Tomb Raider Underworld - Gen. Discussion & Info - 'Beneath The Ashes' DLC 800pts 2/24

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Description: ​

Designed specifically to take advantage of the latest technologies Tomb Raider: Underworld represents a new advancement in exploration-based gameplay. As fearless adventurer Lara Croft explore exotic locations around the world, each designed with an incredible attention to detail resulting in breathtaking high-definition visual fidelity that creates a truly believable world and delivers a new level of challenge and choice​

Story: ​

For generations, stories have been told of the fearsome weapon of the Norse god Thor. Legend holds that he who wields the hammer has the power to smash mountains into valleys and the strength to destroy even the gods. For more than a thousand years it has existed only as a myth…until now.​

In an ancient ruin on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea, Lara Croft uncovers proof of the Norse underworld and the mythical hammer. As she attempts to unravel the secrets behind these myths, Lara’s perilous journey leads her toward a forgotten power that, if unleashed, could lay waste to all civilization.

Features: ​

Master your surroundings: Reach new heights with the broadest range of acrobatic abilities and utilize objects within the environment to uncover new paths to explore.​

Explore epic and unknown worlds: Discover ancient mysteries of the underworld hidden within the coast of Thailand, frozen islands of the Arctic Sea, the jungles of Mexico, and more.

What Can Lara Do?: Lara’s skill-set has been drastically expanded to incorporate actions you would expect of a fearless, athletic adventurer. Lara now performs 1700 moves and is a far more intuitive character to control.​

Treacherous and unpredictable challenges: Each level is an elaborate multi-stage puzzle masked within an interactive environmental playground offering more flexibility over how the area is solved.​

New range of combat options: Choose to pacify or kill, target multiple enemies at once with the new dual-target system, and shoot with one hand while suspended with the other. ​


New state-of-the-art gear: Utilize the latest technology in Lara’s upgraded inventory to navigate the world including:
  • Sonar map: A revolutionary new tool that emits an active sonar ping to create a 3D image of Lara’s surroundings, perfect for uncovering hidden items and locations.
  • Multi-purpose grapple: A claw-like device with a high-tension cable designed for climbing, rappelling, performing wall runs and manipulating objects within the environment.
  • All-terrain motorbike: Built to handle everything from the jungles of Mexico to the icy glaciers of the Arctic
Screenshots:


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Gameplay Videos:​



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I have really enjoyed the past two Tomb Raider games, and Im sure this game won't dissapoint. The underwater portion of the game shown on the footage doesn't look that bad. I usually hate water levels, but the action looked fast paced and fluid. Can't wait for this to come out this November.​
 
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After finally going through Legend and Anniversary, I find it odd to say that I'm actually looking forward to a Tomb Raider game.

It's looking good, and they've garnered enough goodwill with the last two games that I'm more than willing to give them a shot. The only problem I see is that November is sort of a 'busy' time of year and I'm afraid this will get lost in the shuffle. If this tanks, I guarantee that TR will be dormant again for a while, which is a shame.
 
It looks promising. I'm still trying to find a used copy of TR:Anniversary at my local Gamestops. Hopefully I can find it for the next B2G1 sale. I'll have to keep an eye on this one as it develops though.
 
I'm surprised that nobody's bumped this for the release of the demo. Played through it, beat it and enjoyed it, and it's satisfied my urge to play Tomb Raider for a long while.
 
I loved the demo. I've played through it twice. The game is gorgeous. Lara actually feels like she has some weight to her when you are moving around. Comparatively, I just finished TR:A and it felt like moving a paper doll on screen.

The camera still blows though.
 
I will check out the demo, but with the rest of the games being released, I doubt I play the retail version until well into next year. :(
 
I was surprised at how good the demo for this game is.

The graphics are a big improvement and the control feels very good.

I was going to put this one off for a while with all of the great games coming out but I may have to rethink this one.
 
