Tomb Raider: Underworld

"No BS Review"

Oh Lara, what can I say. Here we go again. It seems like Crystal Dynamics has dropped the ball on this one.

GRAPHICS:

The Bad: Screen tearing, screen tearing, and then there was a little more screen tearing. The game looks great, but I would occasionally think I was seeing some nice graphical effect of snow or dust, only to actually find out that those lovely white lines were blaring across much the environment. Now they don't detract that much from the overall look of the game, but they're prominent enough for you to take notice, and should have been fixed for the release.

The graphics have also seemed to take a step back in some ways. In Anniversary and Legend Lara could be seen getting wet and dirty in-game. Now she certainly gets dirty noticably enough (climb a few ledges and she's covered in soil), but the water effects are lacking. Lara never looks truly wet, she only appears with slightly glistening skin when immediately out of water. This may be of course because Lara's entire wardrobe this season is limited to black, aside from maybe one costume. Either way, it would have been nice to see the promise of "the environment having an effect on Lara" worked out a little better.

The Good: The scale of the levels in the game, and design for them is truly remarkable. At times I would find myself plainly gawking at the environments, appreciating how much time the developers took to load the world up with detail. In my opinion, Thailand is probably the best looking level of the bunch. With hundreds of plants filling the screen at any time (many of them interacting with Lara as she moves by), it's enough to make even Uncharted blush.

Lara herself looks better than ever, but fans be warned, they designers have changed the bone structure of her face yet again, and she may not look like the Lara you're used to playing as. In turn, it actually makes her look more realistic finally, and less like a cartoon. Wrinkles appear on her forehead, and her bangs move when walking, which is a nice touch.

GAMEPLAY:

The Bad: Oh my, where do I start. Let me get it out of the way and come clean... this game is riddled with glitches. Not gamebreaking glitches like the Angel of Darkness, but enough glitches to detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. I didn't mention Lara's motion captured elements in the graphics section because I actually feel that they are the main culprits here.

Often, too often, Lara will find herself caught between two motions and not know which one to perform. This will often happen when you step down from a slight height, or when you're traversing balance-beam like poles. Lara will actually go back and forth, with no regard to what you're pressing on your joystick, without stopping. I found the easiest way to break this neverending chain of motion was to have her draw her guns, but I shouldn't have to do this.

More noticable was how some platforming sections were hindered by the use of balance-beam like areas. Simply put, it was at times very frustrating to control Lara on the balance-beam. She simply didn't do what I wanted her to do. Many times the game requires you to drop her from a standing position on the beam, to a hanging one, and the animation takes a big hit, with her falling then randomly appearing inside the pole then floating over to where she needs to be. Even moving her along them up above is difficult, as if you're not perfectly in line with the perspective of the camera, Lara won't move. She'll stop, and you'll have to either a.) fix the camera behind her so you can move, or b.) move the joystick around until you can find the proper "line" for her to follow. Another issue that should have been taken care of before release.

Combat is really hit or miss. It basically serves as a way to break up all the platforming, and that's what I expect from a Tomb Raider game. However, later in the game (no spoilers) combat becomes incredibly easy... simply stand there and press a button till the enemy is dead. And generally the enemies won't put up too much of a fight. The dual targeting is nice, but because of this the camera doesn't center behind Lara like in Legend or Anniversary. This usually isn't a problem if you can keep your target in front of you, but as soon as you lose it, you'll be spinning the camera around with the right joystick to find your target again.

Moving on to the camera itself, it can be somewhat of a hassle to deal with. At times it will get too close to Lara, impeding your view of what's going on in front her which makes some jumps more difficult then they have to be. The camera will also go completely wonky at times, not knowing whether or not it should allow you to see what you're pointing at, or what it feels you should be looking at.

Another glitch of gameplay I noticed was that after I beat the game and was replaying levels my flashlight would turn off for no reason, and then I couldn't turn it back on. Now this isn't a bright game, so that severly hindered my gameplay and I actually ended up turning the game off.

The Good: Umm... well it's Tomb Raider through and through. The puzzles are great and well thought out, and even though the game is fairly linear, it never really feels like you're doing things in a prescribed order. Lara's standard jump has also been tightened and doesn't feel as loose as it did in Legend and Anniversary and the lateral jumping and climbing feels as natural and fluid as always.

On the combat side, Crystal has implemented an adrenaline style for use in combat scenarios. Running up to an enemy and hitting the X button will result in a slight mini-game where the player is expected to match a reticle which appears somewhere on the screen, over the enemy's head before time runs out. Get the reticle in the right spot and pull the trigger to perform an instant kill. Also, clicking the right stick when you have adrenaline to spare (it's measured in a meter by Lara's life bar) will allow you to slow down time and focus your fire on the enemy, making the impact of your bullets that much more effective.

This new system feels more rewarding then the combat of the previous two games, and allows for a little more variety in combat.

SOUND:

The Bad: Nothing really.

The Good: Once again and amazing soundtrack accompanies the game, and the voice acting is terrific. Lara grunts and screams when nessessary, and the enemies make their presence known as well. The game is filled with ambient touches such as chirping birds, or the growling of a very angry kraken. Underworld certainly doesn't disappoint in this area.

WHAT WERE THE DEVELOPERS THINKING?

Firstly, there's hardly any unlockables. That's right. I believe only one costume can be unlocked by completing the game. A swimsuit (no, not a bikini). And the costumes Lara can wear depends on what level she's going into at that time. So if you're going to Thailand, you can't wear the snowsuit. If you're going to Mexico, you can't wear any swimsuit or snowsuit. Get it?

Aside from the one costume, the only unlockables throughout the game is artwork. Whoop-de-do. With over a hundred shining secrets to find throughout the game you'd expect more than this. There's also relics to find which increases Lara's overall health, but it's not nessessary to do so because you can easily make it through the entire game with Lara's standard health bar she begins with.

Another thing that's irks me about this game is how once you beat it, you can't go back and play through a level unless you want to reload an old save. That's right, there's no replay level option. Now, there is a "treasure hunter" option which allows you to revisit the levels of the game. However all the puzzles have stayed solved, and all enemies have been removed, aside from the odd bat here and there. It's basically a mode which allows you to collect all the secrets in peace, but given the lack of any decent unlockables, there's really no point. Truly disappointing.

All in all, it seemed as if this game was set to put Lara back on top, but unfortunately with its rushed feel, numerous gameplay quirks, and the odd glitch here and there, Lara has been held back from greatness once again. Now don't get me wrong, the game is fun overall and not to be missed if you're a Tomb Raider fan or have been waiting for the next decent adventure game. But do to some very odd development choices and lack of any real replayability, I would suggest a rent first for all others.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/08

Game Release: Tomb Raider: Underworld (US, 11/18/08)