Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a video game of action/ventures developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos in June 2007 on PlayStation 2 and Windows. It is also envisaged on Wii and PlayStation Portable for the end of the year.

Produced at the time of the tenth birthday of the series Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider Anniversary constitutes a Remake first episode, Tomb Raider , appeared in 1996. The play uses the optimized graphic engine of the preceding episode, Tomb Raider Legend , and presents a Lara Croft more detailed even, fine and fast; famous heroin appears obviously younger as well there.

Scenario

Tomb Raider Anniversary not being other than a remake of Tomb Raider first of the name (1996), it takes again the bases and the moment-keys of them. Nevertheless, of the refinements were carried out in order to develop certain points compared to the original, such as the importance of the first murder of human for Lara, or in order to establish bonds with Tomb Raider Legend .

New Mexico, 1945. A atomic Explosion experimental takes place, shaving a village and releasing a mysterious creature which one furtively sees flying away.

Calcutta, 1996. Lara Croft, after having concluded a preceding forwarding, finds an old knowledge, Larson, which makes him contact Jacqueline Natla. The latter is the president de Natla Technologies, a major company in electronics. Natla would like to convince Lara to leave to research of a particular artefact for it: the Scion of Atlantis, a relic that Miss Croft had tried to find with her father. A research which had not succeeded, owing to the fact that the duet father-girl had not been able to locate celebrates it quoted of Vilcabamba. Natla then indicates the site of this city, being located at Peru, following what Lara does not hesitate to launch out to the adventure.

Gameplay

The same one as that of preceding Tomb Raider: Legend but with some improvements and of new movements. The lamp and the binoculars disappear, and the hook is not magnetic any more. Lastly, Lara is limited any more in the number of médikit only it can transport.

Characters

The main characters are, with an exception, the same ones as in the first Tomb Raider .

One finds as follows:

Lara Croft, rich English aristocrat who seeks the Scion for Jacqueline Natla.
Jacqueline Natla, rich chairman of Natla Technologies to the research of the Scion of Atlantis.
Larson Conway, bargain hunter, enemy of Lara, work for Natla.
Pierre Dupont, véreux French archeologist who works for Natla in Greece.
P' tit, skater of the west coast armed with two machine pistols, it should be noted that its place is, like the two preceding characters, less important since contrary to Tomb Raider , it directly is not fought.
Kold, new character who appears in this remix , Kold is a multirecidivist, sanguinary killer placed under the supervision of Natla.
Winston, the faithful majordomo of Lara has all his confidence. It appears during a small investigation in the manor…
Tihocan and Qualopec, the two brothers telamones of Natla.

Absent from this version, the cowboy (who in Tomb Raider bequeathed to the player his guns of gauge 50) “is replaced” by Kold.

Levels

There exist four large " mondes" in Tomb Raider Anniversary , each one being divided into several levels (four levels per world at the time of first half of play, then three). The original concept as what the levels of the same world are followed directly was taken again, but current technology made it possible to reinforce this feeling of adventure not-stop. Indeed, no more time ago of loading between two levels: after having finished one of them, the statistics are posted and proposed to safeguard the part, but the player then directly takes again control to enter the next level. The levels forming a whole, the player can also reconsider his steps towards the preceding level when the architecture of the environment allows him.

The particular functions of this coherent unit are not exploited that at the time of the very first adventure of the player: by remaking the levels, those adopt a structure segmented with beginning and end. Consequently, if the player tries to reconsider his steps towards the preceding level, one will propose to him to safeguard and leave or to continue that in progress, this last choice automatically replaçant the player on his initial position (event also in force in the manor of Croft). Once the completed level and the posted statistics, the player is automatically returned towards the screen-title instead of being able to continue towards the following level. It is thus impossible to again traverse the places of transition between two levels safe by creating a very new profile. This segmentation of the levels when the player rejoue those was probably carried out to agree with the " mode; Against the montre" (nonavailable during the first exploration), for which the environments must have a given beginning and an end.

Below the list of the worlds and the levels is which compose them.