I think the water is super pretty. :p

But yes, I was psyched for this game and the demo made me even more excited. People will probably hate me for it, but I wish there were a collector's edition for the game. This one has been on my watchlist since it was announced.
 
Last one I played was Legend and it sparked my interest in Anniversary and this one already has my interest. Now if they were all just a bit cheaper.....
 
It's a decent game (from the demo at least), but in a game saturated month known as November there's no way I can fit this game in.

Will wait for a sale or rent it in December.
 
i played the demo and i liked it. Havent played a tomb raider game since i think the ps2 version? I thought the adventure and jumping stuff was good, but the combat system is kinda lousy
 
[quote name='GuardianE']I think the water is super pretty. :p
[/quote]

Indeed it is! :)

I'll definitely keep my eye on this. I liked Legend (traded it before I finished it though).
 
[quote name='SuperJedi']Get it at Circuit City get a Free T-shirt?[/quote]

Just noticed that in Speedy's deal listing. Anyone seen the shirt? Is it cool?

I've got a CC gift card that I'd love to unload before they go under!
 
Really enjoyed the demo. Its a beautiful looking game and Lara's movements seem even more fluid and realistic than ever. Hopefully i'll buy it or gamefly it soon and experience the whole thing.
 
I'm playing this right now. Tomb Raider is my favorite series of all time so I'm super excited for this release! I just started it last night so I haven't gotten very far but I like what I see.:D

Kay
 
I rented it last weekend. Took about 12-15 hours. Not too bad. I loved the game, but it's disheartening that all the same glitches and camera problems are still there in CD's third time at bat with this franchise. You will get 'stuck' in scenery more times than you can count requiring a few shots from the gun to 'unstick' you. The first half of the game is epic. Huge puzzles that are amazing. Unfortunately it kinda peters out at the end. They shot their wad too early. The puzzles get shorter and easier as you go. I'm glad that the game is mostly puzzles & platforming, but there should have at least been a final boss battle. It was kinda jarring not having one.

Also about halfway through the game all my saves got corrupted somehow. It required me to delete EVERY quicksave. I managed to copy my single 'personal' save to a memory card and finish it out from the memory unit. Not a huge deal, but it made achievement hunting a bitch without all those saves. For the hell of it, I decided to erase all my data from the HDD and start a new game and wouldn't you know after 30 minutes the saves were corrupt. The ones on the MU still worked, and my saves for other games are still intact. Very weird. Just thought I would share in case anyone runs into that issue as well. So keep at least one personal save.
 
Anyone heard anything about when this is going to drop in price? I have been looking forward to playing Underworld, but I know the price drop has to be close.
 
I just beat the game, and I'd say it's pretty good. Maybe a 7.8/10 or so. For my first real Tomb Raider game, not bad. Not bad at all. You also get a lot of Achievement points (I got 800 in 1 playthrough).

As for the camera, it is bad in some cases, but not a lot. I only got really hung up in one part, which was really bad, and it took like 20 minutes. For $40, I'd say it was worth it. I'd say it took me...12-13 hours to beat it, but like I said, it was my first time playing a Tomb Raider game.
 
I'm fairly certain I'm almost done with the game, so I'm glad that the DLC is coming out. Between that, Fable, and Fallout, I've got enough DLC coming this month that I don't even need to worry about new games. Yay.

On another note... love this game. Love it. I have to say, it's kind of a shame that Crystal Dynamics really revitalized this franchise, but no one realizes or cares. I hate that every time I excitedly tell someone about it, I usually then have to explain that, no, Tomb Raider doesn't suck anymore and has been great for about 3-4 years now.

Oh well... disappointing sales on not, we'll likely get another one at some point. Eidos doesn't seem open to letting the franchise die.

Really, though, loved the game. LOVED.
 
I love how they are viewing 1.5 million copies is a failure. How many franchises have the 9th game in the series sell that well?
 
I put this game on hold just before Christmas but I've got to get back into it ASAP.

How can 1.5M copies be a failure? That's crazy. Were they really expecting GTA4 numbers?

