Tomb Raider: Underworld

While the camera is still iffy at times and puzzles not as challenging as I would have expected, the fascinating storyline provides enough twists and turns to keep you engaged.

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.

Old school fans and new tomb raiders alike should find lots to love in Lara's latest (and best in years) adventure.

An impressive game with beautiful environments, excellent platforming, and superb puzzles.

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.

Don’t let Tomb Raider: Underworld go under your radar, there is plenty of things to do with Miss Lara; including a future promise of exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360.

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.

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.

A stunning adventure for gaming's first lady...which is still far more flawed than it should be. [Jan 2009, p.60]

While it’s occasionally fiddly, it has pace and spectacle and style to spare. Underworld is that rare game that manages to provide a real adventure to go along with its action. [Christmas 2008, p.95]

One of the finest adventure games you're likely to find on the 360. [Issue#39]

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.

Tomb Raider Underworld is one of the best entries in this long-running series. Lara Croft is back with her best abilities in a game that combines the spirit of the first adventures and the innovation of later iterations. As a result, Underworld is a great game that, unfortunately, has a bad camera system and is not very long.

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

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

Underworld is impossible to actually dislike, as at its core you know this is what games should be about, pure escapism, discovery, immersion. This doesn't stop Lara's latest failing to be greater than the sum of its parts, however, and while this is unquestionably a step forward for the series, Crystal Dynamics could perhaps have gone a few inches further still.

You could almost call this game a flawed genius, for fans of the series it’s a must have, for everyone else it’s a maybe.

Tomb Raider: Underworld is a concise, consuming and meritorious addition to the franchise, which is well worth playing for fans of adventure, puzzle solving and action (despite a lack of cohesiveness in the action department).

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.

Tomb Raider: Underworld is a pretty good game. I had some high hopes that this latest release would take the series to new heights, but the technical issues that raise their ugly head take away from the overall experience.

Underworld is an excursion worth taking for fans of low-impact, low-commitment adventuring; I just wanted more. [Jan 2009, p.71]

Tomb Raider Underworld is specially made for the fans because the game’s minor problems will not bother them. Still, is a different experience from the other games we can find right now and, nevertheless, it can be considered like one of the bests in the series. Unfortunately, this isn’t what we really expected. Despite, anyone who loved Legend and Anniversary can be happy with this one, because the fun is still assured.

While the game does have a few minor weaknesses, they don’t take away from the fact that this is the definitive Tomb Raider experience to date.

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?

Thankfully, the story and the platforming are the main focus, as they rightfully should be.

Lara undoubtedly is growing stronger with each incarnation on the 360 and we hope she can continue this trend and relive former glories. Crystal Dynamics have without a shadow of a doubt rescued the series but the game still has too many bugs and issues to be declared a must buy.

After seeing what Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune brought to the table and the way Tomb Raider Legend was introduced to the next-gen world back in 2006, I was expecting Crystal Dynamics to deliver one heck of a Tomb Raider. Unfortunately, even if the game offers some novelties, Underworld doesn’t make any huge splashes and won’t wow most of the gamers as the same frustrating gameplay elements from past iterations are putting a dark cloud over it.

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.

Tomb Raider Underworld feels like a stopgap platforming adventure. It’s much better than the bile released under her name last generation, but it still manages to feel a few years behind.

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.

Only the upcoming downloadable content and achievement points make the 360 version stand out just ahead of the PS3 copy.

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.

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.