Tomb Raider: Anniversary for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

This next generation re-imagining of the original does the series justice and improves upon the formula set forth by Legend.

Pros: More like the classic TR games - more mind-twisting puzzles and deeper labyrinths than Legend; graphics use the same engine as Legend and are very sweeping and pretty; QTE are more interesting than in the last one; music is great.

Cons: Some of the areas are overly-frustrating (St. Francis Folly much) - it's an area with a multi-level puzzle - I got lost so many times because everything looks the same - hated it; the story is rather sparse and not as movie-like as Legend; the framerate can be choppy.

If you have Legend already and liked it, then get this! If you own Legend, you can buy Anniversary as DLC from XBL. You need to have the Legend disc to play Anniversary every time though.

Graphics: They get the job done ...its not DMC4, Bioshock or Gears of War graphics but it has been upgraded considerably from the original, check the bonus content to see how it used to look, the main problem here is the framerate chugs many times for no reason but it doesn't ruin the game. Overall the graphics get a 7.5

Gameplay: The reason I fell for Lara all those years ago was the great puzzles and tomb raiding that this game provides. Tomb Raider Legend was pretty disappointing for me and seemed like Tomb Raider Lite. The controls have been improved from the original and reflect the gameplay found in Legend but the puzzles and experience is much better. You will definatly be challenged to figure out what to do next. Using a walk through would ruin the experience in my opinion. The game is also much longer than Legend. The gunplay is pretty basic and they mix in some of those button press events and they are ok but thats not why you play Tomb Raider anyway. The gameplay in this game is what Tomb Raider should be. Yes it could be improved but this is a game that came out over 10 years ago and still holds it own to this day.
Overall the gameplay gets a 9.

If your looking for a high action experience you won't get that here, play DMC4 or something, but if you want a game that feels like your are exploring tombs for treasure and enjoy puzzles this is a great game.

Hopefully the next game, Tomb Raider Underground, will get the mix of action and exploration just right.
Overall Score: 8.5