Does anyone know how this compares to sales of TR Legend and TR Anniversary?
 
Yeah, the head honcho's over there must be out of their mind. They sold 1.5 million despite being released in the midst of Gears 2, Resistence 2, Little Big Planet, Fallout 3, and numerous other huge titles. I'd say they made out pretty well all things considered.
 
[quote name='bmachine']I put this game on hold just before Christmas but I've got to get back into it ASAP.

How can 1.5M copies be a failure? That's crazy. Were they really expecting GTA4 numbers?

Does anyone know how this compares to sales of TR Legend and TR Anniversary?[/quote]

Legend sold about 3 million copies worldwide over all formats.

Anniversary sold about 2.2 million.

The biggest problem was that it sold really well in Europe, but due to a bad time of release, they sold much less copies in NA than usual.
 
I just beat this game and it was alright i guess. I enjoyed Legend a lot, but this game, i dont even know if i want to go through it again.

Pros
- Game looks amazing, levels and lara.
- Better Motorcycle controls
- Better swimming controls
- Finally the story comes to an end
- Better enemies (should be more animals, and myth creatures, rather than humans)
- No level speed run achievements. LOL

Cons
- Story was meh, and ending kind of sucked.
- Camera, Camera, Camera
- No Croft Manor
- No boss battles
- Too much rock climbing
- Some levels felt like i had to solve the same puzzle twice

Im glad this story is over so they can take this new tomb raider design and start fresh. They really need to fix the camera badly. Why cant they just have it always behind Lara, unless you deside to turn it manually? I really like the tomb raider series, but this was a bit of a dissapointment for me.

There has been rumors of Tomb Raider finally going with a Mature rating. Now i know everyone who hears that, thinks naked BOOBIES! But i think it could be more than just boobies. If they went with a mature rating, they could have Lara get impaled on spikes, eat dead animals for health instead of midi packs, and just add more gore or realisticness to it. Lose the cartoony feel, and make it more real. But i dont want to see Lara involved in any love story. I want her to roam through jungles, pyramids, tombs, underground caverns, ....battling animals, mythical creatures...but some more realistic. Like a yeti is fine, but i dont want to see her fighting a flying cat. Give me some good puzzles, and not just "hmmm, how do i climb all the way up there?". Give me a mansion that i can do stuff in after i beat the game. Like view the treasure i collect in the game, or some side games. I dont want to see Lara naked unless it seems natural within the game, story, whatever. I mean its just a video game character anyway. So dont force it if its not there. I guess thats it for me at this time.
 
Does anyone play this game? I beaten it twice, one on hard...which was actually pretty easy. But i just read about the DLC.

Having been delayed late last year thanks to layoffs at Crystal Dynamics, Eidos has officialy set a new date for the Tomb Raider: Underworld DLC. The first content pack, "Beneath the Ashes," is set to arrive on February 10 and finds Lara exploring the ruins of Croft Manner to discover a hidden "deadly source of power" amidst ancient caverns and crypts. Frankly, we hope the DLC unravels the mystery as to why the Crofts decided to build their mansion on top of so many caverns and crypts in the first place. "Beneath the Ashes" will also contain six new costumes for Lara and new achievements worth 125 points.

The second batch of DLC, "Lara's Shadow," will be available March 10. No details were released regarding the second pack, but it's probably safe to assume it will also contain a new level, costumes, and achievements. No prices were announced, though GameStop lists both packs combined for $20, leading us to believe they will be individually priced at 800 points.

It's worth noting that former creative director for Crystal Dynamics, Eric Lindstrom, has stated that the DLC levels were originally intended to be included in the retail game, but were cut as the result of "a production issue" that would have caused the game to miss its ship date.

Source: Xbox360fanboy
Click to expand...

I think its pretty crappy that they are charging people for DLC that was supposed to be in the game. Dont you think they should give it to us for free? It was meant to be on the disc in the first place. So i dunno if i want to buy it or not, but it does sound cool.

