Reviews// Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PS2)

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh here we go again!

Posted 30 May 2007 19:00 by Gavin Dodds

Combat hasn't changed much since Legend, the most notable difference is the absence of environmental weaponry that used to be triggered by the triangle button. Now we have pieces of the environment that are highlighted in a similar way to enemies, but are used as switches to activate some long forgotten machinery.

Enemies are back to being the wandering animals of the first game (Tomb Raider), stopping Lara from being the mass murderess that she became between Tomb Raider II and Legend. Instead she goes back to happily killing endangered species such as lions, tigers, bears and the afore-mentioned wolves.

In some combat situations you will find the screen blurs when one of your antagonists rushes at you. You then have a short time to perform a dodge move, usually this move will also allow you to get a critical headshot in with your weapons as the enemy rushes past.

These sequences are a bit of a development of the "interactive cut-scene" sections of Legend except that they actually work quite a bit better since they are more integrated with the game.

Speaking of the button-mashing "interactive cut scene" (BMICS) play mechanic, it's back and it's just as bad as before. One of the earliest uses of this mechanic is in the Lost Valley level of Peru when you encounter the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Ol' Rexie is preceded on screen by a few raptors, resplendent in their up-to-date feathered head plumage, which are running away from the big guy.

A horrified Lara is caught up in the stampede and must avoid the jaws of death attached to the larger dinosaur, as well as the attentions of the raptors. The actual battle against the T-Rex is a simple affair of making him injure himself while avoiding being eaten. The coup-de-grace is delivered by another BMICS sequence that sees the old boy run into a temple and kill himself with falling masonry.

The previous action sequences are presented as a strictly linear process that must be accomplished successfully or you go back to the start. Because of this, it is a much more frustrating experience than in the original game where you had to avoid the T-Rex as a normal (if large) enemy and keep blasting away until it died.

Killing the T-Rex in Tomb Raider was a "Hell, yeah!" punch-the-air type of moment, in Anniversary it's more of a "thank goodness that's over with" moment - and that's a shame.

This is a trend that continues with a lot of the boss battles in the game. It's as if you aren't fighting the bad guys at all, but are trying to figure out a puzzle while being attacked. The fight with the mummy centaurs outside of the Tomb of Tihocan in Greece was especially frustrating to play, I died about 10 times before I hit on the trick to taking them out. And no, I won't tell you what the trick is, wait until we have a walk-through up or pay for an expensive printed, dead-tree, resource-sapping, world-hating guide or maybe just figure it out yourself. I had to!

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Comments

Argus 31 May 2007 08:38

1/14

Shame to hear that the T-Rex event and certain other significant battles are button pressing affairs. I heard some negative comments about that in the early previews and had hoped that this had been changed since. Alas...

Incidentally it was always "Scion" as in "skee-on". Some characters say that in the cut scenes of the original Tomb Raider. Though I agree, I felt it should have been pronounced as "see-on".

Is Croft Mansion still a part of the game? Any mention of bonuses?

Dolby 31 May 2007 08:53

2/14

the moment I saw the trailer for the new TRex section I knew that this was going to be a screwup. it was a horrible in Legend - a complete ripoff of God of War's reaction tests and it was rubbish in that game too.

why Crystal Dynamics couldn't have just stuck to a straightout remake i just don't know but it looks like theyve made a mess of something that should have been a sure fire hit

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Duoae 31 May 2007 15:20

3/14

Yeah, it is scion as in science.. although dictionary.com gives it a pronunciation of "sahy-uhn". The first bit works out but maybe my regional accent makes the on more ON and uhn more UN....

tyrion 31 May 2007 17:35

4/14

Argus wrote:

Is Croft Mansion still a part of the game? Any mention of bonuses?

Yep, stately Croft Manor is in there as a training level. Pretty similar to the one in Legend, but some of the rooms are still being fitted out, which is fun. The pool room, for example is full of scaffolding and not all of the statues are in place.

As for bonuses, throughout the game you can collect artefacts and relics which will unlock "rewards" outside of the main game like outfits, artwork galleries and the like. Again, pretty much like in Legend.

I should really have mentioned those points in the review, but it was already pretty long.

SplatteredHouse 4 Jun 2007 21:24

5/14

Yeah,,,"Scee-on" sounds distinctly American, to me.

I have to say though, that I really know where the reviewer's coming from, with the mentioned "is it a secret, or do I need to do that?" moments. TR's shocking for those in my experience; where you think, well, if this game's about exploring, then there are secrets to discover to boot, I must really have to work for my passage...So you waste AGES trying to reach *there* totally disregarding all else, in the progress - you must be able to, after all, lol!

Sometimes you wind up tired, and regrettably conceding defeat up to four hours later. Then others, you get a dragon to take home, and pop on your mantel! But, I suppose it's a part of the charm, and testament to the maker's belief in their game, that there are "real" secrets to be found in these games.

Spanky2090 7 Jun 2007 12:27

6/14

I only have one thing to say and its Scion (Sy-on) Always has and always will, all the TV shows say that and have never said anything different. I think they did rush this game a little bit and have probably guessed a few things.

Ian Archer 11 Jun 2007 18:38

7/14

This game rocks, and I am sorry that someone didnt take the controller and play for you as it is evident that you have no idea what you are talking about.

If you remember the first tomb raider, and remember how hard it was to jump from one thing to another, this game is a BREEZE and she practically jumps where you need to be FOR YOU! Also, whats a Tomb Raider game without jumping off a few ledges to your death? A boring Tomb Raider.

P.S. The T-Rex, was not a button pushing affair, I had my guns out blazing while hopping around and dodging in slow motion. I give the reviewer 86% and the game 100%

config 12 Jun 2007 13:29

8/14

Okay, that does it. Tonight I'm going to take this home and put it through its paces myself.

