Tomb Raider: Underworld

Tomb Raider: Underworld, also known as Tomb Raider 8, is the eighth game in the Tomb Raider series and the third game in the series to be developed by Crystal Dynamics. It will resume the adventure from where Tomb Raider: Legend left off and address elements of the plot left unexplained in Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which are Crystal Dynamics' previous games in the series.

It was announced in January 2008 that Tomb Raider: Underworld will be released in the fourth quarter of 2008, as opposed to the third quarter as was previously planned. In June 2008, it was announced that the game would be released in November 2008.

The first trailer for Tomb Raider: Underworld was released on 18 July 2008, confirming a North American release date of 18 November, and a European release date of 21 November.

Development
In November 2007, Eidos was reported to have filed for a trademark on the phrase, Tomb Raider Underworld. Eidos soon after reserved the Tomb Raider Underworld domain name. In December 2007, Eidos filed for a second trademark for Tomb Raider Underworld, reserving the right to provide "computer games that may be accessed network-wide by network users." In the January 2008 issue of the magazine Play, details from the "first-ever demo" of the game were revealed. SCi, which owns Eidos, officially announced Tomb Raider: Underworld on January 10, 2008, and confirmed that all platform versions of the game will be released simultaneously in November 2008.

Play's assertions that this is the "first true next gen Lara" and "one big physics smorgasbord" which "looks altogether photo-real" led to speculation that Tomb Raider: Underworld might be using a new game engine for its next-generation graphics rather than the system used by Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Deus Ex 3. Later, the Senior Producer and External Designer separately confirmed that Underworld uses an all-new engine that was built especially for it.

Keeley Hawes will provide the voice of Lara in this installment, as she did in Anniversary and Legend.

Lara's costume was redesigned and she no longer wears her trademark blue sleeveless top and khaki shorts, but instead, a dark brown halter top and black shorts. Additionally, her hair is no longer braided, but worn in a ponytail. According to Play, Lara "moves as good as she looks [and] no longer moves like a video game character" thanks to being fully motion captured. Olympic gymnast and NCAA Women's Gymnastics champion Heidi Moneymaker was the model used for motion capturing.

The first official video, entitled "Beneath the Surface", was released on July 17, 2008, and featured interviews with members of the development team and showed screenshots, artwork, and several clips of gameplay footage. A teaser trailer was released on 19 July, 2008, and the first gameplay trailer was released on 15 August, 2008.

Gameplay
Differences from previous iterations in the series are that Lara's environment will be an "interactive world that reacts and remembers", such that footprints left in the mud or mud transferred to Lara's knee from kneeling on the ground will be washed away by rain, the bodies of the foes she encounters will remain where she killed them, and any destruction to the environment she causes will be permanent. According to creative director Eric Lindstrom, this is "to not only reward the player for the effect they're having on the world, but to give them navigational aids." The game uses an animation blending system that allows Lara to interact dynamically with her environment, such as pushing foliage aside with one or two hands, depending on if she is carrying a weapon. It also features a "hybrid lighting model that combines dynamic lights with carefully created light maps" and a weather system that changes the environment, for example, "If Lara’s negotiating a wet ledge she’s more apt to slip or lose grip," which makes "the environment ... her adversary" for a large part of the game.

Previously seen separate aspects of gameplay have been combined together for a new experience. Lindstrom explained that "in the past, there was climbing, and there was shooting, and there was puzzle solving. And they often didn't overlap. We've now integrated all of those elements." This installment also features a new melee combat system, requiring Lara in some instances to use "direct combat and evasive manoeuvres to distance herself from her attacker". Notably, Lara's bike, among other things, will be a key component in solving the puzzles she will encounter in her adventure. Pick-ups will have multiple uses as weapons and tools in interaction with the environment, and Lindstrom stated that Lara "can also split up her guns and fire at two different targets simultaneously," or hold an item with one hand and fire a gun with the other. The grappling hook can now be stretched taut and used to push objects off ledges unlike in previous iterations, illustrating what project lead Rob Pavey said, that "Lara will be able to do anything that you'd expect her to be able to do," which he called "the big theme this year." Lindstrom describes this as "a philosophy called 'What Could Lara Do?'—WCLD. It's short-hand for having the player be able to use their own intuition about what someone with her abilities should be able to do in an environment such as this, and consistency across the different mechanics and abilities. If she can throw a grenade, then if she can pick up this pole, why can't she throw it?" Crystal Dynamics also aims to make the game non-linear, unlike Tomb Raider: Legend, and eliminate the need for hint icons that indicate the ability to interact with objects.

The interactive cutscenes from previous titles have been replaced with "adrenaline moments". Instead of specific button presses, time slows down and gives the player a chance to get out of harm's way while retaining complete control of Lara.

Levels
The coast of Thailand, frozen islands of the Arctic Sea, the jungles of Mexico, and beneath the Mediterranean Sea have been confirmed in a fact sheet released by Eidos.

According to the July 2008 issue of PlayStation Magazine (UK), the first level of the game will be located underwater and will feature Lara in a wetsuit facing off against sharks and a kraken.

According to an August 2008 preview by IGN, the second level will be located in Thailand where Lara encounters spiders, bats, tigers, and a race of lizardmen known as "Naga".

Story
Creative Director Eric Lindstrom first revealed details of the story in the official blog: Lara Croft will be searching for Thor's hammer, and she first finds evidence of its existence in ruins beneath the Mediterranean Sea. Lindstrom also mentioned that Lara may put the entire world in danger by unlocking "a dormant force which, if disturbed, could destroy everything."

The teaser trailer displays a chronologically backwards video of Croft Manor being destroyed. The trailer starts zoomed in on Lara's signature weapons: her twin pistols, which are covered in ash and lying on Zip's computer desk. As the camera reverses out, it displays parts of the main hall covered in debris and ash. The camera continues to reverse out, flying through the main window of the hall, with the pieces of glass flying back into place, finally reversing far enough to show Lara facing the house with her back to the camera. As the camera stops, time starts again, with rain and rolling thunder surrounding Lara and the mansion. Lara turns towards the camera with a cold look on her face and she presses the trigger - blowing up Croft Manor. Lara walks off the side of the camera, and the final shot shows Croft Mansion burning.

The first gameplay trailer features Lara in various locations - Mexico, Thailand and what appears to be her own manor as it burns down. In the trailer, Lara says that she needs Thor's belt in order to acquire his hammer, and she "need[s] the hammer to kill a god". At one point, Zip has a gun pointed at Lara and she says "Drop it Zip or I'll drop you". At the climax of the trailer, Lara walks into a laboratory-like room as the screen turns to black, Lara says "No" in a dismayed tone, and then a female voice is heard saying "I'm very pleased to see you again, Lara", before the final release date screen shows.

Music
Troels Brun Folmann composed the main theme of the game, and is the music supervisor for Underworld while O'Malley is scoring the bulk of the music. Underworld's music is purely orchestral in style.

There are pieces that are do not loop meaning they will only play one time and will be triggered on specific events. The score is made more of musical fragments, similar to the first five games of the Tomb Raider series, and there will be less constant music than in Legend.

The first 4 seconds of the main theme are the well known four-notes of the first Tomb Raider game main theme. A similar beginning was already used in another track composed by Troels called "Egypt - Cinematic Mix 2". The end of the main theme gets louder than the beginning by adding choirs and percussion. It then drops into a solo performance of the same four-notes reminiscent of the Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness main theme.