A very good game despite all of the criticism.

I've been playing this game quite a lot. Initially, the controls seemed awkward, but you do get used to them. You move Lara with the analogue stick in pretty much the same way you move Tommy Vercetti in Vice City. So when running through large areas, control is fine. However, problems DO arise when Lara is in a tight corner and good positioning for jumping and grabbing is needed. The controls become cumbersome at this point. Graphically, you may think it's not up to much, but compared to the PSOne versions it is. It looks very nice and the music is great. I was shocked by the number of times the game stopped to load the next section. In some areas, this happens nearly every time you run round a couple of corners. Not good. If Rockstar Games can create an entire thriving city (GTA) with very few load screens, why couldn't Core do the same? It seemed a bit sloppy. It doesn't live up to expectations, and has a curiously old-fashioned feel to it. But there are worse games out there.… Expand

I give this game a 5 because it is only half done. This game never should have been released with as many bugs that it has. I want my freakin money back! What a rip off!

This is absolutely sad. They've taken a great franchise and ruined it. Its hard to play, janky, jacked and crap. They should be ashamed of themselves. Pathetic, weak and boring.

Story line is good.! but thats about it. For every hour you play, youll spend at least 30 of those minutes saving and reloading. The controls are horrible! You cant really enjoy the game because every time you complete one lil jump, you have to save because your probably going to die the very next step you take. its very tedious and frustrating. If it wasnt for the fact that i want to see how it ends i would quit. verdict: rent or skip all together.… Expand

I just got done playing the first three levels and it looks better than the other tomb Raider games. This on you can climb a latter normally and she goes up the stairs normally. There are times when she goes slow but if your in a tight spot you can figure out what you need to do, and in stead of being shot to death when your caught you surrender, so it's less violent then the other games. It's also better because you also controll Curtis.… Expand

I'll give it a mark for actually releasing it at last! Other than that, wat is the point of buying money grabbind sub-standard trash like this when there are 100's of better games out there. Do your selfs a favour and don't buy this. Core dont deserve your money and are the kind of developer who would bring the games industry to its knees.

Very cluncky controls and dreadful camera angles. This is a prime example of a big budget game going very wrong.

This game is great,it looks excelent and the controls are good.story is also great.grafic is amazing.what more to say:BUY THIS GAME!!!

The best Tomb Raider game, of course! The controls were kind of difficult to use at the beginning but I got used to it .. but really it's worth buying the game!

If Maxim aren't prepared to objectively review a game, they shouldn't bother. Ten out of ten?! Good grief. After this abomination, Core have lost the right to produce future Tomb Raider titles, so one hopes the glory days of the PSX versions will return one day. Where the PSX games staggered us with huge, open vistas and highly colourful, varied interiors to explore, such scenic delights are mystifyingly absent from Angel Of Darkness, perhaps demonstrating that the programmers weren't the same people responsible for the early greats. The poorly thought out puzzles are obscure in a way good puzzling (Silent Hill, Resident Evil) never is. Tjhe camera is a joke, and dying because the game is at fault is a cardinal sin. It's a good job we have far, far better third person adventures to play, because this should never have seen the light of day.… Expand

The controls are terrible and the frame rate is very slow at times. Don't buy this game! The graphics are good but the controls just don't respond. (if it ain't broke don't fix it) that as there mistake- bad game.

Lara Croft is back and the best!

in fact, with my own opinion, i think the controls are better than ever. i am good at them. they give me a new sense of freedom, of looking around, compared to previous tomb raiders. i can't help it. this game is perfect for me. the graphics are beautiful. this tomb raider is so interactive. it has a deeper, wonderfully written story. i am moving right along, and none of it is disappointing me. instead, it impresses me, gratefully. core did a bang up job. play it. don't play it. i don't care. i love it. :)… Expand

great game. great history i dont know why everybody is crying about the control is very easy to use it. the only bad part is the frames rate but despite of that tr is a great adventure.

Terrible. If you want to ogle Lara, watch the movies. They didn't resurect this series, they buried it.

