The story of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness might be one of the heartbreaking in videogame history, although I don't think many people see it that way. It saddens me to see something so set up for success, so fresh in an aging series in serious need of a facelift, end up like the final product that we have today, which remains the lowest rated main entry in the series thus far. Angel of Darkness was in development hell for 3 years, and Core Design wanted Angel of Darkness to be different. They wanted it to compete with other successful titles such as Metal Gear Solid 2. Eidos wanted the game rushed to the market in order to make sales. And unfortunately, they got what they wanted: Angel of Darkness was commercially successful, but a buggy, broken, unfinished mess.

This is why it's such a shame that Angel of Darkness ended up like it did. There's evidence everywhere that this game is unfinished. Every addition to the game feels half-assed. There's elements like sneaking which you never have to use at all, ever. You can just as easily run up to guards and shoot them in the face. Taking out guards in sneaking mode requires them to be still and you behind them, and most of the time they're mobile so there's just no point. Hand-to-hand combat is again, more trouble than it's worth. Sprinting moves you faster but serves no purpose at all, unlike in previous entries. The infamous RPG elements in which Lara gets stronger by pushing boxes or kicking open doors could easily be removed entirely, and replaced with keys and switches. Collecting valuables and items to sell and purchase weapons and the like only appears once in the game, at the start, so for the rest of the game you're carrying around useless artifacts like rare records and vintage wine. Combat is also quite poor, and hampered further by the controls, which I'll cover in an entirely seperate paragraph.

Tank controls usually refers to a control method in which the player character moves forwards and backwards by pressing up and down, and turning by pressing left and right. Here, it seems that tank controls has been taken too literally, as Lara now has to accelerate from a snail's pace walk into a jog, and by the time you've started jogging, she sluggishly pulls to a halt and stands still for a couple of seconds. Vaulting objects and ladders simply requires Lara to stop next to them and press forward. Most of the time the game understands what you're doing, but other times Lara will just do a 180, vault over a railing and fall to her death. Vaulting from a crawling position back to standing (ie, crawling out from a vent) requires you to hold down walk and forward, which took me ages to figure out because it just made no sense. Looking requires you to be still and holding down the Sprint button. Combat changes the control system from tank into generally three dimensional movement, but your character will flail about like a moron, and the sudden change from tank to free movement generally means you'll run straight into your adversary and take unnecessary damage.

Let's not forget the bane of all banes in this game: the bugs. Lara will fall through solid surfaces, fail to grab onto ledges, will run forward diagonally in aiming mode if you press left or right, bump into ledges that lead to her inevitable death, manage to hang from a ledge from a standing position, but then not be able to get back up, and can run faster sideways on stairs than she can on a flat surface. Quicksaving works the majority of the time, but don't rely on it too much, especially in the final boss battle. The game will crash in some levels depending on what video settings you're using. Textures clip through each other, the camera clips through pretty much everying, halls of mirrors appear on just about every level, unfinished 3D objects only look right from one angle, cutscenes will play music but sometimes not sound or dialogue, items will randomly multiply in your inventory (I had 28 Periapt Shards at one point, even though there's only 3 in the game and they're key items), scripted encounters sometimes fail to spawn (the Cleaner proves irritating to most unlucky users, but thankfully I didn't run into this) and countless other bugs make their unwanted appearance. The Steam overlay freezes the game and alt-tabbing doesn't work most of the time. It's such a damn shame, because despite all the quirks, the engine is actually pretty solid, and with just even an extra month of time to work out the kinks, it could've been far better.

So what's good about this game? Thankfully, there's just as many good things as there are hideously broken things. It's aesthetically pleasing on all fronts. Environments and textures are incredibly detailed and far more believable than the previous five games. Character models could do with a bit more work, but they still look great. There's tons of graphical tweaks in the game's launcher, meaning that this game can look far better than its PS2 counterpart. The soundtrack is awesome, and the best in the series since the first. But by far the best thing is the plot. It's very well executed and genuinely emotional. Lara's transformation into a more cynical, badass and resilient heroine is a welcomed change to the one dimensional Lara from the previous games. In fact, the whole style of the game has undergone this change. Gone are the days of "wow this item is legendary artifact I must go to interesting country #4 and retrieve it to stop hackneyed villain #56 from using it for their own ends", and in its place is a muder mystery, horror-themed dark trek through Europe's criminal underworld and a cult who uses it as a front for their own plans. It's engaging and definitely the high point of the game, even if a lot of it was cut for the final release. Secondary characters have a lot of depth and you actually care about them.

