Tomb Raider: Underworld

PS3/XB360 - Eidos - Fall 2008

The Agenda:

It's a credo worthy of an embossed bracelet, complete with a snappy acronym. "W.C.L.D.: What could Lara do?" says Eric Lindstrom, creative director at Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics. "We're always asking ourselves that." The Lara in question, natch, is Her Royal Hotness Lara Croft, back for more relic-hunting and cave-spelunking in Crystal D's third Tomb Raider title since the studio inherited the sagging series from original developer, Core Design.

Lady Croft brings along her still-fresh-from-the-shinkwrap grappling hook, now more functional in a game world where the physics play an even larger part in the puzzles. In one Mayan temple in a stormy Yucatan rain forest, for instance, we saw her use a far wall as leverage to heave-ho her cable against a column and send it crashing through the floor. It's just one example of Lara doing what you logically think she can do when true physics rule. "It's a way of having the players apply their own intuition," says Lindstrom. "They don't have to memorize a bunch of arbitrary game rules."

The W.C.L.D. credo applies to her new move set, too. She can now perch atop poles rather than just swing from them, free-climb walls, chimney climb crevices, and chuck anything she picks up. Her motorcycle isn't relegated to bonus stages this time; she can ride it anywhere in the levels. And when it comes to her dual guns, she can aim two targets simultaneously--a good thing, since the game's animal enemies will go where she goes. "It's not just like the old games where you can climb out of harms way and shoot fish in a barrel," says Lindstrom.

Skeletons in the Closet?

Lara's nearly ruinous legacy of all-too-similar annual sequels is still fresh in many gamers' minds--and developer Crystal Dynamics, who are making their first go at a true Raider sequil here. "A lot of what happened in the cranked-out sequels was there was this level-editor and new-art aspect to it that people wearied of," says Lindstrom, "whereas for us...it's not just about laying out mechanical challenges in a pretty world. It's about spending a lot of time and energy and detail on the experience of it that's emotional, that's exciting, that's relevant."

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Thanks to Gia for typing

WOW!! FANTATIC!!

Thank you both Tom and Gia for the news.

Well! LOL! I shoot all the creatures underwater like this, by climbing up the water and start shooting at them without taking any damage LOL! Well that game would be very hard for us but sounds great thank you

is the new game going to be on PS2???