![]() It is absolutely outrageous and unforgivable that the game was released in such a state. If those things break the game, the absolutely unacceptable camera destroys it beyond playability. Unacceptably bad cameraThe fact that the player is not told where to go or what to do breaks the game. And then the camera is way too close to Lara. This is fine, but I can't actually see where I have to jump to. It didn’t feel as if I had solved the problem I was faced with. It didn’t feel as if I had achieved anything. Solving so much of the game accidentally is not at all rewarding. There is a very clear and present problem with this. For a significant portion of my play time I made my way by accidentally jumping in the right direction, or accidentally leaning in one direction while holding onto the ledge, and seeing Lara indicate that she wants to jump that way. Accidental successAs a result of the player not being told where to go and what to do, most of the success I experienced was accidental. The fact that I wasn’t told what to do led to what I believe to be me breaking the game, because I did the wrong thing, and the game wouldn’t let me recover. This leads to obvious problems, typically involving more running around, the player being consumed by pangs of frustration and boredom. The game is not good at letting the player know what to doAs if not telling the player where to go isn’t bad enough, the game isn’t very good at telling the player what to do, either. This game is not fun, and that’s a tremendous disappointment for me. Tomb Raider Legend, the previous game in the franchise, had better, clearer design. The way it was designed goes against six years of progression in designing games. Running around the environment, not knowing where to go, is just not fun. The fact that such a blunt hint system has to be implemented, however unhelpful it may be, should have told the developers something about the way they designed their game. It turned out that it was the most nondescript-looking lever I’ve ever seen in a video game, in an alcove behind the Kraken, completely unlit this the player was meant to find in what is a massive area. Even with this blatant hint, I spent the better part of ten minutes searching for the lever. The hint system says that there is a lever behind the body of the Kraken that opens the door to get out of the large area. One example of where I had trouble was after killing the Kraken in just the second stage in the game. This problem is evidenced by the segments that are well designed and where the player has no questions over where to go, like the short segment where the tanker ship sinks. I spent a tremendous amount of time running around rooms, simply not knowing where to go. I am well aware that the game includes a hint system accessible though the in-game ‘PDA’, but by this stage it should be clear that those hints scarcely help the player. ![]() It’s just utterly unclear where the player is expected to go. This is completely unlike most other video game design. Summarily, the path to continue is indistinguishable. Paths for climbing up ledges and platforms are completely masked. Some environments are big, but the different rooms and hallways all look the same. Ledges that the player is expected to clamber upon are almost identical in color and design as the walls, so there’s no sign that they are actually meant to be traversed. I find myself floored at how such a design oversight could be made. This is an area where Underworld is desperately lacking. ![]() Open games are absolutely fine, but it is essential that the player is informed of where they have to go. This may seem a bizarre complaint, but it most definitely is not. The game is not good at letting the player know where to goOne of my concerns with Underworld is that it is not linear enough. Design I actually didn't know I could climb up this pillar. Here’s some of what went right, and everything that went wrong. Ultimately, years of hard work amounts to nothing when crippling glitches and atrocious design destroy the game. It breaks my heart, so to speak, because this game so desperately wants to be good. On principle, I can no longer play Tomb Raider: Underworld. The game autosaved at a checkpoint I had already cleared several checkpoints back, and I was unable to continue on. The game allowed me to carry an essential item into an area where I would not be able to take it back to where I needed it. As I said, it is what I assume to be a glitch that broke the game for me, rendered my progress nil, and caused me to stop playing. If you do not think it is right for someone to write about or review a game they have not completed, then you should not read the following. Naturally, this experience has colored any opinion I have about the game. Moreover, there was one major glitch I encountered that broke the game for me. I have not completed Tomb Raider: Underworld.
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