View Full Version : Did anyone else feel that the last levels were...
...not actual levels? The game is short, I get it, but levels like Rituals Old and Yggdrasil? Really? Just running around killing mercenaries and thralls? I was expecting TRU to become harder/longer as I played, apparently it wasn't the case, considering I was playing about a level a day, but they became so short I decided to get it over with.
Up to that point, the game was very very good to me, specially Thailand, Mexico and Jan Mayen Island levels, but after getting Thor's hammer... I feel something went wrong. I'll admit that killing all those thralls using the hammah in the corridors was fun, I love to see them fly, but it could and should have been more elaborate in my opinion, specially when you realize it's the last level. It should be harder, but unfortunately it wasn't. To me, finishing it (I'm counting Andaman Sea and all of the Arctic Sea levels) was easier than completing the Croft Manor level, for example.
I enjoyed the game as a whole, but I would be lying if I said the last levels didn't let me down. The game's very good nonetheless.
ajrich17901
30-11-08, 21:45
I still think the final level was cut in some way something seems to be missing from it.
Ilie_Fusarau
30-11-08, 21:47
I still think the final level was cut in some way something seems to be missing from it.
Indeed !:mad:
They may have been running out of time towards the end - because the 'Maze' in Valhalla and the corridors of Thralls in Helheim were by far the lowpoints of the game for me. Pretty much everything else I really enjoyed - but these seemed quite boring.
Always the case with last levels in recent Tomb Raider titles. Eidos keep rushing them.
Andaman Sea was such a boring level... it would have been cool if they knocked Lara out and stole the hammer and she needs to escape and get the hammer. We could look for keys, explore more of the ship interior. Instead, they just took the geometry from the first ship and changed it up a bit. The final level should have definitely been longer...Natla was such an epic boss! We should have been able to fight her!!!
Nerd For Life
30-11-08, 21:53
yeah I feel the same way. I'm in the last level.
I was in the middle of the game thinking I had a long way to go.. but nah. After getting the hammer stuff just look... rushed.
jeffrey van oort
30-11-08, 22:38
I did not liked the arctic level. I am just being honest. It started out great with Lara blowing up the ice, but the creditability decayed when she went in wearing that yellow blackish swimsuit. I liked the sharks. I liked the cutscenes. I did not like the conclusion and I did not like not seeing how the others got there.
I did not liked the artic level. I am just being honest. It started out great with Lara blowing up the ice, but the creditability decayed when she went in wearing that yellow blackish swimsuit.
Just blame yourself for not picking the drysuit! :ton:
Perverts :cln:
jeffrey van oort
30-11-08, 22:58
Just blame yourself for not picking the drysuit! :ton:
Perverts :cln:
To be honest, on my first play through I was not even aware she was going to the Arctic Sea.
To be honest, on my first play through I was not even aware she was going to the Arctic Sea.
Apparently, Amanda wasn't aware of that either, given her outfit when she shows up to help Lara.
You know what I thought?
I thought that the second ship level was an EXACT replica of the first one...with added weather effects. Even the enemies were placed in the same place as the first ship level. Talk about major laziness.
I thought I encountered a major bug and just replayed that first ship level until I reached a different cut scene.:p
But yeah, I agree, the last levels felt really rushed, and really random at times.
I think what ticked me off that most was how they ended the whole Lara-finding-her-mother story. I mean, we spend two whole games trying to figure it out and then CD takes like 30 seconds to end it by making her mommy into a zombie (or thrall).
The last levels didn't feel as lively and detailed as Thailand, Mexico, and the Med. Could be that the proto-Norse/Atlantean folks just had an incredibly bland taste in architecture :p
The last levels didn't feel as lively and detailed as Thailand, Mexico, and the Med. Could be that the proto-Norse/Atlantean folks just had an incredibly bland taste in architecture :p
Could be, but they did place their ledges more conveniently for the female explorer they somehow foresaw to come in the future. :p
CrazyMonkey
01-12-08, 00:04
Could be that Eidos pushed the game out the release doors without letting CD finish. Oh and made the ending DLC. :D
cat_dancing
01-12-08, 00:05
the all game was boring!!!
