Zero Punctuation: Tomb Raider: Underworld

[Snake422]

You know what me and Yahtzee have something in common we both have lost faith in the human race which is why I welcome are robot and or zombie over lords with open arms. But I don't welcome the Chinese with open arms sorry China nothing personal it's just your...well human.

 

[jsouth88]

"She's off her fucking rocker" (I'm mister brain hat)

"Being a spider rocks!"

Two of the hardest laughs i've had in a while. Kudos Yahtzee

 

[Wounded Melody]

Bloody brilliant. I now have to go and watch ALL the past ZPs!

 

[Copter400]

That's what happened to most of the treasures in Egypt & Mesopotamia before the modern era of archaeology: anything made of a precious substance like gold was taken and either sold off to private collectors or melted down, with things regarded as precious now like pottery, plaques, scrolls or stone sculptures being damaged or even destroyed in the process.

I remember reading a passage in history that was written by an early archaeologist stepping on numerous mummified body with gleeful crunching sound as he trudged through a pyramid. The bastard.

 

[coladict]

Michael Atkinson? I don't know the name, but the picture looks like the guy that plays Det. Barnaby from Midsomer Murders.
Why would anyone hate him? The series is great and he's not like those super-detectives from CSI who (as said in GTA IV) never need to look anything up.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

Perhaps Yahtzee could clarify why the evil protag in Saints Row 2 is ok whilst it's not in TRU. I'd be interested in knowing his personal perspective on this, but I suspect it's something to do with the excellent "square peg in a round hole" argument offered earlier. In TRU it just doesn't work, whereas in SR2 it does. It's that elusive "mes en scene" (sorry about the spelling) effect. This time around he found her/it to be neither endearing or likeable maybe.

I could be wrong, but Lara is meant to be an empathetic character as well as a role model for girls, in that she's self-sufficient and pretty much fearless when she's not making her usual trip to Jagged Rock Junction. The premise of Tomb Raider has always aimed towards the kind of adventuring and action that made the Indiana Jones films so much fun to watch, and gave us a more shapely protagonist to control. However, the fact that Lara does act more like Kratos or an SR2 character does punch a big hole in that veneer of high action-adventure standards.

We expect Kratos to be evil, and we delight in dragging the razor-sharp edge of his priceless historical artifact against someone's throat. We don't expect Lara to so blithely and willingly blast her way through archaeological finds lost to humanity for centuries only to break all the emperor's pottery and nick all his stuff. Indy always had a measure of respect for the relics he pursued, whereas Lara seems to think every dig is like an underground Chanel outlet store having a sale.

TRU and its predecessors are fairly linear games, while SR2 is a sandbox game. There isn't anything wrong with linearity unless your proxy protagonist is someone you can't identify with or don't like very much. As Yahtzee said, when a sandbox is presented full of cars, guns and blood-filled folk our first impulse is to cause havoc, and who better to do that than some form of violent psychotic? Such a person, however, would be frowned upon when they fill a 2000 year old tapestry full of bullet holes because the velociraptor that somehow made it to Greece won't stand still long enough.

TL,DR: Lara's supposed to be an archaeologist, and psychotics don't do well around ancient pottery.

 

[MorkFromOrk]

My problem with the Tomb Raider series is:

That it has become mere small innovations on top of the same old, same old.
Lara kills enough wildlife to be put on PETA's most hated list.
Puzzles make no real world sense. You are often wondering "Who would build something like that?" It's like every ancient civilization decided to build their temples n such based on an Olympic gymnasium/motorcross arena.
Camera angles force you to jump in the dark.
For an archaeologists she racks up more kills than a mercenary going through opium withdrawal.

 

[Spartan117.halo]

I actually quite liked the game (on PC).

I got it once the patch was out so It seemed ok.

Yes the camera is annoying but you get a atmospheric feeling in the game like you are actually in the adventure with Lara.

 

[BigbadaBEEF]

Yahtzee is the Jezza of Video Games.

couldn't have put it better

 

[Failhammer]

Michael Atkinson? I don't know the name, but the picture looks like the guy that plays Det. Barnaby from Midsomer Murders.
Why would anyone hate him? The series is great and he's not like those super-detectives from CSI who (as said in GTA IV) never need to look anything up.

