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Excellence Revisited

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 25 / 26
Date: June 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

"Tomb Raider Anniversary" could have so easily been little more than a stop-gap rehash of the original, using the same engine and graphics as 2005's brilliant-yet-tiny "Tomb Raider Legend". You couldn't really blame the developers for overlooking the now-ancient PS2 technological limits for something more flash like the new-gen consoles, and yet, those geniuses at Crystal Dynamics and Eidos have really taken great pains with this to remake it into something different, new and fun.

GRAPHICS: 5/5

When I first played TR: Legend, I had several honest-to-god "Wow!" moments because of the gorgeous visuals. "Tomb Raider Anniversary" gave me more than that, it couples the "Wow!" factor with a hefty dose of nostalgia and some insanely detailed models that are totally reminiscent of the feel of the original 1996 game, while still managing to be new and fresh and engaging. Level design is changed to accommodate Lara's new movement style, but are still recognizable enough to make us fans of the original game grin from ear-to-ear with the familiarity of the settings. For example: the water-filled subterranean room in The Great Pyramid is so nostalgic as to be breathtaking, but requires a whole new thought process and set of puzzle solutions to traverse. Similarly, St. Francis' Folly, arguably the first level in the history of video games that really proved the

worth of the 3D environment, looks so familiar, but plays very differently. The upshot of this is a game that will not only thrill newcomers, but will make us old-time Tomb Raiders sit back and remember exactly why we fell so much in love with Lara Croft in the first place.

Character and monster designs are, as you'd expect after TR: Legend, simply beautiful, only now more so: this is certainly the most beautiful incarnation of Lara to date, and all of her co-stars in this adventure are great examples of what can still be achieved when talented people program for the PS2. The only exception, oddly, is Jacqueline Natla - she looks more supernatural than before, and less plausible - but that's just some odd character design, not badly executed graphics.

SOUND: 5/5

As with the graphics, the sound designers of "Tomb Raider Anniversary" must be praised excessively for creating an aural atmosphere that will grab and entertain not only newbies to this series, but that will also make fans of the series remember the original atmosphere with delight. Gone is Lara's PDA - no interruptions from colleagues pepper the silence of the tombs and jungles here - and the music is a brilliantly re-imagined rendition of the original's themes.

PLAYABILITY: 5/5

I know I've been walking down memory lane here for a while - this game is just so across-the-board reminiscent of the original - but where this updated version of "Tomb Raider" really comes into its own is with the control system. It's basically the same brilliant engine as TR: Legend, but rejigged and tightened to make "Tomb Raider Anniversary" an absolute joy to play. You won't be falling to your death or making silly mistakes because of controls (the camera, as with all 3D games, does cause some moments of frustration, however these are few and far between), and Lara in combat mode is now a much more challenging and rewarding thing: you can't just point and shoot anymore, you really do need to think.

LASTIBILITY: 4/5

This game is tougher and longer than TR: Legend, so it's nice to see that Crystal Dynamics really listened to the critics of the 2005 game - levels are bigger, there are more of them, enemies are tougher with a progressive difficulty curve, and traps and puzzles are now more involved, with far more emphasis on Lara's (and your) acrobatic ability.

But it's still a little short.

It's MUCH better than TR: Legend - a twelve to fourteen-hour playtime the first time you go through it, and as before, there are multiple ways to complete a level, and multiple rewards for doing so, particularly in time trial mode, but it's still a bit too short. The reason I love the original TR games on the PSOne is for their longevity - this game, while absolutely breathtaking in all other areas, is still no match for the length of the first three.

Still, compared to most contemporary videogames, it's absolutely fine, and in and of itself is a rewarding and challenging game, full of respectful nods to the original, and full of new tricks and features to keep us all entertained.

OVERALL: 4.5/5

Buy it now. I can't recommend it highly enough, "Tomb Raider Anniversary" is a stunning game. If you liked the original, or if you're just curious to see what all the fuss is about, "Tomb Raider Anniversary" represents the pinnacle of Lara Croft's exploits, both technically and artistically.