I felt as if I am back in elementary school gymnastic class
the pazzles was so anticipated and easy.
what happened to the giant stone globe and deadly traps?
big bad boss who fight back and quest agains time?
rival antagonist and vicious natives?
btw
I think the black panters looked astonishing
frodrigues
01-12-08, 00:15
The underworlds - all of them - were quite a disappointment for me. There's nothing underworldy on Thaliand, and Xibalba/Valhalla/Helheim are basically equal and nothing puts them apart from each other. Just a bunch of stone and a bunch of the same undead enemies.
LaraCablara
01-12-08, 00:16
Am I the only one who liked the last few levels (except for that boat) :whi:
I think what ticked me off that most was how they ended the whole Lara-finding-her-mother story. I mean, we spend two whole games trying to figure it out and then CD takes like 30 seconds to end it by making her mommy into a zombie (or thrall).
Yea, there's that, too. I never expected to find her mother alive and everything, just like I didn't expect their meeting would happen the way it did.
Lara: Mother?
Zombie Mom: Gahhhh
Lara: No no no no no no
Zombie Mom: Gahhhhh
*Lara shoots*
All those "where's mom and dad cutscenes" for this?
- - -
And no, you probably weren't the only one who liked them. But I didn't find them to be anything special.
tranniversary119
01-12-08, 00:34
Just like Atlantis in TRA sorta. I thought the long endless corridors with thralls coming at you just got sickening. But the huge puzzle at the end made up for all that :D
coolaideonfire
01-12-08, 01:06
Yes I disliked the last portion of the game very much. It took such a nose dive after Mexico and Jay Mayen Islands (or whatever it's called lol). The ending seemed rushed and uninspired compared to the earlier levels and storyline. Like, we got the hammer now lets get it over with in a flash. Also, the last portion of the game seemed to be all shades of grey and blue!
I actually found the whole game quite mundane though. Everything just felt rushed, convenient and generally incomplete. The puzzles were on a larger and more epic scale but that alone does not make them challenging, they were still simple. The levels were larger but that alone does not make them explorable and non-linear, they still were everything we disliked about TRL/TRA. I could go on... but I think the negativity here is wearing thin now.
omega13lives
01-12-08, 05:32
Yeah, one thing that was extremely disappointing was the Kraken. I mean, why is there a spikey thing hovering above its head? and why does it NEVER attack Lara during the whole puzzle solving thing? Just silly. And most of the time on the last level, Natla just throws fireballs at the ground nowhere near Lara and doesn't even attack at all during the risky jumping to different floating stones. And what a lame-a$$ finish. No Boss fights at ALLL?????
The end of the game felt so rushed in my opinion, the first four levels were great but what the heck happened?
I have the distinct memory of Lara taking Excalibur out of the device in Bolivia after the confrontation with Amanda in TR:L. Yet, she never uses it as a weapon once in TR:U, and when you finally get Mjolnir it behaves almost exactly like Excalibur does.
I found myself wondering why on earth all this effort was spent to get a weapon that has no more effect than one she already has. I know she needed the hammer to open the door to Helheim, but if she wanted to mow through Amanda's ship and threaten Natla, she already had something of comparable power.
I really liked the final level's puzzle. I know it was a fairly simple solution, but I was in awe of the scope of it, even if it reminded me of the two reactor sequences in Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2 Episode 1.
I agree with everyone when they say it feels rushed. After TR:L, I expected this to a be longer than it was.
Edit: checked the ending of TR:L, and Lara does carry off Excalibur at the end. Kind of makes you wonder why Amanda didn't send the doppleganger after that instead of the Wraith Stone.
It seems (by playing & looking) they worked quite a lot on the Thailand & Mexico stages. But not as much on the last two. I think TR could be much better if CD were given more time & money to develop the next TR.
ValinKronas
01-12-08, 07:14
well .. as i tryed to collect all tresures the game really didn't feel very short :tea:
but i never had so many bugs in a tomb raider game like in underworld... :(
i guess the release of the game before x-mas was more important
what a pitty
yes, they were short i would of thought that they would of been much longer.
toxicraider
01-12-08, 19:07
Yes I disliked the last portion of the game very much. It took such a nose dive after Mexico and Jay Mayen Islands (or whatever it's called lol). The ending seemed rushed and uninspired compared to the earlier levels and storyline. Like, we got the hammer now lets get it over with in a flash. Also, the last portion of the game seemed to be all shades of grey and blue!