And the gameplay itself isn't that bad, once you get used to it. You learn to control Lara soon enough, even if it is a hassle. You still raid tombs, however scarce they are, the puzzles are pretty good, the environments are varied and refreshing (again, a lot of these were cut), and at least it's something different from fatigue that's set in after five years of the same thing. Dealing with the bugs becomes just another enemy to deal with, and the game still works. Just think of it as a beta! With all the crappy Early Access games flooding Steam nowadays, you can easily just imagine that Angel of Darkness is simply another one that will never be finished!

I'm going to end my review by saying that this game was worth it in the end. It made me sad to think of what it could've been had Eidos not been greedy bastards and rushed it. It basically spelled the end of Core Design, of which the CEO resigned after the poor critical reception, and the company itself only released further disappointing casual games until its demise in 2007. It spelled the end of the first era of Tomb Raider. Crystal Dynamics took over and rewarded us with Legend, Anniversary, Underworld and 2013, all of which were critically and commercially successful. Finally, here's a Eurogamer article detailing more about the depressing story of Angel of Darkness, and the awesome community efforts being made to transform it into the game it deserved to be.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-10-12-the-fans-who-would-fix-tomb-raiders-most-broken-adventure

3/5

Atmosphere. It’s not the sluggish controls, or the missing textures, or the plot inconsistencies, or Lara’s hilarious death cry that make this half-baked mess worth revisiting. It’s a game world in which everything you see and hear oozes with the atmosphere of a film noir. It’s a game world that rivals Shadow of the Colossus in its loneliness, Max Payne in its bleakness, and Resident Evil in its sense of growing dread. It’s a place we never thought we’d see Lara go, and a place we’ll never see her go again.

From the onset, we’re plunged into the seedy urban backdrop of Paris, and immediately it feels foreign, alien - there is no Eiffel tower in the distance, no idyllic boulevards, nothing to imply any sense of comfort or hospitality. Instead we explore back alleys with barking dogs chained to the walls, rain falling on dumpsters that need emptying, drainpipes running along decrepit buildings that at a glance might resemble an ancient tomb.

In The Angel of Darkness, the exotic has not been replaced with the urban - the exotic has been replaced with the decaying and the abandoned. In this respect, the locales featured in the game are more similar to previous instalments than first assumed, and they retain the same sense of danger and peril, cranked up to eleven.

This is partly because of an engrossing story that sees Lara accused of a crime she cannot recall committing. She’s on her own, stalked by police determined to bring someone, anyone in, to feign progress in their investigation of a series of violent murders. Suddenly Lara’s status as a world famous adventurer counts for nothing - her only friend is dead and she’s by herself in an unfamiliar country. Worse yet, none of this is her choice - she has not chosen to be in this situation, and instead it is one she is forced to fight her way out of. It’s the setup to a rewarding plot well ahead of its time for 2003, marred by a few glaring flaws, but absolutely worth sticking out to its conclusion. There is a real sense of action here, both intelligent and thrilling.

Sometimes, however, the danger conveyed stems from unreliable controls, glitchy physics and trial-and-error platforming/combat. Earlier Tomb Raider games were not easy, but gameplay mechanics were in place that guaranteed consistency - a standing jump would always perform exactly as expected, as would a running jump, and even the simpler but essential action of walking could be depended on to save Lara from falling off a ledge, usually to the sound of cracking bones. In The Angel of Darkness, a more conscious use of these actions is required - walking may see Lara decide to drop down and grab the end of a ledge at a crucial moment, a standing jump with the wrong trajectory or too close to a wall may see her veer off in the wrong direction, and simply drawing a gun can be followed by all manner of movement hiccups. A poorly implemented upgrade system doesn’t help, giving Lara further jumps and a higher level of “grip” at regular intervals, presumably to offer a new element to platforming, but in reality only succeeding in making it harder to tell whether or not she’ll be able to clear that gap.

