Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a 2007 action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and Buzz Monkey Software and published by Eidos Interactive in 2007 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, Wii and mobile phones. It was later ported to OS X in 2008 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. The eighth overall entry in the Tomb Raider series and second in the Legend trilogy, Anniversary is a remake of the first Tomb Raider game, originally released in 1996.
Taking place before the events of 2006's Tomb Raider: Legend, Anniversary follows series protagonist Lara Croft's quest for the Scion of Atlantis. Gameplay features Lara navigating linear levels, fighting enemies and solving puzzles to progress. The Wii version includes console-exclusive motion control elements, and the mobile adaptation features side-scrolling gameplay emulating earlier mobile Tomb Raider titles.
Following the completion of Legend, Crystal Dynamics began developing Anniversary. Using the Legend engine, the team rebuilt the gameplay and levels, and series cocreator Toby Gard expanded the narrative. Composer Troels Brun Folmann remade and added to the music using an orchestral style. A remake of the original Tomb Raider was initially being created by franchise creators Core Design, but the project was cancelled following their sale to Rebellion Developments in 2006.
Upon release, Anniversary received generally positive reviews from critics, who deemed it a worthy remake of the original game, though some criticism was aimed at the game's graphics and occasional technical issues. The Wii version also divided opinion, with some critics praising the implementation of motion controls but others faulting them. While it reached high positions in sales charts, the game would become the worst selling entry in the franchise, selling just 1.3 million copies worldwide. The game was followed by Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008), the last in the Legend trilogy that takes place directly after the events of Legend.
Gameplay
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a single-player action-adventure game where the player controls the protagonist, Lara Croft, from a third-person perspective, through fourteen levels set across four locations around the world. Lara can jump, climb and shimmy along ledges and vertical poles or ladders, crawl through small spaces, and swing on ropes and horizontal poles. Other abilities include interacting with objects and switches, using a grappling hook to latch onto special rings for both puzzle solving and environmental traversal, and swim and dive underwater for a limited time. Different button combinations can create more moves such as a roll and swan dive.
Puzzles block progress through the levels until Lara solves them by activating switches or finding and using keys hidden within the area. These involve avoiding traps and timed environmental elements. In some sections, the player must pass quick time events by reacting to control prompts that appear on screen. While exploring, Lara can find large and small Medipacks that can heal damage suffered during gameplay, items which allow progress through a level or the larger game, and hidden artefacts and relics which unlock rewards such as costumes once collected. Once completed, a time trial is unlocked for each level, with further bonus features unlocking once the time trial is completed successfully.
During combat, Lara automatically locks on to enemies and fires with her equipped gun, with the player able to switch to another target within range and move freely to avoid enemy attacks. Animal enemies can grab and knock Lara down, leaving her vulnerable to damage until she breaks free or rights herself from a fall. Tougher enemies become enraged and charge at Lara after being shot a number of times. When they close in, time slows and Lara can dodge the incoming attack, allowing her time to counterattack. A special attack triggered during this time is a head shot when two targeting reticles overlap; a head shot kills a standard enemy and deals high damage to boss characters. Lara has access to four different weapons in combat; her default twin pistols with infinite ammunition, and three secondary weapons—a shotgun, dual .50 caliber handguns and dual miniature submachine guns—with different attack power and limited ammunition which is picked up during levels. Should Lara die during gameplay, she restarts from the previous checkpoint.
The Wii port carries over the levels and general gameplay of the other versions, while incorporating motion controls. Wii-exclusive first-person puzzles include breaking through walls with a pickaxe, using a flash light in dark areas, assembling mechanisms from pieces found around the environment, manipulating symbol-based locks, and using paper and charcoal to take rubbings of puzzle-related symbols, all utilizing the Wii Remote. Motion controls are also used for some aspects of platforming, and free aiming in combat. In the mobile phone version of Anniversary, Lara navigates side-scrolling 2D levels, platforming, fighting enemies and activating switches to progress.
