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Tomb Raider Underworld

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7.1 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 42 critic reviews
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Based on 94 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: November 18, 2008

Summary

Master your surroundings: Reach new heights with the broadest range of acrobatic abilities and utilize objects within the environment to uncover new paths to explore. Explore epic and unknown worlds: Discover ancient mysteries of the underworld hidden within the coast of Thailand, frozen islands of the Arctic Sea, the jungles of Mexico, and more. Each level is an elaborate multi-stage puzzle masked within an interactive environmental playground offering more flexibility over how the area is solved. New range of combat options: Choose to pacify or kill, target multiple enemies at once with the new dual-target system, and shoot with one hand while suspended with the other. New state-of-the-art gear: Utilize the latest technology in Lara's upgraded inventory to navigate the world including: Active Sonar map: A revolutionary new tool that emits an active sonar ping to create a 3D image of Lara's surroundings, perfect for uncovering hidden items and locations; Multi-purpose grapple: A claw-like device with a high-tension cable designed for climbing, rappelling, performing wall runs and manipulating objects within the environment; All-terrain hybrid motorbike: A unique vehicle design built to drive on everything from mud to snow and ice. [Eidos Interactive]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Kotaku Review Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Gaming Age

So while it's got enough faults to keep it from being a GOTY contender for most, it's still the best Tomb Raider title I've ever played, and I'm really curious to see what's next for the franchise once again.

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Games Master UK

Nothing truly revolutionary here, but in many ways it's the finest Tomb Raider to date. [Christmas 2008, p.70]

Game Informer

In tone, Underworld hits the target dead center, delivering the perfect mix of isolation and discovery with larger dramatic encounters. No modern cities mar Lara’s excursion this time – this is tomb raiding from beginning to end. Remarkable visuals sell the experience, and a moving score deepens your involvement. The formula behind the game is ready for some fresh ideas, but as a wrap up of old ideas, Underworld hits the sweet spot.

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IGN UK

Despite its failure to move the series forward, Underworld is still fundamentally an incredibly enjoyable experience and a real return to captivating tomb raiding on a grand scale. It might be the same Lara we’ve enjoyed over the years but there’s no denying the lady’s still got style.

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ImpulseGamer

In conclusion, Tomb Raider Underworld is what the series has been missing and although it may not the standout game of the year, it's definitely one of the better ones and it's good to see.

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Cheat Code Central

Tomb Raider Underworld was far more enjoyable than I ever thought it would be. The expansive environments, solid platforming sequences, challenging puzzles, and adventure-filled storyline should appeal to anyone who loved the Prince of Persia games and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Disappointingly, combat is fairly mediocre, and a lot of technical inconsistencies are troublesome. Nevertheless, Underworld is a very good game.

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PSM3 Magazine UK

Overall Clumsy combat, but enough quality puzzling to thrill lapsed fans.

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Play UK

Crystal Dynamics has revived the core values of the original Tomb Raider games and reminded fans what drew them to the series in the first place. It’s an enticingly open action-adventure game with a seriously sexy lead.

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3DJuegos

Tomb Raider Underworld is a fantastic proposal for fans of puzzles and platform gaming. Sadly its camera and control issues let down its many virtues. Nevertheless the new adventure of Lara Croft is brief but intense, and has plenty of good puzzles and great environments.

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GameZone

While it doesn’t propel the series forward to new heights, Underground is certainly an exciting and challenging Tomb Raider game worthy of Lady Croft’s sizeable talents.

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Total Video Games

Epic without ever pushing boundaries for the series, Tomb Raider: Underworld is a game that fans of the franchise will no doubt relish.

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GameDaily

Like her previous two games, Underworld is a welcome, if slightly flawed, addition to the franchise.

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Playstation Official Magazine UK

Running around robbing ancient artefacts, desecrating temples and cracking intense puzzles is just as satisfying as ever, and feels like vintage Tomb Raider through and through. [Dec 2008, p.92]

VideoGamer

A visually stunning, epic adventure that continues Crystal Dynamics' excellent run. We reckon it's the best completely original Tomb Raider (Anniversary was, of course, a remake) we've had in years, and is only let down by the odd control quirk and camera issue.

