Game #858: Tomb Raider Underworld

  Lara brings the hammer down.

 The third part in Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider revival is Tomb Raider Underworld. While it's technically not Lara's first step into HD, it's Lara's first Playstation debut in HD.

 The first thing that disappointed me was that there's not Croft Manor extra, for shame! There's a new Melee kick which is alright, you can knock down enemies and then score a few free bullets in or another kick while they get up.

 The game looks absolutely stunning. I don't think I ever crushed on a videogame character before, but this Lara? Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Not just her, the environments are just gorgeous and very detailed, this really is a beautiful game. Of course, frame drops do happen, but they are not too bad.

 Before most levels you can pick a costume and a secondary weapon. Secondary weapons have infinite ammo.... was what I thought at first. You can run out of ammo, but the counter is hidden inside a menu when pressing Select. You can also change between every sub weapon in there! Weird.

 The game comes crashing down when it comes to movement, it's just so... clunky. Moving Lara around can be a bit tough, you can even get stuck against objects, in which case you must first stop trying to move so that Lara resets to a neutral position and then, and only then, move away from the object. Platforming around can sometimes be a bit problematic too, with Lara failing to land on top of whatever tiny platform you were aiming to. It's like the game demands a certain amount of precision but the controls just can't match the demand.

 The camera is a bit bad too, while you are given free reign over it, sometimes, particularly inside cramped areas, it can be a bit of a pain in the butt to get a good angle of where to go next.

 If they ironed out the control and tightned the platforming, this game could've amazing. The puzzles are fun, even if a few times I found myself stumped and had to resort to the in-game hint system, figuring everything out was a fun time. And the platforming, whenever you aren't plummeting down to your death because you didn't jump in the exact right angle, it's really good and exciting. Combat has never been the series' forte, but in this game it's quite acceptable.

 It's a shame that for as many fantastic ideas the game has the controls and movement really do get in the way of your enjoyment. It could've easily been an 8, but there's no avoiding the fact that you have to wrestle with how clunky movement is in order to play the game.

5.5