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Wednesday, December 03, 2008 |
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Tomb Raider Underworld
By madmex @ 10:02 PM :: 1386 Views ::  :: 360
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From the triangular polygonal breasts of old to her curvaceous look of today Lara Croft has taken many shapes and sizes and yet she still remains to be an imposing character. The mainstay of young gaming boys in the 90’s, Ms. Croft became a titular figurehead and she is back in Tomb Raider Underworld.
Lara was revamped over and over again, attempting to recapture the love of the masses that she had during the early years, but with the decline in gameplay after Tomb Raider 2 the gaming public learned that they wanted something more than just a protagonist with boobs. Since then, Tomb Raider Legends came along and did what most people thought was impossible and that was to revitalize the franchise. And, Tomb Raider Underworld is another step in the right direction (the graphics in particular are stunning), but not all is well, some old enemies have returned to scar the very beauty of this title.
The graphics of this game are quite impressive. Many times there will be an instance of picturesque moments, the “Wow that is pretty” going through the mind. But it is not just the views that have come to be notable but the little details that can slip by without notice. Brushing aside bushes and limbs that get in Lara’s way is one instance of a small added feature, where games usually have you running through the plant with no collision detection whatsoever. Another detail to point out would be her climbing animation, each grasp of a rock or ledge has her grabbing something that is substantial not merely holding onto an invisible structure. But one of my favorite graphical aspects is the way Lara Croft herself becomes dirty and grimy, crawling around in the grass and up cliffs will get a person dirty and by allowing her to get that way adds to the flavor of the game.
The controls on the other hand are not that great. Granted, they are way better than the tank controls that we used in the early titles. The controls are similar to the previous installment (Tomb Raider Legend), and can be quite sensitive (especially, during the motorcycle sequences). At least there is a quick grab maneuver that Lara does if she slips off the edge of a cliff or platform. Another aspect of the game, that is not that good, is the combat.
A regular routine when fighting in any of the battles is firing a relentless torrent of bullets into any of the enemies while doing the patented back-flips and side-flips. Sounds fun, but that is all you do. There are added elements such as Adrenaline moves but I did not have a need to use them. Not really any strategy is involved, just jump and stay out of the way, while firing. Thankfully there is not too much combat in the game, mostly there is adventuring and exploring.
The adventuring and the exploring is what made the first two Tomb Raiders so appealing. Eidos brings back that sort of nostalgia with Underworld. The many different locations around the world add to the enjoyment once again. And, the investigation of each of the ancient ruins makes the experience entertaining, always trying to find the next step. There are also treasures and relics to find throughout the areas, which collecting them unlocks bonus content. Doing so would have been easier if the camera was not such a pain.
Camera issues, not that it is overly terrible, can be quite troublesome to say the least. Taking blind jumps simply because “you know” the ledge or hold is there is not exactly a fun thing to do, however, it does not happen very often. It would have been nice to have an adjustable view, not just a rotating camera that works sometimes. Having a flexible camera would have also been helpful for some of the puzzles.
The puzzles are not too difficult; they are interesting and fun but not that hard. If you do find yourself lacking in the intelligence department there is a hint system that you can use, and the game provides two separate levels of clues (the first is a basic not tell you anything you do not already know and the second just tells you more of the same). Then there is the sonar, it allows you to get a rough layout of your surroundings and has been somewhat helpful to myself when looking for the way out.
So, when it comes to Tomb Raider Underworld some specific things comes to mind Lara Croft, adventure, and great graphics, and in this iteration of Tomb Raider is a positive selling point. Although, there are a few hiccups with the camera and even more so with the controls but they are not that broken. Gratefully, these minor issues do not detract from the overall fun of this game and as an added bonus the Xbox 360 is going to have exclusive dlc coming in the future. 8/10
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