Tomb Raider: Underworld

As a die-hard fan of the Tomb Raider series I naturally had to have this game, the more so after reading the glowing reviews on Amazon. They turned out to be mostly true -- the game definitely is a feast for the eyes and lavishly rich in detail. Wherever you look, elaborate ruins, statues and vegetation abound. There are only 20 or so "levels" in six distinct areas to explore, but each one of them is spectacular. This is a satisfying reward for me (finally) getting a shader 3.0 video card. The game won't run on older hardware.

More good things first: Lara's interactive capabilities have further improved from her previous two adventures, her movements look more lifelike thanks to motion-capturing and scripted events, like pushing vegetation out of the way. More important is her extended repertoire of useful moves: She can now balance on horizontal poles as well as swing from them, stand on narrow ledges, climb alcoves by jumping from wall to wall and use her grappling hook more effectively (how about enabling her to use grappled objects as jump-off or -up points, once she's reached them?) So I'm happy to say the "next-gen" experience begins to approach something like the natural "feel" of the classic series, where YOU played the game -- Tomb Raider Next-Gen often feels more like the game is playing you! Thankfully there are no "Press this button now"-events, and no boss battles. The developers achieved their goal of re-invigorating the core qualities of Tomb Raider -- exploration and immersion. (But: If you're going to use new action keys, dear developers: Please include a comprehensive training level for newbies -- thank you! It greatly helps with the immersion when you don't have to look up the "throw away-key".)

For the most part, it simply looks & feels gorgeous. But the overwhelming richness in detail seems to have some inherent drawbacks -- the blocks of the world aren't obvious any longer, but they're still there. Just try to stray from the predestined path, and you'll know what I mean -- invisible walls everywhere; things & ledges Lara won't grab, low obstacles she can't jump over and even solid objects she'll fall through. There are some funny videos on Youtube -- but it's not really fun to encounter in a Tomb Raider game. This has been an issue since "Legend", but "Legend" and "Anniversary" combined don't have as much appetizing content as "Underworld", and the player stays hungry like the poor kid in front of the gourmet shop. Right now, all that detail is fake -- maybe we'll need next-but-one-gen computers to really use it? Good looks are a great device to keep players hooked, and I'm definitely saying: This game is a "must-see". But in terms of game-play the "next-gen" approach still has to match the classic series. And maybe it never will.

The story: It's quite good by Tomb Raider standards (meaning: the "meat" of the story is the most convoluted bundle of myths yet), but honestly it's the least I care about. I'm beyond my teen years, I'm used to skipping cut scenes... But in Next-Gen, they can't be elegantly avoided (and they're often great-looking respites from having to go through the motions :-(). To me, the classic Lara was never more than a cool placeholder for the player. Only when the series started to get old, the focus was shifted on Lara as a "personality". And I really, really, don't want to know her IQ or her cup size, but for the sake of the game I wish she'd get over that fixation about Mommy & Daddy for good. I kind of miss the humorous touch.

Some people have claimed the game is too short (true, it's the shortest of the Next-Gen games) and that it looks a bit rushed in terms of hidden objects and replay value -- I still haven't found all of them. But one more or less serious "bug" is the reload-checkpoint system that "forgets" where you moved objects before you died. I wish someone would take the time to make proper savegames possible again. On the other hand, I am getting used to the camera -- it's simply a matter of training. But -- Lara should be conveniently TRANSPARENT again when she blocks the camera! I have no idea why this still isn't implemented.

Conclusion: Go get it, even if it isn't perfect -- it's a great eye-opener. I'm already looking forward to the next one. Let's hope this quality and attention to detail can be sustained or even improved upon, and the Implementors find time & ways to make Lara's paths ever less linear.

Despite being shorter than Anniversary, I felt that Underworld was a far superior game. This chapter in the history of Lady Lara Croft corrected most of the frustrating mistakes of it's predecessor and made it an enjoyable gaming experience that was almost on par with Legend. Underworld steered away from using extreme difficulty and repeated death as a means to increase the playtime and therefore made the game far less frustrating, to the point of being extremely enjoyable. I have completed the main story, but I can assure you that I will be returning to each level to retrieve the collectibles I missed on the first run (which Anniversary didn't inspire me to do).

Don't get me wrong, though, there are minor technical glitches, such as enemies freezing in place, places where Lara can easily get 'stuck' and on one occasion she became permanently invisible, forcing me to reboot, but these are only minor annoyances. One other gripe I have about Underworld is that I don't think it lived up to the hype that Eidos tried to generate. The "What Could Lara Do?" tag-line built my hopes up to expect a world where anything was possible and where no place was off limits. Although the levels were deliciously grand, my expectations were quickly dashed when, in the first level, I found myself on a boat with dozens of doors and hatches, almost none of which could be explored. I'm not saying that Underworld is bad, just not what it was made out to be.

Although Underworld did see a return of Zip and Allister, they only appeared at the beginning and end of levels and in the second half of the game, they were absent entirely. I felt a little cheated by this as these two characters (and Winston) made Legend feel much brighter and more fun than any previous TR game. Their constant playful jibes and contributions to the level-at-hand gave the game a less lonely feeling and allowed us to see Lara's wit, warmth, charm and flaws, making her a much more interesting character. Though there are several moments where Lara's true emotions are shown, for the most part of the game, she feels much, much less three dimensional than she was in Legend. Ironic, considering the amount of work they put in to making her look more realistic, physically. To be quite honest, Lara's three friends simply felt 'tacked-on', rather than integrated in the story.

