A very wise and poetic bard once sang that “the waiting is the hardest part.”  As a die hard gamer and a fan of the adventures of one tomb raiding English lady named Lara Croft, I patiently awaited--along with a slew of likeminded fans--the arrival of the latest Tomb Raider game only to watch it get delayed over and over and over again.  Well, the waiting is finally over and Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is here.  Yet the question on everyone’s mind is this: Is this game all that we’d hoped, dreamed, and wished it would be? 

Much has been revealed during the long waiting period and, thanks to all the hype that built around it, we’ve heard the rumors that the game would be quite a departure from the past Tomb Raider games and this prospect alone was reason for fans to rejoice its coming.  The second big news was that we would also get to control another character new to Tomb Raider universe as well as a darker tone story-wise.  All of these things--and more--are all true, loyal readers.

The story places Lara Croft in a most gruesome situation.  It seems that during a heated argument with her mentor, Professor Werner Von Croy, the lights go off only to come back on to reveal that Von Croy has been brutally murdered.  Lara soon finds herself as the chief suspect of the murder and she goes out to solve the mystery behind Von Croy’s murder as well as his dealing with an unsavory character named Eckhardt that had hired the old timer to look into the Obscura paintings.  These painting have some mystical dark power that, in the wrong hands, could spell disaster so it’s up to Lara to clear her name and stop Eckhardt and his secret organization.

With an excellently dark story, Lara’s adventure seems like a good one and it is . . . until the controls get in the way.   In the beginning of the game, Lara takes you through a tutorial where she explains how to do everything from climb ladders or shimmy from the ledge of a rooftop to a safety.  Yet its clear from the very start that moving her around is a nasty chore since the control scheme for turning is just plain awkward (despite the fact that you have three control setup choices).  Even despite the fact that the L1 button can be used to walk, you will find that it doesn’t often work to your advantage.

In fact, a lot of things certainly don’t work to your advantage in this game.  There are many moments in the game where you are asked to jump from one narrow ledge to another only to die because you mistimed your jump.  Luckily you can save the game at any point and gamers will be wise to do so since dying is what you do a lot of in this game.  Those gamers that remember both Tomb Raider III and Tomb Raider: Chronicles will have bad flashbacks of those moments where gamers had to suffer through impossible maze-like underwater caverns or attempting to monkey swing successfully.

While this aspect of the game is bad, it doesn’t compare to the enemy AI.  Enemies respond to Lara’s presence unintelligently.  How dumb are they, you might ask?  When you start shooting at guards, instead of taking the logical step of hiding behind something, they wait till you stop firing to run straight at you.  Making short work of these enemies is laughably easy and the same can be said about the boss fights.  Beating monstrous bosses is just a question of trial and error and remembering their attack patterns.

With so much wrong with this game, fans are wondering if there is anything good about Angel of Darkness.  Its great features, sadly, are overshadowed by the awful features but what is good here is done well enough.  For those familiar with the last game, Lara’s moves are not at all that different from previous games--until the stealth moves are used.  Lara sticks to the wall and takes a peek around corners just like Solid Snake and she can even sneak up behind an enemy, grab him by the neck and either pummel him or break his neck.  If you’re worried about hiding the bodies Metal Gear Solid style, don’t be.  The enemies unrealistically blink until they just vanish into thin air.

Unfortunately, due to the bad controls and uneventful battles, gamers will probably not stick with the game long enough to appreciate its finer points.  Lara’s interactions with the environment and people changed enough that now you have dialogue choices.  Jump enough and shimmy across many ledges strengthens Lara’s grip meter and jumping ability (she’ll tell you when this happens).  And joining her is new character Kurtis Trent.  Kurtis’ appearance adds new depth to the Tomb Raider game enough that taking control of him will remind you of early Resident Evil games.  Not to give too much away or explain why he’s there in the first place (it’ll ruin the game’s plot), he’s a mysterious guy with psychic powers and an unusual bladed weapon.

Graphics-wise, the game hardly breaks any new barriers but it is done admirably well enough.  Lara finds herself in many locations throughout Europe as well as some interesting buildings that take Croft away from the tombs she’s famous for raiding.  Lara does look good, but hardly what you would call taking advantage of the PS2’s sharper visual qualities.  Still, there are some annoying clipping issues as well as moments where the game goes into slow motion for no apparent reason.  To make things worse, the camera plays a hand at concealing items and certain ledges.

