my Tombraider Underworld review

Hey guys
Ive been playing through ‘Tombraider underworld’ lately and thought it was time to write a a review of the game.

Im a huge fan of the series and having enjoyed ‘tombraider legend’ was anticipating underworld, in hopes that it would improve on legend and offer up more of what we like…we so far im not at all disappointed….

Underworld picks up the story of legend with Lara in search of her mother, Early on, Lara realizes that her mother was not transported to Avalon after all, but to the Norse underworld, Helheim. In order to enter that realm she must obtain a powerful artifact: the thunder god Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. As she travels the globe seeking clues to the hammer's whereabouts she will visit places like the Mediterranean, coastal Thailand and various other locations.

this latest addition of the game is using the crystal engine used in legend and as with previous tombraider games the graphics of this game are amazing…….the difference between cut scenes and In game play is practically unnoticeable.









( PLEASE NOTE: if you want to see more screen shots click on my xfire link in the sig)

The game offers up 7 levels with the normal puzzles, jumps and fighting that we would expect from a TR game, and like legend one is able to use melee attacks when in close quarters, but with the added feature of being able to select a second weapon with unlimited ammo at the start of each stage, melee really hasn’t featured as big a part as I thought……as well as weapon selection one can choice costumes at the start of each stage….im not sure how many different ones are available but it’s a nice change.

Fighting is like previous TR’s with the exception that you can now lock on to more than one target when using the default pistols, you can leap jump dodge or choose a more direct method of getting in close and melee attacking, as well there is a special move which gets recharged with every hit you make on enemies but to be honest I haven't spent any time with it…I like the more traditional methods of disposing with the enemies.

As well as that there are of course secrets to be found throughout the game and also each stage has a relic which is actually a worthwhile thing to search after, as when you find it it completely restores your health and also increased your health bar permanently…..

One thing which im really enjoying with the game is that there seems to be various ways one can go about solving each puzzle, basically offering up different paths one can follow to accomplish the goal, basically if you think you can make a certain jump, leap or crawl there's a good chance that you will actually be able to take that path…this adds to replay value of the game as well as giving one an option to take a different path if one gets stuck.

The game offers up a decent length, im about half way through and have put in around 8-10 hours so far, I haven't been searching for all the secrets so find this to be very reasonable, as I said im a fan of the series but if someone is looking for a good adventure/action game with puzzle solving this is a very good contender…..

i rate this a game a very good 8/10 there are a few bugs but found that installing the one update (around 100mb) fixes most of them..

im playing this game on the machine in my sig and have the settings maxed out and dont experience any slowdown and i get a minimum of 30FPS and max in the 50's, average FPS in the 40's, but think weaker machines may struggle with this game.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: windows XP/vista, processor: 3+ GHz Intel or 2.5GHz AMD, Memory: 1gb RAM (XP)/2gb RAM (vista) 7gb hard drive space, Video card: nVidia 6800+/ ATI X1600+ 256mb memory shader model 3, Sound card: directX 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers.
(as per the box)

i would recommend this game to fans of the series and newbies alike it offers up challenges and enjoyment.....but can be frustrating if you cant work out a puzzle....(recollects spending over an hour to work out a stage last night)

anyway if you have any questions feel free to ask...
cheers

 

The game was fun, but I dont think Ill be playing it again any time soon.

Nice review + rep

 

I thought Anniversary was far better than Legends or Underworld.

 

thanks for the review. are the graphics the same or better than anniversary?

 

Well yes Aniversary is a fantastic game, but as its a revamped version of the original tombraider one would expect it to be.... I felt as though the series lost its way in the middle and felt that legends and underworld have started to bring the series back to its roots...which isnt a bad thing IMO.

Yes the graphics are nicer than anniversary, both games are using the crystal dynamics engine but i feel underworld lighting and the crispness/sharpness to the little details are better than anniversary...

 

The graphics are amazing!

 

I must play it, I got it free with my 360 a few months ago, it does look interesting and I liked the review

 

Nice freebi mate, ive heard the 360 version is a little buggy, maybe try and find an update through live...not sure if there is but the pc version has a patch that addresses most of the bugs...enjoy

 

just to let you guys know there are a few bugs in the game principally at certain points in the game after completing a puzzle you have a given amount of time to make it to the next point before the gates shut...ie....in chapter4 there is one point after completing the calendar puzzle where you are given around 1 minute to make the next point but if you dont make it the bug doesn't allow you to progress further...so id recommend making frequent saves to head off these slight issues....

 

Cool thanks, will keep that in mind, haha I'm the sort of gamer that doesn't really pay quick attention at times so looks like I could get trapped

 

Just remember to save a heap and you will be fine...tombraider can be one of the most frustrating games at times, but when you make the nearly impossible series of jumps to reach a secret or solve the puzzles its got to be one of the most satisfying games as well.....the key is remember the rewards while enduring the frustrations..

 

True true, I'm pretty excited about playing this now because I haven't played a Tomb Raider since the original

 

Thanks for the review I've heard good things about the latest Tomb Raider games, but I've never really been able to get into them. They're not really my kind of game.

 

I had played all TR games up to TR Chronicles. I stopped playing them when they changed the control. Previously, the camera was fixed behind Lara Croft and you could control her movement easily with the mouse and keyboard. Now, you can only use the keyboard for control. Mouse is used to change POV only. It's just too difficult and I never get used to it. Does this game's control still like that?