The graphics and the soundtrack are about all that would be worthy of keeping if you were to strip this game down and toss out the fat. The controls are so bad that I returned the game a day after I bought it and felt happy to at least not be wasting any more of my time. Somebody else said Eidos/Core buried this series, I am SO in agreement here. Congrats to them, Tomb Raider is dead to me.

I have read nearly all the reviews across many sites, I have seen it with my own eyes, and I have heard all the negative feedback. This is a travesty to all the game players waiting for so long only to be confronted with an inferior product. I just want to know one thing has, or is EIDOS/CORE going to make a statement to their customers, if this was any other product there would be a recall solely on poor performance. It is a shame that such a popular game was not only delayed in its release but the expectations on AOD have not sufficed in the slightest. What a disappointment.… Expand

Ace Ace Ace Ace Ace Do i need to say anything else?

Yes the controls are different, yes there are slowdowns and yes there are a lot of loading screens. If eidos and core got past those this game would be awsome. I love the story and the levels are great. the graphics are not bad considering they were put together 2 years ago, the next tomb raider better look like todays standards. give this game some time and u will get used to the controls.

Graphics, fine. Story, interesting. Controls/Camera? THE WORST EVER. They are the most frustrating controls. If you tap the analog stick she practically jumps forward! I'm glad they at least have the save-whenever-option. psh.

Some people truly deserve to be fired for this monstrosity. The controls are so frustrating. The gameplay is moronic, and the graphics aren't even very good.

Brilliant game though very difficuilt but wicked.

it is fantastic Game!!

Why you ask is this game so bad? The controls and the story. First the controls. You'll maybe take 20 mintues trying to get Lara to jump, walk, turn, climb, or grab the way to want her to. It makes you want to throw the controller into the glass screen of your telivision causing it break open and catch on fire. You won't even bother to put it out after playing this game. Next the story...it make no sense. She accused of commiting a murder, so in order to prove she's not guity, she murders a bunch of people. Other than the stuff I just mentioned this game has the a lot of the stuff that made the original so good.… Expand

What's the worst part of this awful game? The fact we waited, waited, waited, and waited so long for it, and we get a piece of crap.

Tryed playing this game years ago but it was so slow and uncontrollable I thought my PC was knackered. Now loaded on to my ultra modern PC and it's even worse than I can remember. HOW on gods green earth are you supposed to control Lara? I'm constantly battling with the controls to get her to move correctly. I can barely get passed the first level (Parisian Back Streets), I';ve tried using the KYBD, Mouse, Gamepad. it's absolute rubbish. The previous games were easy to control and lots of fun but this is just plain garbage. Its going in the bucket. No wonder Crystal Dynamics got the contract. Still Legend's pish too, has great graphics but not enough gameplay nor puzzles. Tombraider, hmm better buried I say.… Expand

I played the PS2 version. The controls were a bit stiff, but the expansive story makes up for it. I found this to be a huge game, with clever level designs. Slightly flawed camera controls at some points, and a couple parts that kept me stuck for a bit. (ooh, i dont like that dark ghost!) I think it does well, what it's supposed to do. Lara, in a new adventure with puzzles and action galore.

Really bad.

It's a good game (so far) with a little slow down at times and it does take a little while to get used to the controls, but after that it moves pretty well.

Lord, it's bad. Imagine the gameplay of every other Tomb Raider, sucked of its originality, crudely stapled onto a broken and far from appealing engine, and you're nowhere near understanding how average this game is. Do yourself a favour, get one of the better PS2 action-platformers instead- Lara and her hilarious bosum have bounced for their last time...

This is the buggiest game ever, even more so than enter the matrix. at one point, i was walking along when i just fell through the ground into a bottomless pit of what looked like blue sky. once, i was walking around, and the screen just went black and for some reason, it loaded my last save, which was about an hour before. very annoying. the core gameplay isnt so hot either, so please, AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!… Expand

The Graphics Are Better Than Ever, Lara Looks Better, I Like The Game, But, They Should Of Delayed It Until They Fixed The Sometimes Freakish Glitches.

