The classic Tomb Raider reinvented on PS2.
User Rating: 8 | Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Platinum) PS2
After Legend i was horrified to find out Tomb Raider 1 was being remade by the same people. After the leaked trailer of Cores Tomb Raider Anniversary we found out Crystal Dynamics were making a Tomb Raider Anniversary of their own. When the game finnaly came out i went out and bought the Collectors Edition after seeing numerous gameplay trailers and being amazed at how much like the original game it was. The game is a re imagining though not a remake meaning some levels are different and the story is changed slightly. The story is fine and i like how Tihocan is expanded upon and Natla too. I dont like how Lara's father comes into the game though. Lara's Tomb Raider Legend mansion returns but here we get to see it in the past (obviously) Its pretty fun and we get to go outside but Legend's mansion was defiantly better. So onto the actual main game. The controls are better than Legend and the camera is improved. The swimming controls are still the same though sadly. Lara is much more badass in this game (thank god) and we have harder to find secrets, better unlockables,pickups within levels,classic weapons and Lara has a braid! The levels are awesome and most of them give you that nostalgia from Tomb Raider 1. The puzzles are really good and the traps are pretty hard in some levels. My favourite level would be St Francis Folly i actually think its better than Tomb Raider 1's version but only slightly ;) With all the good though we sadly have some bad things. As much as i enjoyed this game and got that Tomb Raider feeling i have to say im pretty disgusted by the treatment of some levels. I said most of the levels are really good and copy the old ones but some levels are the opposite. The City Of Vilcabamba level is about 15mins long and all of the side rooms and half the level has been removed in this version. The Colloseum has no side rooms at all and is a joke. The Cistern's side rooms have been removed and the end of Tomb Of Tihocan has been merged with Cistern. Finnaly the Atlantis levels are the most butchered levels in the game. Practicly 80% of the original levels are gone and replaced with some linear halls or constant wall running. Why they decided to do this i have no clue because what made these levels so great has been removed from the game. Another thing that really annoys me is the new move "Adrenaline Dodge" the move is pretty cool but the game makes you use it against every single boss and enemies if given the chance and this quickly becomes tedious and boring. Id say if every single level was like St Francis Folly or Obelisk Of Khamoon this game would be almost as good as Tomb Raider 1. Sadly the developers decided to rush another game and leave things missing. Overall though id say buy this game because its very fun, its defiantly Tomb Raider and unlike Legend it has good length. If your a Tomb Raider fan then you should get this game even if it isnt a complete re invention.
