Tomb Raider Anniversary Review

It has been more than a decade since Lara Croft first appeared on people’s computers back in 1996. The games she’s been featured on have been both groundbreaking and abyssmal. Yet Crystal Dynamics, the games’ developer, have redeemed themselves in this latest installment to commemorate almost 12 years of Lara.

The Tomb Raider franchise was ground breaking on the first game back in 1996. When games were just slowly moving from 2D sprites to 3D. Lara’s world was one of the first to feature explorable 3D worlds. Tomb Raider Anniversary is a celebration of that by remaking the original and adding features we see regularly in games today like Assassins’ Creed, Splinter Cell, etc.

So what’s happened in the span of almost 12 years? First, Lara hasn’t aged a bit. She is still as sexy and spunky as she ever was. Also, she has more polygons on her now than on previous games, even adding to her attractiveness. Parang mas gusto ko yung in-game Lara kaysa dun sa movie ni Angelina Jolie. yokyokyok. Lara has learned new amazing acrobatic moves though. Such as balancing on poles, climbing them (kinda kinky – yokyokyok), perform running leaps, high altitude dives, crazy gunwork and much much more! Lara’s world is now much bigger, more stunning and a bit more challenging to traverse. The game takes you to exotic locales like Peru, Egypt and Greece.

The sounds in the game are equally impressive. Though the gunfire feels a bit underpowered, the sounds you hear in the environment really puts Lara in the middle of it all. The ranging waterfalls and the sound of it hitting the water below makes you want to just dive right in. The sounds the animals make when you’re out in the open also adds to the feel.

The gameplay is absolutely fun if you’re into puzzles and crazy acrobatics. Each level poses a puzzle for you not easily solved. For example, you need to find cogs for this machine. You need to find out where the cog is. Find out which of Lara’s skills will help you get there, actually perform the skills to get there, battle a few animals, find out how to open the door to get there (which involves a mini puzzle) and finally bring back the cog. Its crazy but a helluva lot of fun. Kung may ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) wag ka na maglaro, kasi dapat dito magconcentrate ka. There are action sequences that will keep you on your toes as well but there are not that many of them.

The game sports many secrets to unlock as well as features. There’s a developer’s commentary section where the game’s developer talks about how the game was made and some insights about Lara Croft. There’s an outfits section where you can dress up Lara in many of her outfits since the first game (para sa mga menyek dito na kayo). There’s also a mini game called “Croft Manor” which is set in Lara’s house, filled with puzzles, mini games and a lot more of Lara’s acrobatics.

This is a game that you would want to play over and over to get all the unlockables. Suffice to say it will stay in your harddrive until you get all of its features. Also I need to mention that you dont need a lot of PC power for this game. On Sylvester it still runs at 60 Frames per Second even with Fraps on and running at High definition with all the details up.

This is a good game to try if you’re into 3D adventuring and a must have for Lara Croft fans and pervies. yokyokyok

Graphics – 8

Sound – 8

Gameplay – 9

Longevity – 8