Other than some bugs, any Tomb Raider fan would adore this game! Controls are not bad at ALL if you played the last few Tomb Raider games. If anything they are a big improvement. The camera can be a little bit glitchy and the loading times can seem a bit long when your deep into the game and keep dying at a certain spot, just wanting to try it a few more times. They should've held it back for a bit longer, they did an awesome job with the story line, graphics, sound, and everything, but there are some glitches in the game that bug me, and believe me you'll know what they are when you play it. Not a bad game at all though, once you get ahold of the controls, you'll have fun. The story line is amazing, and Lara is looking better than ever.… Expand

Well, I have to say, I am a bit underwhelmed. When this game was being delayed ...delayED ....DELAYED!.... my thought was "When this game is released, it had better qualify for GAME of THE YEAR in every vidgame publication known to us!" Alas, it was not the godsend I had hoped for. At least Lara is still looking good, in fact, better than ever. Controls took some getting used to. Graphically and audibly, the game was gorgeous. But so far, no real extras....no infinite ammo or costume options for a second go through. At least the option to save anywhere made the game more palatable. However, I am a Lara Croft fan (gimme the real life models anyday over Angelina Jolie though....she refuses to wear shorts!) and will continue to play TR games as they come out. The story of the AOD is at least compelling. If CORE follows through with subsequent chapters, I am curious to see where the story goes....especially with Lara's newer darker direction.… Expand

I think many people have been a bit harsh with this game, i mean yes its a slow starter but you get use to the controls and the story line is great. The graphics are good enough and there is a lot to do. i cannot wait for the next chapter.

"Really different" they said. "A proper advancement of the series" they said. "Bollocks" say I. It's just like the other four (five? Does Chronicles count as a sequel? Does anyone care anymore? Is there life on Mars?) - the same game as in 1997. Six years is a SODDING long time in gameland, and six-year-old gameplay won't cut it anymore. In its defence, at least they tried, with the controls and that, but unfortunately "different" isn't enough in itself; certainly not if it means "markedly worse". Tomb Raider (the first one) is one of the most important Sick Virtual Reality Video Games ever made. It was revolutionary. Six years ago. But its legacy is becoming tarnished in the same way that that of Command & Conquer did, by Core and Eidos coasting on their own fumes, letting it stagnate and finally watching it die. The difference is that the surreal "celebrity" status of Lara means that TR won't run out of steam as C&C pretty much has. Looks like in another 6 years time I'll be saying all of that about Tomb Raider 24: Lara Croft In Didcot, and it'll still be going strong. Thank goodness for cut-and-paste.… Expand

Jeesus What Controls and Camera. Full Of Shit.

-10 is the real score this game gets from me! I became a cardiac patient after playing this game, getting palpitations from the agravating controls! The fight with the ghost almost killed me! Press *ANY* button in this game and IT WON'T DO ANYTHING! This game isn't even finnished at all! Hey! Did you know people in Paris speak RUSSIAN? Guess they thought us stupid americans wouldn't know the difference, as there was no more time to hire a french voice actor for the security gaurds! One character was "forgotten" to be animated!! His lips didn't' move while talking! This game was shipped full of place-holders still in it because there was no time to replace them with the actual stuff! This is officially THE LAST TOMB RAIDER EVER!… Expand

I haven't played any other Tomb Raider game, so I decided to rent AoD. It's a great game. But controls BLOW! And the glitches are horrible. Don't get me wrong the game is great, but to many problems.

It's not strange that the people that ranked The baldur's gate as one of the best games (the easiest and worst game of all times) did not like the Angel of darkness. They are simply LOSERS.They could not even use thecontrols.F**k the Metacritic! F**k the critics of Metacritic!! Lara is great in this game.

I actually like this game!! i have played TR2, 3 and Chronicles and its kinda like those games...controls... environment....but better!! imagine yourself playing TR on PS, but it is enhance for the PS2! PROS: graphics, interaction w/ environment, extras(things that wont effect you beating the game during play like options, etc), story line, music, action&adventure, puzzles, saving ability. CONS:too much loading, not so good ending, frame rate, slow control reaction, too many unecessary places and parts in game (but can be a PRO). you be the judge based on PROS and CONS.… Expand

I've been with the series since the PSX original, but now I finally have a reason to quit. Lara controls horribly, the graphics have ups and downs, but the music is nice. the entire package is not worth your time. It's weird considering all the delays. EIDOS threw out quite a few projects, such as Fear Effect Inferno, just to ensure that this latest Tomb Raider would make it to store shelves. Unforunately, Core did not have the experience, staff, or money to turn AoD into the action game it was supposed to be. (After all, any other company would have seen the fault in the controls and game design. why didn't Core?)… Expand

Graphics are nice for the ps2 but slow the system down in certian areas, this should have been dealt with in production. As for the controls...BAH! Absolutely the worst controls Ive ever experienced in gaming. Who are these people who are actually given jobs to work for such a big title and blunder so badly?

