Tomb Raider: Underworld (PC) Review

Tomb Raider: Underworld is the conclusion of the new-gen Tomb Raider trilogy. It's not just the third game, however, since it doesn't only act as a sequel to Tomb Raider: Legend, but it even manages to create a strong connection with the plot of Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the heavily updated version of the 1996 classic.

Without spoiling anything, the story is very good, and although it leans more towards Legend in terms of storytelling, this title has a very good balance between exposition and pure, non-obtrusive immersion. Also, while this is almost as dark in theme and setting as the wretched The Angel of Darkness, it pulls that off a lot better, mainly because Norse mythology feels more… Tomb Raider than the latter's black magic cults and "demons."

Needless to say, like with Anniversary, the locales that the player will have to traverse through are simply gorgeous, which comes as no surprise as this came after an already good-looking product. Note, though, that Lara has also undergone some changes, and while it's strictly a matter of personal taste, her new, more realistic, and, at the same time, supermodel-like face and body, might alienate those who preferred her more exaggerated and cartoony ones.

If there's something that's surely an improvement, though, that would be her near flawless animation - and, hey, even if you don't like the new Lara Croft, seeing this curvy, petite heroine swim in the depths of the ocean while the refracted light from above covers her body, is still nothing sort of yummy.

Enough with all that, though. What about the meat of this title? What about the gameplay? Well, it's pretty much the same as before, which is a good thing, isn't it? In theory, yes. This is still a game about doing some pretty daredevil-esque acrobatics, about solving intricate puzzles involving ancient machinery, and, of course, about a little bit of shooting between those two. These are all here, so what's the big deal?

Is it the fact that the camera has reached an all-time low, or the fact that the visuals tend to glitch every now and then? Well, while this makes the experience a little less enjoyable, it's doesn't ruin it. Is it the fact that some of the puzzles are a bit too cryptic? Again, this may be irritating, but it's not really an issue. Maybe it's the fact that, besides concept art, there's a severe lack of unlockables (which is strange when there are so many secrets to find)?

No. Like The Angel of Darkness, the problems revolve more around how bad the controls are. Yes, the comparisons feel unfair, since, unlike Core's problematic product, this doesn't feel clunky, and it actually works most of the time - but that's only most of the time. In all honesty, Lara will die a lot of cheap deaths here, and, initially, it will feel that the problem lies in the fact that it's hard to know where to do what.

Unlike the previous two instalments, where it was easy to see where Lara could grab on just by looking at the colour of a surface, Underworld requires a bit of trial and error, since most ledges and what can be done on them aren't as obvious as before. This, however, is a flaw that can be forgiven, and can even enhance the experience since it increases the overall challenge. The real problem is that the jump/grab mechanics are severely broken. Lara will jump in the opposite direction she faces, she won't be able to grab ledges that look… climbable, and so on - she will fail, fail, fail, and with her, this game will fail too!