It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update, but I recently had the pleasure of playing Tomb Raider: Anniversary. I’ve been meaning to check out the latest titles in the series, but I wanted to complete the ones in my library in order, starting with the oldest one first. (I know that the story in this one isn’t relevant to the more recent ones, but that’s just how I roll.) :P
I never played the original, but this remake still holds up well today. The graphics certainly aren’t cutting edge since the game’s now 11 years old, but they’re fine for this type of puzzle platformer, and I enjoyed exploring the different environments. I did encounter a bug in one of the boss fights, the camera position occasionally wasn’t ideal, and some of the timed platforming sections could be challenging/tricky/frustrating due to the controls, but all in all, it was fun to experience the face-lifted origin of such an iconic series.
Technical note for anyone intending to play this: I needed to disable Fullscreen Effects on my system to avoid some awkward motion blur, and needed to enable v-sync or else Lara’s ponytail would randomly stretch out behind her for miles. :P
I have such a hard time pushing myself to play these games, despite owning several and wanting to give ‘em a go. I guess I’m just not convinced I’ll love it, even though I enjoyed similar games as a kid and like puzzle platformers. Basically what you said, it seems like it could quickly become frustrating/tedious. That’s awesome that you had fun though! Glad you didn’t encounter too many issues either, hope you enjoy the rest of the series even more. :) And I’ll keep those settings in mind whenever I get around to playing, appreciate it.
Most of the platforming was straightforward and intuitive, so the game as a whole wasn’t frustrating, but there were just a couple of challenging spots that required very precise platforming in order to beat an in-game timer, and took me multiple attempts to succeed.
I like that your minor complaints, “the camera position occasionally wasn’t ideal, and some of the timed platforming sections could be challenging/tricky/frustrating due to the controls” are exactly the same sort of issues that I remember having with the original Tomb Raider game! Nostalgia in a remake achieved! :)
Haha! Well, I guess you can’t fault them for staying true to the original. ;)
The camera was fine for me for the most part, but on rare occasion it would get slightly wonky during combat, or I’d find myself on a ledge and wouldn’t be able to pan enough to see behind me, so I’d have to take a leap of faith, hoping that I’d be able to grab onto something. :P
else Lara’s ponytail would randomly stretch out behind her for miles. :P
And yet no screenshots :O
D’oh! Sorry, no screenshots, but you can see some examples in this clip. With v-sync turned off, that ponytail seemed to have a mind of its own. :P
Tomb Raider Anniversary Hair Glitch
I never finished this one, but I played some of it a few years ago and really loved it. I thought the levels were beautifully designed for the most part, interesting and challenging and fluid.
Yeah, the level design was great and figuring out how to get from one place to another was sometimes a puzzle in itself. Hmm, if I can climb up to that ledge, then I’d be able to swing from that pole and tether onto that hook and…