Tomb Raider Underworld
There will be times while escorting Lara Croft through her latest quest that you’ll be genuinely awestruck. Then there will be times when you’ll be so stuck when problem-solving that you’ll wish you’d never even begun. Playing Tomb Raider Underworld is equal parts exhilaration and exasperation. But in the end we feel that we’re getting what we paid for – Indiana Jones with a ponytail, oftentimes matching Spielberg’s last movie spectacular for drama and special effects.
As you’ll discover to your delight or dismay from the very beginning, Underworld is a celebration of traditional Tomb Raider conventions alongside a handful of trailblazing extras. The bare bones gameplay involves Lara Croft navigating complex obstacle courses in the form of ancient temples and palatial underground crypts. Locations are invariably vast and tricky to explore, you don’t have a map on which ‘X’ marks the spot. In Tomb Raider you have figure it out all by yourself. That’s the whole game. Although Lara now drops hints they’re usually something general along the lines of, “I need to find a switch to open that door.” Oh really? I might never have guessed. And don’t get us started on the Sonar Map… waste of time.
Lara’s newfound gymnastic skills lead to fiddly control requirements that’ll have seasoned gamers blowing away mental cobwebs while casual players might quietly weep during some sections. You’re required to master leaping between narrow wall spaces and jumping across awkward angles, even backwards, very early in the game. When it works, it’s wonderful. When you miss even the slightest foothold it is agony.
Combat is sadly perfunctory at best. Lara can – very impressively – back-flip and cartwheel around while maintaining a steady aim on her aggressors. It makes battles versus tigers and panthers or zombie Vikings look dramatic but all rather random. Occasionally you might use the new adrenaline moves to deal more damage and take more careful aim, but usually all that’s required is to keep moving. Smaller enemies such as spiders and bats are obviously just thrown in to keep Lara busy for a while, brushing them off or just blasting them from a distance. Larger enemies are really a bit stupid – they’ll get trapped making them sitting ducks.
And yet Tomb Raider Underworld is utterly compelling. Once you’ve solved the first two bumper puzzles, after convincing yourself that they’re either impossible or the game itself must be broken, the game becomes impossible to put down. Underworld is visually stupendous with its colossal statues and foreboding catacombs. On the whole it’s a match for Drake’s Fortune on PlayStation 3, last year’s unsung Christmas blockbuster. The latter was balanced in favour of combat, whereas Underworld naturally upholds its essential tomb raiding element. Apart from Tomb Raider Legend and Anniversary there remains nothing else quite like it on Xbox 360.
Fans will not be disappointed, then, but newcomers could find it hard going. Nevertheless the new Tomb Raider really does deliver on high expectations.
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