Tomb Raider Anniversary — The Coincidental Playthrough

It appears we’re
in the midst of Tomb Raider‘s 15th
Anniversary month! I didn’t originally plan on reviewing Tomb Raider Anniversary after finishing it about a month ago,
because who the heck needs a review of an over four year old game that’s a
remake of the original fifteen year old title? I didn’t realize this month would
be a Tomb Raider franchise acknowledgement one while playing it, so don’t give
me any credit here. My playthrough just happened
to be timely.

 

But I’m
standing by one of the points in that previous paragraph: I’m not reviewing it,
at least not in the Consumer Reports-style that everyone knows and loves. This here
is a blog, so it will be in a blogging-style; consider yourself warned.

 

Looking back
on Crystal Dynamics’ earlier contributions to the franchise, Tomb Raider Anniversary was probably
the worst thing to happen to Tomb Raider
Legend.

 

But that’s
not to knock Legend for not being a good game. No, it’s a fine title. It’s well
worth the acknowledgement of anyone who likes franchise for resuscitating it
after the relationship between the franchise and fans were shattered by Core’s
incredibly unfortunate Tomb Raider:
Angel of Darkness. That doesn’t mean Legend doesn’t have its fair share of
problems, though. It’s short, too linear, rarely challenging (making it the
easiest game in the franchise), has motorcycle chase sequences haphazardly
shoved in to break up the “monotony,” and it’s noticeably more lighthearted in
tone than previous titles.

 

Now, you may
be wondering why I’m talking about Legend so much in a post that’s supposed to
be focused on Anniversary. It’s because it has absolutely none of the
aforementioned flaws, a sign that CD learned quite a bit about what makes a
Lara Croft adventure really tick during and
after finishing Legend — they had to have done both considering this game
released a mere 14 months after that one. It may be a remake, but it’s the kind
that improves upon all of its predecessors.

 

Anniversary
depicts a time where Lara Croft was still rather green, and that’s not just
talking about her shirt. Despite that, though, she’s still portrayed as a
strong and independent woman, even with her conspicuously-designed “assets” to
appeal to a specific demographic. In terms of her move set, CD took everything
that worked about Legend — which includes Lara’s platforming techniques, the
shooting sequences, and most of her item set — and inserted it into this game.

 

What’s
better is that some of levels have been carefully redesigned to accommodate her
techniques, making them fit within the confines of the new environs. It’s part
of why this is a textbook example of how a developer should handle remake, as
it’s one that respects what the original work presented better than many other
reimagined works of earlier titles. I’m sure that’s due in part to having Lara
Croft-creator Toby Gard on the staff with the developers at the time.

 

By “fit in,”
I mean it’s just as challenging as the original, and can actually become a little frustrating in some later parts
— a stark contrast to Legend’s relative ease. There are large, sprawling
puzzles that Lara is required to jump hoops through to solve with numerous
pitfalls. It’s spiritual predecessor may have prepared you for the way Lara
handles and moves, but did no such thing for its difficulty spike. It’s easy to
be caught off guard considering the early parts of this game are even more
challenging as some later parts in Legend.

 

Admittedly, some
of that doesn’t consist of the “good” kind of challenge. Not all of the areas
have been completely redesigned. The fact that some are similar lifted
wholesale from the original is actually detrimental, because they weren’t
carefully designed to be navigated with fully analog controls. You’ll find
yourself dying more often here than in the original since moving with the
analog stick causes Lara to slip a little when you’re not moving forward. The
environments simultaneously tickle both the best and worst parts of your inner
nostalgia. While you get to see the open and sprawling areas gamers loved back
in 1996 again with a polished sheen, it will be a little tougher to keep Lara
from falling to her death.

 

Anniversary
also has a few glitches that hold it back. Sometimes it will randomly freeze
for some odd reason, with the only fix being reloading the last checkpoint. There’s
nothing game breaking, but it’s a strange hitch that shouldn’t be there and
could have been fixed via a patch for the PS3 and 360 versions at this point.

 

Anniversary
has some hitches, but they’re minor compared to what it ultimately offers. It’s
worth playing regardless of what your gaming background is. If you’ve played
the original, it’s worth the nostalgia it offers by visiting the familiar
landscapes you admired in the original. If you haven’t played the original, you’re
getting one of the best action/adventure titles released in the last few years;
and you have nothing to lose considering the price it goes for now (around $20
or less). So, happy 15th Anniversary, Lara Croft. May your impending reboot not miss the point as to what makes you
such an intriguing character.