*sings* Going Underworld, Going Underworld
I love Lara Croft. She’s one hell of a woman. One who can swim the deep Atlantic seas and still emerge with her hair dry, untouched by the ocean. She’s also the only women to raid the stony tombs of the Mediterranean in her bare feet, and still have no sign of rough, leathery skin afflicting her heels. What. A. Woman. Which is why Tomb Raider Underworld was my first choice of game when offered some Christmas money to buy whatever I pleased. Within a £50 limit.
It feels a little odd playing Underworld after Anniversary considering it’s the sequel to Legend, picking up where that left off, and Anniversary being a remake of the original. Confusion aside, Underworld has taken the crown for my favourite Croft outing on the 360, just pipping the nostalgic treat that was Anniversary. It looks much better than both Anniversary and Legend (in fact, it looks stunning), and I believe - despite having the same feel as both games - it’s built on a new engine. With previous Tomb Raider games on the 360, I always felt some environments utilised the 360’s power to its best, but at other times the developers had got a little lazy and the graphical quality became sloppy. Especially as far as characters were concerned, they always looked considerably blocky.
Well Underworld looks fantastic, and that remains the theme throughout, whether you’re performing agile stunts in an eerie, echoey cave, or swimming in the vibrant Thai coastal. Which brings me to the locations. One of the aspects of Legend I didn’t take to was the ‘variety’ in levels (England, Japan etc). Underworld goes back to Tomb Raider’s roots, meaning most of it takes place in, you guessed it, tombs. I think that’s exactly how the series should be.
You always know what you get with a Tomb Raider game. You know it’s not going to revolutionise the action/adventure genre, but you also know you’re always going to have a good time - if a little frustrating - playing it. I’ve been close to tearing my hair out in past with previous Tomb Raider games, and opening the big book of ‘what the fuck do you do now’ that every Tomb Raider game should be bundled with. Either I’ve smartened up to Crystal Dynamics’ ways or they’ve dumbed down Underworld. Don’t get me wrong; I spent a good amount of time figuring out my next move, plummeting to my death, and having my strategy proved wrong time and time again (especially that bastard of the last level). But I always got there in the end, without resorting to a guide. On top of that, there’s a new addition to Lara’s PDA, where you are actually provided with hints and tips if you get stuck.
There are a couple of new things to look out for, too. In past Tomb Raider games you’d scan the room for a pole, a pillar, something to grapple, a ledge that pops out ever so slightly etc. Those things are still present, but now you can also chimney jump and rock climb. The rock climbing, well there really isn’t much to it. Just point your stick in the right direction and she’ll do all the work (ahem), but the chimney jumping provided a few ‘a ha’ moments for me when I thought there was no way out and close to reaching for that aforementioned book. So there’s a couple of new things to look out for if you find yourself stumped. There’s also the addition of slow motion sequences, which seem to have replaced the timed button sequences, but are just as pointless, in my opinion. They’re few and far between, however, and don’t add much to the game, other than giving you a major clue that if you don’t do something you’re about to face your mortality.
It’s not all fun and games, though, with a pretty big no-no that had me cursing on a few occasions; the goddam dodgy camera angles! There was many an instance when I couldn’t evaluate my surroundings because the camera had zeroed in on Lara’s ass, meaning I had to gamble and take a big risk as to where to jump. Yes, I was more often wrong than right, meaning I’d have to repeat the entire acrobatic sequence again. Seriously, there’s no room for dodgy camera handling in a Tomb Raider game where studying your environment is critical to progressing through the level.
I’m happy to report, however, that the camera is my only major gripe. If I had to be super critical I’d also complain about Lara occasionally getting a case of gluetitis, which is not video game jargon, just a term I made up for when a character seemingly becomes glued to the ground or an object (I experienced this in Mass Effect as well). She’d stand there for about 5 seconds while I’d frantically press ‘A’, ‘Y’, ‘X’, in frustration as nothing happened. Then she’d jerk forwards, and I’d be like ‘Oh, good to have you back, Lara’.
Like I said earlier, don’t be expecting a revolution to the action/adventure genre, or just Tomb Raider in general. But that’s one of the things I love about Tomb Raider; you always know what you’ll get, and while it may not be one of the best or most innovative games of ‘08, it’s definitely not going to leave you disappointed. And if the game itself isn’t providing you with as much excitement as you had hoped, find a pole and have Lara straddle it, move her upwards while pressing ‘Y’, and watch as something out of The Exorcist unfolds before you.
P.S. Did anyone get my post title? It was meant to be The Jam 
lazy designers again!! 
I don’t have anything derogatory to say about Alan Wake. My advice to you? Spend a night in Bright Falls and soak up the eerie atmosphere. Alan Wake excels at thrilling you psychologically. Which is why it’s called a psychological thriller, I guess…
Daniel Van Cuylenburg