true lmao I forgot to cover this! it seems like they intentionally took features out from the PS2 version to encourage players to buy the next gen version 💔
@@higantegamerYT I would have gotten the next generation version if I could. it's not like we choose to be poor lol I remember being so confused when first playing this port. That Thailand elevator puzzle was literally the most advertised part of the game, I felt so cheated when I saw that it was just a straight corridor in the PS2 version. I did eventually get to play the Xbox 360 version, though. It was ten times better than this sorry port.
TRUE! I'm seeing that Thailand elevator puzzle on almost every promotional material they had for TRU back then. So when I got to that part on the PS2 version I was like "wait a minute hold on?" Imagine my disappointment when all you had to do is to drop down those platforms lmao. It's like the devs just slapped those grabbable platforms and call it a day 🤣
I played Underworld on the PS2 when I was little and always liked it the least and thought it was released before Legend and Anniversary because of the poor graphics and stiff gameplay. Years later I finally got the trilogy on PS3 and Underworld felt SO MUCH better than on the PS2, especially the Southern Mexico. I was like "I didn't remember this part was in the game" because the PS2 version has SO MANY freaking corridors and many of the puzzles were cut. Realised I had the inferior version all along. Lol
PS2 TRU is literally “corridor simulator” (kidding haha) but yeah it’s the first TRU version I played as well 💜 It’s not until college where I got a decent PC and played next-gen TRU and the difference between levels, features, and graphics was HUGE!! 😱
Thanks for making this! I've been curious about PS2 Underworld for a long time. It's often mentioned but rarely discussed in depth. It's remarkable to me how good the next gen version still looks today. I would love to see Coastal Thailand serve as inspiration for the platforming, puzzle design and level design for future TR games.
you're welcome hehe and also thank you for the appreciation for this commentary vid 💜 I never saw any video essays about TRU PS2 here in YT so I made one my own to spread the word more about this version. And yes so true, Coastal Thailand is the PEAK LEVEL DESIGN of modern TR games! It's so beautiful even with 2008 graphics 🥰
Thank you for covering this! TR: Legend is one of my favourite games, and I remember eagerly waiting for Underworld (I only had PS2 at the time). Imagine how disappointed I was! I couldn't get beyond the first two levels - tried following the Prima guide, but the puzzle solutions didn't match. Finally, I know why!
Prima didn't bother making a PS2 version of the guide because of how bad this port is hahaha 🤣 I also got the same disappointment feeling too when I first played the game lmao it feels so off Edit: also, you're welcome! I hope you enjoyed the video 💜 My Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness commentary will be uploaded this evening hopefully you'll enjoy it too 🥰
the graphics really said 📉📉📉💀 but yeah so true, and to think the PS2 version was originally delayed to January 2009 but still didn't deliver top-notch quality had me wheezing 😭
@@MattCr0ft THE DRAFTS HAHAHA WHEEZINGG!! But so true because it's clear that this port is just a quick cash grab to milk the PS2 players who haven't transitioned to PS3/X360 yet 💀😭
This was the last PS2 game I ever bought in my life and I never felt more scammed. I went in thinking it couldn't be that different from the PS3. Boy was I wrong. The thing that bothered me the most was where are all the enemies??? No sharks, no giant spiders, no nothing like they showed me on the trailers! I was pissed for a long time! The only enemies on the whole game are literally 3 or 4 tigers in Thailand, 3 or 4 panthers in Mexico, guys on Amanda's ship and thralls in Jan Mayen and Arctic Sea!!
Same lmaaooo the game feels so empty combat-wise 💀 Maybe that's the reason they purposely hid the "adrenaline" meter because we won't be doing much headshots in the game HAHAHHa 😂
@@higantegamerYT I found myself bored out of my mind so many times, running on those endless loading corridors just pressing forward with that gigantic lag. And when FINALLY you had an enemy to shoot, the game would almost go into slow motion running slower than a snail. It's the only tomb raider game that I never have the urge to replay
@@dgenx42 TRUE HAHAHA and also certain areas will make the frame rate to drop so low, making this game feels so unoptimized 💀 Even Legend and Anniversary's LARGE LEVELS had better frame rate than the entirety of this port
The Wii version is extremely different by the PS2 one, and I like it better! Maps are closer to the next gen versions but you can see they modified something to create a different experience for the Wiimote; also, there are real-time cutscenes too. Here, instead, you can see they cut a lot of things because of technical issues and cutscenes are instead pre-recorded. My guess is that they were going to port the Wii version on the PS2 system (by deleting the special contents for the Nintendo console) but since it was more powerful for the hardware, they had to postpone the release: as a matter of fact, the Wii version was released alongside the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 ones.
True! I remember reading somewhere that the PS2 version was delayed to early 2009 because they had to cut a lot of things to optimize it for the PS2. While what they did was an "okay" job, the PS2 version still suffered from a lot of problems. Some examples are low frame rate, some of the levels are loading slow, and minor glitches that aren't ironed out.
You forgot to mention one important thing, the Ps2 version is the only where Lara actually kills Amanda at the end. And that makes it the best version XD
It's not included in the actual game but I did found that specific cutscene where she shoots Amanda in the leg. It's hidden in the game files and it's so low quality and blurry hahaha
@@higantegamerYT actually Amanda saved Lara from her doppelgänger from almost killing her ! And that s the official cutscene and it s the best and cannon cause Amanda is an old freiner of Lara
Tbh even on PS3 the game is a buggy mess, I remember clearly that there's an enemy that if killed with a grenade will freeze the game, every single time.
The first thing that clued me into the fact I was playing a different version of the game (I must have been like 12 at the time, so a little slow, but I grew up with them) is that the guide didn’t match at all! There were no sharks at all in the beginning and it just made it more confusing. There was also a lot of ominous music, as if they kept in the music for the enemies and then they just didn’t appear. In a way, that often made it scarier for young me! I went to my friend’s house and saw her playing it on the original PS3 and it was night and day! The only thing that also bugs me is that they never released the DLC on either Playstation, it is still an Xbox exclusive to this day.
