New Tomb Raider "Underworld" out in November

I was not a fan of the first Tomb Raider. For some strange reason I did not find the gameplay appealing and the amount of times you had to go through the same stage to get it right made it seem like more of a chore. However, all that changed when I played the most recent instalment of the game which was atmospheric and very exciting. However, I am strictly a PC gamer and all the fancy new controls make it impossible for me to play anything that complex. But I do love to watch others play.

So I am hoping that my ex-flatmate gets the new Tomb Raider, Underworld, which is due for release in November (18th for the US, 21st overseas). Having checked out trailers and TV spots on the game it looks incredible. The design team has used a combination of new lighting and shading technologies, in combination with some old school technologies just for shading, giving the game the quality of an old film.

These stunning visual designs are put to good use in the new environments that have been created for the game which takes you deeper and deeper underground. The game kicks off in the middle of the Mediterranean sea where Lara is looking for some underwater ruins while battling sharks (use the sticky grenade), and as she continues on her quest has to follow underground passageways through ruins, where natural predators give way to supernatural guardians.

Some of the monsters are enormous and extremely well designed in all details. Lara will also be able to fight them using her new moves that allow her to fire at two different targets with her two guns simultaneously and to even use melee attacks while firing if she is surrounded by several creatures. There are also brand new moves for Lara to be able to traverse through the environments, ant they look like they were taken out of an Olympic gymnastics set.

The game looks seriously good and designers claim that gameplay is challenging but not punishing. I know that there are Lara fans out there pre-ordering as we speak. Retailers are sure to run out quickly, but you can save yourself the wait in the queue and just pre-order from HMV, Play.com, or Tesco. There is also a selection of clips on YouTube that feature gameplay and trailers for the game.