Tomb Raider: Underworld

"Deep down into the Underworld"

Tomb Raider title has been wandering around through the gaming areas for a long time, creating almost a legend in action/adventure genre. We got classics, full of blocky environment and hard puzzles, devil spawn called Angel of Darkness, where the only good thing about it was the plot, and the Crystal Dynamics' babies – Legend, Anniversary and the youngest Underworld. Since the page is called „Tomb Raider: Underworld” it won't take much to figure about which of the games the review will be about.

Here it is, sweet November and the release of the Underworld title. People have been expecting a lot from this game, and by a lot I mean A LOT. Well, those expectations didn't come from nowhere, Crystal Dynamics loves to promise things about the every next Tomb Raider they are creating. But, the expectations are expectations, I'm here to talk about the reality. I went to store, it took me almost years to find the game for Xbox 360 (those sneaky shelves!) and the price almost killed me, but, I'm a Tomb Raider fan, can't miss it! Came back to home, unpacked the game and launched the Xbox with the game running. Game surprises us in the beginning by showing the burning Croft Manor in the menu. If someone didn't see the trailer where Lara (as Crystals wanted us to think) blows up her beloved house, and if someone actually knew what Croft Manor is, it was quite amusing. Menu is nice, clear, stylish I'd say, nothing fantastic though, I was more concerned about the game itself.

The game goes with a boom and the whole action begins Hitchcock's style. It's all about Lara chasing around some people and looking for Thor's hammer, everything nordic myths heavy. When I saw the first scenes and heard the music I was like „Damn, where is my popcorn?!” but then I realised „Silly me, how I'm supposed to eat while I'm holding a pad!”. The newest Tomb Raider makes you feel it is a movie, with the most beautiful heroine ever. It has even a Pirates of Carraibean episode, where Lara ends up at Mediterranean Sea on her fantastic yacht, you're just waiting to hear „Yarr, scumbags!”, but, since there is no rum, there is no pirate Lara for us, sadly. Diving in the deep ocean is quite climatic, it gets boring after a while though. Sharks swimming around wouldn't win in a Jaws casting, they're just like annoying flies instead of a predator, and that's fishy for me. After that we meet another seafood dish which is Kraken, it's supposed to be scary, but a mere jellyfish looked more spooky than it. Also, the whole level lacks serious fighting (sharks doesn't count). Some people say that Mediterranean level is oh-so-tomb-raider, yeah, maybe, humid, stinky, closed space, claustrophobia anyone? However, do not think that all the levels in the Underworld are like that, I dare you! There is still a BEAUTIFUL Thailand (I fell in love, marriage ceremony invites are sent already), so green, so wild, so ruined and so-o-o Tomb Raider'esque that you just can't miss this game because of that location. Also here comes the Mexico, another side of the coin, dark and scary, like the Mayans, in both locations there is a strong climate holding you tight. The good and the bad moments in this game are like a electrocardiogram reading (underground of Croft Manor, oh boy), players won't be much disappointed though. It's 7/10 for the levels.

Maybe a single word about the music, since I mentioned it in a level section – it's bloody fantastic! I always knew that Crystal Dynamics gives Tomb Raider series the best music ever, but hell, this was a complete bullseye. The music fits every moment in the game perfectly, and sounds of Thailand are giving you a trip to the Asia, even the storm in Mexico causes chills. It's a total 10/10 for music.

Graphics, they're important, aren't they? Well I wouldn't worry, Lara is beautiful (and old, but I want my wife in her forties to look like that) and the enviroment looks even better. Sea is pretty well done, Thailand is wild and grassy, don't worry about wasted space. Sun shines, water flows, tigers roar, complete jungle, with a really great shadows (every plant gives its own shadow!). Mexico in rain, lightings and the bike, everything is well done without a larger mistake. And snowy Jan Mayen with dark hallways, simple and clear. You might notice some problems with shadows on Lara's yacht (and even somewhere else), but it's nothing serious, everything still looks preety good. The graphics get a 8/10 score, because of slight bugs and low resolution textures.

My, gameplay is the core of every Tomb Raider game. You've probably heard that Lara recieved a new set of moves from a motion capture gymnast, and in fact those moves look wonderfully realistic. Some of them itself aren't pretty, not so gracious like in previous games, but thanks to it Lara is more a real woman in the middle of an adventure. Combat is fine, there is not much of it, however you might notice it is a bit chaotic and even hard in some places. Jumping Lara around isn't working well anymore, you still might get knocked down by tiger or something else. Our heroine also has new weapons, but I wasn't using them much since the pistols work fine. About normal exploration – a lot of jumping and that stuff, as always, however I miss harder acrobatic sequences, it's just jump'n'run, gets tedious after a while. The puzzles aren't hard, they are complex, but not complicated, maybe it's good because it doesn't slow the gameplay in some awkward way. There are some really nice puzzles, like the Mayan calendar or moments like driving on motorbike through Jan Mayen ruins. Gameplay – 7+/10

And here we are, the final conclusion. I want to mention the cons of the game, like view, which often gets chaotic and even fights with you, more ferociously than a tiger, better leave the kitty and let it work, because when we don't steer the view manually it looks good, showing us sometimes a really good moments. And forget about boss fights. For some weird reason Crystals decided to remove all boss fights (besides final boss fight, but for me it wasn't a fight at all), so we use all that armory which Lara is carrying around with her only for critters. Also, the game is incredibly short and easy! For me at least, I've paid so much and I expected at least a week of gaming, and it took me two days! Levels seem long, but in fact, the game is long as TR:Legend! For a hardcore player it's not complicated to figure all of the patterns in game and beat it in no time. However, TR:Underworld has a really wonderful plot (I want to avoid spoilers) and of course Lara, with her fantastic personality, the gameplay isn't annoying, it's just easy (not that easy as new Prince of Persia though) and the graphics are really nice. Few cons, many pros, but the game isn't that bad overall. Fine, it is not a title of the year 2008, however you might give it a try for few bucks. TRU recieves overall 7+/10, as a motivation for Crystals to make harder and longer Tomb Raiders.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/24/09

Game Release: Tomb Raider Underworld (EU, 11/21/08)