It’s been over a decade since Lara Croft first graced monitors everywhere, yet she hasn’t aged a bit. This can be largely attributed to the face lift given to the first Tomb Raider game, subsequently released as the Tomb Raider Anniversary edition. Though polishing outdated video games is nothing new, the developers took this title a step further by modernizing the controls, enhancing the graphics and adding new elements to augment the experience. The end result is a product that keeps true to the original, while fairly seamlessly adding features that make Tomb Raider Anniversary feel new.
When the original Tomb Raider was released about 11 years ago, the game was quite revolutionary. 3D graphics and environments were just beginning to be incorporated into games, and were far from the mainstay that they are in modern games. It’s fair to say that the first Tomb Raider was quite a phenomenon, and likely inspired many PC owners to buy their first 3D card. It was for these gamers (and corporate stockholders), that the Anniversary edition was developed.
For those unfamiliar with the Tomb Raider series, the gamer guides our heroine, Lara Croft, through puzzles as she leaps, swings and swims through expansive levels, like a buxom Indiana Jones, in search of the Scion of Atlantis. The puzzles are environmentally based, meaning that the player will often seek out levers, switches and missing parts to solve the brainteaser. The puzzles range from the simple to the taxing, while the physical demands on Lara can often result in missed ledges and fatal falls. Should you happen to survive your fall, you’ll often be treated to 5 minutes of backtracking to get the point where you fell. The frustration factor can be very high with the Tomb Raider series, but often the sense of accomplishment outweighs the negative aspects.
One of the better refinements to Anniversary is a modernized control set. If you’ve ever played a shooter, you’ll have no problem picking up the controls. The left trigger locks on a target, while the right trigger fires. The left thumbstick controls Lara’s movement, while the right pans and tilts the camera. The enhancement is not limited to controller mapping, as some of the more delicate tasks, such as careful leaps, seem to be more accurate than in the past.
Lara now has a few new combat moves at her disposal, chief of which is the Adrenaline Rage Attack. The gamer can enrage an enemy creature (wolves, bears, and even the supernatural) by continually shooting it. Once the Rage Meter fills, the creature charges in for an attack while the screen blurs and time slows. Two reticules will appear on screen. Once these two reticules converge on the head of the enemy, Lara can fire and perform a fatal headshot. Our heroine also employs some advanced acrobatics that were originally featured in Tomb Raider Legend. Besides leaping, which seems to have more of a margin for error, Lara climbs and swings on ropes, evades pursuers with deft dodges and somersaults and balances precariously atop poles. The swimming underwater can be a chore, with the gamer using the face buttons to dive and submerge, while rapidly tapping the Y button to swim faster and using the right stick to manage the camera. Lara can also skillfully employ a grappling hook for swinging over chasms or to reach far ledges and platforms. All in all, none of the enhancements are innovative and are not new to videos games, let alone the Tomb Raider series, but still manage to breathe new life into the original game.
Tomb Raider Anniversary developer, Crystal Dynamics, has promised an additional three hours of game play with environments expanded beyond the original. To be honest, unless you have a fantastic memory, much of the game is going to feel fresh to you anyway. That’s not a knock on additional content, but rather a statement on how seamless Crystal Dynamics has been able to blend the old and the new.