And then there is the story. It is very good, well thought out and involving. The personal twist Lara discovers at the end of the Thailand mission was wonderful. But, as the name of the game implies, Underworld's plot goes places much darker than that of Legend or even Anniversary. Some people may remember me starting a thread in the forum for this game about whether Lara's character would be tarnished by actions she takes in this game. I am pleased to say that that is not the case - Lady Croft in Underworld is a noble, if imperfect, heroin. But what she has to endure in this game is cruel. The resolution to one ongoing aspect of the plot was especially cruel, as if the writers sat around and asked themselves "What's the most punishing way (for Lara) that we can resolve this part of the story?" It's just one of many emotional blows the player is forced to endure during this game and, unfortunately, they are not countered by superior uplifting or hopeful moments. While well done, I would've preferred it if the story had been a lot kinder to Lara.If you need your entertainment to end happily, this probably isn't the game for you.

All-in-all, I believe that Legend remains the finest Tomb Raider game ever, although Underworld has just claimed second place. In spite of it's heart-wrenching moments, it was a well designed and involving game that was not bogged down with infuriating, repetitive difficulty.

Now I'd like to end with a plea to Eidos: PLEASE leave the game engine as is and devote your time (in the next TR volume) to making more levels! These wonderful games that you are making are over far too soon! I would have gladly settled for the Legend engine and graphics if it meant you would have spent the time you saved building three or four more levels! I am extremely grateful for the wonderful gaming experience I have just had, but I don't mind sounding like a greedy bastard when I say: "I WANT MORE!"

I have been a Tomb Raider fan for years now and when Tomb Raider Underworld was said to be the best Tomb Raider yet i couldn't wait for its release. However it was unfortunately short, it only had 1 more additional level than legend which therefore means that it only had 8 maybe the creators are trying to tell us that the number of the Tomb Raider is the same amount of levels e.g. Tomb Raider Legend was the 7th in the series and it had 7 levels and Tomb Raider Underworld being the 8th has 8 levels. Although it was short the game wasn't all bad it had once again a very strong storyline which makes it almost impossible to stop playing the game although i found that the emotion in the game at points was put across poorly. The graphics were amazing as always and the game play is fun and interesting especially with the new weapons that she finds over the course of the game. The makers have really focused on design and movement with this game making it seem more realistic and of course as any Tomb Raider fan will know that this one contains blood. I am still with Tomb Raider 2 being my favourite but they are getting closer to the greatness they once had and who knows maybe my opinion will changed within a few years.

Despite what some reviews around the net say, TR:U is a fantastic step forward for the series. While not overly different from Legend and Anniversary, it has definitely taken inspiration from the two and combined all of the best bits of both.

The story itself is extremely compelling, and the ending is truly epic and moving. We finally get to see Lara uncover the truth about the events beginning in Legend, and they even tie up with events from TR1 and Anniversary. The story is what kept me going, something that hasn't happened since Mass Effect and Gears 2.

As you may have guessed, I have played the game on Xbox 360. I have an open mind for all platforms (and play on PC as well), but I believe Tomb Raider is best played on your console of choice due to the fact the controls work so well on a controller. Apart from some minor control quirks and the odd camera moment, most of the game remains solid and stable and never did the quirks frustrate or hamper the experience.

Some familiar characters return for Underworld, including Zip and Alistair. If there is one thing I would have changed in Underworld, it's that Zip and Alistair don't play as big a role as in Legend, which is a shame because there are times in Underworld where you know you would be hearing them if you were playing Legend.

Some people however will like this approach, as there are no hints and tips given to you when solving puzzles, as Zip and Alistair are oblivious to your actions. Instead, Lara films her expeditions with an HDD camcorder (which has the same amount of battery every time she uses it), and this progresses the story in the same way Zip and Alistair did in Legend.

Being more like Anniversary will certainly please the older fans, but for people who properly joined the series at Legend (like me), some will feel the lack of dialogue is, well, lacking. This however is only my opinion, and on the plus side the lack of dialogue certainly adds to the feeling of isolation present throughout the game.

Overall, Underworld is a great game, with dazzling graphics in a similar style to 'Uncharted' on the PS3. The exploration and story really keep you going, and the generally epic feel to the game makes it feel like a Hollywood blockbuster. Keep it up Crystal Dynamics, you're doing a fine job.

I'm a big Tomb Raider fan, have played all the previously released games, including gold games, and I must say, this game is most like Tomb Raider AOD: A great story, stunning new graphics, and out of control controls. Although this game doesn't contain as many texture glitches as AOD, the setback is that the camera is completely out of control. It's like they put the game on 2x speed compared to Tomb Raider Anniversary, which completely takes out the pleasure of playing the game, and just makes you confused and even sometimes nauseous. The story is interesting, and in line with the previous game Tomb Raider Legend, although in this game you have no idea where to go, because the textures are too realistic and the camera is in your way. It's just really, REALLY disappointing how they managed to screw this game up so badly in gameplay, like so many new games, always such a hurry to make it before some deadline.