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Posted 04 April 2009 - 12:21 PM
TOMB RAIDER UNDERWORLD AND THE FUTURE GAME - SUGGESTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS!
Although Square Enix (like Eidos with the previous games) will have a big influence on Crystal Dynamics in terms of production of the game, they're obviously not going to turn the game into some kind of Asian RPG genre.
I do think the game needs a huge makeover though. Legend and Anniversary for the time were spot on and provided a great basis to work upon for the next-gen consoles. Some TR fans say Underworld was improved, but to be honest it wasn't. The thing that did improve was the visuals -- the environments were great and really detailed which made playing it a lot nicer.
But everything else was the same as the old engine from TRL&TRA. I know some Tomb Raider fans gasp at the thought of it, but TOMB RAIDER IS NOT GOING TO SURVIVE IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY WITHOUT COMBAT. When I say combat, I mean combat which we are seeing in games such as Uncharted and Resident Evil 5. This includes:
- Cover system! A cover system is simply where you can hide behind an obstacle such as a wall and when it's safe to shoot you can pop up and aim at your target. Here's an example of a cover system in a game and an example of where Underworld could have benefited from one:
Nathan in cover, where the player can wait until it's appropriate to aim at the enemy in the distance:
Here, Lara is on the boat on the first level of Underworld. I couldn't find a big picture, but ultimately I found this a vital place to have cover as there were so many big things to cover next to such as the cargo boxes, instead of having to run straight in and be faced with lots of enemies at once draining your health:
- Manual Aiming and a better HUD for weapons! What I mean for manual aiming is the kind of aiming that you can do on Underworld if you press the right analogue stick. Instead of automatic aiming with target recticles, manual aiming gives you a much better and accurate experience with combat. Also, if you're up close to an enemy and don't have time to manually aim then you could have the option like on Uncharted to shoot free-hand from the hip to quickly stun an enemy, therefore giving you time to aim properly. Better HUD for weapons simply means that you have an actual meter of how much ammo you have on the screen, which on Underworld you did not. So for example, instead of having guns which have random dots on the corner of the screen, you start off with your pistols and maybe a second weapon and throughout the game you can pick up more ammunition which enemies have dropped, just like in the classic games. HAVING THE OPTION TO GO AND CHOSE MORE WEAPONS FROM THE MENU SCREEN WITH LOTS OF AMMO REMOVES THE CHALLENGE AND SURVIVAL-FEEL TO THE GAME.
Example of manual aiming and a better HUD for weapons on Uncharted:
- Better AI & Body Part Reactions! A lot of my gaming friends complained to me that the AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Underworld had not changed from TRL&TRA. For example, if you went into manual aim on Underworld (by clicking the right stick) you couldn't for example do a headshot. The enemies on Underworld did not have programmed body parts which react in different ways when shot. For example, in a game like Uncharted or Resident Evil 5 if you shoot an enemy in the head then they will die, simply because in real life this would happen. If you shoot someone in the head on Underworld, because the AI is basic it will stay alive and will probably remain alive if you continued shooting it repeatedly. Other examples of games with good AI would be things like shooting arms, it causes the enemy to fall back slightly or maybe yell out in pain. In Underworld the AI is emotionless, it's like shooting a brick wall.
Example of programmed AI on Fallout 3:
- Brand new storyline! Crystal Dynamics, for the love of God, let that poor Atlantean Godess die. Natla, Amanda, wipe them out completely. Start a new storyline, whether it be a one-game story or maybe one which spawns a few sequels, it needs to be new. A lot of people were put off by Underworld simply because they had no knowledge of the previous storylines from Legend and Anniversary which can be stupid because they should have played the others, but Crystal could've tried to appeal to new TR players and maybe put a long cinematic at the start to explain TRL&TRA. Some could argue that after the gripping final cutscene of Legend, the story would finally be resolved in Underworld. I, like many others, feel that the storyline ending for Underworld was weak and at times very predictable. To attract new customers, you need a new and fresh storyline. Oh and while you're at it -- maybe you could bring back some classic things which people used to love about Tomb Raider? The mansion: assault course, quad biking, secret rooms, the swimming pool, etc. More involvement with Zip and the gang on the headset? This for me added a great atmosphere to Legend and sadly apart from briefly in 'Beneath the Ashes' it did not appear once in Underworld. There are SO many things Lara could do, why not be creative and encounter her on a new adventure? Nothing is impossible for her, we know this!
- Better support for the other platforms, in particular the PS3 and PC! Now I know that at the end of the day, Microsoft did nothing wrong with spending some money for exclusive DLC packs. It's good business, which Eidos and Crystal Dynamics are obviously going to love. (Which business wouldn't like to get some extra money?!) But the argument is that a lot of Playstation and PC players felt ignored. Although the DLC packs in my opinion weren't exactly five stars, they would have been fantastic add-ons for the other gamers, which by the way from sales states that the majority of people who bought Underworld bought it for the PS3! A demo for the PS3? A DEMO BEFORE THE GAMES RELEASE CAN HEAVILY INFLUENCE THE NUMBER OF SALES IT GETS AT LAUNCH. So many people I know from the PS3 community simply did not buy Underworld because many other games were coming out at the time and they did not want to risk spending £30 ($60/€35) on a game which they didn't know how it played. Trophies? Because trophies are a fairly new addition to the PS3, many people love to have games with trophies. Having a worker from Eidos post a thread on the official forums stating that they're 'looking into it' is not good enough! It has been over five months since the launch of Underworld, does it really take five months to develop a trophy patch, especially as there was an invidual company who worked on porting the PS3 version of the game?
To conclude, if the Tomb Raider franchise is going to survive alonside the current games in the industry today, improvements like the ones I have mentioned above are vital to gaining success and gaining good feedback from reviewers who are currently saying that games like Uncharted are the 'new Tomb Raider'. Feel free to post anymore suggestions! 
lol.
