Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

Tomb Raider VI

The Angel of Darkness
Release Date	2003
Platforms	PlayStation 2, PC, Mac
Levels	34
Secrets	none
Developer	Core Design
Publisher	Eidos Interactive
Rating	* ESRB: Teen PEGI: 12+ CERO: Ages 15 and up
Game Chronology:
Tomb Raider Chronicles	Tomb Raider VI	Tomb Raider Legend

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is the sixth instalment in the Tomb Raider Games series. It was the last game that was developed by Core Design who had developed the previous five games. With a new engine, stunning graphics (for its time), a remodelled Lara, and new gameplay, The Angel of Darkness was one of the highly anticipated games of the Tomb Raider series.

Although somewhat ahead of its time in some instances, and years later still having a steady fan base, back in the day The Angel of Darkness was received with mixed reviews. There were many bugs like missing or distorted NPC faces, which had to be fixed by patches - a process that in the time before services like Steam or GoG that can download and install patches autonomously was difficult and time consuming for the average user. Also, on platforms depending on read only media like the PlayStation 2 patching wasn't passible at all. Furthermore, there were whole sections or levels inside the game that had been removed by Core before shipping, because these weren't complete and there was no more time to finish them before the release date. Also many found the controls somewhat antiquated, which made the game more difficult than it needed to be. All these factors contributed to the Tomb Raider franchise being moved from Core Design to Crystal Dynamics.

Release Dates in Detail

PC

United Kingdom - 20th June 2003

United States and Germany - 1st July 2003

Australia and New Zealand - 16th July 2003

PlayStation 2

United States and Canada - 20th June 2003

United Kingdom - 4th July 2003

Germany - 9th July 2003

Australia and New Zealand - 28th May 2004

Japan - 23rd October 2004

Macintosh

United States - 4th December 2003

Levels

Back Streets

Back Streets

Parisian Ghetto

Ghetto

Serpent Rouge

2.9 - Rennes' Pawnshop

Louvre

In the Louvre

3 - Louvre Storm Drains
4 - Louvre Galleries

Under the Louvre

Under the Louvre

Von Croy's

Von Croy's Apartment

6 - Von Croy's Apartment

The Vault of Trophies

Prague

Features

Character evolution

Improve Lara's abilities and witness her adapt to how you play the game. You are rewarded for puzzle solving and exploration in the form of improvements to Lara's jumping ability, brainpower, upper body strength etc.

Character interaction

For the very first time in a Tomb Raider game, Lara has the ability to talk to characters. The choices you make in conversation will affect Lara's route through the game.

Cutting edge graphics

Brand new game engine designed to fully utilize the power of PlayStation 2. Lara is now made up of over 5,000 polygons as opposed to just 500 in previous games.

Take more direct and fluid control over Lara with an entirely new control system and experience new levels of gameplay with hand-to-hand combat, stealth attacks, last chance grabs and more.

Gameplay

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Story

Main article: Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness Story

Plot

The story begins in Paris where a serial killer the press have named "The Monstrum" has been terrorizing the city, killing several seemingly unconnected individuals in a brutal, ritualistic fashion. Lara has arrived in Paris to visit her former mentor, Werner von Croy. The visit, however, is not pleasant; Lara blames Werner for abandoning her in Egypt at the conclusion of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. Werner begs for her help, complaining that he is being stalked, and asks that she talk to Mademoiselle Carvier, a friend of his and art historian at the Louvre, but Lara admonishes him and gets up to leave. In the next few moments, a blur of activity occurs, and Lara is knocked unconscious. When she awakes, Werner is dead, and his blood is smeared both on her hands and the walls of the apartment, forming strange symbols. Unsure of what has happened, and of her own guilt or innocence, Lara flees the apartment, and is pursued down the backstreets of Paris by French police. Eventually, Lara makes it to Carvier's apartment, and informs her of Werner's death. A shocked Carvier suspects Lara may be responsible, and telephones the police, but not before carrying out Werner's last wish that Lara should have his field journal. Lara is again forced to make a quick exit, and ends up spending the rest of the night in an abandoned train carriage in a Parisian slum.