Peru:

Level 1: The caves
Level 2: The city of Vilcabamba
Level 3: The lost valley (with mythical T-rex)
Level 4: The tomb of Qualopec (the first fragment of the Scion there is found)

Greece:

Level 1: The madness St François (formerly called Saint-Francis Monument)
Level 2: The amphitheater (formerly called Colosseum)
Level 3: The palate of Midas
Level 4: The tomb of Tihocan (also including the level " The citerne" of Tomb Raider original; one finds the second fragment of the Scion there)

Egypt:

Level 1: The temple of Khamoon
Level 2: The obelisk of Khamoon
Level 3: The sanctuary of the Scion

Lost Island (or Atlantis):

Level 1: Mines of Natla
Level 2: The large pyramid (formerly called Atlantis)
Level 3: Final confrontation (formerly called the Large Pyramid)

To note: the play is much longer than Tomb Raider Legend , one needs to the player approximately a score of hours to finish it with all the secrecies.

Weapons

There is not that four different weapons in this " nouveau" Tomb Raider :

guns 9 mm of Lara which it always has, unlimited ammunition, 40 balls per charger.
pump rifle, left by Larson at the end of Peru or recoverable in the Lost Valley . Ammunition: 40,8 balls per charger.
guns of gauge 50 (ex magna), left by Pierre at the end of Greece or recoverable in the Amphitheater . Ammunition: 120,30 balls per charger.
the machine pistols (ex Uzis), left by P' tit in the Mines of Natla or recoverable in the sanctuary of the Scion . Ammunition: 200,50 balls per charger.

Development

At the beginning of 2006, a trailer of what is then called Tomb Raider: Anniversary Edition appears on the Web. This one, coinciding with the ten years of birthday of Lara Croft, illustrates a video game seeming to take again the decorations of the original with a more thorough graphic engine. The video does not remain less suspect about it, the result not being such as one could expect it after Tomb Raider Legend : the movements of heroin are jerked and not very realistic, the system of play seems to exploit the system of squaring of the first episodes, etc Eidos reveals later that there exists indeed a project of remake of the first opus in progress, but which it is not absolutely about the video revealed on the Net. Recently it was learned that Tomb Raider: Anniversary Edition was well a Trailer remake in the course of creation by Core Design, started during the creation of Tomb Raider Legend , but the play does not have could be finishes, inter alia because of the sale of Core Design to Rebellion. Eidos would have initially wished that Core Design finish TR: AE, but decided a few months after giving the project to Crystal Dynamic, for obscure reasons, putting thus fine at any possibility of resumption of the series by Core Design.

Dynamics hook, having already proven its talent by regilding the blazon of the series to the eyes of the critics and the public via Tomb Raider Legend , thus was seen entrusted the task to give the first adventure of Lara to the last style. In order to leave on good bases, they played '' Tomb Raider '' original, remaking the play of the beginning at the end of tens of time.

Jason Botta, creative director and principal originator, entrust: It was rejoué beginning until the end to ensure itself to incorporate well all the outstanding elements of the first jeu. The development team thus explores on several occasions each level in optics to make a sorting: to preserve and work over again the best concepts while removing the elements obsolete, nonnecessary to the remake.

The team of developers thus works on the project with for objective not making simple copy-stick with graphics spillplates. While re-using the original concepts so as to it identifiable and original time, the objective is to reorganize the structure of the decorations so that they exploit the new movements as well as possible and adapt to the easier handiness nowadays than it was it at the time. Thus, certain rooms saw their replaced contents: it is the case for example adjacent rooms with the giant sphinx in the level of the Sanctuary of the Scion. Indeed, in the beginning, they consisted of a simple rise of platform in platform which, if it held of the challenge at the time, would not present the least challenge for the current jouability much more flexible. The new capacities of Lara invite the decorations to be restructured to benefit from it.

Toby Gard, originator of the original play, declares: It has a hook as well as a greater diversity of movements. One improves what one can while trying to remain within the limits of it of what the first jeu. consisted Certain parts of levels not being more of interest to the level of the gameplay were removed. Contrary, new passages were conceived, such as the section external of the first level which the player simply saw in the kinematics of introduction into the play of origin, a conceived place so that the player can quickly learn how to control the heroin (the interior cave in which began the Tomb Raider original not offering enough elements to immediately be able to teach the principal orders with the player). A character, that of the cow-boy, were also removed with the profit of Larson which holds a more important role in the remake and are seen adding inter alia the elements allotted to the role of this missing character.

