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Anatomy of a disaster: Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness


Next-Gen is running a piece from Edge Magazine about how Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness went so terribly wrong. Angel of Darkness was the last Lara Croft game created by developer Core before publisher Eidos said to hell with them and gave Croft duties to Crystal Dynamics (who have yet to disappoint).

The piece starts with just how awful Angel of Darkness was, but things really get moving with an anecdote of Core Design's co-founder, Jeremy Heath-Smith, cursing through the game's opening level at a buyers' conference. The story ends with most of Core's staff leaving due to management issues and Eidos taking Lara away. Angel of Darkness is a case study on how a franchise can be run into the ground and yet still find redemption in the hands of another.