Von Croy's journal contains details of his last project; research on a work of art known as the "Obscura painting", apparently located in a medieval chamber beneath the Louvre. The research apparently involves a man known as Bouchard, and Lara resolves to find and question him on Von Croy's final days. Everybody on the streets appears to know Bouchard. One is a city guide a who offers Lara information of the death of people by the Monstrum and a prostitute called Janice who tell her that Bouchard formerly ran a club known as Le Serpent Rouge and has lost staff. She also reveals information of Bouchard's two main workers. Janice also reveals Carvier may have been murdered by the Monstrum after Lara left her.

Lara speaks either to Pierre or Bernard and is given access to Bouchard's hideout if she returns a box to either of them. She does the job. Lara notices a mysterious stranger known as Kurtis sitting in the corner, who later takes off on his motorcycle.

Pierre/Bernard gives Lara the details on access to Bouchard's hideout, located in crypt beneath St Aicard's Church. While making her way through the tunnels, Lara finds a deformed, crazed man named Arnaud strapped down to a bed in a locked cell. Bouchard sits alone in his office, and when Lara approaches him demanding he tell her what he wanted with Von Croy, he initially plays innocent, claiming Werner had asked for maps of the Louvre to take "a busload of Japanese tourists to see Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa", but Lara is unconvinced. After pressing Bouchard further, he admits Werner had contacted him asking for weapons and details of an archeological dig going on beneath the Louvre. Deciding to pursue the issue further, Lara asks for the same information and weapons, which Bouchard agrees to provide her if she delivers a set of Czech passports to his associate, the pawnbroker Daniel Rennes. When arriving at the pawnbrokers, Lara is knocked aside by a gruff, tall man on his way out. Inside, she finds Rennes dead with corpse surrounded by mysterious symbols written in blood. His safe, containing the weapons Von Croy had requested, is open, but while collecting them Lara trips an alarm and is forced to leap from the building as it self-destructs. Collapsing on a canal boat, Kurtis from Cafe Metro again appears, flicking a cigarette into the canal before exiting again on his motorcycle.

Now fully armed, Lara takes to the sewer tunnels beneath the Louvre, in an attempt to break in to the archeological dig while the museum is closed. Following the drains, Lara eventually blasts a hole in the wall of the Louvre's ancient foundations, and makes her way through the heavily guarded museum. To gain access to the archeological site, Lara needs a security pass from Mlle Carvier's office. Whilst searching for it, Lara discovers more information Carvier had collected for Werner's final project. The painting in question is apparently one of five mythological paintings created by a monk, Brother Obscura, in the 14th century, which when united create something called the "Sanglyph" or "blood sign". The paintings were desired by an ancient black alchemist known as Pieter van Eckhart, head of a mysterious Prague-based organization known as the Cabal. However, a group formed to protect the paintings, called the Lux Veritatus, eventually hid the paintings from Eckhart, including one beneath the Louvre in a heavily guarded chamber. Coded maps to the location of each painting, known as the Obscure Engravings, were also created. Lara also discovers information on a mythical creature known as the Nephilim, the so-called "Angel of Darkness", thought to be a hybrid of humans and angels that once lived in ancient Turkey. The remains of one Nephilim, the "Cubiculum Nephili" or "Sleeper", are believed to still exist. The Sanglyph

With Carvier's security pass, Lara descends into the archeological dig beneath the Louvre. Beneath the former French palace, Lara discovers a series of magnificently decorated halls and chambers, defended by monstrous (and immortal) swordsman and demons. Lara is forced to scale the walls of the complex's largest hall, the Hall of Seasons, to find a small chamber, guarded by the ghost of Brother Obscura, in which the glowing painting sits. Dodging the angered spirit and removing the painting, the Hall of Seasons begins to flood, and Lara swims up through the hall to the surface beneath the Louvre. Upon her return to the museum, a team of mercenaries lays siege to the galleries, attempting to poison Lara using tear gas. Lara makes her way towards the gallery's exit, dodging her enemies as best she can, until she runs into Kurtis once more. Surprising her from behind, he disarms her and takes possession of her hard-won painting, using a mysterious flying disc with retractable blades. However, in his own escape from the galleries, he is mysteriously knocked unconscious. Lara picks up one of his strange weapons, a glowing dagger, but before she can recover the painting, is herself knocked out. In her final moments of consciousness, she apparently sees one of the mercenaries morph into Bouchard's doorman.

