Has it BEEN 10 years?
Its been 10 years yes, since the original TR on PS and PC took over the gaming genre of a sexy, athletic, smart, charming, and tough Lara Croft heroine in a 3rd Person/Action/Adventure category. Fast forward to today, and you will get a completely new game, with a tweaked Legends engine, expansive cities to explore, some old and some new elements added into the game, and more..... Except.....Lara remains mostly unchanged.
For my thoughts, I really liked how they designed new puzzles, redesigned the levels, and basically made everything fresh and new again while keeping to the formula that worked in Legends and in the Original TR. I like how controlling her is slightly improved than in Legends, and more fluid so its not frustrating anymore (think AOD). The one cool ability I like is the wall run.....but its funny how if you look at it, she is able to do that move "10 years ago: Anniversary", but not in Legends: 10 years later. I sort of wished they would release Legends after Anniversary but oh well.
The levels are huge IMO. Much larger than before, I kept looking at the level of detail they put in and Im shocked. The lighting, textures, modelling is simple enough, but they look quite realistic and believable. I didnt get why they dont have a "Next-Gen Settings" option, but nevetheless....Im pleased with how the game looks and feels. The AI isnt overly challenging, but this game was never about the enemies. Its about exploring and puzzles and that alone, I wont mind replaying again and again. The sound, music, and FX is well done, nothing to complain there.
Aside from many aspects that you wont be disappointed with, some of the things I didnt like was the firing of the Pistols. I need to keep tapping on the mouse button and I cant hold it down instead to keep firing. The graphical settings options do not provide much control for tweaking (also the lack of Next-Gen). Sometimes the ragdoll is just laughable. The enemy at times would keep running against a wall if Lara is right above it on a ledge. The gunfights can be annoying at times due to the camera position and Lara blocking your view, ...but this IS a 3rd person game so it happens. Overall, my complaints are not really complaints, but mostly me being picky at things. What prevented TR:A from being even better is the lack of user control for the system settings, Lara doesnt look at beautiful as in the cover art =P.....kinda looks less sexy than Legends, occasional minor glitches or bugs, awkward camera angles at times, the lack of interactivity of the Butler in the Manor(at least make him talk to Lara or walk around the mansion or some background action). If you have 30cdn bux to use on a game, get this. We didnt get a collector's edition or a Lara collectible, but the more I play this game, the more I am glad that they made it affordable and attractive for both veteran and new players. Thanks Crystal Dynamics and Eidos for saving this franchise!