After Core finished Angel of Darkness, they began work on Thhe Anniversary Edition of the first game. They created it to be very faithful to the original and actually listened to the fans opinions and suggestions. I looked at a few of the screens and videos from this game after it was canceled. A few people considered, including me, starting a petition for Core to finish and release the game.
Eidos sold Tomb Raider rights to Crystal Dynamics, the makers of the Legacy of Kain series. No one knew what they were going to do with it. When they came out with Legend, many classic fans felt the game was too stylish and easy. I completely agree. Then Eidos sensed the demand for an Anniversary game. Because they are greedy, they decided to allow Crystal to make their take on the idea. This is where we got Tomb Raider : Anniversary.
I read through all the other comments and saw this statement numerous times. "I am sure classic fans will highly appreciate this remake" Guess what? They don't.
Anniversary was made for age groups 2-6. It was the easiest game I have ever played. Many members of the team who made this game, including Eric Lindstrom, said that they were fans of the classic games. Did they pick up the hobby of drug usage while making Anniversary? They must of forgot that they were making a 'remake' of the classic game. They didn't do this. They made a casual gamer, repetitive, easy, boring, pointless game. Not even worth playing. The only reason I bought it was so I could have all the games up until that point. I will make the review in sections, so I can illustrate all the flaws this game has.
Graphics: They were superb, considering that they were on the PS2. The environments were fun to jump around in. They created a good atmosphere in the game. It seems, however, that made a game about the graphics of TR : A. They focused on this aspect of the game way too much. They thought that having good graphics would make garbage of the rest of the game forgotten. They were wrong. 7/10
Gameplay: I really hated Legend's controls and game play. Lara's movements and animations were way too unrealistic. They should have kept the classic animations. Lara vaulted herself onto the ledge in Legend as if she weighed 10 pounds. Not possible. They get a little better in this game, but not much. Everything gets very repetitive after a while. The movements are the same in every part of the game. They aren't spaced out enough. Uncharted had amazing animations. Why couldn't this game? Maybe Naughty Dog should buy Tomb Raider. It would be awesome if they made a Lara/Drake crossover game. 5/10
Substance: The puzzles were beyond easy. They all contained the same elements. I can't sit here as I write this and think of a stand-out puzzle. There isn't really any substance in the game. When you design the game for babies, you really can't. They made the game about 10 hours shorter than the original. 2/10
Story: The story is pretty much the same as the classics story, with a few exceptions. Natla is now an evil wanna-be. In the classic she actually had intelligent views on what she wanted. Now she just wants to take over the world. Plus, she looks like an anorexic horse. Crystal decided to make the temple entrance in the beginning of the game playable. I did like that. They got rid of the classic villains in their true form. Kid was missing his skateboard. Kold was over exaggerated. Larson was way too lusty for Lara. He was also rather ugly, not that that matters. 6/10
Lara: Wow. They made her look like a doll. Considering it is a remake, wouldn't they use the original Lara? Oh, wait, it wasn't a remake. It was 'inspired' by the original. They used Legend Lara, which was a huge mistake. They also carried over I-want-mommy into Anniversary Lara, which made me sick. 5/10
Overall, this is not a Tomb Raider game. It is a baby toy. Crystal should consider being schooled by Core. It would teach them a few things about Lara Croft. 2/10
Eidos sold Tomb Raider rights to Crystal Dynamics, the makers of the Legacy of Kain series. No one knew what they were going to do with it. When they came out with Legend, many classic fans felt the game was too stylish and easy. I completely agree. Then Eidos sensed the demand for an Anniversary game. Because they are greedy, they decided to allow Crystal to make their take on the idea. This is where we got Tomb Raider : Anniversary.
I read through all the other comments and saw this statement numerous times. "I am sure classic fans will highly appreciate this remake" Guess what? They don't.
Anniversary was made for age groups 2-6. It was the easiest game I have ever played. Many members of the team who made this game, including Eric Lindstrom, said that they were fans of the classic games. Did they pick up the hobby of drug usage while making Anniversary? They must of forgot that they were making a 'remake' of the classic game. They didn't do this. They made a casual gamer, repetitive, easy, boring, pointless game. Not even worth playing. The only reason I bought it was so I could have all the games up until that point. I will make the review in sections, so I can illustrate all the flaws this game has.
Graphics: They were superb, considering that they were on the PS2. The environments were fun to jump around in. They created a good atmosphere in the game. It seems, however, that made a game about the graphics of TR : A. They focused on this aspect of the game way too much. They thought that having good graphics would make garbage of the rest of the game forgotten. They were wrong. 7/10
Gameplay: I really hated Legend's controls and game play. Lara's movements and animations were way too unrealistic. They should have kept the classic animations. Lara vaulted herself onto the ledge in Legend as if she weighed 10 pounds. Not possible. They get a little better in this game, but not much. Everything gets very repetitive after a while. The movements are the same in every part of the game. They aren't spaced out enough. Uncharted had amazing animations. Why couldn't this game? Maybe Naughty Dog should buy Tomb Raider. It would be awesome if they made a Lara/Drake crossover game. 5/10
Substance: The puzzles were beyond easy. They all contained the same elements. I can't sit here as I write this and think of a stand-out puzzle. There isn't really any substance in the game. When you design the game for babies, you really can't. They made the game about 10 hours shorter than the original. 2/10
Story: The story is pretty much the same as the classics story, with a few exceptions. Natla is now an evil wanna-be. In the classic she actually had intelligent views on what she wanted. Now she just wants to take over the world. Plus, she looks like an anorexic horse. Crystal decided to make the temple entrance in the beginning of the game playable. I did like that. They got rid of the classic villains in their true form. Kid was missing his skateboard. Kold was over exaggerated. Larson was way too lusty for Lara. He was also rather ugly, not that that matters. 6/10
Lara: Wow. They made her look like a doll. Considering it is a remake, wouldn't they use the original Lara? Oh, wait, it wasn't a remake. It was 'inspired' by the original. They used Legend Lara, which was a huge mistake. They also carried over I-want-mommy into Anniversary Lara, which made me sick. 5/10
Overall, this is not a Tomb Raider game. It is a baby toy. Crystal should consider being schooled by Core. It would teach them a few things about Lara Croft. 2/10