When she awakens, Lara is surprised to find Bouchard standing over her, offering his helping hand. He offers to drive her back to Von Croy's apartment, and tells her there has now been a Monstrum killing in Prague, the victim being Czech art dealer Mathias Vasiley. As Lara returns to the scene of Von Croy's murder, Bouchard makes a telephone call, telling a colleague to "dispatch The Cleaner". While in Von Croy's apartment, Lara is able to recall more of the blurred events; Werner yelled at Lara to get out of the way, as the same man Lara saw leaving Rennes' pawnshop enters. The skirmish is between this man and Werner, and is he who murders Werner, not Lara. Lara must now find this man if she is to clear her own name. However, at this moment, The Cleaner arrives and showers the apartment with a storm of bullets, sending Lara flying for cover. He has also booby-trapped the building's corridors, but Lara is eventually able to deal with him, leaving him dead at the end of the apartment hall. His phone rings, and Lara answers. It is Bouchard, asking if the girl has been "taken care of". Lara does not give him the answer he was expecting.

The next move for Lara is to head to Prague, where Werner's murderer now appears to be continuing his murder spree. She arrives at the Vasiley crime scene, on a grand Prague square covered in snow, to find the place well guarded by police. A diminuative reporter,Thomas Luddick, is watching the building, and fills Lara in on his suspicion that the Cabal may be involved, and that Vasiley may have been murdered when he refused to provide the Cabal with one of the obscura engravings. The Cabal apparently work out of a base in the Strahov complex, and Luddick says he can get her in to the headquarters if she gives him the full story. First, though, Lara attempts to gain access to Vasiley's office, again by breaking through the basement. In the building's cellar, however, Lara finds Bouchard chained to the radiator. Questioning him on why he had tried to kill her, Bouchard reveals he works for the Cabal, still headed by the apparently immortal Eckhart, which is seeking to reunite the five Obscura paintings to revive the Cubiciulum Nephili. The Paris painting was number four, and now the Cabal need only retrieve the final painting, locked somewhere beneath Prague in an impenetrable chamber known as the Vault of Trophies. Bouchard was instructed to help Lara obtain the Paris painting, then eliminate her once he had bring the painting to Eckhart. However, now that Lara is still alive, Bouchard is fearful for his life. He believes Eckhart is the monstrum, the man Lara saw murder von Croy, and Bouchard will be his next victim. Lara instructs him to remain there, while she further investigates Vasiley's office. The grand, Jugendstil main hall of Vasiley's library has a mysterious, clock-like pattern on its floor, which Lara discovers is a trapdoor to a secret, underground study. There, Lara finds the Obscura engraving. Returning to Bouchard, Lara discovers the Monstrum has murdered him, locking his dead body in a cupboard.

Back out on the square, Lara returns to Luddick and asks for his help getting in to the Strahov. In order to penetrate deeper into the Cabal's fortress, Lara shuts down the power-grid, unknowingly releasing a bloodthirsty monster held deep within the complex. Inside the Strahov, Lara discovers a greenhouse populated by strange and deadly plants and bugs, and meets Muller, a Cabal member who mocks Lara and mentions the existence of a Proto-Nephilim, a failed attempt by fellow Cabal member Boaz to recreate the Nephilim without the Sanglyph. Muller disappears before Lara can uncover more, leaving her to continue her journey deeper into the Strahov complex. On her way, Lara spies Eckhart murdering Luddick, and a confrontation between Boaz and Eckhart, in which Boaz admits she did not destroy the Proto as she had claimed because a Periapt shard is needed which Eckhardt rebuffs, and it is now on the loose. An enraged Eckhardt feeds her to one of Muller's mutant bugs.