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Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

If you've ever played a Tomb Raider game, you know what you're in for and whether it's for you. [Jan 2009, p.78]

games(TM)

It’s no longer a culturally significant event, and even Lara’s charms are beginning to lose their edge. But make no mistake, it warms our hearts to see Lara back doing what she does best. [Christmas 2008, p.98]

Boomtown

I really did enjoy the experience, as unchallenging as it felt (whether because the puzzles rarely required timing threatening death beyond falling, because the enemies even have visible health bars or due to the friendly checkpoint system) but felt that it was too quick to get through to justify a full £40 purchase.

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Cynamite

Okay, the new Tomb Raider adventure is not really innovative. But Lara has never looked so good before. The gameplay is smooth and the puzzles are great. But the stupid motorcycle trips, the camera and the senseless gadgets are fun-killers.

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IGN AU

This should be a much slicker product. Still, it’s good fun for the most part, and at the end of the day that’s why we play, right?

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Extreme Gamer

Tomb Raider: Underworld continues in the vein of the last three Tomb Raider games giving you more of the same with a few minor improvements.

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Variety

An opaque plot, tacked-on combat and distracting camera issues prevent it from competing with the top tier holiday titles, but Underworld gets enough right to make for a modest success.

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PTGamers

Tomb Raider: Underworld is ambiguous, offering the best and the worst elements of the series. The camera is awful and there are quite a few bugs. It lacks polish, but still manages to be a good Lara Croft adventure…. And she's as beautiful and agile as ever.

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Kikizo

With a little more originality, and gunnery to match Lara's athletic prowess, Tomb Raider: Underworld would rank among the best the genre has to offer.

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1UP

Underworld is an incredibly abrupt experience, so much so that it makes me question whether content was removed from the complete game to be made available later as the previously announced downloadable content. Six levels in (seven if you count the prologue), the game just...ends. Sure, the last level is a cool showpiece, but it lacks any sense of built-up narrative and even a final boss -- simply a closing cut-scene that wraps up most of the loose ends all too handily.

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InsideGamer.nl

Long time Tomb Raider players will definitely enjoy Underworld, but it has both its minor and major flaws. The frustrating camera, the sometimes outdated gameplay, and the short main storyline make for a less-then-perfect experience. Thus, Underworld doesn’t live up to its expectations, but is absolutely worth a try.

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GamingExcellence

Then again, perhaps the short play-time is a blessing in disguise: it helps spare you from a really long adventure where you have to suffer with that camera.

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IGN

Tomb Raider Underworld is a decent game that Lara Croft fans will enjoy, but it’s not quite the experience that will live up to or even surpass that of Legend.

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Gamer 2.0

Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy what Underground brings to the table, and if newcomers can look past the fast-moving story and clunky fighting and enjoy the adventure elements for what they are, then they surely will have a good time as well.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

A game that falls short of expectations. You can see from the early levels and even a few of the later rooms that a lot of really creative ambition and skill was employed in its making, but for whatever reason it’s as though that particular tap of talent was turned to a trickle towards the end. Combined with some control issues that weren’t in the previous two games, Tomb Raider Underworld represents a bit of a downturn for the series.

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PALGN

Tomb Raider: Underworld is fun, but despite its best efforts, does not advance the series as much as it should.

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PSX Extreme

The more I played the game, the more frustrated I got with the camera, controls, and collision detection. Had those technical issues been resolved, Eidos would've had a great game on their hands.

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Game Over Online

In the overall impression of Tomb Raider: Underworld, I believe somewhere under this mess lies an actual good game you can play and enjoy. Unfortunately the lack of polish and refinement that could have done to fix the awful camera and frame rate might have saved the enjoyment of Lara Croft’s newest adventure.

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GameSpot

Tomb Raider Underworld will satisfy fans of Lara's previous adventures, but it does little to address previous games' problems.

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Thunderbolt

In the long run, the consistently buggy and flawed level design keeps Lara from reaching new heights.

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GamePro

Overall, Underworld is a decent enough effort. It has slick controls, interesting puzzles and a story that's actually pretty interesting. However, it never fully compensates for a lack of compelling action and overall polish.

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GamingXP

After a pause, Lara is back and is searching for antiqu relics in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, and she discovers a mystic glove, which makes it possible to use the hammer of the Norse god Thor. TRU promised more than we get.