Happy Anniversary!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 16
Date: June 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Lara Croft aka "Tomb Raider" makes her final bow on the PS2 after her rocky start with "Angel of Darkness". And how wonderful it all is! "Anniversary" is just that--a celebration of how Lara's media career began and where it's leading her. The end product is a solid, highly enjoyable, and nostalgic game that will please any fan of the series and is a great intro for those new to the adventure.

Graphically "Anniversary" is near perfect. I'm not a tech-head so most of the terms are lost on me. What I do know is what you'll see...lush, detail enviroments that beg to be explored. Fans of the original will definately explode when exploring these old haunts with a graphical face lift. It's darn near perfect! While the controls may seem akward intially (especially to out of practice raiders and new players) after some practice runs in Lara's mansion...you'll be a-okay to rock out!!

The challenge of the series is one of the things I like most and this entry is challenging enough and (though a remake of sorts) fresh enough that it's easy to become totally addicted.

The price is easy on the budget folks so no excuse to not give this gem of a game a good try!

best game ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: May 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

When i played this game i thought a whole other world opened up! it has new animals, new places going back to the first tomb raider. its amazing. the puzzles are harder then legend. i thought legend was good just wait until you play anniversary! i'm still playing it. When you buy this item you will be fully satisfied. I guarentee it!

Be prepared to have sore, bleeding, fingers...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: June 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I think it's so awful how this game comes in having to be redone to fill in the lack of serious true adventure games. It just proves Tomb Raider is really one of the best long lasting adventure games ever and I was more than honored to play this bad boy keeping up over these 11 years. This is a serious game, no holding hands like TR: Legend. Either you got the guts or you don't in this one. Thankfully after dying numerous times, pain stakingly finding all the rewards (except time trials), and dying another round of times, I found that in five days I had the guts as I completed this hardheaded game pounding in the last four levels in one longggggggggg night of terror. Terror that's all worth it and fun.

First get used to the controls. I started feeling like Lara was too loose, too fast, I had her all over the place until I finally got back control and saw how fluid she really was. You can do just about anything in this game.

The fighting is pulse pounding. You're literally IN on the action. There's not leaping sideways or away or backwards. You leap, you pause a moment of shooting. I had wolves GRAB my arm and try to drag me away. I had demon spawns shoot down on me and try to lift me away. Beware though that in fighting the camera can get jumbled up if space is tight and you're against a wall. But the sound of the pistols, the music, and the provided action letting you make the decisions on what to do is great. The BEST part of the fighting is the critical shots and the BEST battle is with the T-REX and the semi-final mutant blob of a boss. If anything, buy this game to fight the T-REX. I found myself pausing the game and cheering for Lara taking deep breathes after I killed him. It was so thrilling. Same with other enemies. You'll find yourself pleased with Lara and cheering her forward on her mission.

The enviornments are crazyyyyyy. There was so much work put into this game and it shows even for the PS2 I suppose. Lara's world is bright, dark, haunting, engaging, thrilling. Once you get to Eygpt, be prepared to die, die, die, and die again. I found this to be the most challenging level all the way through especially when I found myself in the dank trap ridden hallways (takes a breath). I'll also count this is the level I'd least like to repeat as for awhile it felt like it dragged on and on. Same with the race to get to the top where the Scion is located in the lost city inside the great pyramid. You will die, die, die, die, and die again while trying to grapple, time, and shoot your way to the top. SO MUCH FUN!

One of the things I liked MOST about this game is the story. You really get to know Lara in this one as it takes the original up four or five notches. It's filled in so many ways with her character development. I won't tell much however (watch Lara's expressions in the cut scenes), just get ready for a lot of smiles as you see Lara up close and personal. Even the bad guys are a lot of fun to watch come alive.

