Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
| Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness | |||
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| Studio |
 Core design
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| Publisher |
Eidos Interactive
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| Senior Developer |
Jeremy Heath-Smith Adrian Smith |
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Windows June 20, 2003 July 1, 2003 PlayStation 2 October 23, 2003 June 20, 2003 July 4, 2003 Mac OS X December 18, 2003   |
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| platform | Windows , Mac OS , PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Action adventure | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | CD-ROM | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
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Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is an action adventure game by Core Design and the sixth game about the archaeologist Lara Croft . Originally announced for November 2002, it was released in June 2003 for Windows , Mac OS and - for the first time in series history - for PlayStation 2 . It was the first computer game to support the DirectX-9 graphics interface . The Angel of Darkness received significantly negative reviews compared to its predecessors, which is why the rights holder Eidos Interactive withdrew the further development of the series from the series creators of Core and transferred it to its American subsidiary Crystal Dynamics .
action
The action takes place a few months after the fourth part, during the end of which Lara was buried. However, it is not clear how Lara was able to free herself (which is explained in the first of the three novels for the series). At the end of the fifth part, Lara is found by Werner von Croy.
A series of mysterious murders has kept the city of Paris in suspense. The cruelty of the murder cases as well as the occult symbols painted with the blood of the victims on the walls of the crime scene make the citizens generally speak of the "monster". A few days after being rescued, Lara visits her mentor Werner von Croy , who is currently settled in Paris. When he dies in the course of the meeting, Croft has to flee from the approaching police. The next day Lara is called the monster and has to go into hiding. From the notes of her mentor, she finds out that Werner has already seen his death coming, as his business partner, "Master" Eckhart, seems to have murdered several people. On the run from the Paris police, Lara tries to shed light on Werner's death with the help of Margot Carvier and Mafia boss Bouchard. There she comes across the Lux Veritatis, an old order that fought against the Cabal in the 15th century.
A race breaks out between Eckhart and Lara for five mysterious works of art, which are located in the Louvre in Paris as well as in Prague . Finally, Croft learns of the true identity of her adversary and his intentions: Meister Eckhart is the powerful black alchemist of the Cabal! With his magical glove he kills his opponents and removes their organs. Because together with the "paintings of darkness" (English original: "Obscura Paintings", actually it is about copperplate engravings ) he can awaken the sleeper of the fallen angels ( Nephilim ) and complete his goal of creating a new world order.
To stop him, you need crystal fragments, which Kurtis helps Trent to find, since he is also trying to stop Eckhart. His job is to avenge the murder of his father. After numerous fights against his genetically modified henchmen, it was possible to defeat both Eckhart and the Nephilim. In the last scene of the game you can see Kurtis' gun lying on the floor. Lara picks it up, it moves, the knife edges fold out and point to an exit. Lara smiles and leaves the underground hall.
Style of play
For this part of the Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft's options for interacting with the environment have been greatly expanded. For the first time, the protagonist can speak to different characters, with the player having the option of influencing the course of the conversation and defeating opponents with kicks and punches instead of just using guns as before. In addition, for the first time in a Tomb Raider title it is possible to control another character named Kurtis Trent in sections.
The inventory is divided into the items health, weapons, puzzles and diary, whereby the latter in particular always contains useful tips. New in Tomb Raider - The Angel of Darkness is that found items (doubloons, rings, wine bottles) can be exchanged for cash in the Paris pawnshop. However, this interesting game variation is no longer influenced later. In addition to different sized medipacks, the player will find chocolate, which, like in real life, also brings a little energy boost. The weapon arsenal includes several handguns, from the 9 mm to the shotgun to the semi-automatic submachine gun.
The game status can be saved at any time, which reduces the level of difficulty somewhat. In general, as with most Tomb Raider episodes, the focus is more on solving puzzles, looking for switches and, above all, successfully mastering some very challenging jump combinations.
opponent
In addition to animal opponents such as rats, bats or dogs, Lara fights in The Angel of Darkness mainly against human opponents such as police officers, mafia or similar (→ sanatorium). There are also technical obstacles such as mines, surveillance cameras and laser systems. The game hero is even confronted with poison gas attacks by French special forces.
Particularly noteworthy opponents:
- red obscura spirit (level: hall of seasons) invincible guardian of the painting of darkness
- Proto-Nephilim (Level: High Security Wing)
- (Mutated) Boaz (Level: Return of Boaz)
- Skeleton Knight (Level: Tomb of the Ancestors, Hall of Seasons, The Vault of Trophies, Eckhardt's Laboratory)
- Eckhard (Level: Eckhardt's Laboratory)
- Karel (Level: Eckhardt's Laboratory)
reception
- Bravo Screenfun : Note 2- (PS2) (Edition 08/03)
- Computer Bild Spiele : Note 3.42 (PS2) (Edition 09/03)
- Famitsu : 29 out of 40 points
- GameStar : 52% (PC) (Edition 09/03)
- PC Action : 70% (PC) (Edition 09/03)
- PC Games : 65% (PC) (Edition 09/03)
- 4Players : 68% (PC), 70% (PS2)
Despite the long development time, the game did not meet the expectations of Eidos Interactive and many players. Initially praised and hailed as the new beginning of the series, it was soon viewed as the series' downfall due to the obvious programming errors and negligence. After this flop, Core Design's license to Lara Croft was revoked by Eidos and the game developer Crystal Dynamics was commissioned to develop the successor Tomb Raider: Legend .
Exclusively in Germany, a song with disc jockey Alex Christensen (including "Das Boot") was recorded on the occasion of the release , the video of which shows scenes from The Angel of Darkness (Alex C. feat. Yasmin K. - "Angel Of Darkness").
Web links
- The Angel of Darkness at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - Review. gameswelt.de, p. 3 , accessed on February 20, 2013 .
- ↑ 4players.de
- ↑ http://www.looki.de/user/Jens_Bender/?search=phantasy : Tomb Raider no longer by Core Design in the future. looki.de, July 30, 2003, accessed February 20, 2013 .
- ↑ Lara Croft on MTV2 and VIVA ... gameswelt.de, July 1, 2003, accessed on February 20, 2013 .