Grazza Posted November 23, 2008 Posted November 23, 2008 I should be appalled at this but, to be honest, Monday is not too long a delay. Magazines and sites should have the integrity to delay their review. This is one reason I love GameCentral on Teletext. For certain games they call on Nigel Humdrum, "the world's least cynical games reviewer"! Every flaw is presented as a positive, every bit of originality described as "worrying" and the game in question gets a ridiculous score like 12/10! It's a clever way around the fact that reviewers want to be honest, yet they do need the publishers to supply the games.
Aimless Posted November 23, 2008 Posted November 23, 2008 I've almost finished the game and 7/10 seems fair. (Although I hear the 360 version doesn't have the framerate issues of the PS3 version, and that difference could quite easily tip it over into being an 8 for me.) Lara's repertoire is suitable expanded, adding an extra layer to the acrobatics, and the various environmental puzzles are encouragingly exploratory; the game won't tell you what to do unless you actively use the Field Assistance option. The locations also do a fine job of capturing that classic Tomb Raider feeling of intrusion upon a place that hasn't been explored for years. In many ways it would be fair to say that this is Crystal Dynamics' best take on the IP to date. However, undermining the series' advancement in other areas is the combat, the camera, and the Artifact/Treasure system. Gunplay is actually worse than it was in Anniversary, making a similar mistake to Warrior Within and adding needless complications — the slow-motion headshot move is now manually operated and relies on the filling of a bar, for instance. The camera requires constant babysitting using the right stick: there are several occasions where you're supposed to jump backwards whilst hanging onto a ledge but the camera doesn't pivot to show where you'll be jumping, and worse still there are occasions where the game won't even allow you to manually align your view. The Treasures aren't such a fundamental issue as not everyone will be bothered about them, but there are now far more in each level and they're often placed in jars that line the path you have to take; there are so many that they lose the sense of accomplishment from the last two Tomb Raider games. If you enjoyed Anniversary then Underworld should be a definite purchase, but it's a shame that it's something of a case of two steps forward, one step back.
James Posted November 23, 2008 Posted November 23, 2008 I should be appalled at this but, to be honest, Monday is not too long a delay. Magazines and sites should have the integrity to delay their review. This is one reason I love GameCentral on Teletext. For certain games they call on Nigel Humdrum, "the world's least cynical games reviewer"! Every flaw is presented as a positive, every bit of originality described as "worrying" and the game in question gets a ridiculous score like 12/10! It's a clever way around the fact that reviewers want to be honest, yet they do need the publishers to supply the games. Humdrum is a God, I love the fact some people take him serious and write in complaining GameCentral are giving high scores. haha. Some people take things way to seriously
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