The eighth game in the the legendary Tomb Raider series was released among some curfuffle over the PR. A representative was quoted widely as asking for journalists to hold back scores that were less than an 8. I had too many games to play at the time, or I would have been happy to release an honest score even earlier. I would have no reason to wait except that this game needed to get in line behind all the interesting offerings that were available for PS3 before Christmas.

The game isn’t flawed the way that the pessimistic PR rep would have had us all believe. It is competent, enjoyable and difficult. There have been Tomb Raider games in the past that were crippled by bad controls. Others with levels that were impassable or that seemed impossible. But depending on your patience level this volume of the series might be worth a look.

The problem is that it just isn’t above average. With the competition that it has against other action adventure games, it didn’t distinguish itself with excellence, or anything new and different. Nostalgic reincarnations of old games past just don’t seem to rise above blah.

There is an absence of credible playable female video game characters that have come out for PS3. Even though we might want very much for this game to be astonishing, it isn’t. But it will suffice. In the Tomb Raider anniversary edition Lara looked distinctly like she was wearing an under-wire bra. For the past few editions of the game Lara has soft natural sloping shaped breasts. I had noticed a ridge under her top that looked like the emulation of under-wires. But this time she has perfect spherical boobs that never bounce. The pectoral slope is gone. The conical shapes stick straight out of her chest very un- naturally. She had some work done for sure, because a girl her age should have some sign of gravity. The same touch has been added to her much rounder butt. It looks like someone stuck two cherries on her. Her lower lip has lost some of its squarish-ness too and it seems fuller than last time as well. Full Review and Walkthrough Video Here

Her wardrobe isn’t very skimpy. At least this heroine is still covered. Her ladylike dress up makes it a game that is still ok for girls to play. Her closet seems to consist mainly of sporting goods. She’s outfitted with swim gear and her usual shorts and boots for most of the game.

The strength that this game has, as in all the Tomb Raider game is that you have a very wide range of motion to move Lara. She can run, kick flip, leap, back flip and cartwheel. She walks tightropes, jumps cliffs and power parcours over ruins. It’s all about the motion. The levels unravel like a motion puzzle where you need to find ways to orient Lara in space so that she can move through the game. I have always had difference of opinion in the level design of Tomb Raider. I’d like to se some walking once in a while. The difficulty may also be a strength. People like figuring it out.The writing in the game mixes too many pantheons together for it to feel authentic. But that does not entirely stop it from being a good game. The second strength is the adventure itself. It does well to immerse you in the locations. The sound design is very good from the echoes of dripping underground catacombs, to the loud crack of her twin pistols firing. There are lighting and water effects that aren’t the top of the line, but they still look fine. The total environment gets you interested and involved in what Lara is doing, even if the plot doesn’t entirely fly.

Game – play isn’t easy. There is way too much jumping from one tiny rock, then turning around to flip to a ledge that is off camera. It still has the platforming element that it always had. Lara is put through physical puzzles that her gymnastics would resolve, depending on your skill.

On the whole this is a fine offering, in-spite of the incipient marketing team. It’s still a competent game with a playable female character so it garners that same points that it always has there. But where it lacks is in the graphics, the writing and the tingle factor. In many ways Uncharted has it beat, due to better level design and flow. I’d in no way discount this game as being fun and worth a rent, if not to file in with the rest of your Lara Croft collection. I give Tomb Raider Underworld 6 worn out hiking boots out of 10.