Appearing on 360 as much by popular demand as anything else, reviewing this seems about as pointless as hopes of a decent 3D Sonic. Players up for a touch of Lara fancying need only look past the inflated bricks-and-mortar retail price before purchasing via Xbox Live, safe in the knowledge that no particularly irksome gameplay fly has plummeted into the enjoyment ointment. Moving on, the overall brief describes an original PSone, Saturn and PC classic’s ‘Legendisation’, passing from now defunct hands of Core Design into leaner, well-toned alternatives at Crystal Dynamics. The development studio presumably chosen so Eidos’ stack of monogrammed towels and napkins wouldn’t go to waste. So, aside all the exploratory potholing action some of us enjoyed back in 1996 comes automatic grabbing of ledges, the ability to perform headshot mini-games and a more general fresh coat of paint. It’s consistent with the halfway house engine that allowed Tomb Raider: Legend to straddle generations gracefully not too long ago, but it’s an improvement on the distinctly triangular original for sure.

Of course, re-releases of this nature come along so very infrequently outside of the PC’s single format that it’s hard not to find yourself assessing whether the impact Lara has had on videogames in general is worth another 40 of your notes. For starters, while levels are an undeniable treasure trove of puzzles so convoluted you’ll have to call a cab to get a clear overall view of them, Lara’s acrobatics are getting stiff and arthritic in their old age. Trouble is, we’ve just been spoiled too much by a certain Prince’s wall-running and wonderfully framed antics to be thrilled by swinging from ledge to ledge. Yes, certain sections of certain iconic poster imagery are now playable rather than an opportunity to ogle a lady’s bottom, but when drops of a few feet result in a rather amusing but nevertheless dead central character, dynamic liquid doesn’t count for very much. Ultimately, there are just a few too many times where you find yourself saying “why did Lara just head butt that wall?”, “so I can’t shoot that rope from this point, but I could from one exactly the same distance away” or “why is this cave’s colour palette entirely green/grey/ brown?” (delete as appropriate). Fans will probably find a certain quaintness in this kind of stuff, but it’ll put newcomers’ noses right out of joint.

As coincidence would have it, following that complaint regarding developers refusing to remove their fingers from wherever the wellknown phrase assumes they’ve been put, is a point on cut-scenes with Shenmue/God Of War-style button presses crowbarred into them. You can almost hear an apologetic design lead saying “look, we know significant parts of our code still listen to the Spice Girls and B*Witched, but look – danger! The letter B! That brings back the excitement, doesn’t it?” Not so, and if we wanted to look at alphanumeric characters superimposed over slightly misshapen animals, we’d do the decent thing and watch Sesame Street.

So, we’ve established that as long as you head into Tomb Raider: Anniversary with expectations of a straight down the line nostalgia exercise and nothing more, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Combat is fairly significantly improved by Legend’s targeting lock-on system, and while the lush scenery around you is transparently little more than painted shoeboxesviewed from a distance, it’s easy enough to forget where you are. Newcomers will baulk at the kind of crate and cog puzzle mechanics Comic Book Guy has recently criticised in-game but, retreating to our first point, chances are you’ve already decided if this is of interest or not. Any criticisms revolving around the fact this is a PC bargain bin release given a quick coat of paint and shot out for practically standard retail value will be dismissed by fans as either jealousy or just plain missing the point. Visual complaints will be countered by the fact it’s a work of art placed next to the subject. Even control gripes have been far removed from the kind of ‘one step left, one step forward’ tedium ‘enjoyed’ formerly. So it’s a bit like someone attacking a digitisation of the Mona Lisa, just because its resolution is too low – as a critic, you’re never going to win. It’s a revered classic (though we’re not sure staring as Lara’s behind for hours on end counts as art), there are no major problems festering behind the scenes. That, pretty much, is that.

Dave Shaw