We’ve lost track of how many Tomb Raider games there have been and as much as we loved the original it’s getting a little tired now. Angel of Darkness was supposed to be the game that re-invented the series with new gameplay and a darker, mature feel to the game. It isn’t though and essentially Lara is the same as she’s always been. Worth pointing out is that the game has been on sale for a few weeks now and you may have heard all sorts of terror stories about how bad it is, and how many bugs are in the game and whilst to a certain extent this may be true things have been blown out of proportion somewhat.
Despite its flaws the game is as fun and enjoyable as the Tomb Raider games have ever been and there are some superb platform and puzzle moments littered throughout the game. Add to this an interesting plot and some rather good graphics and it’s not half as bad as you’ll have been led to believe.
You have to remember what you’re dealing with here: A Lara Croft game. Lara is one of the world’s most recognisable gaming characters and as such you should expect big production values and it isn’t hard to spot where the money’s gone. The cut-scenes are great with some top voice acting and a soundtrack, which could rival that of a Hollywood movie. The graphics are good if not stunning and everything is animated well and runs smoothly.
The plot is better than normal and helps add to the atmosphere of the game in general. You start off in the suburbs of Paris on the run from the police who believe you murdered you’re former mentor. Unfortunately, Lara isn’t very sure that she didn’t and the search for the truth takes you from Paris to the Louvre to Prague and finally ends in the vast base of an underground sect. The plot moves along at a nice pace and there are some good twists and turns there but as you’d expect it ends up in the normal adventure clichés of the Knights Templar and some Bible passages.
However, just because the game has had some money put into the aesthetic sections of the game doesn’t mean that it’s going to play as good as it looks. Within a few seconds of beginning to play the game you’ll realise something is wrong. The control system is hideous and outdated, even simple things like moving across a room to pick up a chocolate bar seems to take an age. If I hadn’t had to review this game I wouldn’t have played it for longer than five minutes, which shows how bad the controls are.
Thankfully, the game eases you in rather gently and you do slowly become accustomed to the controls. The opening portion of the game is actually more like an old-school adventure game than a Tomb Raider game with a lot of walking around Paris talking to characters and learning about things rather than jumping over crates and shooting dinosaurs. The thing is as un-Tomb Raider as this may seem it really works and is one of the most enjoyable parts of the game.
Once you delve further into the game though it becomes classic Tomb Raider gameplay involving running, jumping, shooting and then dying again and again. Thankfully, there’s no limit to the amount of times you can save or frustration levels would hit the roof. True, the controls make the game almost unplayable but there are some good sections in the game such as the level set in the Louvre.
However, filling out the rest of the game are passages of gameplay, which are so tedious you wonder why they bothered. There is a boss around half way through the game that is one of the worst ever programmed and it’s blatantly obvious that the Prague levels weren’t finished, instead simply being rushed out the door regardless of what state they were in.
Apparently, there’s a new stealth mode in the game which can allow Lara to move around undetected although it’s pointless to use as the enemy AI is so banal anyway they wouldn’t notice if you were standing in front of them in a clown costume reciting passages from Othello. There’s also a supposed RPG system in place, which just doesn’t work. At one point you won’t be able to move a crate because you’re not strong enough, so you move the one next to it, which suddenly makes you stronger and allows you to move the original crate.
There is also a second character you can play as, although again, it’s practically a pointless addition as he only turns up for the last three levels and the game plays just as it did when you were controlling Lara so the only real change is a cosmetic one.
So there you have it. Yes, it’s Tomb Raider and yes it has it’s moments yet it seems that in trying to re-invent the series the developers have lost all track of what’s needed to make a good game so we’re going to tell them. For starters a game that is finished is always a good idea as Angel of Darkness is probably one of the buggiest games ever released. A game with a control system which actually allows you to control the characters would be a good idea and finally don’t bother wasting time on features which don’t work just so you can put them as bullet points on the box.
Bugged and Disappointing
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