But, despite its flaws, the game provides plenty of satisfaction, tantalizing your brain with the seductive titillation of…three-dimensional puzzle-solving. Lara Croft returns to the remains of Croft Manor in order to find a powerful artifact hidden in a mysterious centuries-old labyrinth deep beneath the estate. This is where Tomb Raider déjà vu takes hold, making one think unfortunate thoughts like, “Didn’t I already scale this rock wall/solve this puzzle/kill these creatures a thousand times over in the previous seven games?” As usual, the action is still the weak link in the chain here targeting and killing enemies is a nuisance at best. Beneath the Ashes is an all-new level that extends the Tomb Raider: Underworld experience. Yet after the opening level, the game shifts to the far-too-familiar jungle backdrop. Underworld gets off to a snappy start, with Croft, alone, exploring the Mediterranean depths, and eventually stumbling upon a huge octopus, which seems content to sit still and groan while Croft clambers about its lair, solving the puzzle that will eventually spell its demise. As usual, Lara Croft-whose boobs can’t possibly be real (on a number of different levels)-sets off on yet another globe-spanning adventure in search of yet another artifact. The eighth game in the Tomb Raider series feels perhaps a bit too familiar.