I also saw a 50 point Tomb Raider theme that looked cool. But i cant find a preview anywhere for it. It looks like the main pic would be the background that you see when you view the TRU DLC page. XBLM sucks cos of no previews of themes. So i probably wont buy it, even for 50 points. Im still hoping there is a better SFIV theme coming out soon. The one they have now sucks.
 
I want the DLC, but since I rented the game I have to wait until either both packs are out to rent it again, or wait until I can get the game for about $15.
 
You know, while it irks me that the DLC should've been in the game, I give the guy a ton of credit for at least admitting it.

Plus, it's irrelevant to me, since I enjoyed the game so much that there's no way I'm passing on the DLC.
 
I had not played a Tomb Raider game since one of the PS1 Tomb Raiders a long long time ago. So I really ending up enjoying Underworld.

I would like to take a stance and say, "No, I will not buy the DLC because they cut it out so that they could sell it." Plus there are all the other fuck ups that Eidos has done.

However, Crystal Dynamics made a damn good game, so I bet that the DLC is going to be just as good as the stuff that was in Underworld, which is probably why I am going to end up getting the DLC anyway.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']I had not played a Tomb Raider game since one of the PS1 Tomb Raiders a long long time ago. So I really ending up enjoying Underworld.

I would like to take a stance and say, "No, I will not buy the DLC because they cut it out so that they could sell it." Plus there are all the other fuck ups that Eidos has done.

However, Crystal Dynamics made a damn good game, so I bet that the DLC is going to be just as good as the stuff that was in Underworld, which is probably why I am going to end up getting the DLC anyway.[/quote]

You should buy TR Legend if you havent played that one. I think i enjoyed that one more than Underworld.
 
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Eidos has finally confirmed that Tomb Raider Underworld's Beneath the Ashes pack -- releasing tomorrow -- will cost the expected 800
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($10). Lara's exploration of what existed beneath her 12-room (2-bath), fully furnished wine cellar is the first piece of DLC, to be followed by Lara's Shadow, which offers a "new" playable character.
Click to expand...
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/23/eidos-confirms-beneath-the-ashes-price-playable-character-in/

800
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...damn. I think I'll wait for reviews on this one.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']
I would like to take a stance and say, "No, I will not buy the DLC because they cut it out so that they could sell it."
[/QUOTE]

From the sounds of everything they didn't cut it just to sell it later as DLC. It was cut so that the game could make it's release date. I've enjoyed all three of their TR games, so I'm going to take them at their word. They don't have a history of screwing the fans with DLC.
 
[quote name='Corvin']From the sounds of everything they didn't cut it just to sell it later as DLC. It was cut so that the game could make it's release date. I've enjoyed all three of their TR games, so I'm going to take them at their word. They don't have a history of screwing the fans with DLC.[/quote]

Oops, that is my fault. I misread the article.

I went ahead to the Tomb Raider forums so I could read what the creative director had to say instead of viewing it through the lens of some news blog.

Yeah, the creative director said it was cut because they wouldn't of been able to ship the game in time if they included it. The reason some of that cut stuff is in the DLC is because Eidos chose to use it.

Here is a good quote from the creative director: "I cut content from the game, and it later turned out to be possible to use in DLC, for which I was happy."

Oh by the way, has anyone had a chance to download it yet? If so, how is it?
 
Just beat it. Verdict, not worth 10 bucks. Its pretty much 1 level that takes 1-2 hours depending on if you search for treasure or not. This is probably worth more like 400 points. So if you arent a tomb raider fanatic i would say pass on it, unless you really want 3 different bikini outfits for her. lol
 
Thanks for the impressions. I already downloaded it, but have yet to get to it. Not in too much of a rush now.

I assumed it wouldn't be worth $10, but with all the talk of disappointing sales and rebooting (re-rebooting?) the franchise, I figured I'd toss down the money to help the numbers. A fruitless gesture, but it made me feel better. :lol:
 
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