Sound design is a bit better, but not by much. On the whole, it’s an impressive visual package, but some polish is in order. On the other hand, everything else – mercenaries, animals – aren’t given nearly the same attention to detail. Animations get a similar treatment Lara’s animations look outstanding, easily rivaling Altair’s animations in Assassin’s Creed. The game has a great lighting engine, but it’s underused in these instances. The caves and crypts are the worst offenders there is a musty, old atmosphere, but they just don’t look very attractive. On the other hand, some of the areas are unimaginative and quite boring to look at. At its best, it can compete with the best, offering gorgeous vistas and jaw-dropping scenery. These problems don’t ruin the game, but they do cloud the gem within. "At its best, it can compete with the best, offering gorgeous vistas and jaw-dropping scenery." The camera also tends to be resistant to your inputs, so it’s better to just let it do its own thing, because it tends to be helpful when you’re not butting heads with it. Lara sometimes jumps one swing after you press the key while pole-vaulting, and she very at times refuses to grab onto a ledge that she could easily grab onto if she just extended her arms. It’s apparent that a lot of effort and love have gone into all the game’s levels they’re immersive and authentic, but the occasional misstep mucks things up. You can get out of this by right-clicking to enter combat, but things like that tend to break the illusion that you’re really exploring an honest-to-goodness world. Every once awhile, Lara tends to get stuck and clip into the environment. Granted, there’s not a lot of combat, but this is one area Crystal Dynamics needs to totally redo next time around. The camera moves about as if Paul Greengrass was behind the camera (good when watching a Bourne flick, mighty bad when playing a game) and the auto-aim is questionable when there’s more than one enemy to shoot at. Surprisingly, the gunplay feels a lot more robotic and underdeveloped than ever before. On the far end of the spectrum, there’s combat, which is, in a nice, sugarcoated word, bad. The solution is always obvious, and getting to the solution requires a lot of platforming, which is what Underworld excels at. On the bright side, the puzzles are present once again, and while they don’t nearly have the depth of Anniversary’s riddles, they’re always satisfying. In a way, these elements are more superficial than anything but make the platforming experience feel more natural and satisfying than it ever has.īefore we get into puzzles, be aware that Croft Manor is 100% not in Underworld. Lara’s animations are far more nuanced she leans into turns, animations look better than they have before and, when the camera gets up close, Lara will constantly emote and shift her eyes depending on the situation. New moves, like the wall-jump, are natural additions to her acrobatic repertoire, and while her grapple hook isn’t utilized as much as it was in Anniversary, it’s still a very fun and useful tool to use. She still has a realistic sense of weight, and platforming feels absolutely fantastic, just like it always has. ".make the platforming experience feel more natural and satisfying than it ever has."Ĭontrolling Lara doesn’t feel all that different from her two previous outings. It makes her sound smart, and it gives Lara that strong but feminine (she still loves to wear make-up) quality that makes her such a likable character. Lara also has a lot to say in the cut-scenes, mostly referencing her vast knowledge of all things mythological and historical. Cut-scenes are succinct and impressive, keeping up a strong narrative presentation throughout the game. The story is good, providing enough motivation for you and Lara to trek ancient ruins and lush greenery and dive many leagues under the sea. Lara’s still looking for her mother, and she’s going to wade through a ton of Norse mythology to get to it. Underworld continues after Legend ended with its irritating cliffhanger ending. It comes awfully close, blending the tighter, revamped gameplay mechanics of Legend and the complex, multi-layered level design of Anniversary with improvements of its own, but odd glitches and archaic combat keep a great game from being a truly exceptional one. Tomb Raider: Underworld should’ve been the best installment since Crystal Dynamics’ Legend successfully revived the once-revered franchise.
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