Dec 25, 2020
Tomb Raider Underworld Review — Same Great Experience With Same Problems
Just last night, I finished Tomb Raider Underworld. I remember trying to play it on PC, way back when it was released new. For some reason I did not finish it. Now, bought it on Xbox on a sale, played through and its done.
Note : I took a lot more screenshots but this week, Xbox Live Upload feature has stopped working so I am working with what was uploaded between the glitched upload system
This time, Lara is going after an old villain. Most of the time, Tomb Raider games are standalone. This game sort of connects Legend and Anniversary into a single story line. Prior to playing Underworld, I played Anniversary and then, Legend, in that order. The story does not make much sense. Half the time I still don’t know what she was talking about.
She is searching for her mother who passed away in a mysterious accident (Legend). Then, her father tried to save his reputation or something, and also protect his daughter. There is her friend Amanda who was good, then became bad, and became good again. I never played Tomb Raider for the story, so, I really don’ care.
Fun Adventure and Enjoyable, Frustrating Puzzles
Ultimately, the entire tomb raider experience has remained unchanged since I played Tomb Raider 3 in 1998/1999. As of this writing, I have played and mostly finished all Tomb Raider games, all the way up to Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The only game I have missed is Rise of the Tomb Raider, and I have bought it now and will be playing it soon.
So, from 1998 till now, you do the same running around, shooting and killing animals and villains. You go to exotic locations. Sometimes Lara is hot, and other times she is not hot. She has some forgettable character encounters. It’s like a James Bond movie. Strictly formula. Underworld is no different.
As always, the visuals are fantastic. It’s the old 1990s games or the latest Shadow, tomb raider games always look beautiful. It’s like going on a vacation. Seeing all these places, temples, tombs, palaces and cities. I am a traveler, and these games are like a traveling experience. I love that, and I think, that is why I love Tomb Raider.
Video games, are, escapism. Tomb Raider has yet to fail in that regard. Even when it fails in another aspects. The music is another thing that is top notch. The right beats at the right moment. You walk into a huge Mexico temple, and there is that orchestra or a simple chime. It’s just a glorious experience.
The puzzles, again, very innovative. You do get that feeling of joy when you crack a particularly complex puzzle without watching any YouTube guide or forums. At the same time, some of the puzzles are not actually puzzles. Like this one time, the puzzle was, I had to jump in a specific button combo, and at a specific spot. That’s not a puzzle. There are plenty of these fake puzzles spread all over the game, and they get frustrating.
Camera, Glitches and Crashes
It’s not a tomb raider game without weird camera placement, glitches and crashes.
I was really surprised about the crashes on the Xbox One. I had the same problem with Legend and Anniversary as well. I don’t recall crashes on PC. Glitches, also, no on PC. There is this one instance where she turned all white, shadow. Like a panel from Sin City comics.
Lastly, god, the camera. This is another entry in the tomb raider series (before the reboot. I think, the reboot has less camera related issues) which has even worse camera system. You have to do so many blind jumps because the camera wont show your landing zone.
The game has this habit of putting these tricky, awkward jump puzzles in the middle of climatic battles. Just pulls you out of that experience because Ms. Croft will jump in the wrong direction because of bad camera, and you have to start all over.
Final Note
Ultimately, tomb raider fans who already know about the frustrations and joys of playing this series, its a great game. For others, don’t play this game. Play something else. Play Uncharted series. Play anything else but not Tomb Raider.
