Tomb Raider Underworld (360)
New Tomb Raider and the return of Lara Croft - if that's not reason to get excited then I don't know what is.
This game for me got lost in the festive hullabaloo, it's worth a second mention now the festivities have died down.
Once again you are transported to different continents and cultures each with their own superbly designed environments... although for me Venice will never be topped!
The best way to describe the game is as a 'classic' Tomb Raider game - that at its guts keeps everything that was good about the originals, then it adds a huge next-gen paint job and physical makeover.
The game was always popular for a number of reasons, the perfect gameplay, the brilliant settings and the atmosphere - all of these are here again in abundance and with big shiny bells on.
Atmosphere is one area that is a just superb, old Tomb Raider fans will get you feel all excited when they get going, the game has really grasped the next-gen aspect of the 360 and used it to catapult the game into a new era but still maintaining everything that was edgy and unique in the first place.
Graphically the game excels, Lara's movement is stunning, the backdrops are inspirational and exciting and action is smoother than the baldest of heads. I hear from some sources that the game doesn't have that much lastability - can't comment on that - I haven't finished it yet.
Lara is looking as good as ever --modelled on an Olympic gymnast and voiced by actress Keeley Hawes (the one out of Ashes to Ashes!) she really comes into her own and feels like a vast improvement on previous games. Lara now has 1,700 moves at her disposal, she has a grappling hook and kicks some serious butt.
The levels are very challenging and very well designed, there is a nice mix of exploration, combat, mystery, intrigue and puzzles. The storyline is wicked and honestly I am struggling to find anything bad to say, maybe non-TR fans will be a bit cynical but I loved it - and I am as old school as they come.
A great mix between puzzles and action make this a really strong title - fans will love it, the cynics will pick and snipe, it's a solid gaming experience that's exciting, fun and really well-executed - perfect gaming formula as I see it.
Oh, and she's on a motorbike this time too.
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Authors
Steve Wollaston - Sunday Mercury games reviewer Steve has been writing about video games for donkey's years. In fact he is probably far too old for it now which is why you will see a lot of reviews been done by kids... He has been nominated three times for Regional Games Journalist Of The Year at the Games Media Awards, but never wins. His major love is sports games and rates Sensible World of Soccer circa 90's as the greatest game ever made - closely followed by Championship Manager 2. Skyrim has currently taken over his life.
