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Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: Underworld is due for
launch on November 21st, 2008, on PLAYSTATION3, Xbox360,
PC, Wii, PlayStation2 and NintendoDS. Building upon the
 success of
2006’s
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: LEGEND, Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider: Underworld adds new technology and a truly
Current-Generation aesthetic.
Unfortunately, the playable build at E3 this year was in
high-demand, and only a limited amount of playtime was available.
Within even these brief few minutes though, the smoothness and
flexibility of Lara’s on-screen presence strikes the player as a
significant advancement in Third-Person Adventure gaming Control
Systems. In the underwater Level witnessed, Lara had the ability to
swim a full 360-degrees – including sideways – and a fairly drastic
change to the traditional swimming control set-up has been
implemented. As where most games would ask you to use the Left
Analogue Stick to direct both direction and pitch, Lara instead
travels automatically across horizontal paths; requiring much less
re-jigging on behalf on the player.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: Underworld is also set
to feature a dynamic play structure. Should the player play a more
combat-orientated
 game, the title will allow the player to adjust to
suit, placing less emphasis on the puzzle-element. However, exactly
how this will work in practice is yet to be seen, and whether or not
it ends-up becoming a limp rehash of
Alone in the Dark’s Chapter Selection feature simply for
differences sake will only become clear when the developers choose
to let the press – or the players themselves - play around with the
possibilities the system holds.
While there’s no denying Lara looks stunning, and the
sprawling Levels truly hold some of the best clarity on the
Current-Generation, plenty of the design still needs work. Despite
the current bugs, players can expect expansive environments with
multiple routes to each objective, and a rather ravishing young lady
to be adorning the vast majority of it. |
