Tomb Raider: Underworld

Plot synopsis:
Tomb Raider: Underworld begins with Lara Croft's mansion exploding and being engulfed in flames. The game then rewinds back in time to a week before the explosion, just after the events of Tomb Raider: Legend. Lara is searching for Avalon, hoping it will lead her to an explanation for the disappearance of her long lost mother. Underneath the Mediterranean Sea, Lara discovers an ancient temple designating itself as "Niflheim", one of the many Norse underworlds. Lara recovers one of Thor's gauntlets after a lengthy battle with Amanda Evert's mercenaries, and an encounter with an imprisoned Jacqueline Natla on Amanda's ship. Natla tells Lara that the Norse underworld, Helheim and Avalon are one and the same and that she will need to find Thor's Hammer to open the Underworld and find her mother. Lara soon discovers that she will have to find Thor's other gauntlet and his belt if she wants to find and wield the hammer. Natla provides Lara with a starting point for her search in this quest – coastal Thailand. In Thailand, Lara doesn't locate the next gauntlet, but she finds evidence that her father had retrieved it before he died. She also discovers a message that reveals her father and Natla had a working relationship which eventually soured. Lara is able to deduce where her father hid the missing gauntlet.
Back at the Croft Manor, Lara finds her father's secret office buried beneath her home. Upon his desk, Lara discovers the gauntlet as well as a tape-recorded message, warning her that Helhiem contains a powerful weapon. Suddenly, an explosion occurs and Lara's home becomes engulfed in flames, leading back to the opening events of the game. Zip tries to shoot Lara and claims that "Lara" detonated the bomb. When Lara returns to the burning office to recover the security footage, she encounters her doppelgänger who kills Alister Fletcher. After his emotional death, Lara resolves to continue with her quest. In Mexico, Lara finds both Thor's Belt and ancient pictographs linking the weapon in Helheim to Jörmungandr, a mythical Norse sea-serpent, brought about by the seventh age. Her next stop are ruins on Jan Mayen Island that correlate to Valhalla. It is here that Lara finally recovers Thor's Hammer. In the meantime, Zip has managed to track Amanda down to a sister-ship of the one Lara sank earlier. Armed with Mjolnir, Lara boards the vessel and interrogates Natla once again. Natla provides Lara with the coordinates of Helheim, but points out that Lara does not know the Ritual of Odin, which is needed to open its gates, so Lara reluctantly strikes a bargain with Natla and frees her from her cell.
They rendezvous in the outer chambers of the Helheim complex, deep below the Arctic Sea. With the ritual performed, Lara is able to use Mjolnir to open the gates of Helheim. Along the way, Lara discovers the horrifying truth of her mother's fate – she has been turned into a thrall, thus Lara forcibly shoots her. Natla reveals the true extent of her manipulation of Lara, also revealing that she was responsible for killing Lara's father. The doppelgänger prepares to kill Lara, but she is saved by Amanda. It is revealed that the Midgard Serpent was a Norse metaphor for the many tectonic divisions that encircle the world, beneath the seas. The doomsday device was built upon the most unstable junction of these lines and its activation would cause massive volcanic activity across the whole planet and the destruction of most of humanity. Lara successfully destabilises the device and strikes Natla with Mjolnir, sending her down into the pool of deadly eitr below. Lara and Amanda escape together using the dais, like the one that brought Lara's mother to Helheim, teleporting back to the temple in Nepal (from Tomb Raider: Legend).

Tags: violence

Review:
Despite being shorter than Anniversary, I felt that Underworld was a far superior game.
This chapter in the history of Lady Lara Croft corrected most of the frustrating mistakes of it's predecessor and made it an enjoyable gaming experience that was almost on par with Legend.
Underworld steered away from using extreme difficulty and repeated death as a means to increase the playtime and therefore made the game far less frustrating, to the point of being extremely enjoyable.
I have completed the main story, but I can assure you that I will be returning to each level to retrieve the collectibles I missed on the first run (which Anniversary didn't inspire me to do).Don't get me wrong, though, there are minor technical glitches, such as enemies freezing in place, places where Lara can easily get 'stuck' and on one occasion she became permanently invisible, forcing me to reboot, but these are only minor annoyances.