He's the Attorney-General of South Australia (I think), who is apposed to an R-18+ rating for video games in Australia, among other things.

 

[Sarahjayne9]

As usual, I really enjoyed this review, but I am a little disappointed - I really enjoyed Underworld. I got really sick and my brother bought it especially for me to keep me entertained and it sure did the job.

 

[livlax]

as always a masterpiece, been watching yahtzee a long time! keep it coming mate

 

[Socius]

Pro as always!
it was entertaining and had some truth to it, what more can you ask for?
btw i LOVE your hat! (a)

 

[Ormick]

Wait.... you people watch ZP to decide which games to buy and which games to skip? Man, I just come here for the jokes.

Let me guess... butthurt SSBB fanboy?

 

[SirSchmoopy]

Wait.... you people watch ZP to decide which games to buy and which games to skip? Man, I just come here for the jokes.

Let me guess... butthurt SSBB fanboy?

I think you should re-read what I said ar-tard. No really, you're embarrassing yourself.

 

[Toiboi]

lol its cool dont worry

 

[jemborg]

Perhaps Yahtzee could clarify why the evil protag in Saints Row 2 is ok whilst it's not in TRU. I'd be interested in knowing his personal perspective on this, but I suspect it's something to do with the excellent "square peg in a round hole" argument offered earlier. In TRU it just doesn't work, whereas in SR2 it does. It's that elusive "mes en scene" (sorry about the spelling) effect. This time around he found her/it to be neither endearing or likeable maybe.

I could be wrong, but Lara is meant to be an empathetic character as well as a role model for girls, in that she's self-sufficient and pretty much fearless when she's not making her usual trip to Jagged Rock Junction. The premise of Tomb Raider has always aimed towards the kind of adventuring and action that made the Indiana Jones films so much fun to watch, and gave us a more shapely protagonist to control. However, the fact that Lara does act more like Kratos or an SR2 character does punch a big hole in that veneer of high action-adventure standards.

We expect Kratos to be evil, and we delight in dragging the razor-sharp edge of his priceless historical artifact against someone's throat. We don't expect Lara to so blithely and willingly blast her way through archaeological finds lost to humanity for centuries only to break all the emperor's pottery and nick all his stuff. Indy always had a measure of respect for the relics he pursued, whereas Lara seems to think every dig is like an underground Chanel outlet store having a sale.

TRU and its predecessors are fairly linear games, while SR2 is a sandbox game. There isn't anything wrong with linearity unless your proxy protagonist is someone you can't identify with or don't like very much. As Yahtzee said, when a sandbox is presented full of cars, guns and blood-filled folk our first impulse is to cause havoc, and who better to do that than some form of violent psychotic? Such a person, however, would be frowned upon when they fill a 2000 year old tapestry full of bullet holes because the velociraptor that somehow made it to Greece won't stand still long enough.

TL,DR: Lara's supposed to be an archaeologist, and psychotics don't do well around ancient pottery.

I have to second this quite brilliant post.

The reality of actual ancient tomb ROBBING is a bastard act done by *moderator deleted* philistines (and purchased by assholes for their private collections who would have no idea of the actual value of the stuff if similar stuff had not been intensively studied by honest academics).

Cheers

PS: Nice work on that elusive mes en scene btw.

 

[jemborg]

Michael Atkinson? I don't know the name, but the picture looks like the guy that plays Det. Barnaby from Midsomer Murders.
Why would anyone hate him? The series is great and he's not like those super-detectives from CSI who (as said in GTA IV) never need to look anything up.

He's the Attorney-General of South Australia (I think), who is apposed to an R-18+ rating for video games in Australia, among other things.

That's the one.

 

[mkb07a]

...I think this will be the last ZP video I watch. It wasn't that he ripped apart a game I like (after all, I loved his Tomb Raider: Anniversay review), but... Well, it seems that it's lost the actual intelligent humor present in earlier videos and now seems to cater to, dare I say it, the lowest common denominator. This really upsets me because I really looked forward to these videos but... well, nothing good can last.

Of course, I mean no offense to anyone by saying that and sincerely apologize to anyone offended. Except Yahtzee, who could care less how I feel about his work.

 

[chuckman1]

I loved it.