I'll report back when I've given it a thorough beating, then we'll see who's side I land on.

tyrion 12 Jun 2007 14:11

9/14

Ian Archer wrote:

This game rocks, and I am sorry that someone didnt take the controller and play for you as it is evident that you have no idea what you are talking about.

Hi! I'm the reviewer and I did "take the controller" and play the game.

To establish my pedigree, if you require such a thing, I've played every Tomb Raider game since the first one and finished most of them. You can read my review of Tomb Raider Legend if you wish to compare it to the review of Anniversary.

Ian Archer wrote:

If you remember the first tomb raider, and remember how hard it was to jump from one thing to another, this game is a BREEZE and she practically jumps where you need to be FOR YOU!

I remember the first Tomb Raider vividly, I spent a lot of time on it. Jumping was easy since you were never expected to jump any distance other than one or two blocks. To line yourself up you simply walked to the edge of the block you were on, you couldn't fall off while walking. To jump one block, you jumped forward. To jump two blocks you first jumped back then ran forward and jumped. Simple, easy, and possible almost every time.

In Legend and Anniversary you have more ways of jumping and diagonal jumps to contend with. The diagonal jumps are easy to get slightly off direction and miss your ledge. You also have the variable length jumping depending on how long you press the jump button for. This can cause issues, as I said in the review, since the distances aren't visually different and you can end up landing on flames or missing the edges if you get things wrong.

As I also said in the review, the controls required much more precision than in Legend.

Ian Archer wrote:

Also, whats a Tomb Raider game without jumping off a few ledges to your death? A boring Tomb Raider.

Oh, of course, you have to have some chance of failure, but have you played the level where you climb up the inside of the Atlantean Pyramid yet? There are timed jumping sequences that are almost impossible to get right in the time you are given. Combined with the precision required in the controls, you end up looking at that lovely picture of Lara quite a lot of times as the level loads again and again.

Ian Archer wrote:

P.S. The T-Rex, was not a button pushing affair, I had my guns out blazing while hopping around and dodging in slow motion.

You'll have noticed then that your guns didn't actually damage the beast until the slow motion sections where you distracted it so it ran into the spikes? Shooting it only got its rage meter up so it would charge and trigger the slow motion sections. You'll also have noticed that you finally kill the T-Rex by making it run into the temple, as I said, and this was accomplished in a BMICS, to say nothing of the stampede section.

Ian Archer wrote:

I give the reviewer 86% and the game 100%

You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion. However, if you consult Meta Critic on this one, you'll note that I gave the game a higher score than the average rating and that only five of the 20 reviews listed give the game a higher score than mine. Games TM for example, gave the game 60%.

It seems we both love the game more than the average games reviewer.

anon 14 Jun 2007 00:53

10/14

I've just finished the game, (first time I've completed a Tomb Raider aswell) and I have to say I loved the game, the puzzle with the pillars that started to fall when you stood on them in Greece (you know which one i mean) had me baffaled for what seemed like forever.

The amount of times Lara died was criminal I think the most deaths where at the end climbing the Great Pyrimid.

config 14 Jun 2007 08:29

11/14

I've just given the game a couple of hours over the last two evenings and so far, generally I'm impressed. The puzzles are much more polished and engaging, visually it's stunning and introducing some of Lara's more modern moves (ledge leaping, pillar climbing and swinging on ropes and poles) helps fill out the old game without destroying the feel.

However, I'm disappointed that some areas have been so radically changed - the Lost Valley seems to be a linear experience once you've dispatched the Rex as you're forced to look for a alternate route out of the valley because of the daft ridge that's about 3 inches too high to climb over. No longer are there hidden caves to search for - you have to climb over the temple to get out. Having the option to explore and find areas that aren't immediately obvious has always been TRs charm, so being forced or signposted to take such routes is deflating.

Also, the last chamber in Peru - the one with the mummies - wasn't as intriguing as the original. Gone is the ability to look around the room, finding that one of the mummy's head turn as you roam, and you can't shoot them either. Nope, it's all cut scene now.

Talking of cut scenes, the button mashing bits (BMICS) are as distracting as they were in Legend, but at they are a little more forgiving in terms of response time than that game. It think, though, that it's clear the BMICS aren't in any way gratifying, and you're so busy watching for the button prompt, you don't actually take in what's being conveyed through the scene

anon 17 Jun 2007 15:03

12/14

so the on screen promts are distracting? but in RE4 they where pure genius?

Ditto 17 Jun 2007 23:14

13/14

anon wrote:

so the on screen promts are distracting? but in RE4 they where pure genius?

I think RE4 invented them but also used them liberally.

Bruce 29 Jun 2007 03:34

14/14

I have been a TR fan since the first game. Of course there was the one installment that was a big disappointment. My favorite was TR2. If there was another remake I wish it would be TR2. The thing I liked best about the earlier versions was you had to have the right weapon for the right job. What fun is it shooting a T-Rex with pistols. And "back in the day" boss fighting was all out war, a great way to relieve yourself from all the frustrating puzzles and difficult moves that got you there. Also, the boss fight is not exactly the time to be challenged with a difficult puzzle. Finding some of the relics and getting to them in Anniversary is a little ridicules, come on sticking a box into a crack in a pillar that was lowered into the ground when you entered the room.

Don't let the negativity fool you, I like the game. I hope there will be more in the future. But for old guys like me there was nothing better than the first three or four. Refurbish TR2 and add a few more moves and scenery but keep the rest of the game as is, "how it's supposed to be played".

Oh, and scion, skee-on, shee-on, pee-on or what ever it is, there will always be minor glitches in every game. Though Anniversary is not perfect it is still a great game. I'll give it a 90%.

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