Just finished
Tomb Raider Underworld. I must say. After reading the reviews it was getting I was contemplating whether to get it or not. But I did anyway as I'm a huge Tomb Raider fan and have played all the others. Anyway, I loaded up the game and started. The first level sees Lara in Croft Manor. The whole place is aflame and you have to escape or get burned alive. This provides an exciting tutorial level to get to grips with the controls. This is where I first saw how awkward the controls and camera angles were.
The next level set a week earlier sees Lara on a boat getting scuba gear on. We then have to dive down into a HUGE underwater level. The place goes on for miles and the scenery is spectacular. Fish see you and swim away and if sharks feel that you're a threat they will come over and attack you.
After this level. The controls seemed to magically get better. Everything flowed nicely and the levels looked fantastic on screen.
The Story follows on after Tomb Raider Legend where it ended with Lara finding out that her mother wasn't dead after all and that she was in a mythical world.
There are loads of nice touches to the game. As you run around Lara become increasingly dirty. Also the rain effects are good and as it gathers on the floor it runs downhill and flows down staircases. Also if you are jumping between ledges when it is raining you are likely to loose your grip because it's wet so you have to grab hold again so that you don't fall.
Overall the game is amazing and it takes the gameplay right back to what makes a classic Tomb Raider game. Exploring temples. Solving puzzles (some of which are really difficult in this game), and fighting a mixture of enemies from panthers to mythical creatures.
So yeah really enjoyed it. The game isn't to short or too long and the pace is enough to keep you playing. The only thing is that there are quite a few glitches. But I'm sure these will be fixed over time. But right now the game doesn't feel polished to give everything that stunning finish.
I give it a well deserved 8.5/10.