The graphics suffer because the emulator runs the game in HD instead of the intended PS2 resolution. Many in-game effects don't work correctly in the emulator, so it's a less vibrant and visually nice version compared to the native PS2 version. The main issue lies in performance. Anyway, great video.
1:26 “what’s pretty ironic is that the wii version feels more complete than the ps2 version” Are you suggesting that it wouldn’t have been the case because wii is weaker than the ps2? What? Wii is way stronger than the ps2 lmao
For as bad as it is I'm glad the ps2 version exists because it was the very first tomb raider game I played as a kid and the one that introduced me to lara croft and her other games. Tomb raider wouldn't be my favorite game franchise today if it wasn't for this version
The PS2 version actually came after the Wii/PS3/X360 versions (kind of like Hogwarts Legacy on Switch) Honestly, to me it's incredible that the PS2 received a Tomb Raider game in 2009 and not only that, but unlike other games that were completely different on the PS2 or PSP ports like Toy Story 3, the PS2 version of Tomb Raider still holds up well, sure it's not great but at least some of the content and gameplay of the Wii version are here but obviously with severe graphical downgrades, this still is simply incredibly surreal for me.
Omggg it was about damn time someone pointed this out. I remember feeling soo scammed when i had this game as a kid. Started from the ps2 version (I had no internet in my house at the time so i didn’t know the game was completely different), then a day i saw a friend of mine playing it on wii and i saw new things that werent on the ps2 version, got scammed twice because the wii version is incomplete as well. Then i got my xbox 360 version and i remember it felt like playing a brand new game. Also remember i screamed the hell out of my lungs when the giant spiders popped up (They were cut from the ps2 version so i didnt know they were in the next generation one)
Same thing happened when I got the PC version and it feels like playing a whole different version of Underworld. I remember I got lost in Southern Mexico in PC whereas in the PS2 version I did not cause everything was so linear hahahaha
@@higantegamerYT Yeah definitely, I never understood why no one ever talked about how bad this port was. Like they even removed the clothes decision at the beginning of the levels, the main menu is completely different (and it lacks the surprise to see the Croft Manor explosion at the beginning), enemies cut, levels cut, different models for Natla, Amanda and the Doppelganger (and Amanda in the same clothes as in the Mediterranean level at the end of the game had me laughing). But anyway hope more people start to talk about this it’s always interesting seeing other people opinions
@@strawberrysoda4395 so true! it seems like they used beta assets for this port from the character models down to the level structure of some locations too. Hopefully this video had kickstarted an interest about this version because there's so much to talk about it 💜
@@strawberrysoda4395 You do actually get a clothes decision at the beginning of the levels in the PS2 version, but only when playing the levels a second time. Which makes it even weirder since it's not entirely removed, just locked behind game completion in that version for some reason.
When I got the game and found out PS2 port... was so different than what was shown in the media everywhere at the time. I was the saddest child on this planet for few months.... Looking back at it... it looks like mobile games which started coming out not so long after... The gameplay was so limited, there was no platforming and the graphics ? I mean... let's see what the audience thinks.... 😭 Great video !
I can remember that I did not had a ps3, xbox360 or a computer who could have handled this game - so I needed to wait for the ps2 game and to be honest I was such a big fan boy of tomb raider back than that I still enjoyed the game, but after I did play the next gen version of underworld and I did understand more about level disign and gameplay, I truly hated this ps2 port xD I guess it was truly rushed - my biggest enemy of the game were the camera in climbing passages. Well thanks for the nostalgia trip into the past and pointing out the good and bad things about this game - great video!
I’m glad you enjoyed the vid ❤️ this was also the first TRU version that I played too and I remember it felt off because it looked different from the promotional material hahahaha
same! I like PS2's take on the Xibalba level because it looks interesting and a bit colorful. Unlike the next gen version which is filled with grey color tones everywhere hahaha
(Google translator). I was introduced to TRL and TRA at their launch and I was pleased with how entertaining both games became: I loved how immersive TRL was in each of its levels (Ghana, Nepal, Peru, UK, Japan), plus that Zip and Alister's dialogues entertained me; Also, I was fascinated by the new combat mode that Lara had in TRA... but playing TRU, both on PS2 and PS3, I felt discomfort, disinterest, dissatisfaction. TRU on PS3 graphically looks beautiful, but Lara's animation felt weird, her story felt anticlimactic, the menu didn't interest me and exploring each level again seemed boring... I know a lot of people are nostalgic for the third release, but this one left me with a bitter taste that to this day I ask myself: "couldn't this video game have been better?". Thank you for your review and criticism (+1).
Underworld is like the black sheep of this era of Tomb Raider. There was really no incentive for replayability because: 1. You unlock outfits on the get-go whereas on TRL and TRA you have to collect treasures or relics as a kind of reward system 2. There's no time trial mode which is a bummer because this is such a fun game mode 3. No boss fights. And also, thank you for appreciating my video. 🥰💜
Underworld is a game that started well and ended badly. The first levels, up to Mexico, are wonderful, well thought out and exciting. All the later levels are boring, the level design becomes banal, nothing memorable. Ugly exploration, ugly enemies too. And the story becomes crap. With a decent story we would have put up with some underwhelming levels. For those who were expecting Natla's big comeback, Natla is a horrible character here. Even Amanda loses her potential. All the talk about the Underworld/Avalon was thrown out haphazardly, the epilogue of Lara's mother's story incredibly bad.
This is an example of how having to develop a game to cater for last gen as well as current gen limits the potential for that game. Underworld was a great game but could have been even better had it been developed just for current hardware
It was, that's why they had a separate team port it down to PS2. It didn't cater to PS2 at all, hence why the game was so hard to get working on PS2. TRU was as good as that team could make in the two years since TRL.
the "beta" puzzles and areas are a nice touch. I just wish they didn't cut essential features such as the medipak and manual light source, as well as the 50% of the levels and their backtracking 💔
@@crazysuperbassboy yeah I remember the extremely ugly textures on PSP, especially TRL (I spent so much time on that version tho... Loved the added content); TRA's were less awkward, including the performance as TRL was unplayable on PSP (especially Nepal). But look at 0:43~0:56... They're quite close lol. I mean, really really bad. Also, the facial expressions are almost absent, not as much as PSP TRL/A, but they're almost static
Ok y'all THIS is gaining so many views and I didn't expect this to blow up. Thank you for those who enjoyed this video because I really poured my heart in making this commentary. 💜 Speaking of TR games, should I discuss Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness for my next video? What do you think? 🤔
SAME! When I saw the announcement that they are delaying the release to support old-gen such as the PS2, I was like "wohoooo finally!" And then I played the game and I was like 🤨
I never understand how legend and anniversary looked so much better on ps2 but I will say the ps2 version has its charm but the engine did not work for ps2 or wii but buzz monkey had a bad reputation for being very lazy
The TRU engine is struggling like hell on the PS2 with its inconsistent framerate and loads of bugs hahahaha. It's clear that Buzz Monkey just didn't give a damn too much with optimizing the engine for this version, and just call it a day 😂
If players played ps2 version without being aware of better version I'd say it was a solid game, played this on pc and was thinking of emulating this on phone, but seeing how different it is I rather not.
That's me before when I first played it on the PS2. But when I got myself a decent PC and played TRU, I feel like I was robbed because I'm missing like 40% of the game because of the PS2 version's cut content 😅
To me it actually feels that they put effort into this. As they basically had to make a separate game. TRU had a huge jump in engine quality. I was able to play TR Anniversary with my Geforce 4 MX440 GPU. That was a DirectX7 GPU from 2002! TRU? Geforce 8400GS was the very minimum and you still had low FPS. The PS2 version looks bad compared to nextgen, but compared to Legend and Anniversary, it's a good looking game.
I'm not going to say it's a good looking game compared to the other two as those were cross gen game designed in part with PS2's limitations in mind. That said, the effort to get TRU on PS2 must have been tremendous.
"Mom, can we get Tomb Raider: Undeworld?" "No, we have Tomb Raider: Underworld at home." Tomb Raider: Underworld at home: I didnt have a PS3 when this game first came out so I was hyper when I heard this got a PS2 port. Whoo boy when I tell you my disappointment was immeasurable and my days were ruined.
As someone who played the ps2 version first when I was a kid, I played the xbox version for the first time last week and I was SHOCKED to see that there was way more content in the game than what I remember. I got really frustrated at times because I thought I was getting some nostalgia but I was just stressing about the climbing engine. I felt robbed for a second there.
I like some of the corridors from Southern Mexico level and a few other notable part’s excluded from the PS3 version that I could’ve made some interesting parts when exploring the tombs. However, my only justification for the PS2 is that since PS3 was relatively new at the time, a lot of us couldn’t afford to transition into a new system. What annoyed me further was that the Xbox version had DLCs that I would have loved to see on PS3.😠
I have ALL TOmb Raider games for PS2 and Underworld for PS and I can say Angel of Darkness is the worst… first of all: wrong commands, absolutely and smootly (or “slow”) gameplay!
I never comprehended the point of demakes. Yes, certain individuals might not be in possession of that specific console, but a game which isn't designed to be run on weaker consoles will be hindered from reaching its fullest potential, or in this case, be outright atrocious.
I actually played this version first because I didn't had any money for a PS3 or Xbox 360 at first I thought it was great, until I finally played the next gen version
@@higantegamerYT I actually enjoyed it, I was just glad I could play the newest tomb raider back then, if I remember correctly it was even a gift from my mother, but when I played the PS3 version I thought that one was way better, never looked at the PS2 version ever again
What I heard is that they used an earlier source code for the game Wii version ans and even earlier one for the ps2 version or just a broken version of it. That or these two versions were initially made side by side and then diverged later in development, may not necessarily be intentional. Rushed development as well… the nextgen tru itself feels incomplete to some extent.
Another huge flex Don't forget there were bundle versions of Legend and Anniversary that packaged Anniversary directly into Legend as dlc just now on disc. Which means the previous two games put together on one disc ran better than Underworld on PS2
The game also (For me atleast) runs horribly on my PS2, literally I think on 15 FPS... And the weirdest part is it doesnt even just use the TRU engine, its a cross hybrid BETWEEN the TRU next gen and TRA Last Gen engine, this port makes no sense, im glad you made this video! This perfectly summarizes all the troubles the game has, whilst its still cute, it shouldnt have been made.
so true! I remember getting on Amanda's ship for the first time on my actual PS2 and the framerate just dropped immensely! And to think that part of the level is just a freaking ship... whereas TRA's coliseum, which is larger in scale than Amanda's ship, ran smoothly on the PS2. 💀 and also, thanks for the appreciation hehe I always wanted to cover this topic (TRU PS2) for a long time and I finally did it 💜
yes by pressing "square" near an enemy. I only found this out while recording PS2 version footage hahaha. but I think it's not intentional, maybe they just forgot to cut it out since the adrenaline meter is hidden 👀
They did what they could with the LOWEST effort as possible. Because why purposely trim down levels when Legend and Anniversary even had large areas without taking a toll on the PS2's hardware? It's just the devs being lazy by not optimizing the engine they used for this port 🤷♂️
I already had the ps2- Version but it was a completely different version from the ps3 So I changed the game again the next day and wanted my money back
The PS2 has 4 MB of eDRAM as VRAM, a fraction of the Wii's (!) VRAM, 64 times less then the PS3 and 128 times less then mid-range GPUs of the time. So, this late in the PS2's life, they had two options: 1. Do what many developers did and just upscale the PSP ports to 480p. 2. Severly cut down on the full experience. The 2. one is the better choice!!!!
I wouldn't blame BuzzMonkey. It's more of Eidos/Sqaure Enix fault for wanting the game to release on a console that clarely couldn't handle the next gen tech. The publishers wanted to maximize profits even though the new game couldn't run properly on PS2
the devs just don't utilize the capabilities of the PS2 in this port hence the bad graphics and overall presentation.. if this was given more time and love, it will probably turn out better 😞
@@Alex-ng6hc I believe Angel of Darkness went into development hell because Eidos (the publishers) were rushing them to release the game on time. But I think it still has to do with Core Design's lack of knowledge with the PS2 hardware during that time to the point where they had to overhaul the engine again because they didn't implement analog controls, which is a standard for PS2 games in that era. anyways, Angel of Darkness will be my next commentary video so stay tuned 💜😁
Although the PS2 version may have less impressive graphics, it stands out for its superior color quality and level design. In contrast, the PS3 version was incomplete and somewhat underdeveloped. Several ideas originally cut from the PS3 version later appeared in the Xbox DLC, as well as in the DS and Wii versions.
Omg I so regret playing the PS2 version, it was years until I got my own PS3* because back then, I had a huge phobia of change. (Some autism stereotypes are true!) And Alister's death kickstarted a time in my life I call "The Great Depression of 2009". *Unfortunately I got it waaay too late. I bought it in 2013.
I didn't even know there was an 8th? Gen version until I found the trilogy pack. I'm glad they made the ps2 downgrade so I didn't have to wait til 2015 (when I got a PS3) to finish the story. I also appreciate that there were less enemies, like in the corridor before Natla's Tower. Instead of just going from one enemy to the next, my first time playing I was more defensive because I didn't know when the next troll would be. The other levels I could look around and appreciate the level designs (despite how limited they were) without animals bothering me, especially the respawning ones.
glad to see you enjoyed this version 💜 I do agree with the enemies being overboard on the corridors before reaching the Midgard Serpent on next gen hahaha 🤣 the PS2 version of TRU is giving that “classic” feel because of less enemies too
I first played this game in PS2 and enjoyed the extended bike section and that was where i stopped. Then I got the PC port, eagerly waiting for the bike section but it wasnt there. I was confused as to why until today.This video really opened my eyes and showed how terrible the PS2 port was and it was easily very forgettable.
the extended Jan Mayen bike section could’ve been awesome in the next gen version! but sadly they decided to cut it and went straight to the tower section lmao 😭
Recuerdo cuando circulaban los trailers de este tomb raider y me hacian anhelar la PS3, cuando yo solo tenia la PS2. Un dia en una tienda de mi barrio vi que estaba la version Underworld para PS2, no lo podia creer que aun se lanzaran juegos para esta consola, ya me habia sucedido con Aniversary que pensaba que solo estaba disponible para la nueva generacion y vaya sorpresa ver que lo podia jugar en mi consola. Ciertamente me lleve esa sorpresa de ver lo mal desarrollado que estaba el juego en comparacion a sus ediciones anteriores, no podia comprender la finalidad de este juego, igualmente como todo fanatico de los juegos el poder jugar y vivir el argumento de la saga me hacia compensar toda la perdida que tenia este juego. En fin muchas gracias por tu video, te mando un abrazo grande desde Argentina.
@@higantegamerYT No, it's darker! like, check it out for yourself 😂 I kid you not. It is most easily noticed when comparing the PS2 version to the Wii's. Just the tow of those so that you can see the brightness transition
I recently Replayed Underworld on pc and was confused not remembering most of the stuff in the levels. Now I know why, but even looking back from memory when I played it on ps2 I remember it looking as good as on pc LOL.
What is it with 2008 and bad ps2 parts? 007: Quantum of Solace, Call of Duty World At War Final Fronts, Need For Speed Undercover and now Tomb Raider Underworld were all bad. Is it because the PS2 was old news by then? Or is it because the PS2 was the dumping ground for trash ports that were hastily made to take advantage of the system's install base?
Mostly the second thing you mentioned, by 2008 the PS2 was on its way out from a hardware point of view but still selling quite well for a console that old so most companies were trying to squeeze money from that market while it was still viable. If you have to blame something blame the wii, it gave many publishers the chance to simply mandate the devs to downport Wii games to the PS2 for the sake of easy profits, in essence Nintendo accidentally helped to extend the life of the competition's old console by being successful with a lower spec machine. There's a few cases of consoles receiving plenty of mediocre ports during their last year or two.
I wouldn't honestly agree with your saying that it is the worst. Have you seen the Gameboy Advance port of TRLegend? They simply had to adapt by cutting so much and adjusting. The PS2 cannot deal with anything more than a dual layer DVD, which was rarely used except for GoW2 and a nameless few. I remember back in the day I could only play this version because I couldn't afford a next gen system. And true, there is a drastically shocking difference, with the absence of enemies and lack of puzzles... and the poor graphics. But that's about it when you want a next gen game on older systems. I love TRU, and I believe they just wanted to release it so they'd make the trilogy complete on the system where it started so 🤷 If you can play the other versions, then do it and skip the PS2 one because it's not that great
I agree with Legend GBA hahaaha I find it funny that they tried to recreate the entire levels into a 2D form factor 🤣 The graphics were completely understandable to be bad on TRU PS2 since the console is starting to age during the time. But entire puzzles being cut away and levels being stripped down is a different story. However, it might have been an engine problem cause TRA PS2 can handle large levels like the "Sanctuary of the Scion" using the old engine.
@@higantegamerYT True. Had they opted for the TRA engine, I believe the game and everything would have been much better. Also, I believe they just wanted to sell as much copies as possible? Cause the PS2, despite its limited performance and age by then, it still outsold most of the consoles. So basically anyone can grab a copy for their kids/relatives without wondering whether it looks the same, cause to be fair, graphically speaking? It's very close to the Wii version which I never played despite owning several Wiis, cause heck no. TRA is awesome with the motion and all, but the GC TRLegend was not as great as the xbox/ps2 actually 👀
If they used the TRA engine they would probably rebuild the game from scratch again hahaha. Buzz Monkey must have thought it would be easier to just use the TRU engine since they already have the assets for it. But then again, they didn't optimize it for the PS2 hence it turns out as sh** hahahaha 💀
The PS2 version, clearly had the potential to be really good. But, unfortunately, the developers butchered it. It's so choppy and uneven. Playing it, is like, "Oh, this is pretty good!... Oh, this is terrible!... Oh, this is pretty good!... Oh, this is terrible!"
The entire game fluctuates from being "ok this is fine I guess" to "holy crap wtf is this?" hahaha 🤣 I wonder how it would've turned out if they used the old engine that was used for Legend and Anniversary instead hmmmm
The first time I've played TRU was on a PS2. Only replayed it almost 10 years later on PC... I have to say that I didn't knew how different they are til now.
@@higantegamerYT I was so buzzed for the game, waiting everyday for it. Then when I got it, the levels were not the same.... I was gutted, totally gutted. I was 15 at the time so bummed lol
Great! because that will be my topic for our next "chika" discussion 😉 so stay tuned and don't forget to gimme a sub for updates of my upcoming AOD video 💜
So the advancements in the TRU engine means they had to either port that engine down to PS2 or take the old engine that would otherwise be incompatible with TRU and remake the entire game from the ground up on the old engine. Now while I could see that being a viable option for something like Black Ops 3 on 360 where you're mostly asset swapping for a multiplayer only game, on a single player game the amount of time to recreate the game is far beyond what the team had to work with, hence why TRU on PS2 looks like crap; they had to port down far more advanced code than the first two games in the trilogy.
AOD for me was great in terms of story, cutscene presentation, voice acting, and musical score. The rest is hell hahahaha 😂 You can view my AOD commentary here: ua-cam.com/video/736glVXw9Hg/v-deo.html
I remember playing this on PS2 because it was my only option at the time, and since I was chronically online I knew it was gonna be trash by the reviews that I saw. I still played it anyways. It was so bad. I eventually replayed it on Xbox 360 and it was so much better.
I started my gaming journey with tomb raider legend on the ps2 and was baffles how underworld was so lackluster of course little old me did not even dream at that time that there were better versions of the game, in 2008 it ran smooth for my eyes just the story was meh now looking back at it …
This game should've been developed with Legacy of Kain engine like Legend and Anniversary. I don't know if it's ambition or greed that had them made this decision to create an entire new engine and set of animations while there's a huge story to wrap only in a year to it's release - but I concur it's both. After all we didn't really learn anything from The Angel of Darkness. Game was buggy and PS2/Wii port was even worst... graphics and gameplay was different than Legend and Anniversary so it felt like an entire new game rather than a sequel... there was tons of stuff got cut from the game so in the second half of the game you are running in empty corridors killing generic zombie baddies... every aspect of the game was a fiasco and the direct reason why the franchise went to second reboot phase. Had they taking time to develop Underworld with Anniversary's modified game engine for another year while throwing Unfinished Bussiness dlc to hungry hyenas that is TR fans between the gap - game would had more success and the whole franchise would went in for the remake era where we would get classics remakes with Underworld's engine. I still can't believe there's only a year between Annniversary and Underworld.
This is my experience on ps2 only, never played it on ps3 or pc or whatever. I played the other tomb raiders on ps2 then I finished the saga by this shit lol, the best for the end - The horrors of Tomb Raider Underworld on PS2 - - an enemy spits blue smoke that is supposed to come out of his mouth but comes out through his neck because it was not centered - a gear system waiting to be activated but there is still another one that turns while crossing it - The positions so uncertain that when Lara climbs, we don't know where she's going (example she turns around as if to jump behind her when finally it's to jump to the right on a ledge that is angled 20 degrees in the anticlockwise) - There are fake ledges you think you can hang on to, and then POOF you earn the right to read again what's written on the loading screen while waiting respawn. - This girl is more like a dump truck, it's a sheet of paper, you barely move, she takes a 3 meter step, not practical on a pole perched 1 km from the ground (the devs must have taken the reproaches too seriously from the PS1 Tomb Raider games). - Cutscenes that fall off without warning (not recommended for cardiacs or epileptics) which in addition are sometimes useless, like 15 seconds where Lara mumbles something about her research. - The game makes you ultra long camera movements to show you where to go when it was already obvious! And yeah you can't pass it, but when there is a little hidden shitty ledge go get over it yourself ! - If you don't activate at least the progressive scan mode your eyes bleed, the framerate transforms Lara into a robot and with a sheet of paper-robot character you move the joystick a little bit and you are now TELEPORTED at 10 meters. - Lara's bike is a damn mad bike, it is equipped with a second accelerator on the left, surely to warm up Lara's hands in the winter level! the guys have thought of everything.. Don't ask me how they did with brakes and clutch. - There are these "bonus relics" to pick up here and there, it looks like nothing but butter wafers, i mean on ps2 it's super ugly. #Laraclette This was half translated by google and me from my memo so it's normal if you didn't understood some Take care
ALL OF THESE ARE SO TRUE HAHAAHA as if the next gen version aren't buggy enough, the PS2 version is a trainwreck in some aspects overall. Though playable, but still they should've ironed it out before releasing it hahaha
TOMB RAIDER: ANGEL OF DARKNESS COMMENTARY OUT NOW --> ua-cam.com/video/736glVXw9Hg/v-deo.html
You forgot something...didnt the PS2 ver. had that secret ending cutscene?
I remember going around wondering why i had weapons if there were never enemies.
so true! almost all levels have literally 3-5 enemies lmaaoo 💀
@@higantegamerYT Rise type beat, it was so jarring playing the sequel to the 2013 remake in terms of enemy counts.
I buyed too this game at that time.because I had a PS2 and I couldn't afford a PS3.
@@gabrielgicuta8538Can you still not afford a PS3?
Yes.i have PS3 and PS4.But recently I played Underworld on PC.
They even removed her full acrobatic abilities. It felt like the developers were punishing us for not having a next generation console.
true lmao I forgot to cover this! it seems like they intentionally took features out from the PS2 version to encourage players to buy the next gen version 💔
@@higantegamerYT I would have gotten the next generation version if I could. it's not like we choose to be poor lol
I remember being so confused when first playing this port. That Thailand elevator puzzle was literally the most advertised part of the game, I felt so cheated when I saw that it was just a straight corridor in the PS2 version. I did eventually get to play the Xbox 360 version, though. It was ten times better than this sorry port.
TRUE! I'm seeing that Thailand elevator puzzle on almost every promotional material they had for TRU back then. So when I got to that part on the PS2 version I was like "wait a minute hold on?"
Imagine my disappointment when all you had to do is to drop down those platforms lmao. It's like the devs just slapped those grabbable platforms and call it a day 🤣
A lot of devs did this.
True. The ps2 version looked so dumbed down it was one of the factors that made me get an Xbox360.
I played Underworld on the PS2 when I was little and always liked it the least and thought it was released before Legend and Anniversary because of the poor graphics and stiff gameplay.
Years later I finally got the trilogy on PS3 and Underworld felt SO MUCH better than on the PS2, especially the Southern Mexico. I was like "I didn't remember this part was in the game" because the PS2 version has SO MANY freaking corridors and many of the puzzles were cut. Realised I had the inferior version all along. Lol
PS2 TRU is literally “corridor simulator” (kidding haha) but yeah it’s the first TRU version I played as well 💜
It’s not until college where I got a decent PC and played next-gen TRU and the difference between levels, features, and graphics was HUGE!! 😱
Thanks for making this! I've been curious about PS2 Underworld for a long time. It's often mentioned but rarely discussed in depth. It's remarkable to me how good the next gen version still looks today. I would love to see Coastal Thailand serve as inspiration for the platforming, puzzle design and level design for future TR games.
you're welcome hehe and also thank you for the appreciation for this commentary vid 💜 I never saw any video essays about TRU PS2 here in YT so I made one my own to spread the word more about this version. And yes so true, Coastal Thailand is the PEAK LEVEL DESIGN of modern TR games! It's so beautiful even with 2008 graphics 🥰
Thank you for covering this! TR: Legend is one of my favourite games, and I remember eagerly waiting for Underworld (I only had PS2 at the time). Imagine how disappointed I was! I couldn't get beyond the first two levels - tried following the Prima guide, but the puzzle solutions didn't match. Finally, I know why!
Prima didn't bother making a PS2 version of the guide because of how bad this port is hahaha 🤣
I also got the same disappointment feeling too when I first played the game lmao it feels so off
Edit: also, you're welcome! I hope you enjoyed the video 💜 My Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness commentary will be uploaded this evening hopefully you'll enjoy it too 🥰
0:02 only two seconds in and I’m already slayed by that transition 😍😍 PS2 underworld had no business being released in the first place 😭😭😭😭
the graphics really said 📉📉📉💀
but yeah so true, and to think the PS2 version was originally delayed to January 2009 but still didn't deliver top-notch quality had me wheezing 😭
@@higantegamerYT they should’ve left this port in the drafts and called it a day 😭😭😭
@@MattCr0ft THE DRAFTS HAHAHA WHEEZINGG!! But so true because it's clear that this port is just a quick cash grab to milk the PS2 players who haven't transitioned to PS3/X360 yet 💀😭
@@higantegamerYT lmao yess 😭😭😭😭
This was the last PS2 game I ever bought in my life and I never felt more scammed. I went in thinking it couldn't be that different from the PS3. Boy was I wrong. The thing that bothered me the most was where are all the enemies??? No sharks, no giant spiders, no nothing like they showed me on the trailers! I was pissed for a long time! The only enemies on the whole game are literally 3 or 4 tigers in Thailand, 3 or 4 panthers in Mexico, guys on Amanda's ship and thralls in Jan Mayen and Arctic Sea!!
Same lmaaooo the game feels so empty combat-wise 💀
Maybe that's the reason they purposely hid the "adrenaline" meter because we won't be doing much headshots in the game HAHAHHa 😂
@@higantegamerYT I found myself bored out of my mind so many times, running on those endless loading corridors just pressing forward with that gigantic lag. And when FINALLY you had an enemy to shoot, the game would almost go into slow motion running slower than a snail. It's the only tomb raider game that I never have the urge to replay
@@dgenx42 TRUE HAHAHA and also certain areas will make the frame rate to drop so low, making this game feels so unoptimized 💀
Even Legend and Anniversary's LARGE LEVELS had better frame rate than the entirety of this port
So you bought a ps2 game thinking you was gonna get the same experience as a ps3 game..
@@w0nd3r6 yeah, that's exactly what I said, no doubt🤦🏻♂️
The Wii version is extremely different by the PS2 one, and I like it better!
Maps are closer to the next gen versions but you can see they modified something to create a different experience for the Wiimote; also, there are real-time cutscenes too. Here, instead, you can see they cut a lot of things because of technical issues and cutscenes are instead pre-recorded.
My guess is that they were going to port the Wii version on the PS2 system (by deleting the special contents for the Nintendo console) but since it was more powerful for the hardware, they had to postpone the release: as a matter of fact, the Wii version was released alongside the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 ones.
True! I remember reading somewhere that the PS2 version was delayed to early 2009 because they had to cut a lot of things to optimize it for the PS2. While what they did was an "okay" job, the PS2 version still suffered from a lot of problems. Some examples are low frame rate, some of the levels are loading slow, and minor glitches that aren't ironed out.
Kid: Mom, I want Tomb Raider Underworld.
Mom: We have Tomb Raider Underworld at home, sweetie.
Tomb Raider Underworld at home:
BEST COMMENT!! 😭💀
You forgot to mention one important thing, the Ps2 version is the only where Lara actually kills Amanda at the end. And that makes it the best version XD
It's not included in the actual game but I did found that specific cutscene where she shoots Amanda in the leg. It's hidden in the game files and it's so low quality and blurry hahaha
@@higantegamerYT Yes it's in the game, the devs have forgotten the erase it from the Ps2 version. I think it's post credit !
@@WhiterValkyrie if they did forget it, that's funny
You could have said SPOILER ALERT, I just got this game from GOG. Í'm very excited to play it, just a little less now 🙃
@@higantegamerYT actually Amanda saved Lara from her doppelgänger from almost killing her ! And that s the official cutscene and it s the best and cannon cause Amanda is an old freiner of Lara
Tbh even on PS3 the game is a buggy mess, I remember clearly that there's an enemy that if killed with a grenade will freeze the game, every single time.
The first thing that clued me into the fact I was playing a different version of the game (I must have been like 12 at the time, so a little slow, but I grew up with them) is that the guide didn’t match at all! There were no sharks at all in the beginning and it just made it more confusing. There was also a lot of ominous music, as if they kept in the music for the enemies and then they just didn’t appear. In a way, that often made it scarier for young me! I went to my friend’s house and saw her playing it on the original PS3 and it was night and day! The only thing that also bugs me is that they never released the DLC on either Playstation, it is still an Xbox exclusive to this day.
Graphics look ok for ps2 , cut content will happen because of disc space . It looks like decent port . That's my opinion
The graphics suffer because the emulator runs the game in HD instead of the intended PS2 resolution. Many in-game effects don't work correctly in the emulator, so it's a less vibrant and visually nice version compared to the native PS2 version. The main issue lies in performance. Anyway, great video.
1:26 “what’s pretty ironic is that the wii version feels more complete than the ps2 version”
Are you suggesting that it wouldn’t have been the case because wii is weaker than the ps2? What? Wii is way stronger than the ps2 lmao
For as bad as it is I'm glad the ps2 version exists because it was the very first tomb raider game I played as a kid and the one that introduced me to lara croft and her other games. Tomb raider wouldn't be my favorite game franchise today if it wasn't for this version
The PS2 version actually came after the Wii/PS3/X360 versions (kind of like Hogwarts Legacy on Switch)
Honestly, to me it's incredible that the PS2 received a Tomb Raider game in 2009 and not only that, but unlike other games that were completely different on the PS2 or PSP ports like Toy Story 3, the PS2 version of Tomb Raider still holds up well, sure it's not great but at least some of the content and gameplay of the Wii version are here but obviously with severe graphical downgrades, this still is simply incredibly surreal for me.
A PSP version was also planned but was cancelled
Omggg it was about damn time someone pointed this out.
I remember feeling soo scammed when i had this game as a kid.
Started from the ps2 version (I had no internet in my house at the time so i didn’t know the game was completely different), then a day i saw a friend of mine playing it on wii and i saw new things that werent on the ps2 version, got scammed twice because the wii version is incomplete as well.
Then i got my xbox 360 version and i remember it felt like playing a brand new game. Also remember i screamed the hell out of my lungs when the giant spiders popped up (They were cut from the ps2 version so i didnt know they were in the next generation one)
Same thing happened when I got the PC version and it feels like playing a whole different version of Underworld. I remember I got lost in Southern Mexico in PC whereas in the PS2 version I did not cause everything was so linear hahahaha
@@higantegamerYT Yeah definitely, I never understood why no one ever talked about how bad this port was.
Like they even removed the clothes decision at the beginning of the levels, the main menu is completely different (and it lacks the surprise to see the Croft Manor explosion at the beginning), enemies cut, levels cut, different models for Natla, Amanda and the Doppelganger (and Amanda in the same clothes as in the Mediterranean level at the end of the game had me laughing).
But anyway hope more people start to talk about this it’s always interesting seeing other people opinions
@@strawberrysoda4395 so true! it seems like they used beta assets for this port from the character models down to the level structure of some locations too. Hopefully this video had kickstarted an interest about this version because there's so much to talk about it 💜
@@strawberrysoda4395 You do actually get a clothes decision at the beginning of the levels in the PS2 version, but only when playing the levels a second time. Which makes it even weirder since it's not entirely removed, just locked behind game completion in that version for some reason.
@@Can-uj5pv this is new to me! Thank you.
While tying remembering they also removed the 3D map from the PDA
PC & DS version: Don't mind us!🤷
HAHAHAHA I'm specifically talking about the console versions so yeah 😂
@@higantegamerYT
The DS is a console! :/
I just purchase the ps2 version for 59.99 dollars. Enjoying it so far.
This video makes me want to re-buy the game for PC. I always knew this game was 'off' on PS2 when I was younger.
you should! the PC version is like five times better than this horrible PS2 port hahahaha
It's on sale on steam now till July 7th for less than a dollar.
@@Ahmed-Soudi fuck dollars
When I got the game and found out PS2 port... was so different than what was shown in the media everywhere at the time. I was the saddest child on this planet for few months.... Looking back at it... it looks like mobile games which started coming out not so long after... The gameplay was so limited, there was no platforming and the graphics ? I mean... let's see what the audience thinks.... 😭 Great video !
I finished the game (PS2 version) in 1 day and my sister scolded me.
I'll never forget about it.😂
Same! Hahahaha the game is so short it can literally be speedrunned in just a few hours 😂
@@higantegamerYT The PS2 version yes but pc is pretty long ! But the longest of them all is Anniversary !
Why did she scolded you?
💀 my whole family scolded me for finishing tomb raider 2013 in a day
Cant believe how similar those games are with the run time
😂 I subscribed just from the intro alone! Great video bro lol
aweee thank you! glad to see you here 💜
I play this game at the moment. Bevor I played tomb Raider legend. Dont understand why something that was so good turn in something bad...
you should definitely play the next gen version of Underworld to get the full experience 💜
I absolutely LOVE the music in Underworld and Legend. It fits the levels so perfectly
I can remember that I did not had a ps3, xbox360 or a computer who could have handled this game - so I needed to wait for the ps2 game and to be honest I was such a big fan boy of tomb raider back than that I still enjoyed the game, but after I did play the next gen version of underworld and I did understand more about level disign and gameplay, I truly hated this ps2 port xD I guess it was truly rushed - my biggest enemy of the game were the camera in climbing passages. Well thanks for the nostalgia trip into the past and pointing out the good and bad things about this game - great video!
