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Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Developer(s)Core Design
Publisher(s)Eidos Interactive
Programmer(s)Richard Flower
Writer(s)Murti Schofield
Composer(s)Peter Connelly
Martin Iveson
SeriesTomb Raider
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Mac OS X
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
PlayStation 2
Mac OS X
18 December 2003[3]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is the sixth video game in the Tomb Raider series, acting as a direct sequel to Tomb Raider Chronicles and The Last Revelation. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. The game was originally released in 2003 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Mac OS X and was the first Tomb Raider title to be released for the PlayStation 2 console. The storyline follows Lara Croft as she attempts to clear herself of murdering her former mentor Werner Von Croy while investigating the activities of a black magic cult.

The game's development began three years before release. The intention was to create a different game from previous entries in the franchise which could compete better with newer action games, and to fully exploit the potential of the next generation of gaming platforms. The production was fraught with difficulties, and the game ended up being delayed twice. When released, the game sold 2.5 million copies worldwide, but was widely criticized for its poor controls and multiple bugs. In the aftermath of the game's release, a potential trilogy was scrapped and development of the franchise was transferred to Crystal Dynamics for the next entry in the series Tomb Raider: Legend.

Gameplay

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, like previous Tomb Raider games, is a third-person action-adventure puzzle game. Players control the main series protagonist Lara Croft through the majority of the game. The majority of Lara's basic moves are carried over from the previous instalment, such as walking, jumping, climbing, swinging on ropes and standard gunplay.[4] Her new moves include a back-flip, a small hop, army-crawling, hand-to-hand combat and a "super-jump" that can be performed whilst sprinting. Lara can also sneak up on enemies and perform stealth attacks, flatten herself against walls and peer round corners.[4][5][6] Lara's ability to sprint, present in the three previous entries in the series, was removed.[7] Her weapons arsenal is also modified from previous games, featuring new weapons such as a K2 Impactor stun gun and upgraded versions of weapons like the shotgun.[8]

Unlike previous games in the series, Lara has a stamina meter which depletes whilst she is performing bouts of climbing: if the bar empties before reaching her destination, she falls. The rate at which the meter decrease slows if the player performs special actions that increase Lara's strength. These actions are also necessary to progress in many of the levels. The game also features elements similar to an RPG, whereby Lara can talk with various NPCs found throughout the environments and chose what kinds of answers to give: early in the game, these answers will directly effect her progress through the story.[6] The game also features a second playable character, Kurtis Trent.[5] Initially appearing to be an antagonist, the player assumes control of him late in the game. He features mainly identical moves to Lara, and his sections of the game are more based around combat.[6]

Plot

Lara Croft receives a message from her former mentor and friend, Werner Von Croy. Going to Paris and encountering him there, Lara learns that Werner is being stalked and that he has been commissioned by a man named Pieter van Eckhardt to find the Obscura Paintings, artifacts linked to black magic. The two of them are then attacked, and Lara wakes to find Werner dead, killed by a notorious serial killer known as the Monstrum. Suspected of his murder, she goes on the run. After retrieving Von Croy's journal from a colleague of his, she finds that he tracked down the fourth Painting beneath the Louvre and had contacted a local gang leader called Louis Bouchard for the necessary equipment. Lara contacts Bouchard and is allowed to take the equipment herself from one of his agents. When she arrives, the agent has been murdered by the Monstrum. When she recovers all the equipment, she sets off a bomb, but is able to escape in time. After infiltrating the Louvre, she learns that the paintings hide pieces of an artefact called the Sanglyph, created by Eckhardt hundreds of years before. The paintings were seized and hidden by a secret society known as the Lux Veritatis. After retrieving the fourth Painting from its hiding place, Lara is ambushed by Kurtis Trent, the last surviving member of the Lux Veritatis, robbed of the painting. The two escape the Louvre, with Kurtis using a magical disc-like weapon. Lara follows and finds Kurtis unconscious and the painting stolen, then is also knocked out. She is recovered by Bouchard, who takes her to Von Croy's apartment. However, Bouchard sends an assassin to kill Lara: she is able to kill him and heads for Prague, where a new Monstrum killing has taken place.