The masterful score just makes the game feel truly cinematic thanks to the London Symphony Orchestra and the amazing composer talents found here.  Why the high praise?  The game’s soundtrack intermingles with each situation Lara encounters or when the cinematic cut scenes reveal something new and all of this is done seamlessly.  Add some great voice acting that does justice to attractive Miss Croft and grungy Kurtis as well as plenty of detailed sound effects and you have sound worthy of a good sound system hooked up to your console.

Despite all the wonderful hype the game received, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness doesn’t measure up to what it was meant to be--a fun and unique Tomb Raider experience.  There are just too many glitches that get in the way of the game’s cinematic story and wondrous environments that place Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent in the thick of some interesting developments.  If you’re able to look past all of these problems, this game makes for a very worthwhile weekend rental.  

Gameplay: 5.0
Sure Lara has some refreshingly new moves mixed in with some of her classic moves, but the control scheme is just too painfully complicated and awkward--just getting her to turn around to face a ledge is a burdensome feat!  There are also many times when Lara has to carefully maneuver through some narrow ledges and catwalks and you’ll be thanking your lucky stars for the walk button.

Her newest moves, such as her Solid Snake-like ability to stick to walls, catching a peek or grabbing unsuspecting enemies by the neck have been done before so many times that it really doesn’t work as well as it should for a Tomb Raider game.  What does work, though, is the secondary character Kurtis Trent.  Not only is he unique--psychic abilities and that neat bladed weapon.

Graphics: 7.5
Visually, Angel of Darkness is really quite beautiful and would have been gorgeous had it not been for the obvious clipping, simplistic character design and other blemishes.  Watching an enemy clip through a wall or watch Lara climb on an invisible segment of a rope or ladder doesn’t do wonders for the realism factor--even more so when dead enemies simply blink continuously until they vanish.  And while the game runs smoothly for the most part, there are moments when the game goes into slow motion for a few seconds.

Yet all is not bad and there is still so much else to admire here.  For one thing, the exotic locations look amazing whether you’re in France of Prague and all the wonderful details surrounding your character does make you feel like you’re playing something wonderfully new.  Lara’s appearance has changed throughout the game and more so in this one (Angelina Jolie she’s not, but she’s still a hot curvy momma), but her design could have been a lot less cartoon-like.

Sound: 8.5
The soundtrack is what breathes cinematic life into Angel of Darkness and this score fits the somber mood of this darker Tomb Raider game perfectly.  I’m a real fan of a game that fluidly weaves the score with the situation and gamers will find that the music changes seamlessly throughout the game.  To compliment the score, the sound effects in this game are nicely done too and, thanks to the Dolby Pro Logic II support, the game sounds even more amazing with a good stereo sound system hooked up.  There is even great voice acting work, especially from the actors that voice both Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent.

Difficulty: Hard
Thanks to the horrible controls, your biggest challenge is keeping Lara from accidentally falling off rooftops or running straight into the enemy while all you wanted to do was catch a peek of them around a corner.  You’ll be faced with a number of enemies--both human and supernatural--but neither one really poses too much of a threat because the enemy AI isn’t all that bright to begin with and Lara is a pretty accurate shooter.  The things that will kill you more than well-armed guards are wide gaps and areas that require you to time your jumps.  Thankfully you can save as many times as you want.

Concept: 7.5
Gamers will be quick to notice that although the game looks completely different and our curvaceous hero has a number of new tricks up her sleeve, Lara’s old moves are cheerfully present to remind gamers of Tomb Raider’s humble beginnings.  Yet what stands out among the new Solid Snake stealth moves and tomb-less areas is taking control of the new character, Kurtis Trent.  Kurtis adds a little more variety to the game, a welcome change for sure in this particular series.  Lara also goes through some changes, improving everything from her strength to her ability to jump just a bit higher. 

Overall: 6.2
For a game that was delayed for as long as it had been, The Angel of Darkness has too many problems that get in the way of the fun.  This is highly unfortunate since there is so much to really love about this newly revamped Lara Croft adventure.  If you’re able to overlook the awful controls, the unintelligent enemy AI and shifty camera, the game’s great story and fantastic locations will draw you in every step of the way.  Perhaps the brilliant folks at Eidos Interactive and Core Design will rectify all of these problems for the next chapter.