I'm not saying that Underworld is bad, just not what it was made out to be.Although Underworld did see a return of Zip and Allister, they only appeared at the beginning and end of levels and in the second half of the game, they were absent entirely.
I felt a little cheated by this as these two characters (and Winston) made Legend feel much brighter and more fun than any previous TR game.
Their constant playful jibes and contributions to the level-at-hand gave the game a less lonely feeling and allowed us to see Lara's wit, warmth, charm and flaws, making her a much more interesting character.
Though there are several moments where Lara's true emotions are shown, for the most part of the game, she feels much, much less three dimensional than she was in Legend.
But, as the name of the game implies, Underworld's plot goes places much darker than that of Legend or even Anniversary.
Some people may remember me starting a thread in the forum for this game about whether Lara's character would be tarnished by actions she takes in this game.
The resolution to one ongoing aspect of the plot was especially cruel, as if the writers sat around and asked themselves "What's the most punishing way (for Lara) that we can resolve this part of the story?" It's just one of many emotional blows the player is forced to endure during this game and, unfortunately, they are not countered by superior uplifting or hopeful moments.
While well done, I would've preferred it if the story had been a lot kinder to Lara.If you need your entertainment to end happily, this probably isn't the game for you.All-in-all, I believe that Legend remains the finest Tomb Raider game ever, although Underworld has just claimed second place.
In spite of it's heart-wrenching moments, it was a well designed and involving game that was not bogged down with infuriating, repetitive difficulty.Now I'd like to end with a plea to Eidos: PLEASE leave the game engine as is and devote your time (in the next TR volume) to making more levels!
I would have gladly settled for the Legend engine and graphics if it meant you would have spent the time you saved building three or four more levels!
I am extremely grateful for the wonderful gaming experience I have just had, but I don't mind sounding like a greedy bastard when I say: "I WANT MORE!".
As a die-hard fan of the Tomb Raider series I naturally had to have this game, the more so after reading the glowing reviews on Amazon.
The game won't run on older hardware.More good things first: Lara's interactive capabilities have further improved from her previous two adventures, her movements look more lifelike thanks to motion-capturing and scripted events, like pushing vegetation out of the way.
More important is her extended repertoire of useful moves: She can now balance on horizontal poles as well as swing from them, stand on narrow ledges, climb alcoves by jumping from wall to wall and use her grappling hook more effectively (how about enabling her to use grappled objects as jump-off or -up points, once she's reached them?) So I'm happy to say the "next-gen" experience begins to approach something like the natural "feel" of the classic series, where YOU played the game -- Tomb Raider Next-Gen often feels more like the game is playing you!
The developers achieved their goal of re-invigorating the core qualities of Tomb Raider -- exploration and immersion.
Just try to stray from the predestined path, and you'll know what I mean -- invisible walls everywhere; things & ledges Lara won't grab, low obstacles she can't jump over and even solid objects she'll fall through.
There are some funny videos on Youtube -- but it's not really fun to encounter in a Tomb Raider game.
This has been an issue since "Legend", but "Legend" and "Anniversary" combined don't have as much appetizing content as "Underworld", and the player stays hungry like the poor kid in front of the gourmet shop.
Good looks are a great device to keep players hooked, and I'm definitely saying: This game is a "must-see".
And maybe it never will.The story: It's quite good by Tomb Raider standards (meaning: the "meat" of the story is the most convoluted bundle of myths yet), but honestly it's the least I care about.
And I really, really, don't want to know her IQ or her cup size, but for the sake of the game I wish she'd get over that fixation about Mommy & Daddy for good.
I kind of miss the humorous touch.Some people have claimed the game is too short (true, it's the shortest of the Next-Gen games) and that it looks a bit rushed in terms of hidden objects and replay value -- I still haven't found all of them.
Because Tomb Raider deserves everything they promised sans the glitches and horrible collision detection.
However, after SO many iterations of this game, I want to see a realistic Lara.
I can't count the number of times I freaked out as I was on a ledge, and couldn't see where to go next, so I gathered I was to take a leap of faith in the game, only to find my deduction like two inches off.
I don't remember having this much of an issue with tomb raider legend or anniversary.
It felt sloppy, evading and shooting is a terrible affair, the camera starts freaking out as you are locked on to an enemy, but you can't see the enemy, as the game engine is trying to stay on Lara bouncing around.
