|
Tomb Raider: Underworld | 
 enlarge
| From: Eidos Interactive
Category: Video Games
List Price: $59.99
Buy Used: $37.50
You Save: $22.49 (37%)
New (25) Used (15) from $37.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 328
Platform: Playstation 3
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: STOM8KUS00
Model: 1000044581
UPC: 788687500777
EAN: 0788687500777
ASIN: B0012N746W
Release Date: November 18, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 100% Perfect. INCLUDES ART BOOK! Ships 1st Class. US Retail version, non-rental.
|
| Features:
| • | Tomb Raider: Underworld for Nintendo PlayStation 3 by Eidos resumes where Tomb Raider: Legend left off and introduces a new, interactive playing environment | | • | Lara Croft explores a wide array places, such as the Arctic, Mexico, and beneath the Mediterranean Sea | | • | Environment is much more realistic and interactive -- footprints will be left in mud, for example, but only until it rains and then they will wash away | | • | Melee combat system that requires players to strategically strike with offensive, defensive, and evasive maneuvers | | • | Improved AI allows enemies and animals to make decisions based on surroundings, employ ambush and squad tactics, and even retreat if deemed necessary |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
Tomb Raider: Underworld for PlayStation 3 by Eidos resumes where Tomb Raider: Legend left off. This installment introduces a new, interactive playing environment that gives players a chance to immerse themselves more fully into the game. Players once again take the role of Lara Croft as she explores such wide-ranging places as the Arctic, Mexico, and beneath the Mediterranean Sea. 
Lara's environment is now much more realistic and interactive. View larger. | 
And now she can hold onto a ledge with one hand and fire a gun with the other. View larger. | Interactive Worlds Introduces Realistic gameplay
Unlike the previous games in the series, Lara's environment is now much more realistic and interactive. Footprints will be left in mud, for example, but only until it rains and then they will wash away. Lara's shirt will also get wet, and she's more likely to lose her grip if she is standing on a slippery, rain-soaked ledge. When the sun comes out, her shirt will dry and the slippery surfaces regain their friction. In Underworld, Lara also has a lot more flexibility in how she makes her way through a level, as there is often more than one way to get from here to there. She can now climb walls with texture and rocky outcroppings to reach areas she previously wouldn't have been able to access. All of these additions have been made to give the game a non-linear, open feel. Players can interactive with the environment by doing things they find to be intuitive, and the game will respond in an appropriate way. When Lara interacts with trees, for example, she will push aside leaves using either one or two hands depending on whether or not she's holding something. These details give a lifelike, immersive sensation to the game. New Melee Combat System
Underworld introduces a new melee combat system that requires players to strategically strike with offensive, defensive, and evasive maneuvers. Lara can now attack enemies with different punches, kicks, knees, and other acrobatic onslaughts. Items lying on the ground, such as poles that were previously walked on, can be picked up and swung at enemies. Players can also perform a greater variety of actions with weapons; for example, Lara can now hold onto a ledge with one hand and fire a gun with the other. Realistic Enemy and Animal AI
The AI in Tomb Raider: Underworld has also taken a big step forward--both enemies and animals now make independent decisions based on their surroundings, employ ambush and squad tactics when fighting, and will retreat if deemed necessary. With updated graphics and a more immersive and realistic gameplay, Tomb Raider: Underworld will have both fans and newcomers excited about the newest installment in this popular video game-pinup franchise.
  
Tomb Raider: Underworld is loaded with a new melee combat system, various weapons, and smarter AI for both enemies and animals.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 Lara is back in glorious HD November 20, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
If you have played Legend on PS2 and loved it... this one is all for you. A full fledged fan service. They have made the puzzles more streamlined and made the game levels bigger. The game continues where it left in the previous game. Lara is now casted by a different British model and all the animations are motion captured. The game difficulty is perfect this time. So far I liked how well it is paced. Lara also carries a PDA that can be used to solve puzzles. No random color matching puzzles, every thing is very organic. The game mainly stress on puzzles and platforming. Combat is mainly there as a diversion. You can always get away with a slow motion head shot.
The game does lack the level of polish. There are frame rate issues, my main complaint is the camera. The textures and polygons doesnt map one to one in some tricky locations. Technically it could have used some time more backing time. But what we have is amazing. If you like adventure, puzzles atleast give it a rent. It is very entertaining.
