Voltaire

User Score
8.3

Presentation - 6.0
Gameplay - 8.5
Value - 7.5

Tomb Raider Anniversary is a remake of the highly acclaimed 1996 game Tomb Raider for the Sega Saturn/PS1. Those familiar with the series will know that the shining moments of the Tomb Raider franchise are behind it, but ever since Crystal Dynamics took the series helm with TB:A prequel Tomb Raider Legends, some would call it a comeback.

The basics of the game are simple. Play through a series of levels composed of one major theme (a total of 5, including locals like the mountains of Peru, and pyramids of Egypt). The gameplay is your standard platformer, but the game has a surprising Metroid-like feel to it. Enemies are scarce, and you’ll often find yourself wandering through huge levels wondering where and what to do next.

The story in the game is not exactly stellar, and being based off a 10 year old game (at the time of creation) its has withstood the test of time. Lara is hired to search for a mysterious piece of the 'Scion', which has an unknown purpose. She must go through various ancient villages and cities to find what she’s looking for. Of course the story gets more complicated and interesting as you progress through the game, but I wouldn’t want to spoil any thing.

Tomb Raider Anniversary for Wii in comparison to other versions of the game is pretty much the same as TB:A on an system. Same great game, same decent graphics, same 15-25 hours of play(depending on skill and unlockables). What is different on Wii is the inclusion of a few new puzzles. What was simple a switch in, for example, the PS2 version, is now series of switches that must be aligned. There are variations to the puzzles, which add a little bit of fun, but in the end the Wii-exclusive content adds very little to the overall experience.

What does make the Wii version superior is the free aim shooting. In previous games, Lara’s shooting mechanics revolve around locking on, and pressing a button as fast as possible. In the Wii game, you must manually aim you weapon and fire. At first it makes things more complicated, and the reticule may seem hypersensitive, but after a while of play, youll get used to both the sensitivity and awesome-ness of the free aiming mechanics.

All in all, this is a great game and a steal for $30(USD). Just don’t go looking for a new experience in the Wii version if you’ve already played the game on a different console.