Tomb Raider Underworld Review

Crystal Dinamics made, as usual, a masterpiece out of this Tomb Raider title. The graphics are awesome, they feel more realistic than in Legend or Anniversarry, and the controls are a bit better. I don't like that the game is full of puzzles you need to solve in order to proceed further. I wouldn't mind, but the game is totally unlinear and you need to walk around for a lot of time in order to find the proper way to solve them. It's also complicated to move around without getting lost at least a few times. I personally had to use a video walkthrough to get over some scenes. Clearly, Underworld is far more challenging than Legend and Anniversary. Another thing that caught my atention is the way to set the game difficulty. You don't simply choose easy medium or hard. This time, there are a few options like how much damage Lara takes (little, medium or much), the ammunition quantity and stuff like this. Interesting. I guess there might be some sado-masochist who likes to see Lara getting killed and therefore will choose her to take much damage. I admit it, I chose little damage. I'm not as much into challenge as I am into the story development. For me, good graphics + good story means a good game. Of course, some puzzles won't hurt anyone, but let's not exagerate. This game has way too many puzzles. The enemies are easy to kill, yet you can also lose health depending on the damage settings you choose. Inevitable, the game benefiths of the regular bugs, like Lara's legs being half inside the ground. Of course, that bug doesn't last that much, but it's still there, so... we have a minus!
The motorcicle controls are the same as in previous games. I don't know about you, but I didn't really like those. Sorry. Also, the Mexic area was hardcore. Had I not watched a video guide there was no way I could find my way through that jungle. And that's not the only hard level.
The story is mediocre by my standards. I'm sorry to disappoint those who liked this game 100%, but I think they could have made a better story. I mean, if Avalon is really under the Arctic Sea, then why the fuck did Lara go through so much trouble trying to get there?! In the end, it feels like it was all for nothing. The whole game had one single purpose: to find Thor's belt and hammer. Full stop. Once that was done, I had to go to Avalon, as it's position has conveniently been revealed to me. Also, killing Allister (sorry, if you don't want spoilers don't read my reviews) felt kinda random. I was expecting to see him again in the Underworld, but shit! I had no such luck! From the story's point of view, Tomb Raider Legend was the best. It was also great doing stuff outside jungles and underwater realms! But wait! The programmers realized continuing on that basis was a pain in the ass, so they came back to jungles and underwater realms in Anniversarry and Underworld!
The soundtrack is awesome, as I expected it to be. The graphics, as I said below, are way better than before. The controls are quite the same (small differences, don't fuck up gameplay so it doesn't matter).
So, I guess I said enough about this, therefore I'll go on with the final judgement! (OOPS NOW PEOPLE WILL SAY I COPY FAT MAN JUDGETH!! NEVER MIND! FUCK THEM! I'M JUST A GOD DAMN FAN!).
Graphics: 9,5\10
Story: 6,5\10
Gameplay: 9\10
Soundtrack: 10\10
Personal option: -1 point for the extreme difficulty of the puzzles and for the lack of more urban areas.
Overall: 8,7/10 - 1 point = 7,7/10