U'd have more chance controllin a motorbike at 180mph on diesel covered roads then u would controllin Lara, is it just me or when u ask her 2 run it takes bout 2 seconds for her 2 actually respond at all? part from controls though good game.

Pretty good game. I like Kurtis Trent casue that's me. But I've beat with and without cheats and it's kinda boring.

You need to learn the controls and then this game is the best ever! PERFECT STORY, PERFECT LOOKS and PERFECT LARA! Just a PERFECT game, BUY IT! You'll LOVE it!

cool!

Riffed with bugs, this game is totally unfinished. It shouldnt even have been made. A very sloppy effort.

Before I begin, let me say that I am the biggest Tomb Raider fan ever. I have a calendar at work (I'm 29 years old), I preordered my copy a full year before it came out, and I've played every Tomb Raider Game for PS1. Now, let me explain why playing Angel of Darkness was sorely disappointing from the beginning... The controls are awful and the game is very, very buggy: Five minutes into playing it froze on me. I restarted the PS2 only to begin the in-game training and find out that the controls are atrocious. Simply aligning the character to walk or jump onto a box will take several seconds longer than previous Tomb Raider games. Thirty minutes later the game froze again. (For the second time.) Now for the graphics: Backgrounds are noticeably improved over the PS1 versions, but the game still looks old when compared to many newer games on the PS2. (See Splinter Cell.) The bugs are a programming issue, not a performance issue of my PS2. CORE should be ashamed of disappointing is greatest fans with this collection of bugs, glitches and control problems. Rent this game if you want to see these problems for yourself, but don?t buy it. … Expand

Oh dear - Lara's controls have gone from being the best in the business to THE WORST I've ever played. Not fun, not clever, and definitely not worth it: I'm returning and getting my money back. I hope someone at eidos loses their job over this.

I really enjoyed the story and graphics, but the controls are a nightmare. If Lara was easier and less frustrating to control, I definitely would have given this game a higher rating.

I'm pissed because Core and Eidos somehow found a way to destroy Tomb Raider, a title that holds the greatest game I've ever played. Don't get me wrong, some of the elements in AOD are very good (Kurtis Trent, story, graphics) but the fact that they took THREE + YEARS and ended up with a bug ridden, incomplete mess is horrendous.

Imagine, if you will, a game for the next-generation systems where the main character looks like a frighteningly artificial, raccoon-eyed plasticine figure whipped up by some college freshman for his "3D Animation for Beginners" class (especially compared to the detailed, realistic females of "Soul Calibur", "Resident Evil", and "Final Fantasy"). Imagine a world where, every time you walk across one teeny city block, it takes 45 seconds for the next city block screen to load (as opposed to say the sprawling, fast-loading cities of "GTA: San Andreas"). Imagine trying to make your character run and have her hesitate every time, or trying to line her up for a jump and have her twitch too far to the left, or two far to the right without you even touching the analog stick. Imagine not being able to interact with _anything_ in the game unless you stand in just the right position or angle or pixel space. Imagine rumbling to that cool "Matrix" bullet-time effect--except it's not an effect at all, but a system slowdown, where you can slowly watch your character's ass being kicked whilst frantically pressing all the wrong buttons that won't work because the game can't keep up with your input. Imagine having to backtrack almost all the way across a level to do a nonsensical action that will somehow let you open the door all the way at the end. Now, imagine, if you will, spending your hard-earned cash for a game that makes you restart your PS2 because Lara got stuck in a wall _again_. Bottom line: the only thing you're getting from this game is an aneurysm.… Expand