![]() ![]() Bats - why'd it have to be bats? The other serious problem is that the expansion pack is incredibly short. If you've played any Tomb Raider game before, you'll pretty much be aware of climbing the various wooden planks, ledges and other areas that you'll need to use to move through the dungeon. While it can be argued that you can avoid using this to improve the difficulty, the game isn't particularly that challenging to begin with. The inclusion of your father's diary at the very start of the expansion clearly spells out every single thing that you need to do from start to finish. This focus might seem to expand on the gameplay significantly and require more exploration, but that isn't the case. In fact, there are a couple of sections where your progress is integrally linked to your use of the grappling hook, so you'll need to focus much more on your jumps and your quick rappelling skills than anything else. This exploration actually winds up using the grappling hook much more than was ever used in Tomb Raider Underworld, as you'll use it to scale walls, leap from one area to another and interact with your environment to solve different puzzles. While you will have to use your guns to take out small and large spiders, bats and eventually a number of thralls, the main objective is exploring and solving the mystery set forth by Lara's father as he attempted to hide the magical artifact. Unlike other titles, Beneath the Ashes doesn't really place a large focus on combat. The adventure in the depths of the Manor will take Lara through a couple of caverns as well as a sprawling ancient dungeon, solving a few minor puzzles and eliminating enemies as she goes along. When they want to keep you out, they really want to keep you out. With only his directions to the relic's resting place (which just happens to lie further underneath Croft Manor), Lara sets off to retrieve the mystical object. This would provide its owner with incredible power, but unfortunately for Lara, the word was mysteriously left out of her father's notes. This relic not only grants its possessor the ability to create thralls (the undead creatures within Underworld), but also control them with a single word. While searching through his records and papers, Lara comes across a file that speaks of an artifact with incredible power. Underworld really does feel like a half-game.Beneath the Ashes takes Lara back to her father's secret study underneath the ruins of her manor. The exclusive content for the Xbox 360 should not have been exclusive at all, as this game really could have used a few more levels. As good as the story and levels are, the bad camera, the length of the game, and the little replay value will ensure that I do not revisit Underworld for a while. I managed to complete it in less time than Legend, which was a huge disappointment. Experienced tomb raiders should have no problem completing the game. Unfortunately, the game simply was not long enough. Underworld's saving grace is the level design, with huge puzzles and huge levels. For the first time, the secrets hunt really does not add any replay value and is quite tedious. The secrets/relic hunt is quite boring, and they seem scattered arbitrarily through the game for the sake of it. The gun battles are so bad it almost feels like it was tacked on because traditionally Lara has had to shoot something. The camera is also a hindrance in gun battles, as it jumps around so much, and rarely focuses on the target. When this happens you can either plan your route from the ground (which isn't always possible) or guess where you have to jump, often resulting in death because you've overshot the mark. ![]() This means half the time you cannot see where you are going when you are climbing/jumping. instead of zooming out when you need it to, it instead gets stuck behind Lara's back, sometimes it goes above Lara so you can't even see her. It does nothing to aid the flow of the game or enhance Lara's movement, in fact it impedes you so many times. The first noticeable thing is the camera. For all the good looks this game has, there are so many things that spoil the game-play. Lara can jump and grab the very corner of a ledge which is on a strange angle. Lara is now mo-capped, adding a lot more flexibility to the character, e.g. Lara still has a plastic Michael Jackson face, which does ruin the immersion a bit, but at least it doesn't affect the game-play. The character models look a lot more realistic than in previous games, with Lara having a much more athletic build. The lighting, reflections and textures look fantastic. The environments in Underworld are stunning and grand. Tomb Raider Underworld looks like a current generation game but feels like it is still stuck in the past. ![]()
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