Tomb Raider: Anniversary

The Tomb Raider Legend engine gets serious polish to make the joy of exploring lost ruins and sleuthing arounddeath traps (or experiencing them, which is just as fun) to a modern audience that is used for WASD + Mouse movement. It's not the most accessible experience though, as the run and gun combat requires you to get good with the dodging button mechanic (you can't "jump away" to dodge despite them using similiar-looking animations) and the puzzle bosses being absolutely brutal with their demands in execution, thinking and finesse. Ironically the final boss is not even the hardest one. This is made worse by the fact the pistols are no longer automatic (you have to click every shot) and there's a ton of quick time events. Thankfully PCGamingWiki once again tells mods that solve these issues and if you find yourself getting too frustrated you can always use the TRAE-Menu-Hook to get a good look around the level, slow down the game's pace or even just noclip past some parts you find too frustrating. You play games to feel good, not to prove something to people on the internet...right? Lara couldn't have looked any better though, to the point some may say she looks too great for the game to be taken as one. There are unlockable outfits for the hardcore gamers if you find the default sleeveless she uses too distracting, or once again just use the menu-hook.

Great game, but there is a graphical glitch at Obelisk of Khamoon and I literally cannot progress the game. I saw some tutorials online and they don't have that. I'll check up on it again in the future but I won't hold my breath.

Disappointed. It's not a "bad" game, per se, but it certainly didn't leave a good after-taste, either. Some notable negatives: - occasional frustrating camera angles and aim-locks - confusing and frustrating wall-jump logic (potentially due to the camera angle) - save file issues with the Croft manor The bad wall-jump logic was especially frustrating, as many of the puzzles depended on it, and failing to do it properly often resulted in death, or a lengthy re-route. Better than the original? Sure. Good enough that I'll want to play it again? Certainly not. I'll toss it to the pile "been there, done that".

It would be fun if it werent for the bugs. The enemies are especially annoying, as they spend more time stuck in corners than they do attacking you. It's funny the first couple of times it happens with minor enemies, but then a boss does the same thing, and it just gets tedious.

Although Anniversary doesn't quite reach the heights of the original Tomb Raider it's a beautiful and engaging adventure throughout. Occaisionally glitchy controls hold the game back a bit and some of the corridor sections are a chore. But it's surprising how much of an enjoyable challenge the game is, it really doesn't hold your hand and it's all the better for it. The best way to experience Lara's first adventure is Tomb Raider Remastered by Aspyr but Anniversary is definitely a fresh take worth experiencing.