Tomb Raider: Underworld – Review

This is one of the best games I've played this year. At first I thought I was biased as I've grown up to the TR series since the very first was released in late 1996. However I thought TR: Legend was alright but too "mainstreamed" and it held your hand throughout the whole game. Not to mention the levels were too short and straightforward. Then came TR: Anniversary which was a remake of the first Tomb Raider. I never finished it because it got kind of boring, but I'm willing to give it another chance sometime. My favorite Tomb Raider game would be TR2, which was released in 1998 - that's ten years ago. While I did enjoy TR 3 a bit and 4, I felt that they were a bit too empty and confusing. The music however in the series has never disappointed me.

Now that I grabbed Tomb Raider Underworld I hadn't looked up anything about the game as I've tried my hardest not to know anything about it because most developers these days spoil stuff for you. Nothing major but sometimes it's just better to experience those small improvements without knowing about them. I had seen 3 screenshots though and one of them was a bit annoying as they showed a certain big creature. Anyway right from the start I turned off "Helper Buttons" and "Training Text", you can also turn off "Combat Reticles" but I decided to have them on my first time through the game - it's nice to see enemy health and your aim. With those other two turned off however it truly felt like those good old Tomb Raider games already since you're not getting any help, which meant that I was stuck a few times on semi-simple stuff. While it was a bit frustrating after a while I still enjoyed it thoroughly because once I found out how (I think it took 20-30 minutes on the door puzzle to Thor's gloves on the first level haha) it was a very satisfying feeling to see that door open.

I'm not sure how long I've played but I wouldn't be surprised if it was 2½-3 hours or maybe more or slightly less. I'm only at the second level (not counting Mansion intro and the ship) Graphically the game is quite pleasing, some textures aren't especially great but it doesn't matter in the long run since the levels are varied not only graphically but the paths you can take - there's definitely more than one way to go through the levels, while I'm not talking about giant shortcuts or overly different paths, I've discovered a few shortcuts or small detours which is welcoming. On a quick note I also played the Demo and didn't quite enjoy it then, I'm not sure why but it felt odd to just be placed in a new Tomb Raider world and not really knowing anything about the story and all that. I never finished the demo though as I thought that I might enjoy that level more when I've played the full game and hell yes I was right about that.

For those of you who like collecting stuff and secrets then Underworld surely won't disappoint you, although it might overwhelm you. On the first level if I remember correctly there was one Relic to find and 26 other small secrets. For the second level I think there was once again one Relic to find and 30 small secrets. Other new additions to the series is a "Player Tailoring" gameplay option. In here you can adjust "Enemy Health", "Ammunition Capacity", "Damage To Lara", "Time For Saving Grabs" all from Less, Normal and Extra. Some might be put off by it, personally I don't really care at the moment. Hardcore players of the game later on might enjoy it for some extra challenge, or new players or young players that might find it too hard will enjoy it obviously. There's also three difficulties - "Casual Explorer", "Tomb Raider", "Master Survivalist". I'm guessing there might be some more unlockables, outfits and whatnot other than the Extras you see available from the start such as environment, gear, weapon, character concepts, storyboards and such.

My final conclusion is that I'm highly pleased that the game managed to give me those nice deserted and curious feelings you got from playing the old TR levels.

The Good
Big levels, a lot of secrets and artifacts to search for, enjoyable music, good customization options, enjoyable and slightly distressing creatures/enemies.

The Bad
Graphics can look a bit so-so for the hardcore complainers, camera can be frustrating at times, occasionally Lara might make a jump in the wrong direction (usually due to the angle although you learn to control and understand it in my opinion), battles with humans feel awkward and forgiving/dumb AI

PC Version

Presentation: 8/10
Graphics: 7.8/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10

Total: 8/10