Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

"Lara's Back (About time!)."

It's been a few years since Lara's last major adventure, but finally it's here. Was it worth the wait? For me it was.

--]Gameplay: 7
Are the controls better or worse than the last Tomb Raiders? I'd say they're better, but they take time getting used to. The first level is going to be hell for most gamers, but after a while they become second nature. Lara has gained a few moves in this new game, most notably her hand to hand combat and stealth. You probably won't be using hand to hand too much since you usually take quite a bit of damage when you're right next to your enemy trying to punch him, but if you're out of ammo or don't want to waste any it can come in handy. When in stealth mode there are a few things you can do. For one thing, just pressing the button makes Lara crouch down a bit and also makes her walk without making any noises. You can press action (the X button) against a wall and Lara will press up against it. Press action again and she'll go back to normal. If you sneak up behind a guard and press action Lara will grab the guard and take him out.

There are a few things that could have been done to make the controls even better. Core should have made it so that whenever you push the left analog stick, Lara will run. Always. Instead, if you only push it slightly she'll walk. Sometimes when you're trying to get away from enemies and push the analog stick she'll walk for a while and then eventually start to run, which isn't good. When people need to walk, they're more than likely going to tap the L1 button, which will make Lara do nothing but walk. This comes in very handy for lining up jumps. Tap L1 again and Lara will go back to running. So, essentially, the L1 button makes walking with the analog stick useless. Oh well.

Back to Melee combat. When Lara is unarmed, she can go up next to a guard and attack him with punches and kicks. Just use the action button to perform a variety of moves. One reason why this type of attacking isn't so useful is because it's pretty slow. I also found myself trying to get Lara to do roundhouse kicks more, but it usually didn't happen. Instead of like in Metal Gear Solid 2 where you'll always do 2 punches and a kick in that order, Lara's order of attacking kind of varies. In the end, melee combat isn't very effective, but it can help you out of a tight spot.

Three more things I should note: In some parts of the game you play as another character, Kurtis Trent. Lara fans shouldn't be scared though, since you only play as him for a little bit. There are a few glitches in the game such as slowdowns, but they usually don't happen when you're fighting somebody or anything. Last but not least: There are a few things in this new Tomb Raider that give it an RPG-like feel. What i'm talking about is interacting with other characters! What makes it even better is that you can choose what Lara says sometimes!

--]Sound/Music/Voice Acting: 10
This is one area that truly improves over the original. As far as sounds are concerned, they're done nicely. Gunfire sounds more realistic, along with water and other things. Music is a HUGE improvement from the other games. Instead of music playing for 10-45 seconds and then going through the rest of a level in musical silence, music plays for an entire level. Finally! The music is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, and they do one hell of a job. Bravo! Voice acting is also done well, especially Lara. With all of the added dialogue you get to learn more about Lara's personality and how she's changed since The Last Revelation.

--]Graphics: 8
Considering how long the game has been delayed, the graphics are still very nice. Levels are very detailed, some more than others. The character models are for the most part very nice, although I noticed that in the Parisian Ghetto the same character model was used twice, with the exception of the hair style. One complaint I have about the character models is their hands. They're pretty blocky. Not as blocky as Grand Theft Auto 3/Vice City, but they're still pretty bad.

--]Story: 9
VERY much improved over the last installments along with the sound category. Instead of Lara searching for artifacts, the story begins with Lara being told by her ex-mentor Werner Von Croy of 5 Obscura paintings he needs. I don't want to spoil too much of the plot, but I must say it's good. Attempting to find the paintings while making friends, being betrayed, and all the while hearing this and that of a strange serial killer called ''The Monstrum''.

Gameplay: 7
Sound/Music/Voice Acting: 10
Graphics: 8
Story: 9
My Overall Score: 9

Should you buy this game? If you are or ever were a fan of Lara Croft, then what are you doing reading this? Go pick up a copy!! If you never were a fan of the Tomb Raider series, i'd say rent it before purchasing it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/03, Updated 06/23/03