On Her Own Again

Lara Croft Faces New Challenges in Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
By Brad Cook
 She’s made her way, Indiana Jones-like, through ancient places in search of fabulous treasures. The world thought she was dead when the Temple of Horus collapsed at the end of one adventure. Now the police want to charge Lara Croft with the murder of her mentor, Professor Werner Von Croy, in Aspyr Media’s Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness.

Von Croy’s death was just one in a series of murders plaguing Paris; the pattern suggests a serial killer. It’s up to you to not only help Lara clear the charges against her but also discover who — or what — is behind the killings. If she picks up a few more fabulous treasures along the way, all the better.

logoNew Ways to Play
As in past Tomb Raider games, Angel of Darkness introduces new gameplay features, such as the opportunity to beef up Lara’s abilities. Every leap across a perilous gap, for example, incrementally enhances that ability and lets her jump further the next time. If she falls short, she can hold onto the ledge on the other side, but a new grab meter only allows her to do so for a brief period before she must climb up or fall off.

Her other new moves include the ability to hug walls and peek around corners as she sneaks through certain levels. While in stealth mode, she can also come up behind enemies and take them out quickly, before they realize what’s happening. Another never-before-seen feature appears when Lara meets other characters: different response options appear for you to choose from, which gives the game a role-playing feel. Those characters treat Lara differently depending on the answers you select.

Angel of Darkness also introduces a new tomb raider, Kurtis Kent, whom you control during certain levels. He sports abilities that Lara doesn’t have, such as psychic powers that enable him to see items in other places and a telekinetic streak that helps him wield his sword with greater skill. Raised as an initiate of an ancient order called Lux Veritatis, he swore revenge after the group’s membership, including his father, was wiped out. Lux Veritatis supposedly hid the 15th century Obscure Paintings that Von Croy was looking for when he died; naturally, his path intersects with Lara’s.

Lara Croft, This is Your Life
One mystery that remains elusive, however, is what happened to Lara after her near-death experience at the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. (The last game, Tomb Raider Chronicles, allowed players to revisit some of Lara’s past adventures as her friends lamented her supposed demise.) You’ll find a different Lara in this game, one prone to sullen moments and quick-tempered outbursts. She reveals little of what happened to her after the Temple of Horus collapsed on her, and she refuses to address rumors that she spent time among North African tribes after finding her way out of the ruins.

Does the answer to her whereabouts lie at the end of the 26 levels of action that comprise Angel of Darkness? Or will it wait for the next installment of Lara’s adventures? And is Von Croy really dead? We can’t unlock all of Lara’s secrets for you; we can only point you in the right direction.

If you liked these games, check out:
 Bloodrayne
 Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb
 Return to Castle Wolfenstein
 Tomb Raider: Chronicles
   security field
Laser Blast. Guide Lara through a wide variety of traps and puzzles.
hanging tight
Hang in There. Lara’s new grip meter allows her to cling to ledges and move along them, but only until her strength runs out.
Tomb Raider Media

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Download the performance patch

System Requirements:
Mac OS X version 10.2.6 or higher
1.2GHz PowerPC G4 processor or higher
256MB of RAM or higher
32MB video card (Radeon 7500/GeForce 2MX or better)

Tips and Tricks

Lara   Be aware that you’ll need to backtrack sometimes because Lara won’t have either the item or the ability she needs to accomplish something. For example, during the first level, go back to the room with the locked cabinet after you get the crowbar. Inside you’ll find a treasure you can sell later.

  Save before you leap. When a situation gets treacherous, make sure you save or you’ll have to restart at the last spot where you saved the game. You should also save at the beginning of each new level since the game doesn’t do this for you. Finally, keep multiple save files on hand in case you realize you really should have handled a situation differently in a previous level.

  When you meet Mademoiselle Carvier, be nice to her and you’ll get Von Croy’s notebook sooner. It’s a valuable source of clues during the game.

  Don’t bother trying to fight the policemen at the beginning of the derelict apartment building level. They’ll just arrest you.

  Lara’s health regenerates at the beginning of each level, so don’t waste a medical pack if her health is low at the end of a level, unless she desperately needs it to survive a fight.

  To save time, jump up stairs instead of running up them. This is a handy trick to use during the derelict apartment building level when the tear gas begins to seep up around Lara.

  Don’t waste ammo on enemies you could easily avoid, and don’t bother shooting the rats you find in the sewers; they’re relatively harmless and take too many shots to kill.

  The money you find in the Parisian ghettos will reappear if you grab it, exit the building, and come back. Collect at least 1,500 euros if you want to make sure you don’t run out of money making purchases in Daniel Rennes’s Pawnshop, which is also a good place to sell items you don’t need. (Just watch out for the booby traps that the perpetually paranoid Rennes hid throughout the building.)

  When you enter a room, look for twinkles of light on the floor or on the walls. They indicate items you can pick up. And make sure you search all cabinets and other furniture for important stuff.

Still need help? Visit the page for Angel of Darkness at GameFAQs.com, where you’ll find walk-throughs, an in-depth guide to strategies for beating the bosses in the game, and tips and tricks for using Lara’s weapons and physical abilities to the best of her advantage. (Some of the guides may say they’re for the PlayStation 2 version, but it’s the same game as the Mac edition.) Even more great information is also available from the Tomb Raider 4U fansite.