Tomb Raider: Underworld - Preview

[sushrukh]

The latest Tomb Raider game " Tomb Raider: Underworld " is on the way. Returning to the time and feel of Tomb Raider: Legend, the third feather in Crystal Dynamics' Lara-cap promises more of everything: more polygons, more effects, more puzzles, and more moves. Is it possible to have too much of a good thing ?

A better looking Lara

" The developers were very keen to show off the all-new game engine for Tomb Raider: Underworld, and the selected level, based in the jungles of Mexico, was a suitable choice. As one would expect for a modern renderer, all the usual bells and whistles are being applied: lots of polygons everywhere, to produce smooth curves; motion-captured animation; normal mapped surfaces with high resolution textures; HDR rendering, with bloom, depth-of-field and some motion blur, for post-processing effects; real-time shadowing, from multiple light sources, using filtered shadow maps; a global lighting model.

Particular focus was made of the new Lara Croft model - nothing radical, but more "natural" looking than previous renditions. The range of preset moves and animations has grown (for example, moving Lara through vegetation will force her to brush branches and leaves out of the way) but the level of interaction with the environment has improved too. In the past, contact with water would simply result in a visual reaction and although that still happens, wet surfaces and objects now behave differently to dry ones. Previously Lara would be able to climb all objects with equal ease, but this is no longer the case in Underworld. "


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Few Screenies 4 ya ( Click on the Pics to see them in full size )

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http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1367/tombraiderunderworld007mg4.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld007mg4.jpg)

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4374/tombraiderunderworld008af1.th.jpg (http://img138.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld008af1.jpg)

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/6623/tombraiderunderworld009th4.th.jpg (http://img120.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld009th4.jpg)

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/450/tombraiderunderworld001nv9.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld001nv9.jpg)

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/3633/tombraiderunderworld003va0.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld003va0.jpg)

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4060/tombraiderunderworld004no4.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld004no4.jpg)

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4047/tombraiderunderworld005ss5.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld005ss5.jpg)

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/9579/tombraiderunderworld006ex0.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tombraiderunderworld006ex0.jpg)


Link :- http://www.yougamers.com/previews/17287_tomb_raider_underworld-page2/ (http://www.yougamers.com/previews/17287_tomb_raider_underworld-page2/)

I love TR games & have played all of them.So, i'll be looking forward to this latest version also. :smile:

[bobletman]

Well the game looks nice and they did keep the best aspect of lara which are her double D's :lol:. lets just hope the gameplay is good.

[PP Mguire]

I like this game and all, but its starting to get a bit rediculous with how many they have.

[ZhengHe]

Even though these games have been consistently good they just aren't of a high enough caliber to motivate me into buying one. The graphics and gameplay are consistent. The sound can even lend itself toward being good and really good, but considering all the games that have come out in the last 12-18 months vying for my attention this one simply doesn't make the cut. The series doesn't take too many chances and PP Mguire is right, there are too many games. Specifically there were too many bad ones, which makes me question exactly how good this game could actually be. Of course, if it turns out to be a knockout hit I'll consider it, but based on past experiences the chances of that aren't very high.

[sushrukh]

I may not also buy it but i will play it for sure. :lol:

[Miker]

Is it the same engine as the 2 TRs from last year?

[werty316]

I don't know how everyone else feels about the Tomb Raider series but I think its been milked just as much as NFS.

[Miker]

I love them. TR 1 doesn't run in XP though... :-/

[sushrukh]

Is it the same engine as the 2 TRs from last year?

I've heard this is a new engine.Yougamers may have more details on that.

[werty316]

It's a little unclear if there will be a totally new, fully next-gen graphics system in place, but Eidos is boasting about new weather and lighting systems designed for Underworld.


Source: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165039

However the guys at YouGamers.com said there'll be a new engine used.

The developers were very keen to show off the all-new game engine for Tomb Raider: Underworld

Source: from the link up top in post #1.

[ZhengHe]

Eidos has neither confirmed nor denied that Underworld will or won't be using a new engine.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165039

New engine or not that doesn't mean the game will be any better, just has the potential to be better. Personally I don't see how Crystal Dynamics can work it's way out of the hole of making slightly above average games without all that much originality tied in. After the original PS1 release the novelty of tomb raider has really worn off and since then they haven't been able to create a game that breaches the 8/10 mark by more then a few points. Let's not forget about the infamous PSP version of Tomb Raider: Legend and the equally infamous Tomb Raider: Last Revelation for the Playstation. Of course some people liked those games too, but as far as I can tell they were rather uninspired.

[PP Mguire]

I don't know how everyone else feels about the Tomb Raider series but I think its been milked just as much as NFS.Actualy i think the Tomb Raider series is worse.

[tomato]

As long as people will buy the product, the company will continue to make them :P

[ZhengHe]

As long as people will buy the product, the company will continue to make them :P

That and I'm sure those au naturel patches that started coming out mere weeks after the game was released helped things along. It makes you wonder what the demographic for Tomb Raider actually looks like.

[tomato]

1st Tomb Raider game = all sorts of awesomeness.... and then I got so bored, I didn't even bother to finish the 2nd game. Haven't touched a TR game since :P

[cvasquez]

I like Tombraider, you can never have enough.
:)