Tomb Raider: Underworld Preview

This is our first look at Underworld's Thailand level

So far, so very good. Underworld is looking lovely, with some superb graphical effects and gameplay improvements. But we want to see some dank tomb raidering, elaborate puzzles and more switch pushes to satisfy even the most obsessive of, erm, obsessive compulsives, which is, after all, what's best about Tomb Raider. Adam obliges, and enters the temple.

Two huge stone statues lay at the bottom of the temple - Shiva resting on top of her mistress Kali, two Hindu goddesses with arms outstretched in iconic pose. Viewed from Lara's high position, we can see just how big the interior is, with more nooks and crannies than we're capable of digesting in the time we've got to take it all in. The temple is one giant puzzle, and it's up to the player to explore, work out what needs to be done to progress and execute.

A nearby lift provides the most obvious route down to the statues, but for some reason, it doesn't work. Adam takes the opportunity to show us Underworld's built in 'help on demand' system, accessed through Lara's PDA. It reveals a hint, in this case a voice over that says: "Something is stopping the lift from working." Yeah, we gathered that. Still stuck, we ask for a more detailed hint. "We don't want to give you the exact solution," Adam says. "We just want to give the user a good helping hand." Might the help system prove too good to ignore, even when you might not really need it? Perhaps, but expect to be adequately rewarded via achievements if you resist the temptation.

Having freed the lift from the shackles of its chains, Lara takes a nice ride down, then bang, something goes wrong, time slows down and another 'adrenaline moment' kicks in. Unlike the player triggered adrenaline moment however, this QTE replacement is designed to give the player just enough time to assess the situation and, instead of waiting for a big button prompt, use the control scheme that the player has been using throughout the game to survive. Adam attempts to use the grapple to save Lara from certain death. He fails.

Could Underworld be the best Tomb Raider yet? We'll have to wait and see.

On the temple floor Lara is assaulted by a new enemy, the Naga - a mythical serpent-like creature that spits acid at anything that moves. But that's not the only reason why they're a fearsome foe. "One of the criticisms we've always had with Tomb Raider is that if you want to get away from an enemy you can quickly go up to a higher level," Adam says. "These guys will actually climb the walls after you, in a first for Tomb Raider. They're pretty dangerous."

With the Naga sorted it's on to the temple's main puzzle - lowering Shiva's arms. The trick is to place hidden gems (for the purposes of the demo they're easy to find, expect to be searching long and hard) in Shiva's palms, creating beams of light that, in true Raiders of the Lost Ark style, point the way to glory. The light needs to be properly reflected via a figure of eight puzzle with moving statues. Once appropriately positioned, the light causes Kali to push down her arms and reveal a secret passage underneath the temple. And it's here that the demo ends.

Bar some minor niggles we're hugely enthusiastic about Underworld. Lara's swimming animation looks ropey, especially when compared with the quality motion-captured gymnastic moves she now has at her disposal. The melee combat, while welcome, looks incredibly fiddly and the camera suffered from the occasional fit during our demo. But there can be no doubt about the aesthetic quality, Lara, and the virtual world she is going to explore, has never looked better.

Gameplay wise though Underworld is Tomb Raidering as it should be. Plenty of puzzles, lots of swinging about and the occasional face off with oversized cats. It's more of the same, but refined, improved, darker, perhaps grittier, and certainly more realistic. Subtle improvements like the free wall climb system and Lara pushing foliage and getting dirty, combine to impress.

We love the fact that Tomb Raider is still, to this day, a predominantly solitary, single-player experience. And a very intense one at that. Ambient sound, claustrophobic caverns, mysterious temples, all to be explored without the help of anyone. We can't wait.

Tomb Raider: Underworld is due out for DS, PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360 on November 21 2008.