 

mate im not sure...ive always played tombraider games with a controller......its what i was used to playing them on ps1 & ps2 so i cant play third person games without a controller.....why dont you try out a controller.....you can pick them up cheap enough these days.....tombraider is already configured for windows 360 controller...gotta love the rumble effects

NOTE i just checked and you can configure the controls completely, including the mouse so im guessing you may be able to get it how you want.....give it a go, if not return the game mate.....or use a controller

 

tombraider is a love/hate relationship mate.......that type of relationship isnt for everyone like i said earlier it frustrates the hell out of me, but the solving of a complicated puzzle is one of the more satisfying things Ive experienced gaming.

its definately worth a play, the last couple are going back to the roots of tombraider, and i like where its headed......definitely a must play if your a fan of the first couple.

 

I never finished any of them except the original, but own all of them, because of the frustration. Most bought at bargin bin prices though.

Great games, but just need a way to help those of us that are Lara challenged.

 

interesting you should say that, underworld does address the Lara challenged gamer out there, it has a hint/tip button you can use if you are completely stuck at any given point , it will explain what your aim or goal is to help you along......

 

Most importantly, is there a nude patch for Lara?

 

Oh dear.....lol...the thought never even crossed my mind.....ehheeemmm

 

Always. Problem is that you always get a rear view, which isn't half bad ...

 

ah yeah, I thought it was pretty hard how you had to ride the motorcycle as fast as you could to get to the middle before it shut. I had to do it like 3 or 4 times because the controls on keyboard werent the greatest with the blasted thing.

 

The gameplay is certainly fun, the graphics are great but one thing I HATE about this game is the menu design.

1. The mouse lags in the menu (console-itus)
2. All the icons in a circle and they all kinda look the same. So more than once I chose Load instead of Save (because they are almost exactly the same and beside each other) and oh boy... that PISSED ME OFF!

I doubt I'll play it through again anytime soon, if ever. But I do enjoy the puzzles and platforming. The combat is ok but it is never great in a TR game imo.

 

Yeap, the menu isnt the best, but i didnt find it to problematic tbh, if you hit save instead of load it asks you if you want to overwrite data, and i generally just use the defult resume button anyways.

 

But if you hit Load it also asks you.. so it's not really a great fallback. Since I have to design UIs... I found this to be a particular sore spot for me, otherwise the game is good.

 

I thought you ment you where acidently overwriting saved games. bottom line the menu isnt the best but its far from the worst as well, and im not going to base a game on its menu which lets face it only gets aused at the start or end of a gaming session.......but hey we all have different needs from our gaming experience, and because of that i can understand where your coming from.

 

Great, now I have to go and play Tomb Raider. I hate discussions on this board. Makes me waste my time playing games (rather than here at NBR)

 

Easy solution my friend divide your time evenly between tombraider underworld and NBR, everything else is secondry.

 

*note* updated with thumbnail screen shots

 

underworld is crap.lagend was good and anniversery was fantastic specially the fight mechanism such as the aiming headshot system was great in anniversery.
Also there were so much good fights in anniversery such as with dinosour,gurillas and tigers in the arena,two centaurs,and the end boss.look what we have in underworld just to fight with lifeless enthralls,some humans and few animals here and there and what an easy way to kill lifeless octopus
in first level i think.
also animation system was good in legend and anniversery in which one would have to hit the keys right at times to help lara out of of trouble as compared to to slow time thing in underworld.
underworld has only puzzels to solve and that it,nothing more.
graphics are improved a bit,but that has to be.
END RESULT:anniversery pawns underworld big time and crystals dynamics need to think about it.

 

I dont think anniversery is the best game to compare with underworld to be honest, its only a revamped version of the original.
Sure i respect your opinion but i think Underworld has improved on Legends, the fighting was more aggresive in Legends but tombraider has never really been about the fighting, it has always been second to the puzzles, Underworld offers up much more well thought out puzzles and that is why i rate it higher than legends.

 

hi mtness
well yes tomb raider is about puzzels but its good to have some change with good fights.

 

Although there isn't much on the net due to everything getting lawyered, rumour is they ARE thinking about it with a whole new reboot. An openworld Tomb Raider game with more focus on melee combat.

 

Could be interesting, but the thing that would worry me is that it would lose what makes the tombraider series so unique...its puzzles, then its just another action 3rd person game with a chick with well developed assetts.
@farsang yes thats true and underworld does enough with battles to me happy....anymore would take away from what some of the locations are portraying....namely a remote, lost location, it would seem strange to me if it was filled with battles....

 

Totally agree. I would rather they didn't jump on this open world action game wagon. I don't even really like those games. Prototype, Imfamous, GTA... I have zero interest in any of them. If they do that to Tomb Raider they can be sure I won't be buying it. I hope they have something better in mind.

 

Totally agree with you mate, if they do this they will lose a long time fan and follower, they would ruin the series, all for a game that would be fun for half an hour then become another sandbox game that is repeditive and been done to death over the past year.

 

Just finished the game so thought id share my final experiences with it, really enjoyed the game throughout, it was challanging ....more so some of the puzzles than the fighting aspects of the game, it took between 16-20 odd hrs to complete which was about right for me, again the highlights of the game where the puzzles, graphics and soundtrack all of which made for a very enjoyable ride, id recommend this game to anyone looking for a topclass adventure style game.

 

i think its a decent game, with some of the best views ive ever seen in a game, but the combat is god awful (run around in a little circle shooting and you wont die). i run the game at high (max?) settings and it runs nicely, but during the jungle level with the rain it was chugging. the puzzles are also too simple. (usually moving one rock to one place and the other to the opposite one)

 

I love the pacing of tomb raider games. The puzzles are never very tough but there is the odd time you just can't find the "jewel" or whatever you need to activate a lever. So I guess that leads to a little more exploration, which is all around good.

This game is quite fun and well done. I also found the combat lacking a bit but that's pretty normal for a tomb raider game imo. So I don't let it distract me too much. For the most part I just shot gunned everything until I got the hammer of thor. Then it was a55 kicking time!

The environments, jumping puzzles, story and pacing make this game a win for me too.