Like most of the game’s design flaws and technical issues, this can be overcome by more patient gamers by a save system that can be used on-the-fly. From there, it’s a relatively smooth journey through around 30 levels of varying quality, each accompanied by one of the game’s saving graces, a haunting soundtrack that works as the perfect compliment to dark backstreets, unearthed tombs and industrial complexes acting as a front for something far, far more sinister. Cutscene direction enjoys similar success - arguably the game’s best moments are watched, not played - achieving a cinematic quality rivalled in 2003 only by the likes of Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy, not in terms of graphical fidelity but by a visual flair that goes beyond merely taking the audience from point A to B. Lara turns off the power, unwittingly unleashing a failed experiment (and setting up a boss fight for later), and we see the brutal havoc it leaves upon escaping its enclosure.

The Angel of Darkness is a beautiful disaster. Very little works as it should - the equilibrium of platforming, puzzles, and action perfected over the previous five instalments has been replaced by a Frankenstein of gameplay mechanics that, in spite of whatever intentions the developers might have had, do nothing in their existing form to enhance the overall experience. The game, then, is not for everyone. Yet there is enough here to entertain over its roughly 12 hour length, and if you can overlook the obvious issues, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the masterpiece that could have been.

Play this game with the Restoration Project mod! It is effectively a day one patch that makes the game play as the Devs originally intended. 😁
Download the latest version here:
https://www.tombraiderforums.com/showpost.php?p=8371830&postcount=1438

Playing this game makes me incredibly sad.
Before this game came out, Tomb Raider was at a low point. Tomb Raider Chronicles was critically panned for being more of the same and had a plot that basically retconned earlier (or later in terms of the story) games in the series. But Tomb Raider Chronicles wasn't Core Design's passion project. Even while Chronicles was being developed, the majority of Core was dedicated to Angel of Darkness here. Angel of Darkness was going to be new, it was going to be different, it was going to be big. The dev diaries and notes given by Core Design undeniably show a passion for this game they were creating. It was an overhaul to the eventual blandness of the previous games. However, at some point, a collective sigh sounded at Core Design, and they decided to start again. An entire year of development, scrapped. So they started again. Things move relatively smoothly, for the most part. The game will feature at least 4 locations: Paris, Prague, Germany and Turkey. 3 playable characters: Lara, Kurtis, and Eckhardt.
But at one point, in swoops Eidos Interactive. "We're not giving you any more time! We need this game out now! We want money!"
And now the game needs to be rushed. They haven't even got the controls downpat, yet, but Eidos wants it. Their rpg system needs to be severely downgraded, now implemented in nonsensical chunks, like collecting a respirator giving you the ability to sprint. Countless levels from all 4 locations are deleted and merged jarringly with others. A playable character deleted. You can even see the Seinne in the Parisian Ghetto, that was going to be a much bigger part in the beta, in the final version. The story needing to be spliced up into chunks that just barely fit together (with some very noticeable inconsistency). The controls are severely degraded to a slow-moving mess probably in an effort to pad game length. Lara's backstory between now and the Last Revelation is now murky and unexplained.
And the planned trilogy? Axed.
There are glimmers of the greatness the game could have had. The soundtrack, for one, is HAUNTING. There are moments in it of overbearing loneliness, like in the Parisian Ghetto. Fear, in the Rennes' Pawnshop background music. Paranoia, in the Parisian Backstreets music. Even an original dance track playing in Le Serpent Rouge, which sounds like the pinnacle of the early 2000s. Peter Connelly has done an absolutely fantastic job with this one, easily the best in the whole spanning series.

The story, while noticeably unfinished and chopped up, is still very engaging and executed surprisingly well, especially given the year it came out. It's very sharply written, too, and mostly well acted.

The graphics are outstanding, even now. The fluid effects seen in levels like Neptune's Hall, and the realtime reflections (though sometimes overused) still kill it today. The character models are definitely a little dated, and due to the game's rushed nature, some squares are missing textures. But for 2003, the game still looks pretty great.

