We all have those games that we miss the first time around. With the busy release schedule of modern gaming, no one has time to play everything. That is why we at WingDamage present to you “Fashionably Late Reviews“. This is our series on games from the current generation of consoles that we may have missed on their initial release, but have gone back to experience now.

For me, playing Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the PSP was a lot like coming home. Unfortunately, it was a lot like coming home to find out that your bedroom has been converted into your parents gymnasium.

When I was 12 or so, my uncle gave me a Playstation and three games: Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider 2 and Test Drive: Offroad. I think to date, I’ve finished the first two Tomb Raider games at least six times. So when I picked up Anniversary on sale for the PSP, all I could imagine was pure win. And truth be told, there are a lot of really amazing things about this game. The graphics are beautiful, the sound is clear and I never cease to be amazed at how clean everything looks, even on a hand-held.

For those unfamiliar with the series, my first question is: Where have you been for the last ten years? The adventurer Lara Croft has been an icon of the gaming industry for a long time; her long, dark braid, red glasses and unrealistic physical proportions are recognizable to just about anyone who didn’t start their gaming career with an XBox.

The series’ recognition has declined in recent years, first due to the vomit-inducing “Angel of Darkness” installment, and then a licensing battle which put it on the back shelf for a while. Only very recently has a brand new Tomb Raider game (Underworld) been released.

Tomb Raider is an action platformer in the most classic sense. As Lara, you explore tombs, pyramids and a variety of other environments, many requiring puzzle solving and working out how to get to Point B from Point A using a clever combination of running, jumping, grabbing onto a ledge and shimmying around the head of a Sphinx.

Pretty awesome, right? Anniversary is a remake of the original Tomb Raider, but it is more than just a “prettification” of the graphics. Lara’s house is now much more interactive as a kind of mini-game and there are entirely new moves Lara can perform that weren’t possible with the original game. The transition from controller to PSP is fairly fluid, for the most part. Though it took me a bit longer to figure out what the D-pad was for (it is used for sniping, using items, etc.) than I would have liked.

The instant I worked out my first puzzle, I was so thrilled, all the nostalgic memories and joy I got out of playing the game was right there at my fingertips. As such, I would definitely say anyone who loved the original series should give this a shot, but with a very strong disclaimer.

For a game that is very dependent on timed jumps done at the right angle…the camera is less than ideal, and the controls are quite clunky. As someone accustomed to the original controls, I attempted to walk up to a ledge, tap backwards and then make a running leap to what appeared to be the ledge I needed to reach. Several factors got in the way of this being successful.

First, to “walk” you’re supposed to gently push the toggle stick, but on the PSP, it is really difficult to find the right amount of pressure. So instead, Lara runs off the end of the ledge she’s on and I have to try again. Luckily, an addition to this game is that she turns and grabs the ledge so she doesn’t crunch like a ragdoll.

Secondly, there is no ‘tap backwards to hop back’, so the entire rhythm is thrown off.

Third, the camera pans, zooms and holds at extremely awkward places, making it difficult to always know where and when to jump. Climbing up boxes and ledges takes much longer than it should because it’s so easy to get turned around and then be forced to stop and re-approach. While not a deal breaker, it DOES slow down gameplay.

Finally, there is the problem that is dark environments. Mixed with a frequently glaring screen, added to a not perfectly rendered depth-issue, which leads to Lara running, leaping and grabbing… nothing, because what I was reaching for was much farther away than I thought.

Despite these gameplay set backs, Tomb Raider: Anniversary is extremely fun. The puzzles are challenging but not so difficult as to be truly frustrating, and the acrobatic feats Lara performs makes you feel like you “pwn” at life. Once you’ve picked up the groove and worked around the camera and controls, the game really picks up, and for the most part, the benefits and fun of playing outweighs the difficulty and frustration.

All of this is to say: Tomb Raider is emerging again as a successful, fan-making series and in many ways, this reboot does justice to the spirit of what got us all hooked on it to begin with. Although new players may be put off by the awkward controls and camera issues, I would strongly suggest long-time fans to pick it up and give it a shot, because it will bring new hours of fun at the same time taking you back to “the good, ol’ days”.

Tags: adventure, Fashionably Late Reviews, Lara Croft, platformer, psp, Tomb Raider

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 9:33 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.