not the best game I have ever played

Author's Rating:

Pros: ?

Cons: a lot

The Bottom Line: 
Stay away from this one

Author's Review
Video Game Review: Tomb Raider: the Angel of Darkness for the PS2

Tomb Raider: the Angel of Darkness was-like all Tomb Raider Games-created by Eidos Interactive and Core Design. The copy of Tomb Raider that I am reviewing here is for the PS2, but other versions exist, including a PC version. All of the Tomb Raider games are action/adventure games, my favorite to play. This game is about Laura Croft, the heroine of all of the Tomb Raider games. She has been accused of murdering her mentor, the Professor Werner Von Croy. The real killer (the monstrum) is on the loose, and Laura must find out why Von Croy was killed and stop the killer from killing again.

The graphics of this game are decent, but could be better throughout most of the game. The edges of everything that is not perfectly straight are pixilated and the whole game is of a low-resolution compared to most of the games I have from the same time. Many different round things like the pipes that Laura has to climb are actually hexagonal or octagonal. In addition to the pixilation problem, there were times when Laura got close to a wall and I could see into the next room or see nothing but black and the room’s structure from the outside (which looks really weird). There was even one time when I saw blue skies and clouds, in a level where you are never outside. I have found and am used to this problem in PS1 games, but not so much in PS2 games. The only thing I found good about the graphics was that at least nothing disappeared or became see-through (as long as you are not counting the wall problem).

The only times I had any problem with the sound of this game were a few times when Laura fell to her death and she did not scream like she was supposed to (which was fine by me, I think those screams are disturbing-especially when I was killed over and over again in attempts to get past certain very difficult areas). Other than that, I had no problems with the sound. Every gunshot rang clearly, gas had the sound you would expect, the undead soldiers (skeletons that cannot be killed, the only way to get rid of them is to push them off a cliff) made sounds like drawing of swords, and more.

Laura’s movement could be a problem at times. I could make the exact same moves over and over again, then when I really needed them, they would not work (this may be my own fault, I am a really inconsistent player). The worst thing about Laura’s movements was the movements she would make when her weapon was out and there was an enemy nearby. She always points at enemies nearby and sometimes through walls (this can be good, especially when you need to know where the enemy is). Most of the time, this pointing at the enemies makes Laura dance around as if she is drunk. When you are trying to get away from an enemy, this is bad, because you invariably move slower than the enemy does. The worst time this caused a problem, I had to take out a gas tank, which made a roll of wire start rolling and clears part of my way down the hallway. Right after that, you have to take out a guard. However, for some reason, Laura keeps pointing where the tank was after it was blown, which means that she was an easy target for the guard.

Another weird thing about the game play was the buttons. In most Playstation games (one included), X is the universal button for jump in an action/adventure game. Square and circle are usually shoot or hit. In all of the Tomb Raider games, X is shoot (when you hold a weapon), action (when you can pick up or move items), and kick punch (when you are next to an enemy with no weapon in your hand). Circle and square are different versions of jumping. For me, this has created a problem, because I keep shooting when I mean to jump.

One good thing is the ability to save. You can save whenever you feel like it, so I always save after any difficult area. In addition, about half of the time when you reload, the game shows you at full health, which is very good for saving your health packs. The same goes for the breath meter when you are underwater. Save and reload right before you run out of air, and you have a full breath meter again.

I cannot see any reason to play Tomb raider: the Angel of Darkness a second time through. You have to do just about everything to get through the game the first time (at a few points, you can make a decision as to which route you want to choose, but you get to the same place anyway), so there is really no reason to go through it all again, unless you want to try to go through more quickly.

Overall, the game is a decent one, but it could be a lot better. Most of the Tomb Raider games could be better that they are. I still wonder how they became so popular.