue of my PS2. CORE should be ashamed of disappointing is greatest fans with this collection of bugs, glitches and control problems. Rent this game if you want to see these problems for yourself, but don't buy it.

Possibly the best of the TR series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 25
Date: June 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Before "Angel of Darkness" hit the shelves, I had played all of the Tomb Raider games to date. I enjoyed each one, but none of them compared, in any way, to the original game (in my opinion....though TR 2 came very close.) Now, enter "Angel of Darkness"....a very different step for the franchise, a step that may leave some of the older TR players behind.

Let's put aside that the fluidity and graphics are better for the time being. One of the things that the newer TR games had lacked that the first 2 delivered was originality. Basically, the following games rehashed the same style as the others, having Lara solve puzzles and collect artifacts. A concept that remains interesting, but only to a point. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the puzzles, but I knew that at one point, these factors alone would not be able to drive the franchise. I'm not sure that I expected a complete overhaul, like we received, but I knew something was coming.

There are a few things that make this revision great. The extension of Lara's abilities (ie the things she does.) She can now move along stealthily, or fight hand to hand combat and even interact with other characters. Also, enter Kurtis Trent. This is a nice change for the series to actually feature a new and playable character. As great as all of these things are, nothing compares to the sheer fact that Lara LEARNS!!! She improves with you, to perform the tasks she does, better. This is nothing short of astonishing, and can make for an interesting game...if you don't learn or strengthen yourself enough!

Though the graphics are far superior to any of the previous TR games, this is no surprise. A better system calls for an upgrade to the overall look and feel. Everything looks wonderful, but this is something that was expected.

If this game has one drawback, it's the overhauling of the controls. After playing the game for a few hours, I was able to get the hang of how to work Lara, but it is a difficult adjustment to make from the old style of controlling her. There are still some aspects of the controls that are actually slowing me down, because I can not perform a task as easily as I did in any of the previous games. Still, this is a small price to pay for such an amazing revision of the game.

With all of this said, "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness" is sure to be on a lot of top game lists for the year. Personally, I have not played a game on my PS2 yet that equals it in scope and sheer enjoyment. This game is a must own!!!

Probably good, but what happened to "Tomb" Raider?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 17 / 28
Date: March 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Well, I think that this game will probably be a great game, but what happened to the Tomb Raider spirit? The original Tomb Raider games were about raiding tombs, jungles, Area 51, islands, and other places to find a mystical artifact that had awesome powers. This game strays away from that idea to join the crime drama bandwagon that took off with the release of Max Payne. Max Payne was good, but Tomb Raider should be different, and now that it's similar, and in my opinion that's not good. If you want a good game that requires you to raid tombs, get Indiana Jones and the Emperors Tomb, not Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, but if you want another crime drama game, get the new Tomb Raider.

save game... over & over & over

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: July 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is perhaps the worst [money] I ever spent.
Let's get the pros out of the way since there is only 1
PROS- The story is good rivaling that of the movie francise.
CONS 1.For all the hype and post-poned release dates you would think this game would have been less buggy and more playable.
2. The ps2 controls in this game are below par of the old atari joysticks, you have to push the run stick into next week to get her to get out of harms way not to mention the slow motion bug that happens when someone else is in the room with you, geez!
3. Stealth mode... as useless as Ben & JLo's partner movies.
4. load times- too many & too long.
5. weapons- why is it you can kick a dog twice to put him down but a pistol takes a whole clip to do it?
6. jumping & climbing require a lot of saving games because of the bad judge of distance
7. camera angles- most 3D games camera angles aggravate me to some extent, but this one is just FUBAR.
8. When targeting some enemies in certain areas you have to holster your weapon just so you can move around, don't know what that is all about.
I enjoy replay value as much as the next person, but having to jump from the same ledge 30 times because you keep screaming all the way to your death is just ridicilous...
I suggest games like Devil May Cry or The Thing but avoid this one.

Worst game of the series, and tha'ts saying something

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Anyone that was a fan of the first TR, and has followed the steady slide downhill in this franchise...well, suffice to say that this release turns that slide into an avalanche. It's hard to say if this game is worse than 3...if not for the fact that you can save when ever you want in this game, it would be, it's only positive merit really from a gameplay standpoint.

