[Dasilva]

This is not something that a game competing with the likes of established franchises as Grand Theft Auto and Oblivion need.

Since when does a 3rd person action adventure compete with a open ended RPG?

Not only is the voice acting annoying but also it’s also obtrusive. Crystal Dynamics have a knack for programming dialog whenever I’m rushing from boulders, calculating a complex jump, or enjoying the surroundings.
The developers have cunningly integrated the worst times for Lara’s pals to speak.
I’m sure there was some very humorous jokes in there somewhere if only I could hear them over the gunfire, also resulting in possible key plot elements being missed.

Well, I would think most people can do actions and listen to sound at the same time. I found the dialog in the game quite a nice touch, otherwise it would be too solitude for the player, the developers want you to feel that your not alone in these eviroments. And maybe your dialog volume is a bit lower than it should be? Because I can hear all the dialog perfectly while rocks are falling, people at gunning me with a shotgun etc.

Ah, and the gunfights. How tedious and unprofessional. Whilst running up to an enemy, and using them to jump a number of feet high in slow motion is fun to begin with, accidentally jumping down cliffs whilst focusing on the battle, leaving you contemplating jumping out the window isn’t.
Neither is spending about 2 minutes trying to kill an enemy from afar as, whilst Lara is the best at athletics, she is the absolute worst at aiming.

There are 4 (I think) different aiming/gunplay settings in the menu, are you sure you didnt fiddle around to find the right one for you instead of being frustrated?

Interestingly, not only did Eidos lose original creators Core Design with Tomb Raider Legends, but have essentially lost the core design of what the series has always been about. Now that’s death by irony Lara!

Okay. Toby Guard was the creator of Lara croft & Tomb Raider. He left after the first game (which is the best in the series). Now Core Design were making 6 odd sequels to what Toby Guard created, now if Im not mistaken Toby Guard IS Tomb Raider, his the man that knows what makes lara tick, Core Design are pretty lost without Toby I think, thats why Lara become so sexualized over the next games, Toby never wanted something like that, but it was out of his hands. And Angel of Darkness is solid proof that core Design don't have the direction that Toby could of given them.

So Tomb Raider aint dead, because Toby is back with Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary & Tomb Raider 8. I think TRL is a revitalisation for the series, Tomb Raider 8 will take it to the next step.