Arriving in Prague, she finds the location of the final Painting and re-encounters a captive Bouchard. He reveals that Eckhardt is planning to use the Sanglyph to awaken the Cubiculum Nephili, the last surviving member of the demonic Nephilim, and breed the race back into existence. Bouchard is later murdered by Echardt, who is revealed to have been killing and extracting samples for his experiments under the guise of the Monstrum. Lara infiltrates Eckhardt's fortress, the Strahov Sanitarium, and encounters members of the Cabal, a secret society that shares Eckhardt's ambitions. While going through the complex, she switches off the power, releasing a rabid creature called the Proto-Nephilim. Later on, Lara is locked in a containment area by Kurtis so he can turn the power back on without interference. Kurtis succeeds, finding his way through the Sanatorium and killing the Proto-Nephilim. Forming an alliance, Lara goes in search of the final Painting, while Kurtis tries to retrieve a Periapt Shard, one of three magical daggers which can kill Eckhardt. After retrieving the Painting, Lara is confronted by Eckhardt, who has captured Kurtis and threatens to kill him. Lara hands the Painting over, and Eckhardt releases one of the monsters created by the Cabal on them. Kurtis helps Lara escape, giving her the two Periapt Shards in his possession. He then takes down the monster, but is wounded in the process. Lara, after recovering the final Shard, reaches Eckhardt, who reforms the Sanglyph and begins the process of reviving the Cubiculum Nephili. Lara succeeds in wounding him, but is stopped by Karel, Eckhardt's right-hand man. Karel proceeds to kill Eckhardt, revealing himself to be a Nephilim. He offers Lara the chance to join him, but Lara refuses after remembering that it was Karel, taking Eckhardt's form, who killed Von Croy. Lara uses the Sanglyph to destroy the Cubiculum Nephili, causing an explosion that kills Karel. On her way out, she finds Kurtis' weapon where his body should be, and it leads her towards the monster's chamber. Smiling, Lara walks through the door into shadow, ending the game.

Development

Promotional screenshot for The Angel of Darkness. The game was created to fully utilized the PS2's power, and incorporate stealth mechanics reminiscent of the Metal Gear series.[9][10]

The Angel of Darkness started development three years prior to its release[11] under the working title Tomb Raider next generation.[12] As part of the preparation for the game, the company conducted market research, and decided to create a new setting and story for the main character.[13] One of the main drives behind the game was fully utilizing the new platform's potential, reinventing the character of Lara Croft, including rebuilding her character model and allowing her to perform melee combat.[10][14] It was the first game in the series to be made for the PlayStation 2 platform: the previous entry in the series, Tomb Raider: Chronicles, had pushed the PlayStation to its technical limits, contributing to lower review scores and sales than previous titles in the series.[15] Core Design separated into two teams, with a new team working on Angle of Darkness and series regulars on Tomb Raider: Chronicles.[9] Among the goals of the team for Angel of Darkness were to create more complicated puzzles and make the character of Lara Croft, together with the tone of the game, darker and more hard-edged. They also wished to compete with some of the newer action-adventure games on the market, which were providing heavy competition,[16] and include gameplay ideas from Metal Gear and Shenmue.[9] However, after the completion of Tomb Raider: Chronicles, lead programmer Richard Morton came over and found that the new team had gone off the rails, scrapping the entire project once already and completing only the game's basic story. The developers later admitted to being overambitious.[16] Among the concepts that needed to be cut from the game were two further locations and many gameplay elements involving Kurtis Trent.[9] Jonell Elliott returned as the voice of Lara Croft. This would be the last time she provided the voice, with Keeley Hawes taking over for Tomb Raider: Legend.[17]

The Angel of Darkness was unveiled for the first time in March 2002. The game had a darker, edgier approach to it and developers implemented innovative features into the game.[18] Core spent two years trying to reshape the franchise as well as writing a back story, which was separated into four chapters.[19] Problems with the game were sensed at an early stage, as Heath-Smith forgot himself and began swearing at the game while trying to demonstrate the opening level at a buyer's conference.[9] A release date was announced for November 2002, but the game got delayed into spring 2003.[19][20] Eidos believed The Angel of Darkness would benefit from additional marketing support from the long-anticipated movie sequel, The Cradle of Life, and despite another delay,[21] the company pushed Core Design to release the game in time for the marketing support.[20] In order to meet the deadline, areas of the game containing key narrative elements also had to be cut; one of the losses was the explanation of how the character survived the events of The Last Revelation.[22][23] The team at Core Design later said that they felt Eidos forced them to get the game out before it was ready.[16][24] The game was also reportedly submitted eight times to Sony before its release.[9] The game went gold on 18 June 2003, two days before its original release date, although there was some confusion as the game had reportedly gone gold on 2 June.[25] The game was finally released in the summer of 2003, alongside The Cradle of Life.[26]

