Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

"The Real Lara died in Egypt!"

Wow. I have loved the ''Raider'' franchise since it's inception (no, I was NOT one of the fanboys who wanted a Nude Code!). I have waited yeas for this game, and when it finally arrived, I was giddy with excitement.

My happiness with the game soon waned, then disappeared altogether. Core promised that it wouldn't be released until it was perfect. What was perfect...the game, or the release date being a few weeks before the movie?

Lara came back from Egypt....but apparently, she left her acrobatics and will to move like a human buried under all the sand and debris.

Case in point, she needs to do things to make herself stronger, so she can break down doors....or simply open them! Remember how Lara could push or pull large pillars and rocks? Not anymore. Now she has to ''learn'' how to do it again. Lame.

I did like the ability to change her tone toward people she was questioning, but it unltimately came all around and looped to the same ending of the conversation.

Bugs, anyone? I mean, inability to jump at the end of a platform, her catching on fire and not dying, standing inside objects, the camera re-sweeping an area after you've long cleared it out, glitchy floors that have you fall through them, and the list goes on. Core apparently thought that after the last two piles they released, that this would be accepted with open arms. It was perfect in their eyes, not ours.

I also have a problem with the enemies. Clunky, stupid A.I., and they all seem to die the horrible ''Blinky Death''! In this age of ''No More Backward Steps'', bodies should stay where they fall (ala Metal Gear Solid), not blink away to abscurity. On the subject of Clunky, Lara not only moves like she's underwater, but her punches and kicks appear that way also, barely landing a blow that hurts an opponent!

Cheap deaths. Game's full of 'em! Blind jumps, leaps of faith, lucky grabs...games shouldn't incorporate these elements. jumps should be edge of your seat, but not so much that you may fall to your death. Thank god for the ''save anywhere'' feature that allows you to re-try the same cheap death over and over again until you get it right. Did I mention the load times. EVERY time you die and reload, you must wait thru the same horrendous load times that you did when the level began! This reminds me alot of ''Stuntman''...(shudder).

Slowdown? In this game?! I expect this kind of crud from a game of high graphical intensity, but Angel of Darkness looks like the PSone versions with prettier...umm...assets. the slowdown would happen for no reason at all!

I really wanted to play long enough to play as newcomer Kurtis Trent...but the pain of playing as Lara was too great!

This game was nothing more than a graphical upgrade and poly count of Lara's...um...guns, than a truely good game. Save yourself the cash, and buy Indiana Jones and the Emperors' Tomb instead.

R.I.P. Lara...to me, you died in the sands of Egypt.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 07/04/03, Updated 07/04/03