OK, what's wrong with it????

1. *TINY* environments. They just *don't* get what was so good about the first TR do they? The sense of vastness and exploration in the first TR was fantastic, and every subsequent release the world has gotten smaller and smaller. This one is laughable. If your idea of *exploration* is looking for bullets in a closet, this game is for you ;)

2. Bugs. This TR has more bugs than the rest of the series combined. Too many to even list, some game breaking, forcing you to reload from an old savepoint.

3. Horrible control. Mizz Croft is now sluggish, wimpy, and seems to have a real mind of her own when it comes to falling off of things, or jumping in a direction other than intended. The *delay* before running is absolutely maddening. There are some neat ideas in this one, but they are just horribly implemented.

4. No vehicles.....why?? Oh I know, the shove it out the door to bleed the last remaining dollars out of a once adoring fanbase mentality that permiates this game probably didn't leave much time for things like vehicles....or environments big enough to drive a tricycle.

5. Laggy....that's right, laggy.. Some of the (tiny) environments look fantastic, but your PS2 will slow to a crawl. It's a shame they sacraficed so much gameplay for the sake of eyecandy. Oh well, not the first, and certainly not the last to do so.

You *will* watch the "making of" at the end of playing this game, and shout obscenities back and the screen.

Highest caution rating, buyer beware. Buggy, boring, small, short, and shallow. Rental only, as you can beat the game in 2 -3 days tops, if you can stand to keep playing it that long. Keep in mind that this review is from a longtime fan of this series. It's a real shame that this franchise just keeps getting worse with each release...so much potential.

Take It Away In Chains

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Despite all the hype and all the delays, "Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness" turns out to be just a waste of plastic. The game would've been great had the designers taken the time to fix up the unacceptable amount of bugs and glitches, and come up with a new and different style of gameplay.

What do I mean by that? Every single movement Lara makes is animated and much slower than it ought to be. A three-legged dog with one eye could swim through a pool of molasses in less time than it takes Lara to run from one side of a room to another. Not only that, but simple actions like crouching take at least 3 seconds longer than they should. And don't get me started on jumping. Jumping from ledge to ledge is about the only task the developers could come up with for you to do. Apparently, it's the camera's job to make it seem a lot harder than it is. If the camera's turned just slightly to the wrong angle, you might end up doing a side flip to your doom instead of jumping forward.

The puzzles that you come across (rarely), are usually idiotic and unrealistic. At one point in the game, you're asked to get from one side of a room to another, unfortunately the only way the door on the other end will open is if the laser security system is activated. The first thing you should notice is that these lasers are very poorly placed and any real person could easily just step over them or duck under them. Of course, being the tomb raider she is, Lara must use a series of timed run-and-jump moves to get through them, making what would be an extremely easy sequence to get through into a much harder one.

You'll learn early to save all the time. The game is extremely glitchy and freezes up in certain areas, usually when there's lots of things going on at the same time (like when three lights are turned on and there's another guy in the room). Also, since Lara dies inconsistently, you'll never know if that jump to the floor below is too far or not. I found that in certain areas, a ten foot fall to the floor can result in death, while in other places, falling forty feet will only slightly hurt your life bar.

Then there's all those nagging questions. Why is it that setting yourself on fire will slowly drain Lara's health, but stepping into a laser can kill you instantly? How come it takes seven bullets to kill a guy with no body armor? What kind of dog dies after two kicks, but remains alive after being shot several times? What's the point in the stealth mode if you almost never have to use it? In the extras section, why do the game designers claim that '"Tomb Raider" has always set the benchmark for games'? Why does the "Cradle Of Life" movie trailer have such messed up audio? I could go on and on.

In conclusion, all I have to say is that "AOD" was not worth the wait and isn't worth your money. Save it. I hope Eidos decides to speed up the gameplay in the next "Tomb Raider" installment and gets some developers that aren't mental patients to work on it. If not, I won't be buying it.

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