Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
Underworld is effectively the final major adventure of the Lara Croft character players were introduced to in
Tomb Raider: Legend. Technically, my understanding is that this version of the character remains canonical to the
Lara Croft and... action/puzzle games, plus certain novel and comic spinoffs (I'm not sure what universe the Dan Abnett novels are set in), but it seems that the mainline series will go forward with the 2013 incarnation. It's appropriate, then, that the title brings the story of Amanda, Lara's family and the Excalibur artifacts to a rough conclusion - a luxury Core were never afforded with the aborted
Angel of Darkness trilogy. Focusing heavily on Norse mythology, Underworld features Lara battling Amanda and her mercenaries through Thailand, arctic wastes, the depths of Croft Manor, South America, and underwater ruins as she hunts for clues to the location of the mystical land of Avalon and her missing mother. Unsurprisingly, not everything goes to plan, and Lara is forced into a dark pact with an enemy from her past to gain control of artifacts said to have the power to enter the underworld and slay the demigod Jörmungandr. Whilst the game is undoubtedly story driven, it leans more towards
Anniversary in relegating much of the dialogue to interstitial scenes and short one-off levels where Lara converses with friends and foes returning from
Legend.
Indeed, the game as a whole follows this path of merging both of Crystal Dynamics' previous Tomb Raider titles into one experience. Levels range from short, action-and-cutscene driven sequences that could've come straight out of
Legend, and larger maps based around puzzles and platforming more akin to
Anniversary's approach. None of these sequences could really be characterized as particularly though-provoking, though there were a few instances where I wasn't sure what to do next in order to progress. This is partly due to the addition of the "chimney climb" mechanic added to Lara's repetoire of abilities, which allows her to - in theory - ascend any surfaces in close contrary proximity to each other. I was so unused to this feature that there I sometimes found myself completely stumped by some incredibly simple puzzles. Conversely, this also over-complicated certain other climbing sequences since the game rather unreasonably refused to tag select areas as accessible via this method, despite appearing otherwise. There were a few other moves which I don't believe existed in previous titles, such as being able to jump upwards from hanging poles in order to grab moving chains. There's also a completely worthless PDA which I believe I opened twice in eight hours. In general, the controls seemed a little looser than
Anniversary in that there seemed to be more freedom to interact with environmental oddities (as opposed to obviously flat surfaces and identical ledges), but the game also had more difficulty detecting Lara's position in relation to the world, resulting in a few occurrences of Lara jumping or hauling herself up onto solid ground, then instantly falling back down, or just failing to grab ledges right next to her head. The end result is that players technically have less precise control over Lara in
Underworld than they did in
Anniversary, but the generally forgiving checkpoint system means that it's really not an issue. If I had to complain about one thing in particular, it's the "Adrenaline Time" moments where Lara is clambering up something and a scripted event forces the player to react quickly to avoid being killed. The random camera angle change and the fact that the player's control is temporarily frozen did result in a couple of annoying deaths, though again, checkpoints are usually very generously located in order to prevent frustration. At least QTEs have been ditched for this outing, letting you sit back and enjoy some of the cutscenes.
If there's one element I failed to get to grips with, it's the new combat system. I'm not really sure what the "ideal" was in regards to how players are supposed to behave when faced with enemies. Humans are relatively simple to deal with - hide or roll to reduce (but not eliminate) incoming damage and use sticky grenades to kill enemies instantly. But where classic Tomb Raider titles generally encouraged jumping over melee foes and wildlife and
Legend and
Anniversary promoted timed dodges, I never worked out how to reliably avoid attacks from tigers, zombies, spiders and lizards in
Underworld. Foes always seemed to lock on to Lara and hit her regardless of whether she was jumping, dodging or rolling, and I usually just tried to hang back and take out enemies before they could get close. I suppose it's probably for the best, then, that the game lacks a single boss encounter, but it severely undermines a title that features combat with such regularity, not to mention leaving the game bereft of memorable antagonists - you never actually get to physically fight a single one of
Underworld's villains. One element actually expanded upon is the rudimentary melee system from Legend. Lara now has the capability to strike punch and kick enemies, though I believe I only actually used this five or six times in an early level. There are two cool albeit rather brainless segments where Lara uses an artifact to smash a bunch of mercenaries out of her way, then tear through an army of undead thralls, who stagger down corridors straight into Lara's attacks.
I've probably come across as quite negative towards
Underworld, which isn't really an accurate summarization of my feelings towards the game. Graphics are fantastic - with a fair amount of diversity in environments and colours - Lara is gorgeous (and slightly aged, looking closer to the 35 years her in-universe biography attributes to her), character models are supremely detailed, and the two underwater sections (at the start and towards the end of the game) are almost awe-inspiring when their scale first becomes apparent. I barely swore at my computer and never considered giving up due to an aggravating platforming section or seemingly impossible boss fight. But that's almost the whole problem - I don't really have any strong feelings towards it at all. When I first encountered the Kraken, I thought the game would pull out all the stops and prove a reasonably fun action-adventure along the lines of the 2013 reboot, but it never really takes off. I think the soundtrack encapsulates this issue - I can't say anything particularly bad about any of the tracks, but as rousing as the main theme is, there's not much to get especially excited over. "Dull" is far too strong a word to describe
Underworld, but it's certainly unremarkable in many areas. I did like the game, but it's a slightly limp conclusion to the first reboot trilogy when compared to the mad ambition of
Angel of Darkness.
It's worth noting that the Xbox 360 version of the game was extended with two epilogue chapters -
Beneath the Ashes, where Lara ties up some loose ends in the smoldering ruins of her home, and
Lara's Shadow, where the fates of two of the game's major antagonists are revealed. These were never released on any other platform, so you'll have to watch a youtube playthrough if you're interested in some of the dangling plot threads from the main narrative.
Also,
Underworld inspired some good CGI lesbian porn, so that's something.