In addition to the fact of preserving the interest of the gameplay which evolved/moved well since the beginnings of Lara Croft, another objective in the reorganization of the environments is the side impressive of the decorations, the graphic power allowing a restitution today much nearer to than the originators have at the head than at the time. One of the famous brands of this remake is the extension of the size of the elements, desired but also necessary: indeed, during the development, the originators quickly realized that what appeared enormous at the time appears tiny today with the current means. The players remember what they tested at the time of the first Tomb Raider in front of the impression of gigantic environments at the time and their memory thus exaggerates the size of these environments according to what they regard today as an enormous decoration in a video game. Trying to reproduce a size similar to the original for the various elements composing the play, the developers quickly concluded from there that they had to multiply dimensions during the various levels of the play. It is the case for example fall of water or T-Rex (level " The valley perdue"), but also in a general way of the majority of the rooms composing the play. In the same way, average the techniques current made it possible to concretize projects which at the time could not lead, such as completely modelling the statues of Atlas and Midas, respectively non-existent and incomplete in the play of origin.

The side symbolic system also led to changes in the organization of the rooms: thus for example, where Lara arrived in a way diverted at the strengthened entry driving at the city of Vilcabamba, it arrives of face in the remake and, symbolizing a " to some extent; conquistador" leaving to the attack the city, must cross the series of traps intended for the invaders to be able to approach the door, where it did not have to cross them in the original, arriving directly in top of the ramparts while falling from the ceiling.

Finally the realistic side also led certain unmethodical environments to the origin with being reorganized, moving elements composing the decorations to replace them in a natural way, symmetrical the ones with the others. Inconsistencies were also corrected, such as the use this time of Greek names for all the divinities in the level located in Greece.

The side frustrating of the Tomb Raider of origin was avoided several manners. On the one hand, many the " points of passage" , which makes it possible to the player to begin again starting from the place in question if it had suddenly perished, often take place before and after each potentially mortal passage. Moreover, one most of the environments was simplified and structured so that the player always knows where it goes and with a which aim. For example, the level of the palate of Midas, where the player in the beginning was released in a multitude of corridors and rooms and did not know by where to start, from now on is composed of the statue of Midas which appears as of the beginning, and of three corridors leading to three tests, that the player unbolts one after the other.

The sound aspect was also revisited. The type-setter Troels Follman pays homage to the original compositions most famous of the play all while réorchestrant them. He explains: It is a question of remaining faithful to the first plays. Everyone will recognize the old BO except that the orchestration is a little more sophistiquée. Epic new musics, frequently using the effect of choruses, also take an important place in the remake.

The aspect scenaristic was worked over again and deepened for the remake. Toby Gard declares: That enables us to tell the history such as one had imagined it and to add an emotional dimension to it. I wanted to develop the emotional side of the history. Then, it is now a question for Lara of discovering until where it is ready to go to achieve its goal. Until where the moral limit which is it is ready to cross to achieve its goal. And, in my opinion, it is very intéressant. An important point worked over again for the remake is thus the human first meutre of Lara Croft. In the original version, this one occurred without kinematics and particular emotional aspect. The player shot simply at Pierre Dupont in the room from the second fragment from the Scion until the latter collapses, and no mention was made scénaristiquement speaking by it. Tomb Raider Anniversary is focused this time on this act to kill an human being which marks a turning in the life of Lara, and that influences the gameplay: Lara not having to kill out of human before arriving towards the end of the play, the player cannot directly face his adversaries with blows of guns (the more so as logic wants that human dies after only some shots, even only one placed so well), and engagements thus take the form of sequences reactions (" Quick Time Event" in the jargon videoludic) during which the player or not influences the exit of kinematics while succeeding in pressing quickly on the keys which appear on the screen. Adjustments were made to improve the viability of the scenario of origin, for example the way in which Lara is made capture and strip its weapons.

