Video Game Vintage Title: Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a 2007 action-adventure video game, part of the Tomb Raider series. It is a remake of the first video game in the series, the original 1996 Tomb Raider. It uses an improved version of the Legend game engine, and it includes all of the original environments from Tomb Raider.

The game was co-developed by Crystal Dynamics and Buzz Monkey Software for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Windows and Wii. Eidos announced 1 June 2007 as the European release date for the PS2 and Windows version, with the North American release to follow on 5 June 2007. Additionally, the subscription PC gaming service GameTap announced that the game will be available on their service on the same day as the game went to retailers. The PSP version was released on 9 August 2007 in the United States and on 26 October 2007 in Europe, with the Wii version released in Europe on 7 December 2007. An Xbox 360 version was released on 23 October 2007 and a version for the PlayStation 3 is included in The Tomb Raider Trilogy collection released in March 2011. The Mac OS X version of the game was released in February 2008 by Feral Interactive.

The game was well received by critics, with the PC version holding the highest score. It holds an 83 on Metacritic and 84.28% on GameRankings. The game sold 1.3 million copies worldwide, making it the least commercially successful game in the franchise, nevertheless, it was still a success.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary Plot

In 1945 in New Mexico, a blast from a nuclear experiment during the Manhattan Project reveals a strange crystalline structure, from which a winged creature breaks free and flies away. In Calcutta 1996, Lara Croft is approached by Larson Conway, who introduces her to Jacqueline Natla, who wishes Lara to find a piece of an artefact called the Scion, located in the Peruvian mountains. Lara, having searched unsuccessfully for such an artefact with her father in the past, agrees to go.

In the Peruvian mountains, Lara finds a tomb belonging to the Atlantean king Qualopec. She discovers that he was one of three Kings (the Triumvirate) who ruled Atlantis before it sank. Lara leaves with a piece of the three-part Scion, but notices movement from what had appeared to be a statue of Qualopec before the tomb collapses. Shortly after, Lara is confronted by Larson, who attempts to take the Scion piece from her. After knocking him out, she discovers that Natla has sent Pierre Dupont, another archaeologist, to find the next piece. Lara breaks into Natla's office and finds evidence that the next piece of the Scion is located in St. Francis Folly in Greece.

Lara departs to Greece, and finds the second piece of the Scion in the depths of a tomb. While Lara studies the empty coffin of Tihocan, the second member of the Triumvirate, Pierre ambushes Lara, forcing her at gun point to give up her piece of the Scion. After Pierre takes the piece Lara tries to take him by surprise but he escapes with the Scion piece in hand, only to be killed by guardian centaurs outside of the tomb. After defeating the centaurs, and joining both pieces of the Scion, Lara sees a vision,and it reveals the location of the third and final piece of the Scion: Egypt.

Lara travels to Egypt, and successfully retrieves the third piece of the Scion. After assembling all three pieces, Lara's earlier vision becomes much clearer. In Lara's visions two of the three Kings, Tihocan and Qualopec, are sentencing the third one, revealed to be Natla, to imprisonment. Natla, after releasing Atlantis' own army against itself in an attempt to bring about what she refers to as the Seventh Age, is imprisoned in the crystalline structure for a thousand years.

With Lara in a trance, Natla steals the Scion, and has Lara restrained by her three henchmen. Lara escapes and follows the departing Natla on a motorbike, managing to sneak onto Natla's departing boat. Lara follows Natla into a desolate mine, and kills Larson when he tries to stop her. Visibly shaken, Lara then confronts Kold and Kid, who end up killing each other in the skirmish. Lara then travels to the top of the Atlantean pyramid and confronts Natla.

Not long into the confrontation with Natla, Lara realises that Natla's plan is to resurrect the army of Atlantis. Natla attempts to convince Lara to stop opposing her, and become immortal like her. Lara destroys Scion instead, and is then tackled by Natla, who falls into the lava while Lara uses her grappling hook to survive. Lara, thinking Natla dead, tries to escape, being confronted by a giant mutant along the way. She is soon confronted by an angry Natla, severely burnt, but unimpeded in ability. After a confrontation, Lara collapses a pillar supporting the pyramid onto Natla, trapping her under the collapsing pyramid. Lara escapes and sails away in Natla's boat.

Reception
Tomb Raider Anniversary received even better critical reception than Tomb Raider Legend. IGN gave the game a "good" rating, along with a 7.8 score. They criticised the camera angles, saying "If ever there was a title that screamed for a second analog stick, it's a Lara Croft game." But they did add, "If you're looking for a solid adventure game, this fits the bill." GameSpot said "This is one of those rare cases when the remake is better than the original" and awarded Anniversary 7.5/10. Eurogamer called the game "the best Lara Croft adventure to date" and added "It's as if Eidos and Crystal took a look at the long list of perennial bugbears anyone had about the game and scrubbed them off with a big red marker until every one was gone." Official UK PlayStation Magazine gave the game a very positive review, awarding it a 9/10.