One of the PS2s last truly great AAA games TRA is both a great looking and great playing game for any gen system.
With the release of TR:Legend New TR developer Crystal Dynamics showed the world that Tomb Raider could actually be fun again and maybe... just maybe... even valid in a new video game world ruled by the GTAs and Halos that began their reign in the PS2/Xbox generation. TR:Legend was actually a GOOD Tomb Raider game! who woulda thunk it ? it had all new gameplay and the old grid-based graphics and ancient gameplay had FINALLY went the way of the Dodo thanks to the talented folks at Crystal D. Then the encore to their freshman initiation with the TR franchise and one of the Playstation 2s Truly last great AAA games TOMB RAIDER ANNIVERSARY. I have to admit this is a great freaking game! I knew it would at least be "good" since I had played a demo of both Legend and Anniversary on my PC but damn am I surprised at how solid this game turned out. The PS2 version is actually better than I expected it to be A LOT BETTER AAA graphics (not just for last gen but for any gen system) the amount of smooth water effects and detailed textures are beyond impressive with Anniversary appearing only on ONE last gen system the PS2 you can tell that Crystal Dynamics really put every effort in making this the single best looking game for the aging by the day Playstation2 hardware and that extra effort has really put Tomb Raider : Anniversary in the same catagory with the likes of Shadow of Colossus and ICO and thats no exaggeration and get this the game runs smooooth unlike Shadow so thats a big + . Also excellent improved gameplay and a solid all around game engine that seems to be tweaked to the maximum from the Blood Omen/Legend engine and plays like a dream with the good 'ol DualShock controller. Even if you are not and never were a fan of Tomb Raider I suggest giving it a try and for anyone that were previously fans of the Tomb Raider series and had lost all hope after Angel of Darkness and still didnt jump in with Legend now is the time to rekindle that flame for sexy and nimble Laura as Tomb Raider Anniversary is the best TR game since the TR2 days but with updated GAMEPLAY and very sweet graphics featured in Tomb Raider Anniversary round out what might end up being the Tomb Raider that will be very difficult to top for Crystal Dynamics and will definitely be the single TR game that all other future Tomb Raiders will be compared to. I have been reading about the Wii and Xbox360 versions of TR:Anniversary now in development and Im sure some of the Wii mechanics might be interesting but with what Crystal Dynamics has accomplished graphically on the Playstation 2 hardware I really cant imagine how sweet TR:Anniversary would look on the Xbox360 or.... the PS3? if given the right amount of attention and development time instead of being a quick port of the PS2 game like Legend was on the 360. Minus a few points for a couple of frustrating areas and slightly short game although it is longer than Legend plus the games difficulty does spiral upwards significantly after the first couple of levels.