tomb-raider-underworld
Latest
Glitch in Tomb Raider: Underworld ends the game
With Tomb Raider: Underworld releasing last week, we've been digging Lara's latest adventure, having fun exploring the depths of the Mediterranean and running through an exploding Croft mansion. Turns out, however, the game has a very bad glitch which can halt your progress. As evidenced in the image above, you can see there's a missing lever. Well, the thing about those Tomb Raider games is, uh, those levers are kind of important.Head on past the break for a video of the area where this happens. %Gallery-29889%
Eidos UK blocks Tomb Raider: Underworld scores below 8/10
Is this really the road Eidos wants to travel? According to a Twitter post by Gamespot UK writer Guy Cocker, Eidos UK's PR firm, Barrington Harvey, has sent out a message asking all outlets to withhold any reviews of Tomb Raider: Underworld with scores below 8/10 until Monday. When contacted by videogaming247, a Barrington Harvey representative stated that the company is, at the request of Eidos, "trying to get the Metacritic rating to be high" and that the US brand manager for the game wants the company to "manage the scores before the game is out." All of this, of course, comes in the wake of the firing of Jeff Gerstmann from Gamespot less than a year ago, alledgedly because of a low score given to another Eidos title, Kane & Lynch.One of Barrington Harvey's directors, Simon Byron, has since responded to the story, saying, "Barrington Harvey is not in the position of telling reviewers what they can and cannot say." Byron added, "As an ex-journalist myself, I firmly believe in editorial integrity and the right to express an individual opinion. As an agency, we never - ever - make demands of the press in terms of awarding scores; at the end of the day, they are free to score as they wish." It's worth noting that while Byron's statement makes it clear that Barrington Harvey cannot demand that outlets withhold review scores, it never addresses whether or not the company asked them to do so.[Via Joystiq]Source - UK Tomb Raider: Underworld reviews under 8/10 silenced until MondaySource - Eidos UK PR firm: We are "not in the position of telling reviewers what they can and cannot say"
Eidos UK blocks Tomb Raider Underworld reviews below 8/10
Reps from the UK PR firm for Eidos have confirmed that they're asking publications not to release any reviews for Tomb Raider: Underworld below an 8/10 until Monday. The firm says they're doing so at the request of Eidos, which is trying to manage the scores for as long as it can. The game is currently sporting a 78 on Metacritic.Really Eidos? Really? You didn't lose enough goodwill being blamed for getting the world's most popular video games journalist fired and bringing a respected games portal to its knees? (Yes, we know you denied any involvement. This sort of thing certainly makes that seem credible.) You thought maybe journalists would keep this quiet because you were buds? Because they were worried about not getting advance copies of Just Cause 2?Note to Eidos: Stop being evil. That is all.[Update: The head of Barrington Harvey, the UK PR firm, is playing defense, with director Simon Byron saying, "Any site, be it Gamespot or whoever, is entirely within their rights to post whatever score they want and no-one is under any sort of obligation to delay any review." It should be noted that "being obligated to" and "being asked to under penalty of being blacklisted" are two very different things. Not that we think that happened, of course.]
Metareview -- Tomb Raider: Underworld (Multi)
The reviews are in, and it looks like Ms. Croft has avoided jumping the shark – although she does shoot one in Tomb Raider: Underworld. Still, the game fared slightly worse than Tomb Raider: Legend at the hands of some of the very same media outlets. (Maybe they were experiencing a mild "Tomb Raider's back, and it doesn't suck anymore!" high back then?) IGN (75/100): "Only the upcoming downloadable content and achievement points make the 360 version stand out just ahead of the PS3 copy." 1UP (B): "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." Eurogamer (70/100): "At its worst, Tomb Raider: Underworld is everything that's wrong with videogames – clichéd, predictable, frustrating, inconsistent, repetitive and derivative. Legend was supposed to be the game that marked the series' return to form, and it achieved that. Underworld is better than Legend; meatier, more challenging, more atmospheric and with less silly nonsense like quick-time events. But Underworld was supposed to be the first real next-gen Tomb Raider game, and it isn't ... At its best, however, Tomb Raider: Underworld is everything that's great about videogames. It's beautiful, exciting, challenging, rewarding and absorbing. Many of the locations are stunning, and so's Lara." GamePro (70/100): "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."
