Tomb Raider Underworld
Drake’s Fortune on PlayStation 3 raised the performance stakes in the treasure-hunting action adventure. Does Lara’s latest reap similar rewards?
More ancient ruins. More leafy jungle. More of Lara Croft’s perfectly formed buttocks in close-fitting khaki shorts, and a pony tail that wiggles when she walks. It’s Tomb Raider, but this is the first one especially created with the high-end consoles and PCs in mind. We held our breath. We let go a huge sigh of relief. And then we gasped. If our early demo of Tomb Raider: Underworld is a true indication of what to expect later this year, Lara could make history once more.
As soon as Lara broke cover from beneath the jungle canopy to brave an Mayan ruin patrolled by panthers and gunmen, our perception of Tomb Raider changed. This isn’t routine, it’s not even routine with a few clever features bolted on ala Legend. Tomb Raider: Underworld presents an all-new Lara from the legs up as she embodies all the next generation opportunities in the way she moves.
Lara’s ability to dual-target enemies is the first, most obvious (and overdue) skill. While keeping a panther at distance with random shots, the player can concentrate on dodging bullets from the more calculating gunmen while planting ones of her own. Lara is a spectacular gunslinger this time around, she can keep on shooting while leaping between obstacles, or while swan diving. It looks, and must feel, very cool.
Also new is Ms Croft’s close-range or melee attacks, and this combines with her freedom to pick up and use seemingly innocuous objects that have hidden uses. Okay, so a long and heavy engraved pole isn’t so subtle but you’ll be surprised to find that it can be used for more than smacking her enemies upside the head.
Puzzle solving in Underworld looks set to be wonderfully, though agonisingly, intriguing. Starting with this pole, after Lara has boffed her assailants unconscious, she has time to clamber around the ruins to find a way in. As it turns out, the pole slots neatly into holes here and there, allowing Lara to swing and perch elegantly to find hand-holds and / or ledges higher up. Eidos say they hired an ‘Olympic gymnast’ to motion-capture all the moves (although they didn’t say which one). Anyway, it means Lara can do the splits from a hand-stand into a cartwheel for what it’s worth.
We should point out at this stage that while Lara is monkeying around stonework and rolling in the mud she gets wetter and dirtier. It’s just for effect, but it adds to the immersion. Lara looks like an ad for hair conditioner as the tropical rain rinses the sludge from her trademark pony tail and figure-hugging jersey.
Anyhoo, once you’ve figured out that the pole slots into things, a closer look reveals that it can be used as an oversized key to open – hey presto – an oversized gate to an Mayan temple, let's say.
Inside it’s ominous – huge, dimly lit and visibly damp. Here Lara shows off more rock-climbing skills that put Sony’s Drake to shame. She can reach out to pull herself closer to a wall from a nearby ledge, or reach higher to haul herself up. Route finding seems to be more freeform than in Drake's Fortune – potentially more rewarding but equally you could find yourself running into dead ends.
There are two main puzzles in this early demo, the first is clever, the second is spectacular. Both are no way typical of what we’ve learned to expect from the series. In the first instance Lara must somehow find a way underground. Her only clue is a shallow stream of water that trickles beneath the ornate stone floor. A stone column rises from the floor of the same room. Perhaps if this were to collapse it might smash through? Well, yes, of course but how? Well, Lara’s rappelling gear is the answer – and having attached her rope to a far wall, she can nudge the topmost block off the column by pulling the rope across it so that it topples to the floor. The running water and moveable object clues here are very subtle, but seem obvious once you’ve figured it out. See what we mean about agonising!
The climax of the demo is solving the biggest puzzle, which in fact takes only seconds if you know where to look. But again it showcases the large degree of physical interaction Lara has with this next-gen vision of an ancient world.
Deeper into the ruins, yet out once more into the open, there is a sundial of sorts on a raised platform. By aligning its moving parts correctly Lara will open the main door to the mysterious Underworld. How? You don’t know until you see it. When you do, you won’t forget it. The trick is to know something about ancient astrology. Thus informed the sundial is pushed and clicked into position and suddenly the floor erupts as centuries of earth and foliage are upturned by hidden contraptions. The temple has transformed into an awe-inspiring sight – a gateway to the Underworld. With only seconds to go, Lara vaults over a wall then sprints to start her motorcycle (convenient!) then speeds into the abyss.
And here the demo ends.
We haven’t wanted to play a game this badly since Gears of War or Super Mario Galaxy combined.