Unless the next tomb raider can somehow design a combat system that is amazing, like...
The checkpoint save system is also annoying, but not too bad.Though some of the veterans will scoff, I find the optional "field assistance" hints an improvement over the previous games that offered no help at all - now I am less likely to need to look up solutions online when I get stuck.
At least there are difficulty settings for specific things like enemy health and fall damage.Lara's controls are a bit mixed.
Tomb Raider Underworld looks like a current generation game but feels like it is still stuck in the past.
The character models look a lot more realistic than in previous games, with Lara having a much more athletic build.
Lara still has a plastic Michael Jackson face, which does ruin the immersion a bit, but at least it doesn't affect the game-play.
For all the good looks this game has, there are so many things that spoil the game-play.
It does nothing to aid the flow of the game or enhance Lara's movement, in fact it impedes you so many times.
The gun battles are so bad it almost feels like it was tacked on because traditionally Lara has had to shoot something.
Experienced tomb raiders should have no problem completing the game.
As good as the story and levels are, the bad camera, the length of the game, and the little replay value will ensure that I do not revisit Underworld for a while.
Underworld really does feel like a half-game..
This is a continuation of the story from Tomb Raider Legend.
Crystal Dynamics third Tomb Raider game and Lara's complete next gen debut.
The game sadly follows Angel of Darkness's footsteps in making Lara's first game on the new generation of consoles a mess.
Which Eidos is known for rushing their developers.Graphically the game looks great.
I fell through a boss one time, I went through a boat wall, close to the end of the game the screen just went black and I had to cut off my PS3 and turn it back on before I could do anything else, and at one point the screen went completely gray.
This game is shorter than Anniversary as well, but longer than Legend by a small margin.There are some improvements here.
Just like Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness.
I'm a big Tomb Raider fan, have played all the previously released games, including gold games, and I must say, this game is most like Tomb Raider AOD: A great story, stunning new graphics, and out of control controls.
Although this game doesn't contain as many texture glitches as AOD, the setback is that the camera is completely out of control.
It's like they put the game on 2x speed compared to Tomb Raider Anniversary, which completely takes out the pleasure of playing the game, and just makes you confused and even sometimes nauseous.
The story is interesting, and in line with the previous game Tomb Raider Legend, although in this game you have no idea where to go, because the textures are too realistic and the camera is in your way.
First Tomb Raider game and really enjoyed it.
Tomb Raider: Underworld follows the story from the previous game Tomb Raider: Legend where Lara, as a 9 year old girl gets stranded in the Himalayas with her mom when, suddenly her mom disappears through a portal and Lara tries to solve the mystery that her dad started about what really happened to her mom.
HP, because of the puzzle solving and collecting Wizard Cards, and James Bond because of the shooting and different weapons, though I liked Underworld's camera view better than James Bond.The graphics were amazing; it's like watching a movie especially with the cinematics in the game; the story is unbelievably awesome, unpredictable and very well thought out and done and also connected very well to Legend's story; combat was very fun especially with the Adrenaline Headshot.
Make sure, at least, to buy Legend first to get accustomed with the story before playing Underworld which is the climax of the story like I did.
Some people didn't like how Allister and Zip weren't in Underworld as much as Legend but It didn't bug me as much.
One glitch that I had to endure was during the Southern Mexico level, I got stuck because I saved my game after jumping over a pillar laying across the hallway in Xibalba then stopped and went back to go get a treasure, but when I started from when I saved it, the motorcycle was on the other side of the pillar than I was so I had to start over, just to warn you..
The graphics were amazing as always and the game play is fun and interesting especially with the new weapons that she finds over the course of the game.
The makers have really focused on design and movement with this game making it seem more realistic and of course as any Tomb Raider fan will know that this one contains blood.
I am still with Tomb Raider 2 being my favourite but they are getting closer to the greatness they once had and who knows maybe my opinion will changed within a few years..
Levels are long and boring with too much detail on meaningless treasure hunting (the Platinum depends on you getting all 179 treasures in the game, but it's glitched, so you're screwed) and not enough action.It's time for Lara to hang up her hot pants.
While not overly different from Legend and Anniversary, it has definitely taken inspiration from the two and combined all of the best bits of both.The story itself is extremely compelling, and the ending is truly epic and moving.
