Tomb Raider: Anniversary serves as a remake of the original game, using the same gameplay mechanics and engine from Legend whilst also retaining what made the original game so appealing and wondrous.
Although Anniversary takes some creative liberties here and there, the game's main story and setpieces remain relatively unchanged from the original.
The story follows Lara Croft, a British fortune hunter & millionaire who is hired by businesswoman Jaqueline Natla to recover the Scion, an artefact hailing from the rulers of Atlantis. Throughout her journey, Lara visits several key areas around the world and uncovers the mystery of the Scion and the lost city of Atlantis whilst competing with fellow fortune hunters and mercenaries.
The gameplay remains relatively unchanged from the previous game in the series Tomb Raider: Legend, however there is a heavier emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving rather than combat.
The lack of variety when it comes to combat is something to note. Most of the enemies you fight in early on in Anniversary consist of wolves, bears and gorillas - as well as the occasional boss fights throughout each location. The combat in Anniversary can become tediously frustrating, especially when the game introduces new creatures and bosses for you to fight.
When it comes to traversing levels in Anniversary, platforming is one of the game's weaker points - especially when Lara somehow messes up (i.e. Doesn't perform a jump correctly) and dies. This constantly happened throughout my playthrough and there were rare instances in which Lara would miss ropes directly in front of her or sometimes even scale a ledge and somehow glitch off and die. Some of these issues were also present in Tomb Raider: Legend however since the game was focused less on platforming, it was much less noticeable.
On the other hand, the puzzles are unique and require a lot of time and patience to fully understand and master. Take for instance the level in Greece known as St. Francis' Folly - that whole chamber personally took me quite some time to fully understand it all during my first playthrough.
Outside of the game's main story is Croft Manor, which primarily serves as a tutorial for new players to experiment with Anniversary's controls. However Croft Manor also tasks the player in solving a puzzle to turn on the water system and open a locked door. Out of all the Tomb Raider games I've played featuring Croft Manor, this one has to be my favourite appearance of the iconic locale.
Overall, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a must-play game for new Tomb Raider fans. Despite the game's lackluster combat and often glitchy platforming controls, Anniversary was Crystal Dynamic's bold attempt to remake the beloved first entry to the series which was extremelly innovative to other 3D platforming games. I recommend this game to audiences who enjoy game series such as Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed - as well as people who enjoy the adventure genre as a whole.
Although Anniversary takes some creative liberties here and there, the game's main story and setpieces remain relatively unchanged from the original.
The story follows Lara Croft, a British fortune hunter & millionaire who is hired by businesswoman Jaqueline Natla to recover the Scion, an artefact hailing from the rulers of Atlantis. Throughout her journey, Lara visits several key areas around the world and uncovers the mystery of the Scion and the lost city of Atlantis whilst competing with fellow fortune hunters and mercenaries.
The gameplay remains relatively unchanged from the previous game in the series Tomb Raider: Legend, however there is a heavier emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving rather than combat.
The lack of variety when it comes to combat is something to note. Most of the enemies you fight in early on in Anniversary consist of wolves, bears and gorillas - as well as the occasional boss fights throughout each location. The combat in Anniversary can become tediously frustrating, especially when the game introduces new creatures and bosses for you to fight.
When it comes to traversing levels in Anniversary, platforming is one of the game's weaker points - especially when Lara somehow messes up (i.e. Doesn't perform a jump correctly) and dies. This constantly happened throughout my playthrough and there were rare instances in which Lara would miss ropes directly in front of her or sometimes even scale a ledge and somehow glitch off and die. Some of these issues were also present in Tomb Raider: Legend however since the game was focused less on platforming, it was much less noticeable.
On the other hand, the puzzles are unique and require a lot of time and patience to fully understand and master. Take for instance the level in Greece known as St. Francis' Folly - that whole chamber personally took me quite some time to fully understand it all during my first playthrough.
Outside of the game's main story is Croft Manor, which primarily serves as a tutorial for new players to experiment with Anniversary's controls. However Croft Manor also tasks the player in solving a puzzle to turn on the water system and open a locked door. Out of all the Tomb Raider games I've played featuring Croft Manor, this one has to be my favourite appearance of the iconic locale.
Overall, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a must-play game for new Tomb Raider fans. Despite the game's lackluster combat and often glitchy platforming controls, Anniversary was Crystal Dynamic's bold attempt to remake the beloved first entry to the series which was extremelly innovative to other 3D platforming games. I recommend this game to audiences who enjoy game series such as Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed - as well as people who enjoy the adventure genre as a whole.