I actually found the whole game quite mundane though. Everything just felt rushed, convenient and generally incomplete. The puzzles were on a larger and more epic scale but that alone does not make them challenging, they were still simple. The levels were larger but that alone does not make them explorable and non-linear, they still were everything we disliked about TRL/TRA. I could go on... but I think the negativity here is wearing thin now.
Yeah my sentiments exactly, the last level felt like they just wanted to finished the mummy, natla, amanda story without actually doing much for the gameplay. Thailand was by far the most impressive level imo.
The way Lara killed Natla was pretty disapointing imo. Throwing the hammer from what seemed like miles away just didn't seem convincing enough.
Overall I liked the last few levels though. Yes they were a bit bland and looked pretty much the same but I still wanted to keep playing. And I also liked the scene where Lara finally found her mother. The voice acting and everything made it perfect.
Weemanply109
01-12-08, 21:17
I still think the final level was cut in some way something seems to be missing from it.
There was quite a bit cut from the TRU storyline such as jessica and Professor Eddinton part and probably others :(
the last few levels where crap except for jormungandr and the hammer hall. the valhalla maze was boring hallways and hellheim was just a lot of uninspired corridors. jormungandr was nice, but the way natla was acting was still weird. attacking on places where i don't even stand, and either i was standing there 10 seconds ago. finishing of natla could have been done a lot better too.:(
IT'S ALL ĢIDO$'$ FAULT!!1!!!1 :hea::mad::mad::cen::hea:
LostRaider
01-12-08, 21:50
The first puzzle in the Arctic with the huge statues was fun but after that it was just swimming through tunnels and a short little platforming sequence. Then we had the fun thrall halls which were fun but the level felt incomplete.
The very end seemed to be a great final puzzle though! Had a very big and epic feel like a Tomb Raider should have. I think Natla's fire attacks were more ment to block the players progression in one direction and lead them some where else (even though it wasn't effective as you could just walk around them)
About the hammer, I think Thor was able to throw it and have it return to him like a boomerang. I don't think Natla died though. She just fell and she had wings and enough room to fly I think. Even if she hit the Eitr I don't think it would kill her. She could just come back as Thrall Natla. This could be the case with the Doppleganger, she could come back as a thrall or Natla may have more hidden somewhere.
it's all Ģido$'$ fault!!1!!!1 :hea::mad::mad::cen::hea:
E-i-d-o-s.
Big Lara Fan
01-12-08, 22:04
To be honest, I didn't feel they were rushed at all. And I was even rushing on my first play through without exploring! (Was borrowing a friend's 360 at his house :p).
Anyways, I do agree though that the ending kind of left me sitting there like "Wtf?".. but the DLC chapters will make up for that. :D
AND OMG That friggen Natla puzzle took me over 4 hours to do! I could not figure out for the life of me what to do to get the last 2 buttresses (lol :vlol:) destroyed. 4 hours on one puzzle!! I love you CD :D :hug:
Edit: Tbh, I didn't even know buttress was a word until I used the field assistance and Lara kept saying "I need to climb over here and do this to destroy the last buttress." :vlol: :D
One of the biggest opportunities they missed I thought was with that lovely sunken structure (with walkway and Viking statues) under the Arctic Sea.
We should have resurfaced it somehow - that should have been no. 1 objective. And then we could have walked down that grand walkway as intended. Plus the structure itself could have had numerous unreachable areas in the water that were only accessible when dry...
The possiblities were limitless for an old-TR style mega "level-as-puzzle" situation there.
Wasted. :(
And as for the rest of game after that... It was like they'd given up by that stage, or thought that we would have.
I felt like they repeated a lot of levels. Such as the beginning to the Artic expedition, it was very similar to the beginning of the Med Expedition and the boat scene in the Med level and the Andaman sea were practically the same. Thailand and Mexico were pretty unique but the levels were structured nearly the same: Find objects to big puzzle = entrance to other part of level.
Croft Manor was one of my favourite levels but was way too short and a little neglected.
But I agree, I felt from Jan Mayen onwards it felt very rushed.
I'll admit that I didn't really like the last level(s). I found the scenery a bit drab and repetitive as well as the combat, etc. I dunno. The hammer did kind of ruin it for me too. I still enjoyed the game though!
I do like Thailand a lot. It's probably the prettiest level. But I really enjoyed the huge deep sea diving levels.
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