The story is what kept me going, something that hasn't happened since Mass Effect and Gears 2.As you may have guessed, I have played the game on Xbox 360.
I have an open mind for all platforms (and play on PC as well), but I believe Tomb Raider is best played on your console of choice due to the fact the controls work so well on a controller.
Apart from some minor control quirks and the odd camera moment, most of the game remains solid and stable and never did the quirks frustrate or hamper the experience.Some familiar characters return for Underworld, including Zip and Alistair.
If there is one thing I would have changed in Underworld, it's that Zip and Alistair don't play as big a role as in Legend, which is a shame because there are times in Underworld where you know you would be hearing them if you were playing Legend.Some people however will like this approach, as there are no hints and tips given to you when solving puzzles, as Zip and Alistair are oblivious to your actions.
Instead, Lara films her expeditions with an HDD camcorder (which has the same amount of battery every time she uses it), and this progresses the story in the same way Zip and Alistair did in Legend.Being more like Anniversary will certainly please the older fans, but for people who properly joined the series at Legend (like me), some will feel the lack of dialogue is, well, lacking.
This however is only my opinion, and on the plus side the lack of dialogue certainly adds to the feeling of isolation present throughout the game.Overall, Underworld is a great game, with dazzling graphics in a similar style to 'Uncharted' on the PS3.
The exploration and story really keep you going, and the generally epic feel to the game makes it feel like a Hollywood blockbuster.
I really enjoyed Tomb Raider: Legend, I was so enraptured in Lara Croft that I instantly got Underworld.
I've never seen a Tomb Raider game with this much detail in the graphics and Underworld has it in spades from jungles, to ancient cities and ruins and even underwater and the mythical lands of Norse mythology.
I'd say Underworld is an amazing game that is almost up to par with Legend, but a longer game would definitely made me more happier..
I think that Underworld is one of the best games in Tomb Raider series along with Legend.
I think that graphics are great, characters are very well made and that the game has more interesting story than any other game I've played.
Tomb Raider: Underworld, more like return of the Angel of Darkness.
Many times I while playing I would simply think, was this really needed?
I was born in 1996, so I have been around as long as Lara has, and I must say, the new Lara in this game is more uglier than the one in the original Tomb Raider.
The look of Lara Croft in Underworld seemed like it would fit better in a different game, in a whole other franchise.
It looks like someone tried to throw Lara off a cliff and resemble her themselves.
I would have much rather liked it if they stuck to the original design and just revamped it a little, much like Legend or Anniversary.(Note* If you play Tomb Raider Legend on the PS3 in the trilogy game, you can see many similarities in the old Lara and in that one.)Pros, Levels and tomb areas are beautiful, I have no complaints.
I don't know who they based this Lara off of, because it sure looks nothing like Alison Carroll.
Lara seriously looks like a Barbie that you can find at the dollar general.Game Play is way way too short.
Things are to much fast paced, I don't know a person alive who moves that fast, it looks like something out of the twilight universe.
The camera angel is a little funky, especially in the tomb raider trilogy game.
I can be looking forward, and all of the sudden the camera will start to bounce, and I will be looking behind Lara.No Zip or Alister commentary through out the game.
Lara moves really blocky, her swan dive is all messed up, it looks like a monkey in a human suit jumping awkwardly.
I honestly would have enjoyed a fight between Lara, the Doppleganger, and Amanda in the foyer of Croft Manor or something like that.
She is suppose to be the big baddie, but you only have conversation with her about three times in the game, four, if you watch the 'Previously on Tomb Raider' video.179 treasures, that give you nothing except developers content.
I would have really loved outfits like in Legend and Anniversary, but sadly you can only use what they give you, and one unlockable outfit you can only use in the first level.
6 relics in 6 levels, that only give you a slight health boost, that you don't need because Lara rarely takes that much damage in this game.Those are my complaints.
I am not saying to not buy this game, it is a really nice game, but be prepared for glitches and bugs, and fast pace, and if your a Tomb Raider gamer with experience, you could find yourself on the third level within an hour or two.
Hell, this game makes AoD look really appealing right now.
I would only recommend that you play it if you have had previous experience with Anniversary and Legend, otherwise you won't really know what's going on or how the game really runs.