Game Description
Tomb Raider: Underworld is a single player, action-adventure video game. The game is presented in third person perspective,
where the player takes control of Lara Croft. Lara's environment
reproduces a more "interactive world that reacts and remembers", such
that footprints left in the mud or mud transferred to Lara's knee from
kneeling on the ground is washed away by rain, the bodies of the foes
she encounters remain where she killed them, and any destruction to the
environment she causes are permanent. According to creative director
Eric Lindstrom, this is "to not only reward the player for the effect
they're having on the world, but to give them navigational aids."
The game uses an animation blending system that allows Lara to interact
dynamically with her environment, such as pushing foliage aside with
one or two hands, depending on if she is carrying a weapon. It also features a "hybrid lighting model that combines dynamic lights
with carefully created light maps" and a weather system that changes
the environment, for example, "If Lara’s negotiating a wet ledge she’s
more apt to slip or lose grip," which makes "the environment [...] her
adversary" for a large part of the game.
Lindstrom explained that they integrated the elements of climbing, shooting and puzzle solving. This instalment also features a new melee combat
system, requiring Lara in some instances to use "direct combat and
evasive manoeuvres to distance herself from her attacker". Notably,
Lara's bike, among other things, is a key component in solving the
puzzles she will encounter in her adventure. Pick-ups
have multiple uses as weapons and tools in interaction with the
environment, and Lindstrom stated that Lara "can also split up her guns
and fire at two different targets simultaneously," or hold an item with one hand and fire a gun with the other. The grappling hook
can be stretched taut and used to pull objects off ledges, illustrating
what project lead Rob Pavey said, that "Lara will be able to do
anything that you'd expect her to be able to do," which he called "the
big theme this year."
Lindstrom describes this as "a philosophy called 'What Could Lara
Do?'—WCLD. It's short-hand for having the player be able to use their
own intuition about what someone with her abilities should be able to do
in an environment such as this, and consistency across the different
mechanics and abilities. If she can throw a grenade, then if she can
pick up this pole, why can't she throw it?" Crystal Dynamics also made
the game non-linear, offering elaborate multi-stage puzzles.