Now, the controls. The controls are easily the worst part of the game. While Lara's movements are well animated, the controls are sloppy, and clearly not fully tested. Lara will miss ledges, and grab onto ledges that don't lead anywhere and the only way out is death. Whenever you stop moving, and go to move again, Lara starts by walking and eventually breaks into a slow jog. You don't even get to sprint until midway through the game (you were supposed to be able to much, much earlier). The gunplay, particularly in Von Croy's Apartment, is genuinely awful. The PC version definitely has an advantage here, the Tomb Raider community has managed to restore most of the controls seen in the beta versions. But that doesn't change the fact that the game ACTUALLY was allowed to be SHIPPED with that trash.

I'll be honest. In the state it was shipped in, the game is just barely average. The only things that keep it up are the graphics, the engaging story and the fantastic soundtrack. The rest is just barely passable, if you are patient. But if you take the effort to look into what could have been, you might be able to find an appreciation for it.

TL;DR: blame eidos

Alright, please read the whole comment. I've played this on PC about 18 years ago. I've just tried running this game on Windows 10 for few minutes and I'm here just to comment my experience of this games I played long time ago.

The gameplay of this game is probably the worst among Tomb Raider games. The controls are horrible, it's really rigid and inflexible. You gotta wait till later level to unlock some moveset like Running to make your character a little bit flexible. The glitches on characters are horrible as well, you can see Lara's face inside out. In terms of camera angle wise, I don't wanna talk about it, you know that right? The aiming, OMG, give me a break... Though the aiming is locked on the enemy, when you are trying to aim, the character back dash automatically and you lost control on the camera angle.

Why the gameplay is so horrible? Because this is an incomplete version of Tomb Raider. Core Design almost scrap the whole project. They decided to release it in order to reduce loses for the company.

But..... The best thing about this is the STORYLINE. Despite all of the problems it has, the storyline is the motivating factor for me to play. When comes to storyline, CORE Design has done well on this part. It has probably has the best storyline before the reboot of the Tomb Raider series on 2013.

Do I recommend it?
Yes, if you don't care about the horrible controls and glitches, and just focus on storyline.
No, if you just enjoy only the gameplay.
Controls: 2/5
Storyline: 4.5/5

If you are an avid fan of the Tomb Raider series (especially the CORE classics!) this may be the game for you!

The plot is quite 'Murder Mystery-esk' which later stems into an extremely grand story involving another protaganist and Nephilm.

The controls can get quite bothersome, thus why you can download this awesome fan-patch by Sasho!

http://www.tombraiderforums.com/showpost.php?p=6993845&postcount=373

It features/enhances

1. A better movement system whilst on stairs.
2. New/Improved Stance Moves.
3. Enchanced speeds & a more 'dynamic' movement system from the PlayStation 2 version of the game.
4. Fixed 'corner' system with the removed wall-hit animations.
5. Adds the PS2 blood/snow sytem back into the game.
6. Revamped health-system - Including Core's original movement plan! (Lara will now limp, if serverly injured.)

There is another fix that exists to 'fix' the broken maps included in the Steam version (v.52) - Slayer's Tomb Raider - Angel of Darkness Ultimate Patch or (v62)

http://www.tombraiderforums.com/showpost.php?p=6994736&postcount=1

The game with the afformentioned patches is awesome and has a worthy spot in franchise history. This is a great game with an awesome plot, great mechanics and other awesome details!

🟡 Requires heavy tinkering

1) Tomb Raider The Angel of Darkness Restoration Project:
https://www.tombraiderforums.com/showthread.php?t=226260

- Download, drag and drop "data" and "bin" folders to game folder with replace
- drag and drop fmv files to "data\FMV" folder with replace
- drag and drop "TRAOD_RESTORED_EXE_1.2.0\XINPUT\FULL\" .exe to "bin" folder with replace

2) Disable Steam Direct Input: Right click on the game > Properties > Controller Options

3) Follow this guide to setup convoluted video settings: https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Tomb_Raider%3A_The_Angel_of_Darkness#Graphics_options

4) Don't forget to checkmark "enable" in "Controller (xbox)" tab

5) Controller can't skip initial "Press any key" screen, bring up touch keyboard to pass it.

