Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
LB Tomb Raider: AOD Review
LB's Tomb Raider: AOD Review
| LB Rating: |
| 7.2 |
"Tomb Raider: AOD" obviously has some major problems. Glitches and loading times are the ones which Eidos Interactive has no excuse to have not cleaned up. The Eidos team worked on the game for several years, fully knowing they were putting this game on the PlayStation 2, yet, somehow, in their nine months of delays, they couldn't debug it. The bugs are quite interesting, ranging from walking on the streets, then suddenly falling through the street into nothingness, to completely random freezes. I, honestly, had only one freeze in the entire game, but, from what I've read, I seem to have been one of the lucky ones. The fact that the game never auto-saves makes these glitches all the more detrimental. If you think you're going along just fine and haven't saved in a bit, you're going to be one pissed cookie if the game glitches on you. You learn early to save, save, save.
Warning: include_once() [function.include-once]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/lunabeanftp/public_html/sony/tomb_raider_aod_review.php on line 96
Warning: include_once(http://www.lunabean.com/includes/square_xbox.html) [function.include-once]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/lunabeanftp/public_html/sony/tomb_raider_aod_review.php on line 96
Warning: include_once() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.lunabean.com/includes/square_xbox.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/lunabeanftp/public_html/sony/tomb_raider_aod_review.php on line 96
Another bugginess issue has to
do with in-game slow downs. In certain parts of "TRAOD", the PS2 processor has problems keeping up with the game, causing the game to run in slow-mo mode. This would be more
acceptable if these slow spots were short, but they're not. If you're playing through the game for the first time and trying to figure
out what you're supposed to be doing, some of the slow spots can take up to fifteen minutes. It's incredibly annoying to have to
fight off bad guys in slow-mo and figure out your jump timing
in such a state. Particularly because the controls are so poor to begin with. Before I go into the controls, I would like to add that the many bugs have
been in the first US version of the game. Upon releasing the game in the US, Eidos delayed the game in the UK, despite the fact
that
such a move made their stocks plummet, as pushing it back moved the game from the Eidos fiscal year and dramatically lowered Eidos' earnings reports.
This says to most of us that they got word that they had some major problems which could hinder game sales and they needed the time to rework it. I just
hope that's true, and Eidos will put out another version for the US at a later date. Now for the controls.
The controls are tough, and can't be changed. Jumps require intricate timing between pushing forward on the control stick, hitting the "O" button to jump, then smacking the "X" button to grab at the exact right moment. The learning curve on this technique is large, and you will find that jumping and missing your mark will be the #1 reason for your demise over and over and over again. Other than the jump, the controls do make sense and are comfortable.
Cameras, graphics and sound are all elements which aren't outstanding, but don't hurt the game at all. The cameras are fine, but will give you occasional blind spots (and seem to be the cause of some freezes), the graphics are good, but if you're a gamer, you've seen them before, and you've seen better. As for sound, well, we readily admit we aren't good sound critics. It did the job, but I was never in awe of the sound.
Why then? Why with all of these major problems and "meh" issues did we both give this game a thumbs up? Because you get past the tough parts and the glitches and the frustration. And, when you do, you're left with a great puzzle solving game with a great story to back it up. Lara is accused of killing her mentor early on, putting her on the run from the get go. She needs to find the true murderer, which leads her to a dark underground world run by a spiritual mafia in both Paris and Prague. Perhaps I got really into the story as I just completed reading Dan Brown's "The Di Vinci Code", and I found myself in the same locales, with the same mysterious messages from the Knights Templar, but this time, I got to interact with it. Either way, I enjoyed the story, and I think anyone who takes the time out to get past the aggrivation of the game will come to enjoy it, too.
-Allison
**This page, along with all pages at Lunabean.com, is copyrighted. You may not reproduce any portion of this page anywhere without the express written consent of Lunabean, LLC.
***Purchase required to print any portion of this guide.