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| Source // MobyGames |
After the reborn Legend, there was the remade Anniversary, celebrating the original Tomb Raider by polishing it up and showing it off in a modern action-adventure engine. To complete the trilogy, we would need Tomb Raider: Underworld, a grubby tale of extreme archaeology, with Lara just looking for her mum.
It's a sequel to Legend, first and foremost, so the sandwiching of Anniversary in the middle may be a little weird, but you'll manage. I know I did, nearly 10 years ago now. I was late to the party even then, grabbing The Tomb Raider Trilogy for the PlayStation 3, but made it through the story.
What is that story? Definitely going to need to jog my memory.
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| Source // Steam |
Fun Times
The game immediately starts with Croft Manor exploding, Lara working her way through the flames in a tutorial section which ends with her mates shooting at her. Clearly, something is amiss. I hope you played Legend recently, otherwise, you're thrown into things a little too suddenly.
Into the deep end, one might say, because the story proper starts a week earlier in the Mediterranean Sea. Quite literally 'in' it.
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| Source // MobyGames |
The controls are alright, though Lara is awfully zippy in her changes of direction, and down here that problem is exacerbated with the extra axis of movement available to you.
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| Source // Steam |
Frustrations
Under the Med are some Norse ruins, and in those ruins is a rather large, and luckily rather blind squid, and for reasons known only to Lara, we must kill it by dropping a spikey chandelier on its head.
That involves lots of traversal around the environment, clambering up ledges, balancing and swinging on beams, and solving some environmental puzzles to nudge its limbs out of your way and make the chandelier free to drop.
It is where you may first notice how the camera isn't always your friend, and when it's not the camera that is the source of your woes, it could well be Lara herself, as she bounces between objects without knowing which ones to stick to, or doesn't grab a ledge because, unfortunately for you, it wasn't ever grabbable to begin with.
Sometimes the fall doesn't kill you, and it feels like there are lots of options available to you to get back up and try again. Sometimes the fall does kill you, which means the checkpoint system gets used a fair amount.
Seemingly every minute I heard a chime, or bling, telling me I'd passed a checkpoint. This sound effect always felt like it was actually trying to tell me I'd walked close to a piece of treasure or an item worth investigating, but nothing was there. It was just a checkpoint. I never learned.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // Steam |
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| Source // Steam |
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| Source // Steam |
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| Source // Steam |
Further Fun Times
It wouldn't be a Tomb Raider game if the underlying mystery didn't span the globe. Wait a minute... The recent trilogy doesn't really do that, does it?
Anyway, Underworld spans the globe, taking Lara to all the lovely hotspots that contain sun, dirt, ancient mysteries, and dangerous animals. You'll marvel at how nice it looks one moment before frowning wondering where to go the next, before getting distracted by an angry animal that wants to kill you.
Combat is a breeze with infinite ammo in your pistols, though other weapons can be picked up and used too. There's a melee option if you're feeling particularly brave, but it feels a bit weak and looks a bit silly - Lara can cartwheel over ledges, surely she's learned how to look good kicking something.
If you're desperate for help, a push of the R3 button uses your adrenaline to slow down time and help you to pick off some headshots for a quick kill. Or you just lock onto your target and circle strafe until it's dead. I've heard Underworld described as feeling like Ratchet & Clank, and can see why.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Levels are often pretty sizeable, some even requiring Lara to hop onto a motorbike to navigate, but they all involve the same sandbox of enemies to kill or avoid, platforms to scramble up and around, puzzles to solve so that doors to the next part of the mystery can be opened, and a fair few cutscenes showing off Lara from all angles.
She's clearly an icon aimed at a certain audience, and this game features costume selection and layers of mud, dirt, and water that get applied to her model according to what you do in the world. Voiced once more by Keeley Hawes, she sounds great, but the story is still a bit meh.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Further Frustrations
If you like the idea of picking up bits and pieces of Thor's clothing before finally being able to swing his hammer, then you're in for a treat, as the plot is dominated by this God and his trinkets. It's also a tale of Natla (who has giant wings now?) killing Lara's parents despite working with them at one point. Obviously, Lara wants a bit of revenge for that, I guess, but first, she has to get through a doppelganger that blew her Manor up.
I'm reading the summary because I sure don't remember it after ten years and I'm not going to faff around with the controls long enough to follow along with it all - and that's assuming I know the solutions to the puzzles, which you can bet I don't.
The point is, Underworld does finish the story laid out in Legend for those who want it, but it's 'just' another Tomb Raider tale at the end of the day. It's out of this world and utterly ridiculous because that's what all ancient mystery games are about.
Final Word
If you like Lara and only seek more Lara, then Underworld will serve you well. It'll serve you better if you get the Xbox 360 version, assuming the exclusive DLC is still available. It's more story content, and according to who you ask, may have been ripped from the end of the story and given only to the Xbox crowd (thanks, Microsoft), but take that with a pinch of salt.
I picked up The Tomb Raider Trilogy because I was legitimately interested in what I didn't bother to play. Tomb Raider had been a part of my childhood, but not a massive part, and by the time these reboots came along, I had other video gaming interests in the action-adventure world.
Lara was eye-catching but was still Lara, still a little too cartoony. Good for an enjoyable afternoon or two, but not something to go nuts for. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune had been out for a year before Underworld arrived, and the difference between old and new was apparent - Tomb Raider, even in its polished form, was feeling a little old.
But the old stuff can still be enjoyed - that's the whole point of this 1001 list. It may not be the greatest action-adventure out there, but - control/camera quirks aside - it is a solid game that gives you what you expect. Not sure it quite belongs as a must-play, but you've got a remarkable package in the trilogy if you want to have a look at it.
Fun Facts
Claims that Lara 'no longer moves like a video game character' were due to her movements being motion captured by a gymnast. When it all works, I suppose it does look nice. Shame it doesn't always work.
Tomb Raider: Underworld, developed by Crystal Dynamics, first released in 2008.
Version played: The Tomb Raider Trilogy, PlayStation 3, 2011.