Lara's journey is cut short when Kurtis again appears, locking Lara in a hydraulic chamber, where he says she will be safe and "out of trouble" while he attempts to track down Eckhart and regain the painting he took from Lara. Lara reminds him that she still possesses his dagger, which he calls a "Periapt Shard", but he claims he will deal with that later. He now heads off further into the Strahov, leaving a frustrated Lara to "cool off". This young man appears to possess superhuman abilities, including the ability of "sight beyond sight". He travels through a sanitarium that forms part of the Strahov, filled with crazed and deformed men now freed from their cells by the power outage. One of the few coherent men in the building reveals he was employed by Boaz as a truck driver, transporting something from Turkey, but upon his return to Prague, in lieu of payment, he was locked up in the Sanitarium by Boaz, like the others, to serve as food for the Proto. Reaching the center of the Strahov, the "maximum containment area", the stranger comes face to face with the "Proto-Nephilum", the monster Lara inadvertently freed. Using another of his Periapt Shards, he kills the Proto and restores part of the power grid, returning to Lara. She attempts what appears to be an ambush on him, but turns out to be directed towards one of Muller's mutants that was trailing him. Kurtis introduces himself to Lara, and says he is part of the Lux Veritatis and the last surviving member. He tells Lara about Eckardt on how he wanted to revive the Sleeper and rebreed the Nephilim race which he says is the reason for murdering innocent people. Lara agrees to work with him to stop Eckhardt from killing more people and reviving the Nephilim, but to this end they need the third and final Periapt Shard, hidden by Eckhart in his lab beneath the Strahov, which together can kill any immortal being, and the final painting from the Vault of Trophies, which must be destroyed.

Lara agrees to retrieve the final painting, and Kurtis informs her the Vault of Trophies is located underwater beneath the Strahov. Lara must swim through the Strahov's Aquatic Research Facility and through several booby-trapped corridors before she arrives at the sunken Vault of Trophies, a grand hall featuring giant statues of King Arthur's knights of the round table. Bringing together the Knights Limoux and Vasiley causes the roof to collapse, revealing a secret medieval library guarded by undead knights. Here sits the final painting, which Lara removes and returns to the surface of the Strahov. Once there, she discovers Eckhart has captured Kurtis, forcing Lara to give up the painting for his release. With the painting in his possession, Eckhart releases the now highly mutated Boaz on Kurtis and Lara.But Eckhart says that Muller has failed him and feeds him to Boaz. Kurtis vaults Lara to safety, and gives her his two Periapt Shards, telling her he will deal with Boaz, and she must recover the final shard to stop Eckhardt. Kurtis defeats Boaz in her giant, spider-like state, only to find this state was a cocoon for her rebirth as a praying mantis like creature with wings and sharp pincers. Just as he thinks he has defeated Boaz once more, she uses her last breath of life to stab him through his torso; he uses his flying blade to behead Boaz, but appears to collapse, dying, on the floor.

Lara, meanwhile, moves through the Strahov's underground tunnels to Eckhart's lab, where he uncovers the well-hidden final Periapt Shade. In a large chamber behind Eckhart's lab, she discovers Eckhart in the process of reviving the Nephilim, having joined the paintings together to form the Sanglyph, a gilded disk. In her final showdown with Eckhart, Lara stabs him with two of the shards, and makes her move to drive the final one into his head when she is stopped by Karel, the up-until-now silent member of the Cabal who stood at Eckhart's side. Surprisingly, Karel drives the shard into Eckhardt himself, ending Eckhart's immortal life. Turning to Lara, Karel reveals himself to be the last of the nephilim, having used Eckhart and Lara himself to revive the "Sleeper" and save his species from extinction. He says Eckhardt actually worked for him and shows himself to be a shape-shifter, having become Luddick, Bouchard and even Kurtis himself to aid Lara's quest. Lara's memory of Von Croy's death now appears completely restored, it was Karel, appearing as Eckhardt, who had murdered Von Croy, sparing Lara because Von Croy had promised she would be able to retrieve the lost paintings. Although Karel promises Lara eternal life as a reward for her help, she is unable to overlook his casual attitude towards human life, particularly that of her former mentor. Though Karel attempts to stop her, Lara takes the sanglyph and places it directly on the foot of the Sleeper, causing it to overload with the new blood the Sanglyph provides, and explodes, destroying it and killing Karel.

