Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

"Uh... are you SURE this is Tomb Raider?"

After growing up for some time playing video games during my lifetime (I'm currently 16), I've played quite a variety of video games during my time. One, in particular, was Tomb Raider. After playing Tomb Raider 1, I was hooked, snagged, and reeled into the world of Lara Croft, her adventures (which has spanned about 6 games so far), and her large 'tracts of land', intrigued by the story lines and the impressive weaponry and free-roaming lands. I've played all of them, enjoying each moment of puzzle solving, gun blazing madness. So, here's the question:

What the hell happened?

Graphics: 8/10
It's obvious that CORE has been doing their homework regarding good graphics, but probably didn't turn them in on time. The graphics are definetly strong in this game, with the characters and enemies particularly well-detailed, and with levels of strangely realistic quality (Parisian Ghetto, anyone). Lara seems to have a new look to her, with somewhat darker (but nicer) hair and a prettier face. Besides the solid graphics, lighting effects are also quite impressive, as are fire and smoke effects. Oh, and by the way; Yes, her breasts do giggle. Oi.

But if you played long enough, you could point out each and every flaw. Lets nit-pick to save you some time.

First of all, the game runs at 60 fps. But not all the time. At odd moments, you'll find your frame rate dropping dramatically. I originally thought this was some cool 'bullet time' thing, but then I realized no one was shooting at me and I had my guns holstered. This can get fustrating if your trying to get away quickly or if you're trying to time a jump just right. Quite often I found myself growling as the frame rate took a plunge.
Secondly, although I had said lighting was impressive, this does NOT include character shadow effects. Character shadows look like nothing more then outlines of the character filled in with black. They seem to drop on odd places, and you'll know what I'm talking about when you're crossing over a deep chasm on a railing. This can make your eyebrows arch as you wonder what's up with the shadow, and probably make you fall since your grip ran out. Not to mention several glitches in certain cut-scenes that can crinkle your brows.

Gameplay: 5/10
Now, you may be asking ?How much has changed since the other games?'' Alot. There's an emphasis on having the game take place in urban/semi-populated areas, which means she has several interesting tricks up her... well, sleeve.

A new form of character interaction has come into play in this game. There are certain characters you can talk to in the game that can give you vital information depending on what you say. You can choose between two choices of things Lara can say at certain points in the conversations to bring up more topics of intrest that can lead you in the right direction. Some answers could lead straight to a dead end in the conversation which get you nowhere. It's up to you how to choose.

On top of that, there's several other interesting tricks. Hopping over railings, scaling cliff faces, opening doors, searching furniture for items, etc. All these new tricks to accomidate the new enviornment change.
However, this comes at a cost.
Remember back in the ol' days you could jump backwards, do a backflip in mid-air, and STILL have a bead on your target with guns a-blazin'? Sorry kiddies, no can do. One aspect of the game that had become important, the action, takes a heavy toll in this game. Sure, there's the added intrest of close quarters hand-to-hand combat, but that's not going to get you very far anyway. Jumping puzzles make a strong comeback in this game with a twist. You see, Lara's a bit rusty after being declared dead for quite some time, so she's not what she used to be. That is, good. As you progress in the game, you find ways to increase her two 'strengths': arm strength and leg strength. Arm strength gives you a better grip when you shimmy across gaps or use monkey bars, while leg strength makes you jump higher and farther. I'm guessing this was added to incorperate the idea that she has been 'dead' for quite some time now, and that she's still a bit weak. But, in my opinion, this was executed rather poorly. And lets not even START on the new menu interface. It's moving and 'pretty' and all, but it takes too long to load and is, for the most part, completely lousy.

Sound: 7/10
Sound is being based on three parts: Voice acting, Music, and SFX
Voice acting in this game is actually quite good (Although Lara's voice has changed a bit... again). Conversations seem realistic, and don't feel forced. Just well-practiced.
The music in this game can be quite interesting regarding the circumstances. In one stage, you're in an empty rave club with techno music blasting over the speakers. However, at other times, it can just be lame.
The SFX in this game isn't something to get excited over. The gunshots, for the most part, sound exactly the same for most of the hand guns. However, other SFX such as footsteps or opening doors can seem quite realistic and very intriguing.

Control: 3/10
Lets face it, Tomb Raider fans. Controls haven't always been easy for these games, have they. Well, guess what? They just got worse.
Ok, lets look at a few basic elements this new game lacks. First of all, the D-pad has been discontinued, now being used as a weapon 'switch on the fly' thing. It's now replaced with a 360 degree control element used by the Left analog stick akin to Metal Gear Solid. Rather then have the camera always trail behind her with the basic 2D control setup, we've been newly introduced to a 3D control setup that's much like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Except in that game, you can use the D-pad to control Tommy. In AOD, it's strictly up to the Left Analog Stick. You use the Right Analog Stick to rotate the camera, which is used to accomidate the new 3D setup. After spending a little while trying to jump gaps in this game, you'll realize the strongest hurdle in this game is it's lousy controls that can make jumps much more difficult then it really has to be. Throw this on top of a terrible control configuration and you have a reason to throw your controller against the wall in fustration.

Overall: 4/10
CORE tried to revamp this series, and in my opinion, has failed miserably. As funny as it may seem, this game seems rushed since it was probably made to be released before the next movie, regardless of the 3 or 4 year wait for a PS2 Tomb Raider game. Dispite many new elements in the game, these seem to have been traded in for key factors that originally made Tomb Raider a Tomb Raider game. At best, this can be considered as a rental, just for kicks and a bit of nostalgia. Only strong fans of the series should buy this.

((A/N: I realize all the misspellings in my review, but these are hard to edit on WebTV, so bear with me please. ^.^))

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/03, Updated 07/01/03