Lara Croft is back and she was supposed to be better than ever - but she is not! Eidos Interactive released the game half-finished and blamed Core for the poor quality of the game. But is it that bad as people or critics say? No, it is an entertaining action adventure with some small and major flaws. A.I is pathetic and textures fall apart but the controls aren't that bad. Worse than before but not bad. It takes few seconds for Lara to respond which makes the fighting very hard.
After getting used to the new control system I had a chance to follow the story - and a great story it is. Core made the best plot for Angel of Darkness and it totally surprised me. Kurtis Trent was great "new thing" but the controls were horrible and there was nothing that made him special - except he had lot of charisma. He is one of the only character in the world of Tomb Raider that can challenge Lara into a fight - which one we love the best!
The camera system was more or less bad but not all the time. It did quite well sometimes, except when Lara died or got too close to the wall. The controls and camera hurt the gameplay but not so much that "Laragame" wouldn't be playable. There were some difficulties to do some long jumping in the end and some minor problems in Louvre Galleries.
The Enemy A.I (like I mentioned) was bad. Actually, there weren't any. Just put the "Stealth" mode on, and they won't notice you. Yes, stealth mode is something new for Tomb Raider but bad controls, sloppy camera and non-excisting enemy A.I made an end to that one.
What would Lara be without new moves? Lara can now do hand-to-hand combat and kick some butt! But unfortuneately, this element is a poor show to run. By tapping action button once, Lara hits, by doing it twice she kicks. Where's the catch? There was no use to kick or hit them because there was barely any effect to the opponent. It was lot easier to use stealth mode and break their neks or just shoot them - and oh boy - Lara didn't forget her weapons home! There is many choices you can do when selecting a gun. All of them have different strengths and flaws. I just loved the action sequences in Louvre Galleries.
So, game play is not the best but the story, voice acting and music are. Jonell Elliot handles her role well and makes the most impressive voice acting in the history of videogames. London Symphony Orchestra has done good job and the athmopshere is great. The story and "looks" of this game was supposed to be dark but don't expect anything big from that part. The story is darker and begins with Lara finding her mentor killed and she is the one to take the credit for it. As Lara is fugitive on the run, she must find out who did it and why. She meets Kurtis Trent, who is after the Cabal Cult members, and so is Lara. Later in the game, these two make an alliance to defeat Eckhart, the man who killed Verner and framed Lara for it. Kurtis wants the man dead because he killed his father and is also the leader of the cult. Lara has to defeat the cult because they have plans for this world that she is not ready for. Eventually, this cliche story ends up being a total surpriser, Trust me, if you need a reason to buy this game, it is the story.
Core has always been great at level design and won't let you down this time either. Paris is stunningly well build and the graphics are something that makes it even better. Louvre is also one of the best parts of the game but then it gets worse. The time when Lara enters a tomb or few. I didn't wan't to go there but thank God, later I had an oppurtunity to go to Praha. That ladies and gentlemen, is a place you should go. It was just awesome.
Now, the graphics. The fix patches clears out some bugs but the graphics isn't good as should be. The lighting effects are stunning and some levels are beautifully textured and Lara looks good but it is not the graphics the game-engine should create. The graphics engine is a total mess. It demands a lot but gives little. At least Lara looks good and smooth.
Now, should you buy this game? Yes, if you don't care about few bugs, floppy gameplay and the fact that all the new elements brought to game are badly done. Tomb Raider fans should buy it but others, perhaps when it is cheaper. Anyway, I enjoyed this adventure but I admit there was lot of things so wrong and lot things so right. Lara is still cool character, the story is great and so is the music and level design. I didn't "love" it but enjoyed it for what it was. This isn't end of the Tomb Raider franchise, just one down hill. The next game is schedueled to be released summer 2005. Core was replaced by Crystal Dynamics.
8/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