Music

Untitled

The music for Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness was composed by Peter Connelly and Martin Iveson. The soundtrack, compared to earlier entries in the franchise, was far more orchestral. It was also one of the few areas of the game's development that did not suffer setbacks or similar problems.[9] The score was recorded live by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, London, in 2002 (orchestrated by Peter Wraight and conducted by David Snell).[11] The Europe-exclusive 'Collector's Edition' of the game included eight tracks from the game's soundtrack on the bonus documentary DVD. These tracks were later release as a stand-alone Audio CD.[27]

Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness [Collector's Edition] Soundtrack Track-listing:
No.TitleLength
1."Paris 1 - The Accused"2:51
2."Prague - The Unseen Attacks"2:26
3."Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness" (Main Theme)3:08
4."Paris 2 - Shadow Of The Monstrum"1:34
5."By Moonlight"3:00
6."Dance Of The Lux Veratatis"1:37
7."Paris 3 - The Duel"1:48
8."Boaz - Cabal Attack"2:21

Reception

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness received strong initial sales, mostly driven by an aggressive advertising campaign.[16] The game reached 6th place in the UK Top 20 sales charts, but dropped to 13th by the following week.[38] It eventually went on to sell 2.5 million copies.[39] The game garnered mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100, the game received an average score of 52 and 49 for the PlayStation 2 and Windows version, respectively.[30][31] Reviewers praised the game's storyline, graphics, sound, and environments, while they criticized its large number of bugs and system requirements and its poor controls, combat system, and camera movement. Gaming magazines Game Informer and PlayStation Official Magazine gave it 5.5/10[33] and 8/10[32] respectively.

The game's story received positive reviews. IGN's Douglas C. Perry praised its "compelling storyline" and "set of intriguing bit characters",[35] while Gamespot's Greg Kasavin praised the story as "interesting", expressing surprise that it did not earn a higher ERBS rating.[6] Eurogamer's Kristan Reed called it "a cut above most gaming fodder, and an area Core has paid an enormous amount of attention to."[32] Game Revolution's A. A. White was less positive, stating that while the game's darker story was an improvement compared to its predecessors, it never "[managed] to build to a captivating crescendo",[37] while the reviewer for GamesRadar called it "bountiful but confusing and ultimately of GCSE-standard creative writing."[7] The music and sound was also highly praised. Perry called it "beautifully scored game, plush with dramatic mood and feeling", with minimal sound effects adding "a sense of variety and even peculiarity",[35] Reed called it "excellently atmospheric throughout, and easily the best yet in the series."[32] while Kavasin praised the game for "excellent ambient effects, a perfectly suited musical score, and first-rate voice acting."[6]

The reaction to the graphics were mixed to positive. Perry cited multiple examples of good level design, smooth character models, surface textures and lightning, while feeling more mixed about Lara's unrealistic figure and hardened appearance.[35] White cited the graphics as an improvement, but was unimpressed by Lara's character model and noted multiple frame-rate dips that seemed "almost like playing the game in slow motion."[37] The GamesRadar review called the graphics "a measured improvement on [Tomb Raider: Chronicles], but not a clean break from the [previous] Croft titles."[7] Karavin called the detailing in textures and models as "impressive", but cited several points where the game suffered from severe framerate dips.[6] Reed praised the game's graphical polish, with "almost every multi-tiered location crammed with detail and careful incidentals", but critiqued the frequent loading screens and stylized or low detail for environments and characters.[32]

The gameplay was heavily criticized. Perry said that those aspects of the game "pale in comparison to 90% of the PlayStation 2's adventure or action-adventure games, and they actually hurt the rest of the game's best qualities", but that the new moves worked smoothly apart from the stealth actions.[35] White criticized the new layout's negative effect on gameplay and the poor enemy AI,[37] and Kasavin called the experience "frustrating, difficult, and tedious", though stating that such moments stood out because many areas of the game were "thrilling".[6] Reed found the controls dated and the stealth mechanics and strength upgrade system unnecessary,[32] while the GamesRader reviewer cited both the gameplay and control layout as dated, citing the difficulty of effectively controlling Lara at multiple points in the game because of these issues.[7] The camera was also criticized, with White, Perry, Reed, Kasavin and the GamesRadar reviewer all citing it as awkward to control and sometimes wayward or confusing during its scripted movements.[32][6][7][35][37]

Legacy

The Angel of Darkness caused multiple problems for the Tomb Raider franchise. Paramount Pictures faulted The Cradle of Life's relatively inadequate box office performance on the poor critical reception, and backlash the video game received from its fans.[40][41] The head of Core Design, Jeremy Heath-Smith, resigned after the release of the game,[42] and plans for a sequel called The Lost Dominion,[9] part of a proposed trilogy created using the game's engine, were scrapped.[23][43] Following the poor performance of both the game and the second movie, Eidos Interactive took the production of Tomb Raider games away from Core Design and assigned them to Crystal Dynamics, noted as the developers of the Legacy of Kain series.[41][44][45]

