An incredibly underrated game.

User Rating: 7.5 | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness PS2
Out of all the Tomb Raider games, Angel of Darkness is the one that almost all gamers and critics alike have considered the weakest. Is it really that bad? No, it really isn't that bad. It honestly is unfortunate, because only a few issues keep AOD from being the best Tomb Raider since the first. There is definetly way more good than bad this game.

I'll start with the good first. AOD is not certainly not lacking in graphics. All the locations, weapons, characters, and especially Lara look really good. The games textures are perfect and the locations look very realistic. The only issue with the graphics is that sometimes at random, the frame-rate will suddenly slow to a crawl, but the frame-rate issues are few and don't really effect the gameplay.

The sound is flawless. Every sound effect in this game is placed very well and the voice acting is performed perfectly with each character. The soundtrack is also really good and really add a lot to the game.

The storyline is probably the highlight of the game. As you play through the game, the plot twists more and more. The cutscenes are put together really well and have a movie-like quality to them, which only make you more entranced in the amazing story.

Unfortunetly, the main issue of the game affects the gameplay quite a bit, and that main issue is the control and movement of Lara. The movement is the worst. Lara moves as smooth as a piece of sandpaper. You'll find yourself falling off of cliffs a lot. The button placement on the controller does not help in the least bit and it probably would of helped if you could customize your controls.

After you get used to the control problems AOD has, the game is actually a lot of fun. The puzzles are very well done(but very hard sometimes)and the storyline is so good that its worth any trouble with the game. If you are a Tomb Raider fan that never checked this game out because of what you heard about it, check it out for yourself. AOD is a great game and Tomb Raider fans should not miss out. Even normal gamers should give it a chance.

THARP