Physically spent, Lara collapses on the ground of Eckhart's chamber, only to discover Kurtis' mysterious flying weapon lying nearby. She picks it up, and it quivers, its blades springing out and pulling her towards the chambers' exit. Lara smiles and makes her way out.

Summary

A series of grisly murders brings Lara into conflict with a sinister Alchemist from the past, and a secret alliance of powerful individuals shrouded in mystery. At the center of these mysteries are the Obscura Paintings - five 14th century pieces of art that the Alchemist is desperate to repossess. Accused of the murder of her one time mentor, Werner Von Croy, Lara becomes a fugitive on the run. Pursued by the police, she follows the Alchemist into a dark world of blood, betrayal and vengeance where it is up to her to defeat this unholy alliance, and stop them from unleashing their incredible powers on the world.

Introduction

Central National Bureau. Paris

Commissioner Mirepoix, Special Crimes Investigation Force.

To the Préfecture de Police.

REPORT ON RECENT SERIAL ATROCITIES WITHIN THE CAPITAL.

As yet no significant arrests have been made for this latest spate of 'Monstrum' killings in the capital. Seventeen have been reported so far. A woman was seen leaving the apartment of the latest victim, Professor Werner Von Croy. Described as Caucasian, brunette, about 1.8m and of slim build, she was wearing jeans, denim jacket and a pony tail. She is dangerous and probably armed. Officers are being advised to use extreme caution when apprehending the suspect.

The press have sensationalised this latest outbreak of killings as "The Monstrum's Dark Renaissance", referring to similar atrocities in the capital over the last decade, and possibly as far back as the 1950's. There are definite links to atrocities in other European cities going back at least fifty years.

Forensics have made no headway regarding the bizarre metallic eruptions found on the bodies of all victims. At present nothing appears to link any of the individuals involved. There have been significant numbers of casualties within Parisian gangland factions.

It would all appear to be the work of a single, highly psychotic perpetrator. The bodies were desecrated and all crime scenes daubed with unintelligible graffiti, indicating some ritualistic fixation. There are no known survivors of these attacks so far.

The suspect's apprehension should be made top priority...

Locations

Paris
Prague

Moves/Controls

The Angel of Darkness: Controls

Gear

Weapons

First Aid

Tools

Crowbar

Outfits

Characters and Enemies

Characters

Lara Croft

When she stops by Von Croy's apartment he tells her he is working for a psychopathic client known as Eckhart and is being stalked. Just before leaving she blacks out and awakes to find Von Croy dead. Police sirens sound in the background, suddenly Lara is a prime suspect. She is mistaken for the murderer and meets Kurtis in the middle of the game to stop Eckhardt who is the main antagonist.

Werner Von Croy

He contacted Lara in Paris. He was scared since he believed he was being stalked. Werner is killed by The Monstrum and Lara is accused of the murder.

Margot Carvier

A curator at the Louvre and a friend of Werner's. She gives Lara Werner's notebook and has a pass to the archaeological dig at the Louvre. She is murdered by Eckhardt as informed by Janice.

Pieter Van Eckhardt

The main antagonist of the game. He is the black alchemist and has been causing havoc. He hired Werner to obtain the last two Obscura Paintings. In the beginning of the game, it is presumed that Pieter is responsible for the murders. He was stabbed in the head by Lara with the first two shards but he is killed by Karel using the third shard.

Louis Bouchard

A Parisian mob boss, he was the last known contact of Von Croy. He lives in the church's basement. Lara searches for him to obtain answers about Von Croy. He gives all Lara's needs which was in the pawnshop. He next appears as he picks up Lara from the Louvre to the Chantelle building where Von Croy's appartment is. Their last meeting is in Prague where he is found dead in the closet in the basement of Mathias Vasiley. He owns the Le Serpent Rouge nightclub.

Kurtis Trent

The last member of the Lux Veritatis. He wants revenge after Eckhardt killed his father, Konstatin. He also possesses two of the Periapt Shards. 3 levels in the game are played as Kurtis. He forms an alliance with Lara to stop Eckhardt. He is wounded by Boaz.

