It doesn’t add much – maybe fifteen minutes of additional gameplay overall – but it’s nice to see regardless. One of the most puzzling things about the original release of Underworld for some people was the miniscule size of the Croft Manor chapter, and that’s exactly what the Wii version addresses. Next comes arguably the best addition to this version of the game: the Croft Manor catacombs. The structure on the right does not exist in normal versions of Underworld, but unlike most of the Wii port’s additions, it actually fits in with the rest of the environment quite well. Not sure why they put the effort in there specifically but hey, I’ll take it. There, we see that said temple has a whole new wing, and it’s rendered very faithfully: it genuinely looks like it’s a part of the building that in the canon of the base game has collapsed. Let’s quickly go over some of these differences now.įirst, Thailand: the level plays out similarly to the original all the way up to the destroyed bridge that leads to the temple. It’s not good but to me, it was quite exciting to see the game I thought I knew for many years being different, if that makes any sense. And sort of fascinating, in a morbid kind of way. Seeing a non-canon version of this game’s universe from an alternate reality is… weird. I mentioned that the changes this port brings to the table are interesting. If you have played Underworld before however, be it on PC, Xbox 360 or PS3, the Wii version might be worth knowing about – not playing, god no – just being aware of. These elements were clearly added by people who had no involvement with the original game, and they make the whole thing feel artificial. Why are there generic levers that clearly don’t match their environment stylistically, copy-pasted all over the place? Why are there random metal plates plastered across the walls in Niflheim? Why do certain objects – like Thor’s statues, for instance − have completely different textures that aren’t even close to what they’re supposed to look like? Why are there terrible-looking sliding block puzzles in places they clearly don’t belong in, sticking out like a sore thumb? There’s no artistic cohesion to any of this. This version’s additions to the base experience make it look like a cheap mobile tie-in game. But here’s the problem: most of the new stuff in it is of considerably worse quality and generally feels out of place. It’s Underworld, but it’s a bit different. And at first glance, that should sound intriguing to the already existing fans of the game − I know that’s what drew me to it. What makes this port interesting is that certain parts of the levels are either altered, completely cut, or replaced with brand new content. The Wii Lara isn’t real, she can’t hurt you… No, really, few as they may be, they are there, I remember the final boss at least being actually sort of fun… But will you care about those handful of good moments in a game that’s so wildly inconsistent in its quality, jumping from serviceable to unbearable every half an hour? Of course not, you’re gonna remember the bad parts. I swear to you, there are moments in Devil’s Third that I would consider to be good. Then the game exceeds your expectations by putting you through a section that is a dozen times worse than anything you’ve seen before in it. Then you reach a level that is just terrible through and through. You play the opening couple of chapters, and they’re alright. Devil’s Third wasn’t just bad: it was very inconsistent in its badness. Simply saying that it’s awful doesn’t explain what’s actually wrong with it. But here’s the thing: among all this shouting no one really bothered to examine that game beyond the surface level. Even if you’re not following Nintendo, you’ve likely heard of this title because everybody at the time of its release was screaming at the top of their lungs about how dreadful it was. To illustrate exactly how terrible this port is, I have to bring up one of the most notorious games of the past decade as a point of comparison: Devil’s Third. It’s so bad in fact that I had to repeatedly tell myself I was doing this for work because playing it made me feel absolutely miserable at points. Maybe I should check it out?” And that, my friends, is how I subjected myself to actual literal torture because this version of Underworld is utterly awful. I bought both pieces of DLC for it (and had a pretty good time with them), I replayed the main story a couple of times, and then I thought “Hey. Long story short, I ended up wanting more of this game. Most of this video is dedicated to me criticising Underworld, so you’ll have to just trust me when I say that I actually like this game.
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