Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness

Additional Screenshots

Yet again, Lara Croft has set out on another one of her adventures. In this Tomb Raider title, Lara must solve the mystery of the murder of her former mentor, Werner von Croy. Authorities blame Lara for the murder, and even she is not sure if she is guilty or not. “All I heard was gunshots,” she claimed. Ok, there Lara, let's take it easy…

Do I Need More Lara?

The newest installment in the Tomb Raider series has a few faults, yet also a few good aspects. In the end, your decision of whether to buy it or not will just be “Haven't I had enough of Lara for one lifetime?” Well maybe you can't get enough of Lara. And maybe that's why you are still reading this review. You would probably like me to talk more about the game now wouldn't you? Ok then…

Awkward Controls are Horrible

I would like to start off by talking about the controls. If you are using the default controls, you may notice something: they suck. It is very hard to control Lara using the keyboard and no mouse. If you try to use the mouse, it is way to hard. You can always remap the controls, but you will never find a proper setup. Using a gaming controller accessory may help, (think TacticalBoard or ideazon keysets) but without one of these, prepare to suffer.

Tight Situations are Hard with the Camera Angle

That said, I will talk about another awkward feature of Tomb Raider. The camera angle. Ok, so it's a 3rd person action game… no biggie. The actual 3rd person camera is not so bad. But when you are in tight situations (which you will be in a lot) you are going to need to see behind everything just the way you want it. In most FPS games, this is accomplished using the mouse. In Tomb Raider, you cannot do this. Instead, you must position Lara so you can see from the angle you want to. This can get extremely annoying… especially when you are one step away from falling off a building and you need to get a sense of where you are.

Great Graphics

Graphics. Yes, graphics. Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness has very good graphics. Believe it or not, this is probably one of the best things about the new Tomb Raider game. You will travel all over in detailed, interesting, and colorful environments. There are tons of new maps, levels, scenery, and environmental factors to toy around with. While in Paris, I was amazed at the detail of the city streets, sidewalks, and even how each store looked different. When I went inside the pawnshop, I was surprised at how good the shadows and the light shining through the creaks in the blinds looked. In all the different Tomb Raider missions, you will take notice at these wonderful graphical features.

A Variety of Missions

Another good thing about the Angel of Darkness is the mission variety. Believe it or not, there is actually a variation in your missions, and you will be in different places doing different things each time. Maybe I should restate that. For every mission, you are doing the same basic jump over things, find random objects, and get past your run-of-the-mill enemy. But it is all in different locations, and different environmental factors will be in play.

NPC's and Enemy AI

I liked how in some missions, I was able to choose what I said to the NPC's. When I visited Margot Carvier, I was able to choose whether to be nice to her or whether to be… not so nice. At first I didn't realize I had choices, but the second time I tried the mission, I understood there were choices on things to say. The NPC's were scattered well throughout the game, and they ended up helping me a lot in my missions. As for enemy AI, most of the times, they would react to everything I did. If I shot at them they would shoot back, and if they spotted me, they would usually react.

Overall

There is no multiplayer in Tomb Raider, which I thought was really stupid. We have had enough of single player… give us some multiplayer! However, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness is still an interesting game. It has its good points, but for the most part isn't anything too special. For the diehard Tomb Raider fans, you will probably enjoy the new maps and graphics. For anybody else, think twice before buying.