Kristina Boaz

Head of corrective and remedial surgery at the Strahov complex and a survivor of a terrible plane crash. She is a member of The Cabal.

Joachim Karel

An investor, aid and member of The Cabal. He also is Eckhardt's right hand man. He reveals that Eckhardt actually worked for him and he is the last surviving nephilim. He is killed by the light of the Sleeper after Lara places the Sanglyph in the leg. He is indeed responsible for the murders, having taken the shape of Eckhardt.

Marten Gunderson

Head of security for The Cabal and The Strahov. He leads the attack on the Louvre.

Daniel Rennes

Pawnshop owner in Paris which he uses as a front for shadier dealings. His weapons stockpile helps Lara progress through the Louvre. He is later murdered by Eckhardt.

Janice

A Parisian hooker who shares information about Bouchard and his two men.

Pierre

A worker of Bouchard. He formerly worked as the nightclub's bartender but he now handles Cafe Metro. He helps Lara to find Bouchard by going to the Le Serpent Rouge nightclub by the Bartender's key to retrieve the Box.

Bernard

A worker of Bouchard. He formerly worked as the nightclub's janitor and he hangs in the park. He helps Lara to find Bouchard by going to the Le Serpent Rouge nightclub by the ex-Janitor's key to retrieve the Box.

Anton Gris

Boxer, trainer, and best friend of Louis Bouchard. He owns a boxing gym set in an abandoned church where the door at the end is the entrance to Bouchard's underground office in the crypt of the church.

Mathias Vasiley

An art dealer who lives in Prague. He exchanges the information with Von Croy and is murdered by the Monstrum.

Luddick

A reporter who shares information about the murders in Prague and Vasiley. He is murdered in the Strahov by Eckhardt, He sells Lara the Scorpion X gun.

Arnaud

A worker of Bouchard. He appears to be dying since he is seen in a bed with metal adhered or growing in his body indicating he is a victim of the attacks and the only survivor.

Enemies

Traps and Obstacles

Traps

Obstacles

Development

Designers

Richard Flower (Lead Programmer)
Richard Morton (Lead Game Designer)
Mark Donald (Lead Animator)
Andrea Cordella (Lead Artist)

Writer

Murti Schofield

System Requirements

PC

Minimum

Windows 98/2000/ME/XP (Windows 95 and NT4 Not Supported)
Pentium III 500 Mhz or higher, Athlon (or equivalent)
128 Mb RAM
100% DirectX ® 9 compatibility 16 Mb
3D display driver, Hardware T&L support
100% DirectX ® 9 compatibile sound card
16 Mb 3D Video Card
Quad-speed (4x) CD-ROM drive
200 Mb free disk space
DirectX ® 9

Mac

Cover Art

PC UK
PS2 UK
PC Spain
PS2 Spain
PC France
PS2 France
Mac German

Beta Differences

Although the game was poorly received due to the unfinished areas, bugs and glitches, the game's beta version seemed more stable and had more moves.
Parisian Ghetto had a different area to explore. (Still accessible through the AoD SCU on PC)^[1]
The game was more explorable and you could either choose to proceed to the Derelict Apartment Block or stay and explore.

Links

Walkthrough at tombraidergirl.com
The Angel of Darkness Gamesite (EidosInteractive.com)
The Angel of Darkness Support (EidosInteractive.com)
Kurtis Trent Estrogen Brigade - Angel of Darkness fansite.

Games
Main:		Tomb Raider · Unfinished Business · Tomb Raider II · The Golden Mask · Tomb Raider III · The Lost Artifact · Tomb Raider IV The Last Revelation · Tomb Raider Chronicles · Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness · Tomb Raider Legend · Tomb Raider Anniversary · Tomb Raider Underworld · TOMB RAIDER · Rise of the Tomb Raider
Other:		Custom Levels · Nightmare Stone · Curse of the Sword · The Prophecy · The Osiris Codex · Quest for Cinnabar · Tomb Raider: Puzzle Paradox · Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light · Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris · Lara Croft: Reflections

References

↑ https://www.tombraiderchronicles.com/tng/aod_scu.html

[1] ttps://www.tombraiderchronicles.com/tng/aod_scu.html

[1]