12 Video Games Too Big To Fail (That Did Anyway)

11. Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness

Why It Was "Too Big"

The first Tomb Raider game for the PS2 basically sold itself to fans, especially after the last canonical entry, 1999's The Last Revelation, left Lara Croft presumed dead.

And even with the commercial disappointment of 2000's spin-off Tomb Raider Chronicles - which sold just 1.5 million units - there was easy confidence across the industry that a next-gen Lara Croft adventure would blow the dust off the series' well-worn gameplay.

Why It Failed Anyway

2003's The Angel of Darkness had a troubled development, with the initial project being scrapped deep into production.

Developers Core Design were reportedly unprepared for the complexity of developing games for the PS2, which combined with their over-ambitious ideas and poor management of the project, caused major planned aspects of the game to be cut.

Between rampant technical issues, the lack of an explanation for Lara's survival, a divisive new side character and a general lack of polish, it was clear the end result had been rushed out - apparently to coincide with the release of the 2003 movie sequel - and, predictably, it was panned by critics.

The Damage

The Tomb Raider brand as a whole took a major hit from the game's failure. Reviews caused it to sell a mere 2.5 million units - half that of The Last Revelation - and Paramount Pictures even blamed the game's reception for their movie under-performing at the box office.

Core Design head Jeremy Heath-Smith resigned following its release, a proposed trilogy was scrapped and the franchise was taken away from Core Design, with Crystal Dynamics heading up development from that point.

Furthermore, the series didn't fully recover commercially until 2013's reboot, where it sold a franchise-best 11 million units.