I noticed the most of the changes from the original to this edition. Some things are obvious and some aren't. Things are repositioned. Like instead of running to find the "gold-turning hand" in a remote part of Greece, it's actually been compacted along with the pool and several other things at the start. So there's a LOT less running around to room after room after room in this version. Everything is tightened up to make more room for new and exciting other things.

This game is fantastic. It put me through a lot and it's worth it. Now before I replay it I'll take a break then come back to enjoy it again. If anyone has any concerns about how TR games have been lately then just... I dunno... get over it. More than anything the series has progressed. It's moving forward and changing. Yes, Legends was short, pretty easy, and had way too many unisolated moments where it felt like a Tom Clancy game in my opinion (only because she's always shooting men). But the games have progressed and it's great to see more of Lara. After so long you questioning fans shouldn't give up. This game really takes you back to where it all started while moving forward to the next level of Tomb Raider.

Wonderful. But too much of a good thing, perhaps

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: September 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First the good news - this is a fantastic game in many ways. All the things you'd hope for in a 3rd person adventure are duly accounted for: Good, grab it and go controls without any annoying button combinations, gorgeous graphics with great variety and occasional outright beauty, good character movement that isn't spoiled by the need for complicated button work, and lots of interesting puzzles to solve.

It also has one of the best save systems I've ever seen, something so many games get so wrong. You pass checkpoints constantly, and can save at each one. When you return to the game later, even after turning off the console, you have the choice to resume (start at the most recent saved checkpoint) or load (start back at the beginning of the current level). Beautiful. You don't lose progress, and if you find out you missed something important, you can always start the level over to get it.

So what's the bad news? Well, it all gets to be a bit much, frankly. I like "platforming" games a lot, but to me it seems there's just too much platforming and not enough of anything else. I'm about 80% through, and every area has been basically the same: Walk in and get ambushed by a critter or two, then spend the next couple of hours wall climbing, jumping, pole-swinging, crevice crawling and wall running. That was fun for about the first 50%, but now it's just repetitious and quickly becoming tedious.

I understand that this is an old-school platformer and the game's focus is right for that, but I just can't help getting bored with it now that I'm most of the way through. The infrequent bosses have been a nice diversion (they take some effort but aren't ridiculously hard), and again, the environments are really cool. I love all those ancient ruins with their mechanizations, puzzles and traps. But now I'm bored and just plugging on to get it over with. Once you've had a look around at the wonderful scenery and get down to work, it's just the same old thing over and over.

I want to love this game for all it's talents, but the gameplay is wearing thin. Hardcore platformers will probably love every moment, but I'm not quite -that- hardcore.

The good:
Scenery and graphics
Controls
Character movement
Cool ancient environments
Perfect save system
Very well-behaved camera

The bad:
Endless platforming gets tedious, not much else happens

So that's not much bad compared to the good. This review might have seemed a bit too negative up to this point, but I'd like to stress it's benefits here and now. It's a nearly flawless example of the platforming breed. I highly recommend it for serious platformers. If you'd like a little more variety to go along with all your creeping, crawling, jumping and swinging, you might want to consider something with a little more action mixed in.

Anniversaries are never this good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

1996 marked the arrival of the first, and highly influential, Tomb Raider, which introduced gamers to the Indiana Jones-esque heroine Lara Croft and marked one of the finest examples of true 3-D gameplay at the time. After a number of years, as well as a number of unremarkable sequels that really downplayed what the series was about in the first place, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos marked a return to form with last year's Tomb Raider: Legend, which brought the core gameplay back to it's roots. Now, to celebrate the release of the original Tomb Raider over a decade later, we get Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and be glad for it. A re-imagining of the original game using the Tomb Raider: Legend graphics engine, Anniversary finds Lara in her usual environment: various tombs scattered in exotic locales. While locating artifacts and gunning down baddies, you solve puzzles to progress through the game while engaging in some inventive platforming and acrobatics; all of which leads up to quite an explosive finale. There are plenty of new elements to go along with the classic gameplay, including a new adrenaline dodge and challenging, multi-layered puzzles. The graphics and textures look pretty good for a late in life PS2 game, and yes, Lara herself looks great as well, but there are a few noticable hiccups, especially noticed if played in Progressive Scan mode. That aside, the rest of Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a smashing homage/remake of the classic first installment that is surprisingly pretty flawless in it's delivery. Whether you are a casual or hardcore fan of the franchise, you should definitely consider picking up Tomb Raider: Anniversary.