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GameSpy

While it's likely worth it for fans to get closure from Underworld, expect to trudge through a large amount of frustrating gameplay to get it. Suffering from a distinct lack of polish, Tomb Raider Underworld seems like it could have benefited greatly from a little more attention. If it didn't have so many technical issues, Underworld could have been a brilliant conclusion to Lara's latest trilogy.

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Playstation Universe

A lack luster adventure, Lara looks great, but gameplay is predictable and thwarted by camera issues.

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PS3bloggen.se

There are several interesting and exciting things in Tomb Raider: Underworld, but the game is still hindered by old-fashioned problems such as imprecise controls and a sketchy camera. The puzzles and new elements, such as the adrenaline moments and the motorbike scenes, make this a pretty and quite fun game to play, but Lara feels uninspired at times and could do with some more energy.

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DarkZero

I still don’t understand how Lara can use her guns underwater or why she insists on kicking priceless vase’s, but niggles aside Tomb Raider Underworld is actually pretty fun in places. It’s just a shame that this so called update was is so horrendously out of date in comparison to something like Uncharted which trounces Underworld at every turn.

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Playstation Official Magazine Australia

What bothers us most about the entire package is this: quite clearly Tomb Raider Underworld was created without the intention of delivering a functional game...Honestly, post "Uncharted", there is absolutely no excuse for a game such as Tomb Raider: Underworld. [Christmas 2008, p.94]

Game Revolution

Both Lara and her series are well past their prime, and both try in vain to look half their age. Though she might be worth a few hours of your time, Lara’s best days are far behind her.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 94 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nick R. gave it a5:
The story itself was pretty nice. Simple controls made game play easy. The only drawback was the choppiness of the whole experience. Also the constant puzzle like environments, expect to get lost, ALLOT. If your into a challenge then try out this game. Also be prepared for a short game. Very frustrating, this game is not a personal favorite of the entire Tomb Raider series. In all this game wasn't the best, but still good.

Dr. Ghettoblaster gave it a9:
The game does have OCCASIONAL camera and bug/glitches....but I will say these are a very small minority in the game and the media has blown them up to be huge when in reality they're not. The game was awesome and I loved TR 1, 2, Legend, Anniversary, and now Underworld.

wakey gave it a2:
Its boring, the only game I have known where you dont fight a boss at all during the whole game, I was lookig forward to the game and ended up being so dissapointed in it even the end is a video cut scene, I should have bought a video of it.

Andrew M gave it a7:
A poor Offering from the team who made the great Legacy of Kain / Soul Reaver Games. TR:U reqlies on you playing previous games, but gives a patchy back story to "help you" get started, which is of no use. The ability to jump off into oblivion when you dont want to frustrates, and though levels are large and design is good, I ended up killing my reself to restart rather then retrace my steps. I expect a tighter, better story (one that I actually am BOTHERED about and not a "continued from" previous games thread) and better controls & Camera. REDEEMING FEATURE.......its short!

alex alex gave it a7:
This is not a bad game, it's just not a great game. The usual Lara camera and control issues arise and the combat is just not much fun (the hammer is good though). However, TR is about the running and jumping and these generally work well but go from blatantly obvious to obscure beyond belief. I suffered a few glitches and crashes which I don't expect from the PS3 and controls don't map properly when you chance them but I can let those little slips past. I fun this game fun and you will like it if you are a fan.

ash menu gave it an8:
I didn't finished it but for the moment i like it a lot. huge and beautifully designed levels, had the same feeling as in the first one or in shadow of colossus, fellin of loneliness and littleness... that's what i wanted from tr, the essence, a trip to misterious reality-like monuments and even if the story or cinematics look stupid, it's good.

Maria C gave it a10:
The camera can sometimes be a challenge, but don't be fooled by the incompetent players and reviewers. The controls are fine and this game is in no way too difficult. It seems these days people have forgotten how to play games and expect everything to be presented to them on a gold platter. With the exception of the mediocre combat (which is still entertaining) there is isn't a single dull moment, and many OMG moments follow in rapid succession while going through this beautiful game. Forget about the comparisons to a certain game, this is what Tomb Raider has always been about, and it does is extremely well!

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Tomb Raider Underworld

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