New 360 bundles hit Europe November 21
Microsoft has announced three, count 'em, three new bundles for Europe just in time for the holidays. First up we have a 60GB Xbox 360 Pro console that comes bundled with Lips (which includes 2 microphones) all for €209.99 (~$266). Next up is a Call of Duty: World at War bundle which includes a copy of the game alongside a 60GB Pro console for €269.99 (~$343). Finally, There will be a Tomb Raider: Underworld bundle which includes the game and a 60GB Pro Console for €269.99 (~$343). All three bundles will be available beginning November 21. See the list below for regional availability: Lips bundle (€209.99): Spain, Italy, the Nordics, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Russia, South Africa, Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic, Portugal and Ireland Call of Duty: World at War bundle (€269.99): Spain, Italy, the Nordics, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, Russia, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal and Ireland Tomb Raider: Underworld bundle (€269.99): UK, France and Germany Source - Lips bundleSource - Call of Duty: World at War bundleSource - Tomb Raider: Underworld bundle
Tomb Raider: Underworld launch trailer is crackin'
Normally, we'd be satisfied with a trailer depicting just a few of Lara's transitional talents. Perhaps a brief clip of her leaping over an ominous pit, or a quick snapshot of her scurrying up the side of a cliff. You know, that sort of thing.But it seems we underestimate the lithe leading lady's prowess in Tomb Raider: Underworld, her first built-for-next-gen adventure in archeology and endangered animal slaughter. Or in the case of one particular and rather large tentacled beast, endangering animal slaughter. See what we mean by viewing the trailer after the break.
Shipping this week: Braaaains edition
You've read the headline and you're probably thinking, "Oh, great. Just what we need. Another article effusing praise for Left 4 Dead. Thanks. Thank you so much." In truth, yes, we're excited that Left 4 Dead is coming out this week, but the reality of the headline is best understood by glancing at the list below. There are twelve, twelve new games being released this week. If that's not enough to metamorphose every respectable gamer into a gibbering, cash-starved zombie, we're not sure what is. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have suddenly developed an irresistible craving for braaains gaaames. Left 4 Dead The Last Remnant Shaun White Snowboarding Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe You're in the Movies with Camera Tomb Raider Underworld NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 LIPS Karaoke Revolution: American Idol 2 Disney's Bolt Sonic Unleashed Need For Speed: Undercover
Retail and download releases for the week of November 17th
Just as we all found out last week, today marks the release of the fourth episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. Oh, and we're also getting a bunch of other games. This week, seriously, has a lot of games. Head on past the break for the full list. Also, our apologies. There likely won't be a VC Monday Madness video today, but we'll try to get it up as soon as we can. Sorry! %Gallery-27704%
Video: Lara's Underworld launch trailer
Embedded after the break is the official Tomb Raider: Underworld launch trailer in all its babalicious adventurous Lara Croft glory. Not only does the trailer show off a few acrobatic Lara moves, some wet Lara scenes and that signature Lara scowl, it also shows off some Underworld story bits. Watch out for the giant octopus at the end. Or maybe it's a squid? Nah, it's an octopus ... an angry one at that.
Lara Croft claims to be an archaeologist
The video we're referring to isn't embeddable, so we're afraid this is one of those old-fashioned, "go check out this thing on the internet" posts. The buxom thing in question is a deliciously awkward interview with official Lara Croft impersonator, Alison Carroll. Shortly after confirming that Lara Croft is indeed an archaeologist, the lithe leading lady flounders and grows visibly annoyed upon being asked, "When did they find the Tomb of Tutankhamun?"Of course, rather than humor the interviewer (1922, by the way) and risk making a fictional video game character look bad, Ms. Carroll summons her caretaker to shut down the pesky journalist. Take that, question man![Via UK:Resistance]
Tomb Raider: Underworld demo now available for PC
If you've yet to experience the joys of exploring Thailand's jungles, swinging across yawning chasms or savagely murdering exotic kitty cats, you probably failed to download the Xbox 360 demo of Tomb Raider: Underworld earlier this week. Don't worry, for we're about to give you a second chance by linking you to the PC demo of the game, hosted on the beefy servers of Big Download. While you're playing, be sure to keep an eye on Lara's exquisite animation, as well as her inexplicable vendetta against ancient and undoubtedly priceless pots. Take that, primitive containers!
Stop at nothing, download Tomb Raider: Underworld demo off the XBLM
If you haven't already discovered, there's a Lara Croft'erific Tomb Raider: Underworld demo available for download off the Xbox Live Marketplace. Huzzah!The demo download weighs in at a hefty 1.3GB and demands that you "explore everything" and "stop at nothing", so you may want to do that. Explore and don't stop, download and try it, smile and be happy ... trick and treat!
Tomb Raider: Underworld demo unearthed on Xbox Live
It's a fantasy we've all indulged in: rummaging through forgotten history, examining ancient artifacts, dodging rickety death traps and fending off ferocious wildlife ... all whilst donning impossibly tight bathing suits that highlight our extraordinarily proportioned bodies. Also, we have an indestructible ponytail and a posh, British accent.Though still strictly considered fantasy, the 1.3GB Tomb Raider: Underworld demo, now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, at least makes things a little more tangible. Download it, kick some ferocious creature in the face and let us know what you think. Lara makes her prim and proper return on November 18th.