This game is a eye candy for sure with south Asian beaches and snowy artic caves. Lara craft play ground is jaw droopingly filled with details. A action adventure fans dream come true.
well, for what it's worth I like it November 20, 2008
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
I've been playing tomb raider games since they first came out, in those pyramid shaped boxes for the computer you remember it don't you? It was in the windows 95 era. I know it's been up and down for the series over the years, usually down. However I keep on buying them, and this time I wasn't disappointed. I like this game a lot. It's the same old thing, Not in a bad way, but well, you know how it goes. Explore the tomb/dungeon etc theme. The game comes also with a nice plot that connects well with the other TR legends game. Very nice really. The graphics and sound are top notch next-gen material as you might expect. There are some actually amazing moments in there. The gameplay is also fun and addictive and the puzzles are not too hard but not too easy really either. There are as usual, "sigh" some problems with bugs and glitchy behavior. On a couple of occasions I've had some serious discussions with the camera which sucks, I mean really sucks. Oh and there are some problems with movement, it's not as tight as you might expect leading to some untimely demises, and the annoyance of knowing it wasn't anything you did, it's just a glitchy control setup got ya killed. But hey it wouldn't be a TR game if it was perfect would it? No it wouldn't. Give it go, it won't disappoint anyone who ever liked a Tomb Raider game, really.
A fresh feel for an old classic. December 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The game developers have done an excellent job with an upgrade into next-generation gaming. As you may know, the "Tomb Raider" series has been around for over 12 years. This latest game does not miss a beat with a storyline surrounded by Norse mythology. I have recently played through most of the game... and am sure that I will play it through several more times. The latest "Tomb Raider" is a must have if you enjoy this type of adventure play.
Plenty of Treasure in this Find November 21, 2008
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
I've been a fan of Tomb Raider ever since I was young with the classics, and the mechanics of gameplay, puzzle-solving and combat seem to always work pretty damn well for the folks at Eidos. The same is true with the latest installment of the series, Tomb Raider: Underworld.
The game starts out by informing you of a video that ties the story together, which right away gives you the impression that this game is going to actually have a point, instead of just "Let's go to this random place for this artifact that existed thousands of years ago." Lara actually has a plan, and she is attempting to fulfill that plan. While you start off with the basic tutorial inside Lara's mansion, it's surprisingly on fire, and I won't spoil anything here, but there's a plot twist on why.
You dive right into the classic Tomb Raider puzzles almost immediately, but this time there have been a few twists and extras added. As was said in the preview, the environment feels more realistic. The PS3 does a tremendous job of providing seamless gameplay and Lara's movements are just absolutely amazing. Lifelike almost, as not only does her hair flutter across her back when she runs, jumps, flips, etc, but there also is a sense of how she interacts with the environment. She gets dirty from climbing all those walls, and a simple jump into a pool of water, and she's all clean again.
In addition to the tremendous visual effects seen which will really give you a "WOW" factor each time you enter the next big room with architecture and another mind-boggling puzzle to solve, you sometimes can really get lost in the world of Tomb Raider, which is exactly what the developers intended. Underworld also has this sense of freedom to it, as you no longer have to go "ONE WAY" to get to your destination. You'll find multiple paths to get where you need to go, and each one has multiple secrets to find, which some are very cleverly hidden.
Another addition here, is multi-room challenges. You enter a room and hit a switch which opens a gate somewhere else, then you spend 45 minutes working on the next puzzle which ends up eventually sending you back out to solve the first puzzle. Like I said, you can solve them in any order you like, but the game has this sense of doing it yourself instead of "Oh man, not this again."
The combat and movement systems have all been refined too. Lara can now jump off walls and chimney up to the top of platforms, she can hang off a wall and shoot a gun with one hand, holding the ledge with the other. She has all new melee moves and plenty of other tricks that are sure to impress any puzzle junkie like myself. Her motorcycle is also a tool that can be used, and the grappling hook is actually *quite* useful, compared to previous games where it might have been used 5 times the entire game. The only gripe I have with the combat system is a lack of a cover system. You will run guns blaring into a bunch of enemies and just hope they don't shoot and kill you, because your weapons are like always (weak pistols) and you can't dodge bullets really. The adrenaline system to slow time down will surely save you time and time again.
Remember those button-pressing cutscenes from Legend and Anniversary? Those are now gone, and the game expects you to figure out what the logical move is when the camera slows down for some sort of cutscene like that of predecessors. It works very well, and is quite rewarding when you're unsure of what to do exactly and you get saved at the last second from a jump, grapple, etc.
The sound quality is astounding, as you feel submerged in the game and environment. Granted that I was playing it on a 50" plasma 1080p HD TV, but nonetheless, the sound and graphics were more than enough to keep me glued to the game for several hours at a time.
The game also gives you the ability to use Lara's PDA to not only assist you with finding where to go, but you can get hints for what to look for, or if you're really stumped, exactly what to do. I encourage you not to use these hints, as they really spoil the beautiful puzzles that have been so carefully crafted by the developers to create a montage of epic proportions.
I'm not really understanding why the game reviewers have lately been so hard on video games. Is it because 'next-gen' is supposed to mean like controlling everything with so much ease and perfection, that all games are getting 7's and 8's. Well my vote is definitely higher than that, and I think if you shell out the money to add this to your collection, you will definitely agree...Tomb Raider is a great find.
Lara! January 6, 2009
I am a huge fan of the Tomb Raider games, and was excited to learn about a new game.
Graphics - 5/5
Beautiful! It looks realistic. Everything looks great and I loved the details and background. I felt like I was really there.