Lara Croft is back and you will not be disappointed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Tomb Raider Anniversary in my opinion is by far the best Tomb Raider out of the series. Yes it is a remake of the very first Tomb Raider which was released 10 years ago. Having played all of the Tomb Raider games more times than I can count, I feel very confindent in my opinion of this latest addtion to the tomb raider family.

For newbies who have never heard of or played any of the tomb raider games, you will be in awe of this heroine and her abilites and when you beat the game you will be begging for more.

For the hard core tomb raider fans this games takes you back 10 years ago and will make you relive the time when you first met Lady Croft and played this game. You will find yourself in famliar places, but also some new ones too. And when you beat this game you will sit back and smile and say "That's why I love this game"

Onto the game play itself. The game controls, graphics and of course Lara Croft herself are very simular to the controls, graphics in Tomb Raider: Legend. Out of all the video games I have played, I think the controls for this game are the easiest to use. Each level has the same lush beautiful level design as Legend. The various enemies you will encounter provide a different fighting/combat style than Legend and will challenge even the hard core fans.
Myself, when I heard they were going to remake the first tomb raider, I was worried I would be bored with it since I already know the story line, levels, etc...But I'm impressed with how the designers added "new" things to the game to make it interesting and challenging for the devoted fans, but at the same time it will take the new players on a great adventure.
Once I started playing this game, I couldn't stop because I wanted to see what "new" things were added. I throughly enjoyed playing this game and remembering back to the first time I met Lady Lara Croft. This Character has changed video games forever and has become a pop culture icon that will never die. I'm anxiously waitng for the next one.

Won't disappoint!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As a rabid TR fan, I had to have this game the instant it went on the shelves. I knew that it could go either way, meaning that it could be either really good, or really bad.

And damn, is it good.

Eidos and Core have reinvented an old classic into something so much more sophisticated. It's action-packed, challenging, and pulse-pounding. "The Lost Valley," an iconic level, is even more exciting with the T-Rex being a full blown-out boss battle.

The graphics are absolutely top-notch. Several details have been added to Lara as she progresses through each level, such as her clothes getting dirty. Once wet, she slowly dries.

Lara's new abilities do reflect Prince of Persia, such as wall-running and column-climbing, but seeing as I am also a rabid PoP fan, I can't complain.

There really isn't much to complain about, either. Lara's cool new moves are constantly integrated into the gameplay as though they were always there.

Overall, this truly is a five-star game.

Don't miss it!

Fantastic

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

amazing game. i was speechless when i finished the first level. crystal dynamics made some nice improvements on this game. and i really like it. the battles are not too intense and not too lame.

the puzzles are my favorite. these puzzles dont require you to do them fast. you have to figure out a chain of them in your head first then solve it. the satisfation is the best reward you can get.

gameplay is ok. camera is not bad. i love the detailed graphics and the music. it is def longer than the last one which is nice.

The Best in the Series!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As a diehard TR fan, I have been waiting for this game forever. Now, as I have played this game for hours, I have discovered that I am not disappointed.

"Anniversary" is an enhanced remake of TRI, the game that started it all - only now, levels are huge, the A.I. is amazing, the detailing and textures are incredible, and the storyline is perfect. It is the best in the series and has helped revive the dying franchise, opening the door for newer and better games with improved engines and ultra-realistic gameplay. TRIV was good, but the series began to die then and was killed with "The Angel of Darkness". TR Legend reopened possibilities, and Anniversary gives us a satisfying way to spend hours while we wait for Tomb Raider VIII.

In the meantime... I think I'll buy the original and play it alongside the PS2 version of "Anniversary"!

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