Tomb Raider: Anniversary

While the remastered edition for Tomb Raider 1-3 is out it should be noted that there was a game in the series that was the remake of the very first one. When Angel of Darkness became a failure the development of the next game in the series shifted to Crystal Dynamics. They were the studio behind the Legacy of Kain franchise. I remember how bad the second Tomb Raider movie was - the failure of Cradle of Life was attributed to Angel of Darkness according to Paramount. But the game was rushed because of the film's release date!
Crystal Dynamics had a difficult job - making a sequel that also restores faith in the franchise. Legend - the first in the trilogy - was a success. It looked better, it had an interesting story, a new voice over for Lara and rendered cutscenes were replaced by those made with the engine. Interestingly, the sequel to it (storywise) was Underworld but before that the team decided to remake the first TR game and release it under the title Anniversary.
The game looks and plays well. You look forward to key moments such as encountering the T-Rex. Some of the cutscenes have quick time events and boss battles (especially the one at the end) were reworked to make more sense or to pose a much bigger challenge. Some puzzles have also been changed (remember in this trilogy Lara can use her grapple to move around).
I had fun playing this a bit. When changing graphics in the main menu I had a crash but later on I managed to set everything as I wanted to. It's worth obtaining all relics in the game as getting our hands on more collectibles will grant Lara different outfits. These older titles are rather cheap nowadays so in case you want to put the purchase of the remastered trilogy on hold for a while you can get Anniversary just to get the feel of the classic games.

For years, when people talked about great remakes like the 2002 version of Resident Evil, I would advance Tomb Raider: Anniversary as another contender. Having replayed both the 1996 original and Anniversary this year, I retract that statement. I've played this game countless times, and am fond of it. But a great remake is one that surpasses the original. Anniversary, despite being more accessible to a newcomer, doesn't do that.
Anniversary is fairly faithful, and recreates a lot of the environments that are now as familiar to a veteran raider as the house they grew up in. It's hard to find many flaws in the first half, and having played it across the PS2, PSP and PC, I must say it looks very good on all three platforms.
Would that the second half were as enticing. My thoughts on the second half can be summed up with one sentence I spoke to my sister while she was watching me play it 13 years ago: "These games always get buggier and shittier the longer they go on, because developers aren't really expecting most people to play that far." The slippery physics result in Lara dropping off ledges she's already climbed for no reason, and she sometimes doesn't register that you want to grab a ledge, especially in the later sections with moving platforms, because they haven't moved into just the right position yet.
The combat is also downright awful, and was egregiously so on this run as I played on Hard difficulty. I highly recommend playing on Easy - there's no shame. It won't make the puzzle-platforming sections any easier, and they're the point; it'll just make the awful combat more bearable. Holy fuck, this combat. Nearly every single enemy except mice and bats force you to do this Max Payne-style dodge to get a headshot on them, and it's an unwelcome gimmick because they become invincible when they bum-rush you for it, resulting in wasted ammo and repetitive combat. Lara goes flying into the air at the slightest provocation, so when you're fighting 3 flying enemies while standing on a tiny platform, expect a lot of unwarranted deaths because this gorgeous woman can't keep her feet on the ground.
I feel the PC version is far worse than the PS2 and PSP versions, which I would rate higher. The biggest reason for this is the controls. Playing Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the PC is a handicap in itself. Despite its Steam page promising full controller support (and LAU Tomb Raider is meant to be played with a controller), this game does not have true analog control. Rather, it feels like eight directions mapped poorly to your analog stick, and the results range from irksome (coming to a standstill in combat because the game didn't register a sudden change in direction) to infuriating (falling to your death because the game thought you wanted to jump backwards rather than sideways). There also seem to be serious issues with the auto-targeting system that I've never encountered with the console versions.
Even the graphics get worse, feeling hurried in the endgame, and this is really disappointing. If this is the case, there have been more Tomb Raider games that suffered from being rushed than not. Being rushed is the constantly haunting bane of this series. I was disappointed in the designs of the last few levels. The living walls of flesh and less-defined, more-horrific enemies in the original were a lot more inspired than the generic sci-fi designs they went for in the remake. I understand their desire to convey the Atlantis aesthetic, but it doesn't have to look like Disney dictated it did.
Lastly, while the story is mostly enjoyable, the daft attempts at characterization around Lara's first murder would have been better left out. If you took two shots of vodka for every time she looks uncertain and stares at her hands in the endgame, your liver would spontaneously combust. Sometimes it's better to leave things unsaid. The 2000s were not the age of subtlety, but this is gratuitous.
Now that I'm done tearing the game to pieces, it's time to tell you that I do sincerely love it. For all its flaws, it's still a good alternative for newcomers who can't bear the outdated graphics and tank controls of the original. There's a lot of detail to it, right down the soundtrack changing based on the enemies you encounter. There are moments when the puzzle-platforming simply clicks, which is the essence of Tomb Raider: the riveting cycle of climbing and jumping and solving puzzles in a wonderfully isolated, zen-like state. But please, for the love of God, only play the PC version as a last resort, despite the fact that it goes on sale for pennies. And once you're done, consider developing Stockholm syndrome for the original like I did. It'll pay off, I promise.

The best Tomb Raider game, hands down! It has the tone, atmosphere and overall vibe of the original TR games, integrated the fluid gameplay of the TR Legend and tastefully updated visuals and then some. This game even in 2024 looks beautiful - design of Lara and the loactions she visits here, platforming, puzzles, everything is created with a dedication, passion and a lot of love and respect for the original game. Why they decided to "reinvent" the Lara Croft back in 2013 the way they did it's beyond me, especially if you consider how iconic this character and all her trademarks (outfit, guns, backpack...) are even today, almost 30 years after her introduction... same can't be said for the new "Lara".

Childhood nostalgia. The rope jumps in this one are hard to understand. I would've never finished this without a guide for that specific mechanic.
If you take out that this is an amazing puzzle game. Beautiful.

The original Tomb Raider difficulty is just brutal. Once the nostalgia goggles are taken off, no one can deny its inaccessibility. It's probably with good reason the iconic Tomb Raider moments all take place within the first level... because barely anyone actually managed to get further. Pixel perfect jumps, endless backtracking, confusing environments, vague instructions on what to do next... you get the point.
Anniversary has its flaws: the combat is borderline terrible, the colours are a little washed out... but it does some thing very special. It allows one to access and enjoy the spirit of the first game in a far more accessible format. It has aged surprisingly well, probably down to the choice of graphic style. The soundtrack is impeccable, and the environments are gorgeous. A fair bit of the original game was cut out or compressed, but to be honest, a lot of that is for the best.
Definitley worth a playthrough in 2025.

A good mix of puzzles, platforming, and action. 12 or 13 decently long levels, and after you complete the game, you can revisit levels and the game displays how many artifacts/relics were collected or missed. Time trial mode is fun too. Great artwork and graphics for 2006.

Sometimes it's hard to get Lara to perform the correct ring jumps off walls, but other than that, I think the complaints about the controls in reviews are exaggerated. Controls are very good except for the occasional ring jump that goes awry.

Got the game on sale for $0.98. Absolute steal at that price.

Also make sure you get the third party dll to play in windowed mode (if that's your bag). Made it a lot easier to stream.

Took me about 15 hours or so to complete very good game for its age lots of bugs that I had to work around but overall was enjoyable and challenged the few brain cells I have left. Shoot gorilla puzzle puzzle puzzle shoot person puzzle puzzle puzzle shoot bear puzzle puzzle puzzle