Mac Game Review - Tomb Raider Anniversary

September 24, 2008 by Ross McKillop

Review by wraith2021

This is the first game review I have ever done, that is not to say I don’t play games, I have for many years, but this is one of note because this is a Mac game.

Shock! Horror! Macs don’t have games! I hear you cry. Well, they do now, and they are identical to their PC counterpart with exactly the same graphics.

I will start by saying that Macs do not have as good of a reputation when it comes to games, this is because of the minimal market share the Mac had in the past, and the limited capabilities of some of the older Macs. Since the switch to Intel however things have been looking up for the Mac; market share is ever increasing, Macs are on par with PC’s hardware wise, and Macs are now picking up on the game front too.

After playing the demo I found myself wanting to get this game, this is not to say that the Mac had any real impact over say playing the demo on the PC, but the game is identical in every way to its PC counterpart.

I will start by saying I am running this game on a 24″ iMac, 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme, 2GB Ram, ATI 2600HD 256MB. Basically a gaming Mac with a big glossy screen.

The first thing I did when I installed the game (when I say installed, I mean I dragged the icon from the DVD to the Applications folder) was to set all the settings to maximum to see how it performed. I must admit the graphics are smooth and amazing my Mac had no trouble running this game with all the bells a whistles turned on.

The Minimum System Requirements are Mac OS X 10.4, 1.8GHz CPU, 512MB Ram, 64MB VRam 3D, 4GB HDD.

The Recommended System Requirements are Mac OS X 10.5, 2GHz CPU, 1GB Ram, 128MB VRam 3D, 4GB HDD.

Also the game is for Intel Macs only, so no PPC Macs, this is not a universal binary.

When the Game starts you get the usual intro and animation screens and a rehash of the original Tomb Raider Story begins, brought up to date and looking like it fits. The game starts with you getting the assignment to find the Scion, a mythical object which leads you to your first tomb, you start at the doors found in a mountain side, and like the original you have to find a way to open the doors, but this time you are armed with more than a set of matching pistols. This part shows you how to climb and do the basics of scaling death defying rock faces, as well as one more thing, you now come armed with a grappling hook and a lot of rope. This is where they have really added a new element to the game. With this you can swing, wall run, and do some of the things from Prince of Persia.

Also your basic skills have increased, you can maneuver more freely in a fight and do special moves, like head shots, change target, and quick recovery from being knocked down. Your climbing skills allow you more freedom depending on what you are scaling as well. The levels are larger and more complex but still hold some if the familiarity of the original game, you will find yourself recognizing places but this time around they look a lot more real. It sometimes becomes difficult to see what you can scale as the rock faces are no longer “blocky”, and you find yourself having to think more when figuring out how to get to the next stage.

On each level there are a few things which can throw you off course, there are places that you think you need to go to get further but upon actually getting there you find all you have done is found a secret room with a medi-pack in it or hit a dead end. Also some of the tasks become repetitive, and if you are one for getting frustrated easily with having to do one part over and over until you finally reach that ledge then this game is not for you. Personally I find a lot of fun in this game, they have taken the original story and re-imagined and expanded on it in every way. If you where a fan of the original Tomb Raider this is a fresh new trip down memory lane, just remember that this time around its different, so you will have to figure all those puzzles out again.

As a Mac user games like this are a rarity, but this is changing fast, games like Neverwinter Nights 2, Gears of War and Spore, as well as Quake Wars, and other title are finding there way onto the Mac. As the market share increases the Mac will be able to enjoy more games like this one. Feral did a good job of the conversion, and I support any software house that is willing to try and keep the Mac games market up to speed with the PC.