Video: Lara Croft shows off her motorcycle skills
In the latest of a fairly steady stream of trailers, we get to see the improved motorcycle sections of Tomb Raider: Underworld. While we do know that Lara is able to use her motorcycle at any point in the game this time around, it's unclear in the trailer just how much of the action is gameplay and how much is cinematic. Still, it's nice to see that the motorcycle will be used for more than on-rails chase sequences.For instance, at one point in the trailer, Lara encounters a seemingly impassable pit (filled with spikes, naturally). Before moving on, she has to employ her acrobatic skills to solve a puzzle, thus triggering a mechanism that raises ramps into position. Sure, you might wonder what use ancient civilizations had for motorcycle ramps, but that's really beside the point, isn't it?
Lara goes exploring in new Tomb Raider: Underworld screens
Click for new screens Our inbox just got some fresh screens from Lara's upcoming adventure, Tomb Raider: Underworld. We get a glimpse at some of the locales she's going to traverse in this latest outing, as well as some shots of Lara engrossed in combat. With a puma! So check out the new screens in our gallery below, which are full of hot welding action. %Gallery-29889%
Tomb Raider: Underworld DLC 'especially made' for 360
The word "exclusive" isn't what it used to be. In recent times, it's fluctuated wildly between being an outright lie and a partial truth that slowly erodes with time. When it was announced that Tomb Raider: Underworld would be granted "exclusive" DLC on the Xbox 360, you can understand why we viewed it with skepticism -- surely it'll just be a code that unlocks content already on the disc?Not so, Crystal Dynamics' creative director, Eric Lindstrom, tells VideoGamer. "The DLC that we're making for Microsoft is especially made. It's not part of the main game that we saved - we put all the game out there that we were going to put out there." The game, which is out there on November 18th, will be extended by some six hours through two downloadable chunks, developed at the behest of Microsoft. In other words, Lara's additional tomb jaunts in "Beneath the Ashes" -- due to arrive before Christmas -- and "Lara's Shadow" will most likely be "exclusive" to the Xbox 360 in the old-fashioned, what-the-word-actually-means sense.
New Tomb Raider: Underworld trailer asks 'What could Lara do?'
If the question were "What would Lara do," the answer would be simple: climb things, flip around, and shoot stuff. Oh, and activate switches. All while looking very pretty, of course. The question posed by Tomb Raider: Underworld's design team at Crystal Dynamics in this new trailer, however, is "What could Lara do?" As in, if she were a real, super-athletic, flesh-and-blood lady adventurer.The answers turn out to be some things we've heard about before, like the fact that she can now pull herself up onto poles and balance-walk them. The real treat of this trailer is seeing the latest animation pass in action. While Lara has been completely motion-captured for the first time in this outing, there's still a lot of work that's gone into hand-tweaking her 2,000-odd animations. We think the results look pretty darn great – if just a little too quick for natural human movement – compared to her animation in earlier builds. What do you think?
Video: What Lara Croft can do in TR Underworld
Honestly, when the developers at Crystal Dynamics talk about what Lara Croft can do in Tomb Raider: Underworld, they speak so passionately that one gets the impression they've spent one too many late nights staring at Lara's well proportioned figure on a computer screen. And that's exactly the right attitude. The video above notes that Cyrstal Dynamics began development of Lara's abilities by asking what she -- a highly trained woman with nerves of steel -- should be able to do. The list reads like a checklist of things that probably irked you while playing previous installments in the series.Why can't Lara target more than one enemy? Why can't she just kick that tiger in the face? Why can't she shoot while hanging from a ledge? In Tomb Raider: Underworld, she can, and she does all these things using new motion captured animations. If the developers are to be believed, these animations number somewhere around 2000. Watch the video above and see how many you can spot.
Tomb Raider: Underworld getting 'exclusive' DLC on Xbox 360
Xbox 360 players planning to lace up in Lara Croft's skin-tight boots this November can look forward to a double helping of new content even after the final credits roll by. Eidos announced that it has inked a deal with Microsoft to release two additional chapters to Tomb Raider: Underworld, offering some six additional hours of raiding tombs, or at least what passes for tombs these days. The first bit of DLC, ominously titled Beneath the Ashes, will debut this Christmas, adding a new area and enemies as well as a continuation of Underworld's story. The second, dubbed Lara's Shadow, promises "a new kind of playable character," leaving us wondering if Lara been drinking from the Phazon pool again? Eidos bills the new content as "exclusive" to Xbox Live Marketplace, though we'll at least try to feign surprise should similar content make its way to other platforms as well.
MS secures exclusive Tomb Raider episodes
Microsoft just revealed that they've worked out a deal with Eidos to distribute two Tomb Raider: Underworld episodes exclusively through the Xbox Live Marketplace. One set to release this year. The episodes - one titled "Beneath the Ashes", the other "Lara's Shadow" - will release as episodic DLC sometime after Underworld's November retail release and will provide up to six hours of gameplay per episode. Specifically speaking, "Beneath the Ashes" will release around Christmas time and "Lara's Shadow" will see release in early 2009. Yes sir, exclusivity FTW!
