Okay, first the bad stuff: When TR: Legend came out last year it turned out to be the finest game in the series released in years (perhaps ever). There had been a great many changes made since the previous titles (especially in the graphics quality). Well now with the release of TR: Anniversary we can finally see where Legend had it over it's predecessors. When I heard comments in the lead up to Anniversary about "improved combat systems to give players a bigger challenge" (or something like that), my heart sunk, and my fears were realized as I advanced through the game. Eidos, there is nothing more BORING than watching your character die 15 consecutive times during the same sequence of events. In the "10 years of Tomb Raider" promotional stuff, it was said that Tomb Raider was originally designed to be an "interactive movie". Guys, what do you think the viewing public would say about a section of a movie where you had to surf through umpteen parallel universes, watching Jack Sparrow or Harry Potter die in the exact same conflict fifteen consecutive times until we got to one universe where they didn't f*** up? And by the way, that doesn't just apply to the combat sections, it also applies to the ridiculously-hard-to-traverse sections, especially the ones that were timed. BTW, I don't think that there should be any such thing as a *required* combo move(was it even possible to do an adrenaline dodge in any mode other than "Advanced Toggle"? Thanks for telling us you needed to be in that mode, BTW!) Legend gave you room to think your way through a level, it turned away from the TR tradition of frustratingly-impossible monster combat and jump sequences so that the player could get totally absorbed in the great storyline. From what I hear, that game saved your franchise. Please don't turn your back on those wonderful improvements that made the world fall in love with Lara all over again.
Among my lesser gripes with Anniversary were the absence of Zip and Al (I can understand why you did this, though. They weren't in the original, and Lara wouldn't have met them yet). But their banter with Lara during Legend made the game more fun and I missed them. I felt that the game's big surprise was revealed way too early. When I first saw the relevant cut-scene in TR1, I said to myself "Holy S***! This is the coolest twist I have ever seen in a video game!" By then you were well into the Lost City Already knowing the twist, Anniversary wasn't really gonna surprise me, but I still think you guys gave it away too early, even if you count the end-of-Egypt cut-scene, but it was pretty obvious by the end of Greece. Finally, I really didn't like one of the choices Lara made in a certain (interactive) cut-scene. When you make the character you play less likable, you make the entire game experience less likable. Anniversary as a whole suffered for it
Having said all that, I am glad I purchased this game. It would've been a shame to miss out on having it in my collection. The graphics were superb, in terms of both scenery and creatures. Lara, as in Legend, looked stunning, and I thought that the final creature she faces in the game, in all of it's incarnations, was incredibly well done. The storyline, while loyal to the original, was different enough to make the game interesting to a TR1 victor. The new grapple wall-walk move was cool (although I hated the wall-walk jump at the top of a swing the controls were way too fussy to do this whenever you wanted to). The pole-hop wasn't bad, either. I enjoyed the larger levels, especially the earlier ones and I LOVED Croft Manor. The puzzles (particularly in Greece) were incredibly well done. I love Keeley Hawes as Lara. I would've loved to see her have more speaking lines (another reason to bring back Z&A). And I had misgivings before I played it, but I must say that the enhanced character development of Pierre was a great improvement on the original.
All in all, if a person didn't own either Legend or Anniversary, I'd advise them to spend their money on the former. But for someone who did own Legend, I would definitely say that Anniversary is a worthwhile purchase, especially if they didn't know anything about the original. You developers have obviously put a hell of a lot of work into this game. And while I know a lot of people might disagree with what I've said above, I'm sure I speak for all Tomb Raider fans when I say we can't wait to see what you come up with next.
Among my lesser gripes with Anniversary were the absence of Zip and Al (I can understand why you did this, though. They weren't in the original, and Lara wouldn't have met them yet). But their banter with Lara during Legend made the game more fun and I missed them. I felt that the game's big surprise was revealed way too early. When I first saw the relevant cut-scene in TR1, I said to myself "Holy S***! This is the coolest twist I have ever seen in a video game!" By then you were well into the Lost City Already knowing the twist, Anniversary wasn't really gonna surprise me, but I still think you guys gave it away too early, even if you count the end-of-Egypt cut-scene, but it was pretty obvious by the end of Greece. Finally, I really didn't like one of the choices Lara made in a certain (interactive) cut-scene. When you make the character you play less likable, you make the entire game experience less likable. Anniversary as a whole suffered for it
Having said all that, I am glad I purchased this game. It would've been a shame to miss out on having it in my collection. The graphics were superb, in terms of both scenery and creatures. Lara, as in Legend, looked stunning, and I thought that the final creature she faces in the game, in all of it's incarnations, was incredibly well done. The storyline, while loyal to the original, was different enough to make the game interesting to a TR1 victor. The new grapple wall-walk move was cool (although I hated the wall-walk jump at the top of a swing the controls were way too fussy to do this whenever you wanted to). The pole-hop wasn't bad, either. I enjoyed the larger levels, especially the earlier ones and I LOVED Croft Manor. The puzzles (particularly in Greece) were incredibly well done. I love Keeley Hawes as Lara. I would've loved to see her have more speaking lines (another reason to bring back Z&A). And I had misgivings before I played it, but I must say that the enhanced character development of Pierre was a great improvement on the original.
All in all, if a person didn't own either Legend or Anniversary, I'd advise them to spend their money on the former. But for someone who did own Legend, I would definitely say that Anniversary is a worthwhile purchase, especially if they didn't know anything about the original. You developers have obviously put a hell of a lot of work into this game. And while I know a lot of people might disagree with what I've said above, I'm sure I speak for all Tomb Raider fans when I say we can't wait to see what you come up with next.