Tomb Raider Anniversary in its entirety was thus developed to point out the original while bringing the many ones and consequent modifications to the contents, as Toby Gard explains it:

Most difficult, it is to take the outstanding elements of Tomb Raider I and to recreate them in an original way while evoking a feeling of nostalgie.

Far from a direct recovery, the developers centered their work on the complete renewal, a new vision of the original concepts compared to what became Lara and the rules in force in the world of the video game nowadays. While having a feeling of meeting again, the player was to have the impression to play new handset and to be impatient to discover the continuation, not to know what awaited it even if he knew the original play. Each aspect of the play was reconsidered with a view to a balance between the resumption of the original and the innovation, the modern aspect of the system used in the last episode in date Tomb Raider Legend amalgamated with the scenario, the environments and the spirit of the first Tomb Raider .

With the wire of the development, the official site of the play revealed little by little the contents of the play, through captures of screen, extracts of making-of on line, new trailers… Originally envisaged in May, the coming out date of the play was finally pushed back at the beginning of June, the event which the tenth birthday of Lara Croft represents being celebrated by proposing an edition collector limited play equipped with three discs.

No-claims bonus

Just like its predecessor Tomb Raider Legend and in a general way the large productions of Hook Dynamics like the series Legacy off Kain , there exists a section no-claims bonus similar to that of a DVD included in the play. These no-claims bonus, consultable in the section “Treasures”, are released by finishing the worlds, by finding the artefacts and the relics, by making a success of the levels out of against-the-watch…

Cheating (Cheats)

The cheatings are released by finishing the levels out of against-the-watch, following the example Tomb Raider Legend . On the other hand, contrary to this last, there is not no need to carry out a particular handling, the codes being able to be activated or decontaminated directly starting from the menu of the options constantly. The cheatings appear in the list below in the order where they are presented in the menu of activation or desactivation.

infinite Santé (Health Infinity)
La gauge of health does not decrease any more. The player is also protected from multiple instantaneous deaths, being able to jump of any height (including by carrying out the swan dive), walking on the spades and swords instead of impaling itself there, etc Certaines instantaneous deaths are not prevented for as much: pits bottomless, crushings, lava.
infinite Oxygène (Breath Infinity)
La gauge of oxygen decreases any more, the player thus who can remain under the water as much of time than necessary without never risking its life.
Ammunition inf. : pump rifle (Infinity Shotgun Heart)
Le player has infinite ammunition for rifle with pump. The tank of the weapon does not change, and the number of balls that this one can contain identical remainder, the player must thus always reload.
Ammunition inf. : gun cal. 50 (Infinity 50 Caliber Pistol Heart)
Idem, but for the guns of gauge 50.
Ammunition inf. : machine-gun (Infinity Mini SMG Heart)
Idem, but for mini the machine-guns.
Mini chrome machine-guns (Silver Mini SMGs)
Transforme mini machine-guns in a customized version.
Rifle with pump gilded (Shotgun Golden delicious)
Transforme pump rifle in a customized version.
All the weapons (All Weapons)
Donne all weapons with the player. That can clearly accelerate the progression in the level of the Mines of Natla where the player is supposed démener to recover his guns in order to be able to progress initially.
To post the health of the enemies (Show Enemy Health)
Permet to post the health and the gauge of ferocity of each enemy in the same way as during the confrontations against the boss.
Sunglasses (Sunglasses)
Lara has its sunglasses on the face when this function is activated (in the normal adventure without cheating, it withdraws them once entered the caves).
Mode without textures (Textureless Mode)
Repris of Tomb Raider Legend , this function makes it possible to post graphics without associating there of texture, making it possible to note that textures are the key of the personalization and the detail of each environment.

Treasuries

In Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Lara will discover and recover many artefacts and relics during its archaeological adventure. By recovering these objects, one resolves no-claims bonus and new options, commes of the behaviors, drawings original, and much more still. It is thus necessary well to seek in the environment to find relics and artefacts. One frees also treasures by finishing levels (kinematics, comments, biographies, original drawings), by finishing the play (cheating (cheats), held).

