I'm sorry, Lara fans, but this edition of the Tomb Raider will only collect dust on your video game shelf.
The Angel of Darkness is not a success in the Tomb Raider series. The only success about this game is perhaps the storyline, which was a bit interesting but even the story wasn't as "good" as the first 5 games. I'll tell you about that in a little bit.
What went wrong? Who's to blame? Why does the gameplay of this game just.... suck? The answers to those questions will become very clear.
Okay, I'll start out with gameplay. This is probably the most disastrous part of the game. What is going on? Never in my life have I seen this bad of gameplay. It's boring. It's not fun. It can be superiorly difficult at times (see the graphics section below). Lara's guns don't function like I wish they would. And what ever happened to Lara's traditional dual pistols?
Lara..... she's just.... so..... clumsy and.... cumbersome in this edition. Nowhere near as flexible as in the earlier TR games, Legend, and Anniversary. I don't know why they didn't keep this the same as in TR1, TR2, etc. Plus, Lara's control system is the most annoying control system in my life. One fact is that the controls are also clumpy and don't do what you want them to do. Secondly, after playing the first 5 TR games with the same controls in every one, you now must get used to using the O button to jump.
Also, you get to play as another dude in this game. He's also very clumsy, clumpy, and cumbersome. And he's far too boring. He carries one gun and has all of the same abilities as Lara. You spend three levels of the entire game playing as him.... what's the point?
I also despise the new "stealth" tactic that Lara receives in this game. Well, I don't despise it, because it would work really well in any game besides Tomb Raider. Lara has always, ALWAYS defeated her enemies with her guns (only a couple of times has there been a crowbar going over a cook's head or poising a guard with chloroform). What was the point of the stealth tactic? I don't enjoy using it. I normally just come out with guns blazing and that's the end of whatever stupid enemy is looking at the barrel of Lara's gun.
Now on to graphics. Hmmm.... you'd expect them to improve from the PS1 to the PS2, considering that we're moving into a nex-gen console, right? Well, your answer is that they haven't changed, haven't gotten better. If anything, they've gotten worse. Characters are still blocky and lighting effects are TERRIBLE.
The story. I won't give it all away, but the beginning of the story sees Lara being accused of murdering Professor Werner Von Croy. Nope, she's not out to get some ancient artifact. Instead, it's a break from the police.... in Paris? Hello? I also have to tell you that there is ONE tomb in the entire game. I'm serious. 75% of the time you'll be in the sewers, on the streets of Paris, or in the buildings of Prague.
The only reason why this game is so long to play through is because the controlling & movement just sucks. And these two factors made it so difficult to get through the game quickly. I still haven't completed the last two levels of the game to this day.... and I'm not sure if I plan to, either, unfortunately.
The replay value isn't very high, either. I'd rather go pull out Tomb Raider: Anniversary and enjoy this piece of art from Crystal Dynamics, the new creators of the TR series. And let's give them big cheers for reviving the series. Legend & Anniversary, the two newest of the TR series to date, are awesome and you should play them, but leave this garbage alone!
Well.... there you have it. A sad review for a sad game. Sorry, Core Design, I'm just one of your addicted Tomb Raider fans who hated this game. It just doesn't show what Tomb Raider should be. Amen.