Tomb Raider Underworld

Been playing the first few levels, and I have to say Underworld really does deliver a cinematic experience, and makes you feel like the star in a Hollywood blockbuster. From the opening tutorial, with Lara's mansion tumbling down around you as it burns to the ground, to the lush vegetation of a jungle ruin in Thailand, this game looks simply amazing. Level design is well done also, a few grey cells have to be engaged to solve the puzzles, but not so taxing that they are frustrating. My only complaint with this game is that the camera twitches all over the place sometimes, particularly if you are guiding Lara through narrow places. It takes some getting used to the controls to learn the limitations of the camera.
Despite this though I have been extremely impressed so far, I expect I will have multiple runs through this game, just like the other Tomb Raider titles.

Having been a longtime TR fan I must say this adds little to the mix. Basically its the final chapter from the last 2 games, as lara searches for avalon to find her long lost mother.

On first impressions I was blown away and would have given this game a 5 star rating. Finally the big expansive environments are back, leaving you in awe of the scale of the level in front of you. And what a sight these levels are, this game, graphically is truly stunning and when added to the superb soundtrack, you really believe you are in for a treat.

However there is the rub - each level is more linear than Call Of Duty. You can only follow the path around that map as decided by the developers. If you try to shortcut it you will die, either by falling through the graphics, or by being stopped in mid air and plunging to your doom. There is absolutely none of the exploration as in TR of old. If there is a ring you need to grapple, if there is not then you look for a ledge to crawl on. All the way through the game - not once can you go off on a tangent and just explore random parts of the map - you stay on the predetermined path.

More to the point why explore? You have all the guns, there is no ammo and collecting secrets/artifacts only open up concept drawings from the extras menu. It really is travel from A to B to see the cut scene. Oh and combat is laughable, I used only the pistols to complete the game in one evening, and that included killing sharks with them. Oh yeah sharks - in the arctic? Thats a new one.

Annoyingly the developers have also opted to stick with the camera/keyboard control system, meaning that if the camera changes direction and you are pushing forwards, you can now suddenly find yourself moving left/right. Which means you will often plummet once again to your doom because lara leaps off a ledge to the left, not forward as you intended because the camera angle changed. Talking of camera angles whats the problem? Its as bad, but no worse than in any other TR game and I actually felt at home with the camera from the start.

So to conclude, its a stunning game visually and there are some great maps to look at, but without the exploring that made the TR series so great it really left me feeling unfulfilled. Only the final map felt anything like a classic tombraider level, and it was not worth it for full price. Unless you have been following the lara mother story and really need to know how this saga ends, I really would recommend waiting for a price drop especially when you really can complete this game in one evening.

To be generous, on the upside if you are looking for an Xmas or birthday present for the younger gamer then this would make an ideal game as its not hard, looks beautiful and there is no swearing (a rarity in modern games).

It's Christmas 2008 and Crystal Dynamics have presented their latest offering, Tomb Raider: Underworld. We had high expectations, so how has the resulting title measured up?

Crystal Dynamics have previously produced Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the resurrected version of Lara's first adventure; both were highly polished, well finished games with a strong backstory. Underworld has continued in exactly the same vein, and slots seamlessly into the earlier episodes as if they had been pages from the same book.

Indeed, two of Lara's previous antagonists feature heavily in this story, in which Lara begins a desperate search into the Norse underworld in an attempt to find her lost mother, last seen pulled through a portal in Tomb Raider: Legend. The game progresses more like a film than a standard action game; the characters are very well realised, are every bit as well animated as Lara herself and the voice-acting is pretty good too; the script is strong and well thought-out. And as for the soundtrack it's top-class, almost good enough to compare with John Williams' classic soundtracks. Make no mistake, this is quality material.

The details everybody always talks about most are of course the graphics, which Crystal Dynamics has again done a masterly job of; Lara could well be the pin-up girl of your local games shop all over again, looking good and excellently animated in all her movements. I had only a single glitch in the whole time I played this (although the nVidia 8800GT probably helped). This was when Lara sometimes slid into a narrow gap between objects and took a second or two before she could move again. Otherwise, it was fine and worked first time it was installed. However, I would suggest that a higher end graphics card is a must for this game if you want to see it at its best.

Actual new features for Lara's combat skills aren't so important though. I never needed to deliberately split targets or shoot from walls; though the focussed mode was useful every so often until a better weapon (SPOILER) becomes available. With such readily available skills, and with a choice of which secondary weapon you want to take along (Uzis, Shotgun, Harpoons, Assault Rifle, Tranquilizer) there isn't the feeling that you can be rewarded for your searching by getting your hands on a really cool weapon. The joy of getting my hands on the Desert Eagle in TR3, or the M16 in TR2 just doesn't feature in this latest game.

The other problem, though only "old hands" are likely to feel this way, is that it feels like it's over a bit quickly. TR2 was a genuine epic that took days to complete, and The Last Revelation (TR4) was almost like a death-march with sand and goodies thrown in. I managed to complete the main story in just a day, and without hurrying much. It is really, *really* good stuff but it just ran out so damned early. Hopefully, Crystal Dynamics will be listening, will really go for it and make an epic next time, because they are *so* close to making a masterpiece.

So, a five star rating is in order for this brilliant title. It's not just a game - it's an experience; make sure CD can make that true epic next time, help them survive the global recession and buy your copy of this game if there's one thing you buy someone this christmas (and if you can manage two, add Fallout 3 to your christmas stocking, too).

Earlier episodes, and similar items to this include:

Tomb Raider: Legend (PC DVD)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PC DVD)
Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition (PC)

And if you like a really well-made game I'd also recommend:

Fallout 3 (PC)