References

  1. ^ "Release: Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness". GOG.com. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  2. ^ "トゥームレイダー 美しき逃亡者 みんなのクロスレビュー、最新情報 / ファミ通.com". Famitsu.com. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  3. ^ "Aspyr releases The Angel of Darkness". Aspyr Media. 2003-12-18. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  4. ^ a b Radclyff, Doug (2003-07-14). "Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Walkthrough". Gamespot. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  5. ^ a b Perry, Douglas C. (2003-01-14). "Tomb Raider: Hands-on". IGN. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kasavin, Greg (2003-06-20). "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness PS2 Review". GameSpot.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "GamesRadar - Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness review". GamesRadar. 2003-10-23. Archived from the original on 2003-10-23. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  8. ^ Perry, Douglas C. (2003-06-03). "Lara's New Arsenal". IGN. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Edge Staff (January 17, 2011). "Making Of: Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness". Edge Online. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; May 31, 2013 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Staff (September 2004). "7 Years of PSM". PlayStation Magazine (88). US Imagine Publishing: 37–38.
  11. ^ a b Hermida, Alfred (2003-07-04). "No salvation for Angel of Darkness". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  12. ^ IGN Staff (February 16, 2001). "Tomb Raider Next Generation". IGN. Retrieved 2103-06-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ Jones, Karen (December 2002). "Spin: Where's Lara". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (63). Ziff Davis: 65.
  14. ^ Staff (February 2003). "Tomber Raider: Out of the Darkness". PlayStation Magazine (68). US Imagine Publishing: 41–46.
  15. ^ Will Payne. "Buried Alive". Ten Years of Tomb Raider: A GameTap Retrospective. Episode 3. GameTap TV. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |writers= ignored (help)
  16. ^ a b c d Will Payne. "Reanimation". Ten Years of Tomb Raider: A GameTap Retrospective. Episode 4. GameTap TV. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |writers= ignored (help)
  17. ^ "Keeley Hawes New Voice Of Lara Croft". Tomb Raider Chronicles. 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  18. ^ Perry, Douglas C. (2002-06-12). "The Tomb Raider Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  19. ^ a b Perry, Douglas C. (2002-03-20). "Eidos Unveils Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness". IGN. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  20. ^ a b "Eidos Sales Up, Tomb Raider Delayed". IGN. 2003-01-21. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  21. ^ Sulic, Ivan (2003-05-02). "Angel of Darkness Delayed". IGN. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  22. ^ "Tomb Raider Retrospective: Part Two". GameTrailers. February 23, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  23. ^ a b Staff (June 2005). "Hype - Tomb Raider: Legend". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (93). Ziff Davis: 54–55.
  24. ^ Lauren Wainwright (November 4, 2011). "The Redemption of Lara Croft (page 2)". IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  25. ^ IGNPS2 (June 18, 2003). "Lara Goes Gold, Again". IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Lara Croft delay hits Eidos". BBC News. 2003-06-27. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  27. ^ "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - The Official Soundtrack". Game-OST. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  28. ^ "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  29. ^ "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  30. ^ a b "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness for PlayStation 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  31. ^ a b "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g Reed, Kristan (2003-06-25). "Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Review • Reviews • PlayStation 2 •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  33. ^ a b "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness". Game Informer: 90. August 2003.
  34. ^ "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness PC Review". GameSpot. 2003-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Perry, Douglas C. (2003-06-24). "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - PlayStation 2 Review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  36. ^ Perry, Douglas C. (2003-06-10). "Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Review - PC Review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  37. ^ a b c d e White, A. A. (2003-07-01). "Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  38. ^ "Official UK game sales chart". Gamespot. 2003-09-11. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  39. ^ "Corporate Strategy Meeting" (PDF). Square Enix. 2009-04-22. p. 15. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  40. ^ Susman, Gary (2003-07-29). "Blame Game". EW.com. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  41. ^ a b Marshall, Rick (2013-03-09). "History of Tomb Raider: Blowing the dust off 17 years of Lara Croft". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  42. ^ Fox, Fennec (2003-07-15). "Tomb Raider Co-Creator Steps Down". GamePro.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  43. ^ The Complete Official Guide to Tomb Raider Legend. Piggyback Interactive. 2006-05-01. p. 179. ISBN 1-903511-81-X.
  44. ^ "Lara leaves UK". BBC News. 2003-07-31. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  45. ^ Staff (November 2003). "The Next Tomb Raider". PlayStation Magazine (77). US Imagine Publishing: 57–60.

External links

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