As spectacular in its excellence as it is tasteful in its remembrance, TRA is pure action/adventure nirvana.
Anniversary eschews the series' increased focus on urban levels by taking you back to the very beginning... when it was just Lara, a tomb, some handguns, maybe a few wolves/mummies/demons, and lots of puzzles. You won't be riding motorcycles, or dangling from the rooftops of skyscrapers.... instead you'll be climbing the face of a Sphynx, narrowly escaping death by gigantic falling swords, swan diving off of waterfalls, traversing the depths of Atlantis, and occasionally fighting all sorts of creepy creatures. The boneheaded gunplay of yore is downplayed in importance but also upscaled in quality here, thanks to the addition of moves like the adrenaline dodge and one hit kills. It's not particularly deep, but it is entertaining, and you will spend much more time doing death defying leaps from precarious heights than in combat. You know, the way a Tomb Raider game should be.
As can be expected, all that jumping and climbing is where Tomb Raider Anniversary really flexes its gaming muscle, and it is a beefy arm indeed. While somewhat similar to Prince of Persia at times, the two series have actually been borrowing from each other for years, and since both in their time set the standard for puzzle/platforming excellence, it should come at no surprise. What is surprising though, is that Anniversary's platforming is much more satisfying than that of Prince of Persia, thanks to the fact that it's devilishly challenging. Absent are the clumsy grid systems and dump truck controls from the series' past, replaced by an improved version of Legends' smooth controls... which again are somewhat akin to the grace of PoP. But the big difference here is that there is no rewind button, and the stakes are raised the further you go. One wrong move can sometimes lead to your untimely demise, though usually you'll just have to try the whole sequence again. And if you do end up dying, the game has a very generous checkpoint system, and the loading times are exquisitely brief, ensuring that frustration rarely sets in. All of this adds up to set pieces that are quite intense, as you wall run, shimmy, and stretch your arm just barely far enough to catch that jutting ledge. Watching Lara thrust every amount of effort she can into a particularly dangerous jump and then actually landing it is satisfying on a level that most games can't even touch: it just looks and feels freaking awesome.
Speaking of looking awesome, Tomb Raider Anniversary is a gorgeous game. On the pc, players are treated to a very stable game, with added effects like depth of field, some enhanced water effects, more detailed textures, and higher resolutions. The ps2 version obviously isn't quite as visually immaculate as the pc version, but for on its own merits it puts forth a great effort. It's a little jaggy, but everything else is firing on all cylinders. Both versions, though, feature the same terrific level design that, more than once, will make you stop just so you can take in the sights. If you have the option to pick one or the other, I'd go with the pc version as long as you have an analog controller (the 360 controller works wonderfully), so you can get the increased resolution and fancier graphical effects. If you're strictly a ps2 player, don't sweat it. You'll still be treated to one of the best looking ps2 games yet.
Also of mention is the incredible sound design. The voice acting is generally solid, with Lara being impeccably voiced, and the sound effects are generally of high quality, but it's the ambient sound and music that really steal the show. The menu music is tasteful, and the orchestral tracks that play while in combat really help to make things intense. Also, when you discover key areas, a new theme will play, helping create a sense of awe and wonder. Perhaps even better, though, is the ambient sound. Deep in the tombs of Egypt, you'll hear distant but thunderous rumbles, falling sands, and eerie whispers. In the jungles, you're treated to the sounds of trees blowing in the wind, animals, and the sound of waterfalls. It's all incredibly atmospheric, and the effect it has on immersing you in the environment is immeasurable. The game doesn't have music going at all times, as was the case in the original, but crank up the bass and volume here and get ready for some really fantastic soundscapes.
While all of the above is splendid, the game isn't without a few problems that drag down the experience a bit. Towards the end of the game, the challenge level increases noticeably, and while most of the time it's in a good way, sometimes it's in a you've-got-to-be-kidding way. There is an increased focus on gauntlet runs, particularly in Egypt, some of which border on masochistic. One unfortunate instance, although very brief and isolated, had to do with a jump to a teeny little pole Lara needed to teeter on for the briefest of moments, and then jump off of in order to catch a ledge and thereby avoid getting crushed by two massive rocks. The problem with this sequence was that usually Lara will automatically veer towards places she needs to balance on, but here that mechanic was broken. It worked some of the time, and not others. Thankfully, that is generally not the case at all, but it happened that once and made for many frustrated and failed attempts.
On another note, occasionally the levels are so big, complex, and interwoven that you forget what you're doing, because while trying to lower a bridge in one area, you have to go and hop around for a half hour in another. This can lead to a few sections where you've been so focused on the area you're in that you forgot about a door that you opted out of in favor of another. This lead to backtracking a couple times, and while it's mostly a non-issue, the infrequent backtracking can be pretty tedious. Also, the game is excessively dark in spots, and you might have ot adjust your brightness/contrast to see in certain areas. The original game was very dark, to the point where the developers actually included flares to light the way when in doubt, but here... there are no such flares, only shadows. Lastly, pushing objects around, as in Legend, can be slightly awkward as you fidget to push the block/globe/platform in just the right direction. These problems are generally minor, but do hamper the generally excellent experience enough to be noticeable... if only because it's usually so great.
Thankfully, these problems are overshadowed by the myriad of awesome little things that Anniversary does. The way the developers have paid homage to classic levels is really impressive.... it's new enough to make you wonder what to do next, but familiar landmarks will have you going "hey.. I remember that!". The moment you see the waterfall in Peru, or go out into the infamous T-Rex area, you will be simultaneously awed and delighted due to expertly remade terrain and that good old sense of nostalgia. Thankfully, many of the puzzles in the game are new (and often very tricky), or at the very least reworked, so that the same old crusty solutions will have no application here. You're going to have to actually use your brain, even if you played the original to death. Also, even if you've solved the puzzle and know what to do next, it's not always easy to do it, thanks to the white knuckle platforming. Another unexpected but totally fantastic touch is that the game does not load between levels, merely locations, of which there are five. This means that, on top of the amazingly short loading times, the game only loads new level geometry a mere handful of times, which goes a long way towards immersing you further into the game.
Once you've completed the game, you can go back and do time trials in each level, search for hidden artifacts and relics with which you open new bonus content (which is actually quite the addictive challenge), look at art galleries, listen to the game's musical tracks, or try and complete the Croft Manor bonus level... it actually has a bit more life than you'd expect. Finding those artifacts is worth doing just because you have to think and solve puzzles to get them, which is part of what makes Tomb Raider so fun to begin with. Couple this with the fact that the game is half the price of a regular new game, and you've got a lot of bang for your buck.
All in all, Tomb Raider Anniversary is the greatest fan service any patron of the series could hope for. It's completely updated, gorgeous, clever, wonderfully challenging, longer than most games these days, and most of all... it's just memorable and extremely fun. Lara has gone from being milked to near death to coming back with every bit as much dignity and class as she started with. And if that isn't amazing, I don't know what is. As spectacular in its excellence as it is tasteful in its remembrance, Tomb Raider Anniversary is pure action/adventure nirvana, and sets a new standard for the genre. My absolute highest recommendation.