Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

I feel weird when I say that I like this game, but I can't help it, I just do. I was chomping at the bit to play it when I witnessed the preview at the end of Chronicles and bought it the very day it was released- I couldn't put it down until the credits were rolling. Sure, there were glitches, some of them game breaking, others funny, and the controls were wonky as hell (hence the two star reduction) but I pressed on regardless, and as a result I found a beautiful game (this game looks absolutely astounding on the maximum settings...real time shadows and reflections on wet surfaces and water in the year 2003? simply amazing!) with an intriguing plot, near perfect atmospherics, challenging puzzles, and the Tomb Raider gameplay that we all know and love...or maybe I just love. The biggest thing weighing this game down (aside from the aforementioned horrendously awful controls) is the fact that it is a mere fraction of what it could have been, coupled with a prematurely ended plot that will never see a conclusion or additional and much needed explicating. This game is a prime example of why a bad publisher can completely screw over a developer's efforts purely over greed and impatience. Had this game been given even just a year's worth more of development time, I doubt very seriously this game would have the current two and half star rating it holds at the moment and Core may still be developing the series to this day. To think, if this unfinished product is at the very least decent in its current form, imagine what its true form would have been like. But I suppose there's no sense in conjecturing at this point seeing as the game is nearing ten years of age, for in the end all that can be done is to look at what is provided: a game that, while not bad, could have been so much more. Perhaps my strange affinity and endurance for it is more out of pity (and the fact that I am quite the Tomb Raider fanatic) than anything else, yet I will continue to stand by it, until the end, and support this little engine that could...n't.

The game can be started by going to settings - graphics - enable VMR9. Works fine after that. No more error. Hope it helps

I'll be honest, yes i hated this game too when i first started playing it. It was too different from what i used to love and yes that paris level was just awful! The controls, the bugs blablablah!!! Until now. I recently felt nostalgic and wanted to dive into some serious retro gaming, i got so tired from all those huge modern games that offer stunning graphics and story telling but zero challenge that i bought all classic Tomb Raiders and start with the first. Right now i am halfway through Angel of Darkness and i love it! This game is a masterpiece! Highly underrated and unappreciated. It does not deserve all the negative reviews it got. But, sadly, this is a problem for most products these times. Even recent games get critized for no reason. People are much to ungrateful. It is horrible!

I'm going to say it. Angel of Darkness is a good game, bogged down with poor controls, bugs and glitches, and a half finished story. But it's good. If you download all of the patches and the fan made "fixes" the game becomes much more playable and enjoyable. The music is fantastic, the atmosphere is spot on, and this version of Lara is one of the best. She's edgy, she's tough and she's pissed off! Angel Of Darkness could have been epic, and it still is in it's own right. I do recommend this one, just get all of the fixes downloaded first and you will have a great gaming experience :)

A lot of hype was built up for The Angel of Darkness and it all came crashing down on the game. It generally feels very unfinished and the RPG elements that were put in don't exactly feel that well implemented. I had this game for the PS2 and it didn't impress me back then and it still doesn't impress me now. Avoid this one, take the ones that came before and after this let down.