Parents' Guide to

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Uber-curvy Croft in remake shows brains, bravery.

Game Windows, PlayStation 2 2007
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

See all
age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

Hahahahbigfart
Hahahahbigfart Parent of 6, 7, 17, 17 and 18-year-old
July 18, 2018
age 10+

Its a really fun game !

This game is for 10 and up because of the Outfits lara Wear's And this game is the best Its pretty friendly for tweens teens

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much sex
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: ANNIVERSARY is a relatively affordable single-player game for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Windows PCs, which reintroduces us to Lara Croft as she risks her neck spelunking through tombs, battling through ancient cities, and scaling cliffs. The story reveals Croft's quest to find a mystical artifact, dubbed the Scion, but she soon realizes the mysterious syndicate that hired her had an ulterior motive. As in the original, you can first roam through Croft Manor to practice many of Croft's moves, including running, jumping, hanging on ledges, swimming, climbing, shooting guns, and using a grappling hook. Then it's off to Peru, Egypt, Greece, and other areas for her assignment in breathtakingly attractive environments.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (8):

While the original game was advanced for its time, Anniversary greatly improves on the visual appeal by adding highly detailed characters, smoother animation, and realistic-looking indoor and outdoor scenery. Larger levels and new pathways to explore mean you will be able to play through this adventure in different ways. Enemy artificial intelligence has also been improved.

While the game is an extraordinary remake, some nagging camera issues occur. Sometimes the camera locks behind Croft in a way that obstructs your ability to see what she's shooting at or swinging toward. On the PC version, it can be tough to juggle all the controls using the mouse and keyboard. Computer gamers might fare better with a gamepad. Minor shortcomings notwithstanding, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary is an exceptional, value-priced remake worth playing through -- even if you've completed the original game multiple times.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether this game would be as successful if it featured an unattractive "Larry Croft" instead of a beautiful "Lara Croft." Families might want to talk about how the game mixes real-life adventuring and treasure hunting with a bit of a supernatural twist, a la Indiana Jones. Who does this game appeal to most? Girls looking to play video games with strong female role model, or guys wanting to play games featuring hot heroine?

Game Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate