Lara and Thor

Published December 17, 2008

Tomb Raider: Underworld™ comes to Xbox 360® ready to deliver a one-two punch of vintage Lara action and newly minted game design courtesy of Eidos and Crystal Dynamics.

Underworld finds Lara following her father's footsteps in a race to uncover the location of Helheim from Norse mythology and gain entrance to its fabled halls with artifacts descended directly from the god Thor.

Just another day on the job.

Adding further mystery to the proceedings are the ties between Helheim of Norse mythology and her adventures involving Avalon from Arthurian legend in Tomb Raider™ LEGEND, to say nothing of why Norse artifacts are appearing in the Mediterranean, Thailand, and other far-flung locations nowhere near Nordic lands.

Fill your Adrenaline meter completely and you
can execute the kind of acrobatic headshot
of which Lara would be proud.

This is no standalone story either as the tale of Lara's mother from Tomb Raider: LEGEND continues on in Underworld. Likewise, the characters of Amanda, Natla, Alister, Winston, and Nip all return to play pivotal roles.

Two Parts Exploration, One Part Action

Tomb Raider games have always been highlighted by their majestic environments, breathtaking platforming, and mind-bending puzzles, and in Tomb Raider: Underworld, the onus has been placed back on these elements.

It's Lara's athleticism and wits that are on display here as she moves and tumbles through the environment with a grace and ability that approach the very limits of the human frame. Equally important, the platforming elements in Underworld fit organically into the world while still being obvious enough to the player that they can progress using logic rather than trial and error.

A deep crevice in a cavern wall lets you know you can shimmy across, while a ledge's outcropping calls out to be leaped up to and climbed over. Jump distances are within reasonable enough limits that you're never caught out thinking the jump is impossible.

Lara's athleticism is on full display.

Puzzles too use a deft blend of natural logic and the game's own physics engine. Whether Lara is releasing traps to clear out an enormous sea creature, moving columns to create a makeshift path, or capturing and deflecting light with a series of mirrors to trigger an ancient doorway, the game's puzzles tread the fine line between mind-bending and logical.

The puzzles can also stretch out for entire levels to create truly epic challenges. For example, the aforementioned light-based puzzle in Thailand begins in an enormous central room so you can see both the scope of the challenge and its individual parts. Completing the puzzle will require you to access every stage of a massive area where each completed task brings you closer to success, while also allowing you to better understand the puzzle as a whole.

Combat and Adrenaline

While much of the game focuses on Lara's exploratory skills and puzzle solving, it just wouldn't be Tomb Raider if Ms. Croft didn't have cause to wield her trademark dual pistols. Combat in Underworld is used primarily as a change of pace after lengthy bouts of exploration and plays out much like the game's platforming.

You use the Left Trigger to lock onto enemies so you can focus less on aiming and more on dodging attacks, setting up shots, and using the environment to shield you from danger as well as to give you an advantage.

For every bullet you successfully fire you'll fill your Adrenaline meter, which can then be used to trigger slow-motion action as well as add a massive damage bonus to your attacks. Fill your Adrenaline meter completely and you can execute the kind of acrobatic headshot of which Lara would be proud. For example, tap X when you're directly adjacent to an enemy and aiming at them, and Lara might kick off them into a backflip while you move the targeting reticle over the enemy's head for a spectacular one-shot kill.

Adrenaline Platforming

Adrenaline may be put to good use in combat but its inclusion in platforming takes scripted events to a whole new level.

Whew, that was close!

In Underworld, time slows down when an Adrenaline moment kicks in, but you still have full control of Lara. One such moment finds a once sturdy rock dais crumbling suddenly from under Lara's feet. While she begins to free fall to her death, it's up to you to spot the ring on the wall and tap X so Lara can sling her grappling hook at the ring mid-fall and stop her fatal descent.

This approach to scripted events puts the control in your hands and in the end makes these sequences much more satisfying as it's both your reaction time and actions that save the day, not just a well-timed button press.

Swimming with Sharks

Over the years Lara has spent more than her fair share of time underwater, and in Underworld you'll be spending long stretches of time exploring underwater. Thankfully, developer Crystal Dynamics has nailed the control mechanics with a simple one-stick approach to swimming that helps keep you from becoming disoriented. Your underwater depth is handled by pressing one of two buttons to ascend or descend. Combat underwater is also made easier by the game's native Left Trigger lock-on system, which allows you to swim, dodge, and fire accurately simultaneously.

Best of all, the Sonar Map can be accessed any time so you can easily identify not only your position, but also outcroppings, caves and other anomalies worth exploring that you can't quite see off in the distance.

Never Stuck

No matter how outstanding a gamer you may be, there's always one or two sequences in a game where discovering where to go next or how to get there simply escapes you. Thanks to the Field Assistance feature, you always have a fallback. Hit the Back button to bring up Lara's PDA, and then use it to hear Lara's suggestions for what to focus on, what to do, or both.

Developer Crystal Dynamics has infused Tomb Raider: Underworld with an approachability that strips away barriers and puts the power of decision and action into the gamer's hands while still maintaining much of what has made the series so popular for so long. Welcome back, Lara!

Article by Ryan Treit