Review: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary game

A decade ago a young, smiling politician was kick-starting the New Labour movement, The Spice Girls were storming the charts and a revolutionary new computer game brought us Lara Croft.

Tomb Raider's infamous protagonist became as famous as most film stars. In fact, she became a film star.

But as the duff movie sequels piled up, it seemed she’d go the way of Tony Blair or Scary Spice, until last year’s Legend title brought her back from the dead. Some cynics felt it was merely one last hurrah, but Anniversary proves that Ms Croft is going to be around for some time yet.

This latest outing is, essentially, a remix of the original Tomb Raider, which still has an army of fans that feel its classic gameplay hasn’t really been topped. But it’s not the same old fare; this time boasting better graphics and puzzles, locations and action all ramped up several notches.

Maps feel broader and less linear than before, and there are fewer encounters where you have to re-attempt a particular finicky leap until you get Lara’s fingers on the right cliff-edge pixel. More items are interactive and, overall, it’s an overwhelming and thoroughly entertaining game.

Play length is still an issue - some things never change - but we found ourselves returning to certain levels, picking up on things we missed the first time round. And like the first title, Lara goes it alone, avoiding the team sections that plagued some of the other editions.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider Anniversary uses the same excellent graphics as Legend, making it look wonderful. The mix of nostalgic familiarity and jaw-dropping new backdrops make it a treat to play through while the baddies are much bigger.

The camera and animation is smooth, panning around the epic locales, and Lara’s scantily clad figure. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if certain lads mags feature Ms Croft as a cover star soon, for the developer has really gone to town in making her as voluptuous as possible.

While the past few Tomb Raider incarnations had strong visual flourishes and many narrative twists, they never really delivered. Legend felt like the Tomb Raider title we’d been waiting for since the first game and Anniversary is even better, which, hopefully, bodes well for many more thrilling titles to come.

Vista compatible: Yes