TRU Lara and Underworld

[Blín D'ñero]

I'm playing the demo of Tomb Raider: Underworld right now.

Hmmm.. First thought was 'that upperlip too thick'.

But in another camera angle it looked better:

Why oh why do they want to make her look like a surgeoned supermodel. I like women (and thought Lara was) more natural, raw and with character in the face.




Mmmokay, not bad.

Overall: she looks like a doll, cartooney. But a game essentially is a 3D-cartoon, so CD are forgiven. Playing around in the demo, it feels like the old Crystal Dynamics Lara. With an american (hollywoodey) approach, like Alistair and Zip are. It is NOT how i would like to see them/draw them myself.
I'm not disappointed though, and think it is going to be a good game, fun. The controls are excellent. Lara's movements are considerabely more fluid than they already were in previous 2 games.
The display of nature in this level is gorgeous and very well done. The appearance of the water surface (the waves!) is breathtaking. Also the underwater view with sharks and plants in it.

[Blín D'ñero]

Oh noooo... she can't access the sofa, or the steering seat. Invisible walls she bumps against...

I always find that a lame simplification of the environment, dumbed down...!

But hey coool: she's got a new move "E" for a spinning footkick that'll SERIOUSLY hurt enemies.


WOW!!!

So far: the controls are very good and intuitive, game engine seems very good and stable, camera smart, graphics looking exquisite from all angles, beautiful lighting on everything and Lara. Surround sound very good.

[Blín D'ñero]

Also the game's menu is a great improvement: starting and quitting is now as easy and quick as in the Classic TR's! :thumbup:

Lara's swimming is very fast! :thumbup:
Her idle moves are dull; just looking around a bit, adjusting her belt, now and then hands ready for unholstering guns. That's it. No slapping flies off her butt, no arm- and legstretching, no retying shoelaces... [EDIT: read on... when i typed that, i hadn't noticed yet how many new ones she has... ]



Lara can hold her breath under water very long (3 ~4 minutes?)
The sharks are dangerous, but not in an unnatural way. They chomp, then swim along. She didn't die from them, but eventually by suffocation. Because i kept her under water to see what happens.
And i love the HUD style!

She can run (Shift) from start off.

Great you can splash the very annoying little bugging creatures. (spiders? squeeking "auuu"???)
Yes, spiders:

[Blín D'ñero]

Yes her proportions are definately very good.


And nice touch she gets dirty from all the climbing. (I like the expression btw!)



The killed animals don't disappear! Corpses stay!
Oh, and a new idle move i hadn't noticed yet, arms crossing, weight on one leg, head slightly bent as in saying "sigh... are we gonna stay here or what".

Everything is smoother, more fluid. Lara's climbing technique is spectacular. Her movements more natural, like the way she wades through bellydeep water.

[Blín D'ñero]

A stunningly beautiful living environment. Clouds move, the leaves on every tree, the plants Lara touches or walks over...
except this one type of plant (a fern), and they are everywhere at the location:

this plant does not move at all, never, while all the other large plants do.

The colourful parrot-like birds have a peculiar behaviour when you approach them: they seem to fly away but when you follow them with your eyes you see they in fact launch straight up like a rocket and then vaporize in mid air.

The tigers are awesome! (these are back to their maker, btw)

[Blín D'ñero]

Oh and again another idle move; she does 'swing flip-flap' (how to describe that?) the arms to unstress them. Maybe it differs per spot she stands, or depending on what she did before (shooting around killing bats and frogs and whatnot).
Whiping sweat off forehead, another one.
Ah, and now there it is: the armstretch-hopping. And the adjusting the (fingerless) gloves. AND the slapping flies off butt!
So, all previous idle moves and a lot more. :thumbup:

And Lara shows various facial expressions, depending where she is. In this case, various stages of discomfort while holding balance on a pole awaiting player's action:



I noticed her satisfied smile after picking up a Secret (still have to screenshoot that).
Hmm... checked and rechecked, she didn't. Probably i just imagined that then.

[Blín D'ñero]

So much effort put into the amazing detailed environment.




Found a big stick!

A loose pole. Nice!

And removed another.
You can even use it as a weapon!

[Blín D'ñero]

Ungrappled a next blockade.

Lara becomes better and better. And prettier.



Oh nooo...! END OF DEMO

[Blín D'ñero]

Improved Options menu! :thumbup:



Player Tailoring will certainly give each his/her own, and adds challenge to the replay value!

[Blín D'ñero]

Great things sofar:

• Improved engine
• improved main menu
• 'Helper buttons' can be disabled
• "Player Tailoring"
• Much more, and excellent physical moves
• Moves are incredibly well done and seamlessly adjusting to the objects/structures involved
• A great variety in climbing / jumping / swinging / somersaulting sideways upways down and reverse your way over poles, stones, structures
• truely naturally behaving animals (except for the 'au' squeeking spiders i guess) like the sharks, the birds and the convincingly attacking tigers
• Breathtaking beautifull lively environment
• the ancient artwork has an absolutely genuine quality (not some immature *hi-fi fantasy)
• More ways to reach the same spot
• Corpses stay! (the tigers, bats and the dragons, not the spiders and birds)
• Many attacking bats and creeping insects to kill
• Great music and environmental sound
• Swimming down/up simply by mouse direction
• shooting underwater, and while standing on a pole
• Lara isn't the characterless hollywood bimbo or synthetic parisian catwalk model she looked like in some prerelease screenshots
• Lara shows great variety of facial expressions
• Many new idle moves
• No more messed up shoulderjoints on Lara, while body looks good from every angle in every position
• No headphone contact with HQ! Only one briefing via laptop (hope it stays that way in the game)
• Great HUD style
• did i say she runs from start off? and gets fatigued, all very naturally.

Just to whine, some less great things (but none is important really):

• bug with the grapple
• Invisible blockades to many spots, which looks stupid, and narrows the path to go. For instance: the fallen tree before the second group of tigers; why can't Lara walk over the tree?
• the 'grappable' metal rings are way too obvious; too rediculously shiney for such an ancient ruin, they're friggin brandnew metal. And much too large.
• entering the big temple over the poles, when balancing Lara keeps turning her head looking back to the previous pole as if i forgot something but i haven't. Since the camera tends to follow her eyes, it is a little disturbing
• Camera doesn't always stay still where you leave it (when making a screenprint) unless you manually force (and keep) it by the mouse. Unpractical. A camera with an own will?
• Inconsistancy: most large plants wave naturally in the wind or by touching, except the ferns, although they are very prominent and large. It is awkward that they are dead and Lara walks just through them.
• another inconsistancy: corpses stay, but splattered spiders disappear.
• birds don't fly away but launch straight upwards then vaporize in mid air.
• in fact, all birds you see flying are very short animations that vaporize, they aren't present entities like the tigers and sharks