Thoughts of Lara

The system of index of Tomb Raider Legend , taking the form of conversations remote and making it possible to the player to be directed in his progression, was modified for this episode. From now on, Lara does not have any more external contacts, and the indices relating to the current location of the player can be consulted by selecting the newspaper in the menu. These indications do not occur spontaneously any more in the course of play, it is thus possible this time to carry out the adventure without councils until the moment when one decides some differently. In spite of the absence of the remote conversations, the actresses lending their voice to Lara Croft in the various countries thus do not have less lines than they had some in the preceding episode, the total of the dialog boxes related to the system of index amounting to 125 only for the principal adventure (i.e. by excluding the Manor from Croft).

The thoughts of Lara often make it possible to deduce from the elements as for the manner of progressing, but they can sometimes be simple remarks concerning the culture or architecture related to the explored environments. The remarks of Lara make it possible to prove the qualification level of adventurous, often able to quickly distinguish the least unusual detail of architecture, to efficement anticipate and deduce efficement the system from operation of the mechanisms or the fitting of the rooms according to the culture with which she is confronted, to compare the state of a place with its level of seniority, etc…

It should be noted that a thought of Lara occurs spontaneously and does not appear in the newspaper in itself, at the beginning of the level of the madness St Francois, when the player reaches the higher level of the internal court, establishing that " the Greeks were attracted by the bodies célestes". It is about only and single thought which occurs without have it has to consult it. One is unaware of why, this information not helping particularly the player to solve the enigma with which he is confronted at this time. It is possible that is simply with an unspecified programming error.

The thoughts are divided into two categories: the general thoughts which are conceived to be able to intervene in all the levels according to the situation, and the specific thoughts which intervene only for single situations relative to a particular level.

Collector edition

An edition collector limited of three discs was designed to celebrate the ten years of Lara Croft. The first disc includes/understands the play in itself and its no-claims bonus as in the normal edition, while the second disc is a DVD no-claims bonus and the third disc audio CD.

Audio CD

The audio disc includes/understands thirteen tracks, among which seven drawn from Anniversary , then six drawn from Legend . Each track includes/understands a sequence without interruption of several musics. For example, the first track includes/understands the musics TR: Anniversary Hand Topic and Croft Manor and the second includes/understands the musics Natla' S Theme , Centaur Boss Topic , Gorilla Theme and Lion Topic , all extracted from Tomb Raider Anniversary .

The disc being included in the box and not having a whole share box, the names of tracks are not indicated, it is with the listener to recognize the musics in question. The name of the disc is however indicated on this one as being Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend Soundtracks . The contents of CD were mixed of exclusiveness by the type-setter in the play Troels Folmann in person.

Anecdotes

Certains books whose Lara can read some lines in the rooms and the corridors of its manor makes reference to places or artefacts which have their importance in the later adventures of Lara.
In the scene of introduction Discovered of Natla , a wink is made with the players having already played with the original play, Natla declaring with Lara " It is a play to which you have already joué". This counterpart was used besides in one of the trailers of the play.
Certain parts of play, for which the developers apparently did not really conceive that the player goes above, make it possible to make float Lara above the ground. It is the case for example remains around the head of died T-Rex, in the level " The valley perdue"
In the test of Héphaïstos during the level " The madness St François" , if the player solidifies the image whereas flashes appear (for example by consulting the inventory), those remain moving contrary to the remainder of the image.
Just like in the original play, the players trying to go up on the hand of Midas will see Lara changing into gold in a special animation.
the lead ingots play the first three notes of the main theme of Tomb Raider at the time when they are transformed into gold ingots. That is easily noticed by posing them all directly one after the other.
the boss fought at the beginning of the level " Confrontation final" cannot be overcome by emptying its gauge of health in spite of appearances: indeed, the only means of making decrease this one is to explode its " main" left. However, little before the gauge is not emptied of half, the monster does not reproduce any more the movement which makes it possible to wound its hand.
In the level no-claims bonus " Style" , one finds at the time of a passage under water textures of dolphins present in the Tomb Raider original.

External bond

Official site of the play

Sources

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