Sound - 4/5
Decent. Not very memorable, but I liked it. The sound effects were pretty good. The soundtrack was okay, but I used it more as a warning (when the music got louder, an attack would usually follow, and when all my enemies were dead, it would fade again.)
Controls - 5/5
They were pretty good. Lara had more moves, which was fun, although it was annoying when she would sometimes ignore the button I pressed. The camera did tend to get jerked a bit, but other than that, pretty good.
Scariness - 4/5
I can recall times when something would jump out of me and I would scream like crazy, but this only happened a couple times.
Plot - 4/5
The plot continued the "Mommy/Daddy" storyline. It was finally ended (finally!) in this game. I was getting a bit irritated. If another game is put out, there had better be a new storyline. It would be nice if Lara would go after something because she wanted it, not because "I want to know the truth about Mommy."
Fun stuff - 2/5
I love unlocking extra stuff in games through extra points (new outfits, bonus areas, new weapons, cheats) and this area was a disappointment. You pick up treasures and get to unlock concept art, which is not as exciting. I was disappointed.
Overall, I loved the game and would love another. Just one note: please, please, please more motorbike time. I loved having solid levels just riding around my motorcycle in Legend, and I missed it here.
|
The Nintendo Wii goes on sale on Sunday, November 19. Thanks to the inclusion of the simple--but infectiously fun--Wii Sports game, the Wii is the first console in recent memory that lets you have fun straight out of the box. Still, there are a few key Wii accessories you'll want to pick up to maximize your Wii experience--especially if you're buying it as a gift.
Extra controllers: Like all recent consoles, the Wii ships with just a single controller (well, one two-part controller: one Wiimote, plus one nunchuk). But the real fun of the system is playing the head-to-head Wii Sports games such as tennis and boxing. To do so, you'll need at least one extra set of controllers--and again, that's one Wiimote ($28.99) plus one nunchuk ($12.99). The Wii supports as many as four, but just the one extra controller set should suffice--at least for Christmas morning.
Rechargeable batteries: The Wiimote takes two standard AA batteries. They're included--with the Wii, and with the sold-separately version of the controller mentioned above--but avid players may find the juice draining pretty quickly, especially if they keep the nunchuk attached (it draws its power from the Wiimote). Instead of buying an endless stream of costly AAs, consider investing in a set of rechargeables. You can score a charger and four rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride batteries for less than $25.
GameCube controllers: The Wii is fully backwards compatible with the Nintendo GameCube, but there's a catch: to play the GameCube games, you'll need a GameCube controller ($15.99). You can even go wireless with the Nintendo WaveBird ($59.99). If you already have a GameCube, your existing controllers will work just fine--just plug them in to one of the four ports underneath the flip-up panel on the Wii's topside. GameCube controllers should also work with the Wii's "Virtual Console" games--which saves you the trouble of having to buy a Classic Controller.
GameCube memory cards: One other annoyance when playing GameCube games: your progress can only be saved to GameCube memory cards, not to the Wii's internal memory or to an SD card (we're hoping Nintendo fixes this with a future firmware update). Like the controllers, your old GC cards will work just fine--there are two slots right next to the GameCube controller ports. If you don't have any onhand (and you want to save your games on GC titles), you'll need to spring for a $26.90 (2GB) memory card.
Wii Points: One of the big attactions of the Wii is its Virtual Console, which lets you purchase classic games that originally came from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Super NES, the Nintendo 64, the Sega Genesis, and the TurboGrafx16. By the end of 2006, at least 30 titles should be available, including Donkey Kong (NES), Super Mario 64 (N64), and Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis). To purchase the downloadable titles, you'll need to use a Nintendo currency known as Wii Points (similar to the Microsoft Points on Xbox Live), which currently have an exchange rate of 100 points per U.S. dollar. You can buy Wii Points directly through the console's online store, or use prepaid cards (2000 Wii Points) available in various denominations.
SD card: If you're close to filling the Wii's built-in 512MB of storage with your Virtual Console games, you can always expand your available space with an SD card. Nintendo sells its own, but any run-of-the-mill card will do. Fairly spacious 1GB cards are available for less than $20--even less with mail-in rebates--and they'll work in plenty of other gadgets as well.
Wireless access point: In addition to the downloadable Virtual Console games, the Wii offers online "channels," including news, weather, and even an Opera Web browser (head-to-head online gaming is said to be coming sometime in 2007). You can get online for free via the Wii's built-in Wi-Fi. To do so, of course, you'll need a nearby wireless access point or router. Alternately, you can plug the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector into any nearby PC on a wired network, and the Wii--plus your Nintendo DS--will be able to use it to get online instead.
Component video adapter: The Wii doesn't have the graphical horsepower to handle high-def graphics, but it can do DVD-level 480p video, which will look considerably better on large HDTVs. To see the Wii's games in 480p, you'll need Nintendo's proprietary component video adapter, which should run about $20. |
|
|
|
|
www.seeker-wii.com | |
