Xbox 360 Critic Reviews

Beneath the Ashes offers extra content that the fans of the voluptuous adventurer will be grateful for. Tomb Raider Underworld follows-up in Xbox 360 with an epilogue not too necessary in terms of plot, but that contributes with new puzzles and combats to its campaign. More hours, achievements and challenges for a genre that, unfortunately, does not proliferate in the present generation.

In closing, Beneath the Ashes is a commendable slice of Tomb Raider adventuring, but still feels like it was part of the main game, that was either left on the cutting room floor, or withheld for the purpose of exclusive content.

Anybody actually paying attention to the narrative will appreciate the gasp-inducing ending, and anybody under twelve will appreciate the abundance of inappropriate costumes that come included. For everyone else it’s a good, if not quite great platformer, that complements the main game while not exactly revolutionising it.

You’ll be left with mixed emotions after playing Beneath the Ashes. On the one hand you’ll have really enjoyed the experience, especially the fact that the new level isn’t a patchwork quilt of other environments from the main game; it’s a fresh new level with some pretty great puzzles. On the other hand, 2 or 3 hours will have passed and you’ll be questioning the price for such a short albeit entertaining experience.

Beneath the Ashes is short, but well paced mini-larathon which offers nothing really new. Lara’s Shadow is a little bit interesting case, but messing with deadly blue liquid is really frustrating. There are also annoying level re-runs, but generally both adventures offers sturdy but brief Tomb Raider experience. [May 2009]

Lara fans and platforming nuts will no doubt be sated, but memorable Tomb Raiding this ain't. [May 2009, p.75]

At 800 points (approx £7.00) this extra level is a bit costly, however if you look at it as going to the cinema, it has similar length and is more fun than most of the drivel that turns up at your local multiplex. Worth a try if you can't get enough of Lara.

Tomb Raider Underword: Beneath the Ashes is a good first DLC, offering a good new setting and puzzles, new cut-scene as well as an ending good to build enough hype for the plot, waiting for the final act, entitled Lara’s Shadow. But this new level presents also many bad issues, mostly technical, and the 800 Microsoft Points price is not so cheap for a half an hour of longevity. Recommended only to biggest fans of Lara.

It's perhaps unsurprising, given the matinee idol lineage of the series, that Lara Croft's set-piece adventures work so well carved into chunks, yet - even if it's not as long as you fancied, and there's a bit too much shooting - it's still a pleasure to spend a few more hours with one of gaming's most graceful legends.

The follow-up to the latest Lara game uses the same engine, offers some brand new environments and storyline. But, overall, it lacks depth, it's far too short and quite expensive for what it offers. Good ideas, not so well developed.