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Randy J. Parker Giving it up like I knew I would! Long live Gamers and Rock N' Roll! View all articles | Contact author

I was rather upset that there was not a long line at the store for this game (or a midnight release).. but as far as Tomb Raider UNDERWORLD is concerned, after putting up with the likes of bad releases in this franchise like Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness and not really enjoying Tomb Raider Legend much, I have utterly, and with baited breath, anticipated the quality TR Underworld to come to us.

Upon waiting for it's release, I got most of the way through Lara Croft's Tomb Raider Anniversary which really brought me back to those wonderful days of my Tomb Raiding spelunking adventures. It appears as if edios heard the cries of the fans and delivered!! So as far as i'm concerned UNDERWORLD is just as good and in some suttle but noticeable ways much better than Anniversary, and they've releaved us of their attempts to perhaps use alternate 3D graphics engines like they tried with Legend (not sure if they did, but something was too fake about it for me. And it most definately didn't feel like a Tomb Raider game.)   Instead holding true to form and returning back to the basic worldspace graphics engine they used for Anniversary, and updating it with polished textures, quality levels, more robust creatures, and extended gameplay with lots and lots of exploring, they flat out hands down got it right! 

The puzzles are enjoyable and just as good as any i've recalled. The game itself doesn't seem redundant or so difficult it's beyond hope as some in the past seemed to be. My favorite in the series are now as follows:

Fun: Tomb Raider
Crazy Fun: Tomb Raider Last Revelation
Expectionally Nostalgic Fun: Tomb Raider Anniversary
"A" Plus Plus Action Adventuring: Tomb Raider Underworld

Not to say that Underworld is free of glitches. I experienced some clipping and snags but it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the true greatness of the game as a whole. Like you can literally walk through the broken remains of the elevator platform on the Coastal Thailand: Bhogavati area and she dissapears into the wood. I also experienced the cage you move on this same level to use in one of the puzzles fell right through the ground after tipping and weirdly clipping itself into a hole that did not exist! Restoring a previous checkpoint thankfully brought it back since you need it to complete the level, but I have to admit that for a few minutes the game was more about trying to recreate the glitch, however it did not again recur.

In conclusion, if you liked any of the Tomb Raider titles, GET THIS GAME!! Play it over and over until the next one comes out, and if you haven't finished Anniversary yet (or even purchased it, you can download the full game right from GameStop's store) that would also be a must have for any true TR player.

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