Tested on: OnexPlayer Mini Pro 6800U

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Activate VMR3 in the Tomb Raider AoD settings when you first start it because without it the game somewhat refuses to run without it. Though I can say some good things about this game and some bad things, Almost nobody in the Tomb Raider community recommends this game as I just beaten it.


You have two playable characters in this game: Lara [mostly played] and Kurtis [Only 3 levels] with a Experimental RPG-system [Lara only] where she gets stronger during the game to allow more grip time and possibly commando crawling and sprinting. She gets them during the game not at any time.. The next is the stealth system: It works great though you can't really climb up with it on so turn off, Instant kill once snuck behind for choke hold; Not many levels use it and that can be positive for some.

I'll give this game a 6 / 10. This game could've had great potential if Core Design wasn't bankrupt while Crystal Dynamics taken over. Sadly like some games; this game was delayed numerous times and as a proud developer the game had to be one of the first few on the PS2 to be released so their time was very limited. Nobody would recommend this game due to how frustratingly rushed it is and how flawed the systems are.. So at the least out of decency. I'd recommend the first five games or Legend, Anniversary or 2013.

TRAOD is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have been beating it once every year since its release. What you are up against is not the challenge the developers intended, but a set-up of severely flawed and sometimes incomplete game mechanics. This instalment was intended to bring Lara Croft to the 'next gen' level, but it brought her down by being over-ambitious.
This game is difficult. It will test your patience. Some of its mechanics are bonkers. But it is also extremely rewarding. TRAOD and KotOR brought me into appreciating videogaming. So let me break down its achievements and flaws.

PRO
- fantastic story design and great character design
- this game is the second-to-last featuring the true Lara Croft (the last one is 'Anniversary')
- Lara is moody as hell, she hates every aspect of her own game, and it's great
- awesome voice acting, especially by the outstanding Jonell Elliott and the great Joss Ackland (as Eckhard)
- the soundtrack is unbelievable, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (yep)
- dense atmosphere and suspense motivate you to carry on in spite of all

NEG
- the controls lay-out is a mechanics straight out of hell
- frustrating timers in climbing and skimming
- ridiculous gun-play
- some puzzles are illogical, some are just mean chores of trial and error to stretch the game
- one boss fight (Boaz) is almost impossible, and the controls are outright misleading here to make things worse
- starting up the game is iffy, because the options menu is a crazy maze - check out one of the online guides first
- the game is not good at explaining how things work, e.g. Lara is able to sprint, but you really need it only once near the end of the game, so you just have to remember this on the spot after many hours

So, should you play this game? I definitely recommend you to do it, even if you only want to see for yourself what the fuss about the original Tomb Raider and Lara Croft was all about. She still is one of the great icons of videogaming, and this is due to Core Design and Core Design only. Crystal Dynamics salvaged some of the franchise's appeal, but some of the charm was irrevocably lost on the way. And 'Tomb Raider 2013', great game that it is hands down, is neither "Tomb Raider", nor is the heroine "Lara Croft".
Given that you can get TRAOD for virtually nothing these days, it doesn't hurt to check it out. Actually, given the popularity of 'Souls-like' games, you can approach this game like a challenge of its own kind. And personally I find it much less difficult than modern platformers like, say, 'Giana Sisters TD'. If you can afford the time and patience, give it a go.

this was the first tomb raider game i played when i was like 5 years old and i couldnt even pass the first level. i might have a personal bias with this game since it *is* from my childhood but even then i can understand the complaints.

if you want a better version of the game with improved mechanics and less bugs. download the restoration modpack from nexus. it not only fixes bugs and adds laras dual pistols in the game but it even changes the tank controls to normal, modern controls. it also adds almost everything that was cut out from the game such as extra dialogues, cutscenes and locations. there is also a very good cutscene in the menu called "the story so far" where lara narrates the events of what happened in egypt after the last revelation where the egyptian pyramid collapsed on her. its kind of a long cutscene but i personally think it adds a lot and it definitely made me appreciate the game even more than i already did.