Plot British archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft is approached by mercenary Larson, who is employed by wealthy businesswoman Jacqueline Natla. Natla hires Lara to find the Scion of Atlantis, an ancient artefact originally sought by Lara's father Richard Croft. It is buried in the tomb of Atlantean ruler Qualopec within the lost city of Vilcabamba. Making her way through Vilcabamba to Qualopec's tomb, Lara discovers that there are three pieces of the Scion, divided between Atlantis' Triumvirate. Escaping the tomb, she is confronted by Larson, sent by Natla to take Lara's piece of the Scion. After beating him in a fight, he reveals that Natla has sent her rival Pierre Dupont to retrieve the next piece. Breaking into Natla's offices, Lara discovers a video showing the next Scion piece's resting place in Greece beneath a building called St Francis' Folly.
Navigating the catacombs beneath St Francis' Folly, Lara finds the tomb of Tihocan, another member of the Triumvirate, that led the survivors of Atlantis after a betrayal caused the city's destruction. Pierre steals the Scion piece, but he is killed by guardian centaurs outside the tomb. After defeating the centaurs and joining both pieces of the Scion, Lara has a vision which reveals that the third and final piece of the Scion was hidden in Egypt after the third member of the Triumvirate—the traitor who sank Atlantis—was captured by Tihocan and Qualopec. Recovering the third Scion piece, Lara assembles the Scion and sees the rest of the vision, revealing Natla to be the betrayer. Emerging from her vision, Lara is ambushed by Natla, who takes the Scion.
Lara escapes Natla's henchmen—with silent help from Larson—and stows away aboard Natla's boat, which arrives at an uncharted volcanic island holding an Atlantean pyramid filled with her monstrous creations. Lara is forced to kill Larson when he will not back down, which greatly disturbs her. Fighting Natla's remaining henchmen and navigating the pyramid−including an encounter with a doppelgänger of her−Lara confronts Natla, who offers her a place in the new Triumvirate and access to the Scion's knowledge to complete Richard's quest for knowledge. Lara instead shoots the Scion and sends Natla plummeting into a pool of lava, triggering a chain reaction that begins destroying the pyramid. After a final confrontation with a severely injured but still powerful Natla, ending after she is crushed by a pillar, Lara escapes the island and sails away in Natla's boat.
Development Tomb Raider is the first game in the titular franchise, and introduced the series' gameplay standards and its protagonist Lara Croft. Developed by British studio Core Design and released in 1996, Tomb Raider was a commercial and critical success. It was followed by four successive games between 1997 and 2000. Their sixth Tomb Raider game Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was beset by developmental problems and rushed to release, resulting in low sales and largely negative critical reception. The game's failure and Core Design's fatigue with the series prompted franchise publisher Eidos Interactive to move development of Tomb Raider to the American studio Crystal Dynamics, who rebooted the franchise with Tomb Raider: Legend. Legend was released in 2006 to critical and commercial success. Following the success of Legend, Crystal Dynamics were requested by Eidos to develop a remake of the original Tomb Raider. Anniversary was co-developed by Crystal Dynamics and Buzz Monkey Software, the company responsible for Legends PSP port. The game's creative director and lead designer was James Botta, its producer was Lulu LaMer, and its art director was Andrew Wood.
The team were eager to develop Anniversary as they could use the development assets of Legend. They were also shocked by the request due to the original game's status amongst both Tomb Raider fans and video game history. Another reason for developing Anniversary over a new game was to help celebrate the series' tenth anniversary and create a "compelling gameplay experience" by remaking the first game rather than creating a new title. With two studios working on the game, the development structure was quite complex; a core team of fifteen was based at Crystal Dynamics, Buzz Monkey Software formed a large part of the game's staff, and Crystal Dynamic's executive Creative Services section oversaw development. When designing Anniversary, the team emphasised creating the game first before making adjustments to keep paper documentation to a minimum in favour of face-to-face conversations. To facilitate a smooth process, the team created a merit-based "democratic" environment where ideas could be put forward by other team members.
Story and art design
Toby Gard, one of the original game's designers and Lara's credited creator, acted as story designer; the script and dialogue were written by Matt Ragghianti. The original game's story was described by Crystal Dynamics staff as "pretty sparse" and difficult to understand without Gard's explanations. One of the aims with Anniversary was to flesh out the narrative and tie it into the continuity of Legend. Gard fleshed out the lore and character motivations in Anniversary, something impossible with Tomb Raider as it needed to tell its story as quickly as possible. The narrative's conclusion, which included Lara's temptation by Natla's offer of the knowledge her father sought, thematically led into Lara's search for her mother in Legend.