Tomb Raider: Underworld

"Best Tombraider yet."

GRAPHICS:
The Graphics here are top Notch, some of the levels look so amazing and detailed that it really makes you want to stop what you are doing and just look around and take it all in. Lara looks great, more detail than ever before, the cutscenes look almost realistic, definantly a step above the other TR's that came before it. Also all of the ledges and what not that Lara grabs onto to climb are not nearly as obvious this time, they blend SO much better now with the rest of the levels for a much more realistic and clean look.

GAMEPLAY:

Gameplay I love it, definently a departure from previous TR's. Lara simply moves with more ease, much more fluid like. Grappel is the same, she dosent jump quite as high but I kinda like that, makes for a more realistic look. One thing I really love about this game is that you always start out each level with your infinite pistols but you ALSO get to pick an additional weapon as well for each level, a shotgun, a machine gun, oozie's, or a trank gun. Also you get to choose Lara's outfit for each level of the game as they become unlocked. Very cool. Combat is pretty much the same as its always been as far as gunplay goes but the melee attacks are miles ahead of previous games. Kicking, Jumpkicking, punching, areall much more effective then ever before. In fact if you can get close to an enemy, you can actually take them out faster with a melee attack as opposed to gunfire. The swimming is great. From Soul Reaver to Ninja Gaiden, Ive always HATED swimming levels they are awful, the controls are atrocious, but they really nailed it I think for the 1st time here. Not only is it EASY to swim, I actually found myself enjoying the levels that had swimming in them, definantly a first for me. Now there are a few people who are complaining about the camera. Lets be honest here. Ive been a gamer for two decades and I have yet to play ANY 3D game where the camera was perfect. To be honest I think most of the complainers are just people who arent getting the hang of how to use the camera. is it perfect? No. Does it cause any problems if you know how to use it and adjust it as you go through the game? No it dosent. See you can adjust the camera at any time with the thumbstick, personally I find it to be very easy to do, I dont think I died once due to not being able to see where I was going. Really think the people unhappy with the camera are WAY overblowing it as it didnt cause me any trouble at all. Its got a nice autosave feature that saves quite frequently so if you get killed, you dont have to start back very far.


SOUND:

Great soundtrack, as you know most of the time there really isnt alot of music in a TR game, all the background sounds are great here though, the birds, fire burning, water movement, etc etc, its all top notch, and during the few scenes where the music does key in, it is So good you wish there was a way that you could turn it on for the entire game. Its sorta like this really relaxing stuff with some trancy female vocals (vocals not lyrics) mixed in there, some of the best music ive ever heard in a video game, right up there with Silent Hill in terms of quality.

STORY:
TR has always been about exploration and not so much about story, that said they do provide a pretty interesting story to follow here, certainly more interesting than anything they have come up with for a TR game before. Oh and you get to see Lara as a redhead in one of the cutscenes, WOW lol

CONCLUSION:
I love this game, some people think its too hard, Ive seen others complain that they have to keep coming to gamefaqs for help, personally I just think they are not taking their time. Tombraider is meant to be challenging, its meant to make you think, if you take the time to explore and you use your brain, there isnt a place in the game you will get stuck so bad that you cannout figure it out, and figuring it out on your own is so much more fufilling than having someone tell you how to do it. The way that I see it, if you want a game that you can rush through without any thinking, snag Gears of War or Mortal Kombat because Tombraider has never ever been meant to play that way. This game it top notch, I love it, im having more fun playig this than Ive had playing a game in a LONG time. One of the few games Ive played that I can truly say "YES", it was DEFINANTLY worth $60 no doubt about it.


Reviewer's Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/08

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