I’m glad you enjoyed the vid ❤️ this was also the first TRU version that I played too and I remember it felt off because it looked different from the promotional material hahahaha
Tomb Raider Underworld on PS2 is objectively poor, but Xibalba gave me more emotions in the PS2 version. I loved the atmosphere too much.
For Xibalba, of course I mean the second part of Mexico level.
same! I like PS2's take on the Xibalba level because it looks interesting and a bit colorful. Unlike the next gen version which is filled with grey color tones everywhere hahaha
(Google translator).
I was introduced to TRL and TRA at their launch and I was pleased with how entertaining both games became: I loved how immersive TRL was in each of its levels (Ghana, Nepal, Peru, UK, Japan), plus that Zip and Alister's dialogues entertained me; Also, I was fascinated by the new combat mode that Lara had in TRA... but playing TRU, both on PS2 and PS3, I felt discomfort, disinterest, dissatisfaction.
TRU on PS3 graphically looks beautiful, but Lara's animation felt weird, her story felt anticlimactic, the menu didn't interest me and exploring each level again seemed boring... I know a lot of people are nostalgic for the third release, but this one left me with a bitter taste that to this day I ask myself: "couldn't this video game have been better?".
Thank you for your review and criticism (+1).
Underworld is like the black sheep of this era of Tomb Raider. There was really no incentive for replayability because:
1. You unlock outfits on the get-go whereas on TRL and TRA you have to collect treasures or relics as a kind of reward system
2. There's no time trial mode which is a bummer because this is such a fun game mode
3. No boss fights.
And also, thank you for appreciating my video. 🥰💜
Underworld is a game that started well and ended badly.
The first levels, up to Mexico, are wonderful, well thought out and exciting.
All the later levels are boring, the level design becomes banal, nothing memorable. Ugly exploration, ugly enemies too. And the story becomes crap. With a decent story we would have put up with some underwhelming levels.
For those who were expecting Natla's big comeback, Natla is a horrible character here. Even Amanda loses her potential. All the talk about the Underworld/Avalon was thrown out haphazardly, the epilogue of Lara's mother's story incredibly bad.
This is an example of how having to develop a game to cater for last gen as well as current gen limits the potential for that game. Underworld was a great game but could have been even better had it been developed just for current hardware
It was, that's why they had a separate team port it down to PS2. It didn't cater to PS2 at all, hence why the game was so hard to get working on PS2. TRU was as good as that team could make in the two years since TRL.
Tbh I liked the cutscene version on ps2 idea and do like extra stuff and puzzles
The textures on ps2 and wii are not bad I loved it gives aod vibes
the "beta" puzzles and areas are a nice touch. I just wish they didn't cut essential features such as the medipak and manual light source, as well as the 50% of the levels and their backtracking 💔
@@higantegamerYT same …
the textures and face models look like a PSP game actually...
@@Speed4Runs nah if you look at TRA and TRL psp textures they are much worse then the ps2 / wii textures… like honestly bad
@@crazysuperbassboy yeah I remember the extremely ugly textures on PSP, especially TRL (I spent so much time on that version tho... Loved the added content); TRA's were less awkward, including the performance as TRL was unplayable on PSP (especially Nepal). But look at 0:43~0:56... They're quite close lol. I mean, really really bad. Also, the facial expressions are almost absent, not as much as PSP TRL/A, but they're almost static
The things that can kill me in the ps2 version is Amanda guards and it was just running through the beginning of the lvl to the end
Indeed! the AI for the enemies in the PS2 version were just.. terrible 😆
Ok y'all THIS is gaining so many views and I didn't expect this to blow up. Thank you for those who enjoyed this video because I really poured my heart in making this commentary. 💜
Speaking of TR games, should I discuss Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness for my next video? What do you think? 🤔
I remembered how happy i was when i found out this was on ps2 cuz i did not had a next gen console at the time..oh boy i was not ready for this 😆
SAME! When I saw the announcement that they are delaying the release to support old-gen such as the PS2, I was like "wohoooo finally!" And then I played the game and I was like 🤨
I never understand how legend and anniversary looked so much better on ps2 but I will say the ps2 version has its charm but the engine did not work for ps2 or wii but buzz monkey had a bad reputation for being very lazy
The TRU engine is struggling like hell on the PS2 with its inconsistent framerate and loads of bugs hahahaha. It's clear that Buzz Monkey just didn't give a damn too much with optimizing the engine for this version, and just call it a day 😂
Developers are never to blame for tight deadlines and low budgets.
And impossible tasks like getting 512MB into 32MB and getting a game designed with 240 gflops down to 6.2 gflops.
Between ps2 and ps3 it was weird to different level designs
The PS2/Wii version of the game uses the beta level designs as blueprints hence they looked differently 😧
If players played ps2 version without being aware of better version I'd say it was a solid game, played this on pc and was thinking of emulating this on phone, but seeing how different it is I rather not.
That's me before when I first played it on the PS2. But when I got myself a decent PC and played TRU, I feel like I was robbed because I'm missing like 40% of the game because of the PS2 version's cut content 😅
To me it actually feels that they put effort into this. As they basically had to make a separate game. TRU had a huge jump in engine quality. I was able to play TR Anniversary with my Geforce 4 MX440 GPU. That was a DirectX7 GPU from 2002! TRU? Geforce 8400GS was the very minimum and you still had low FPS.
The PS2 version looks bad compared to nextgen, but compared to Legend and Anniversary, it's a good looking game.
I'm not going to say it's a good looking game compared to the other two as those were cross gen game designed in part with PS2's limitations in mind. That said, the effort to get TRU on PS2 must have been tremendous.
"Mom, can we get Tomb Raider: Undeworld?"
"No, we have Tomb Raider: Underworld at home."
Tomb Raider: Underworld at home:
I didnt have a PS3 when this game first came out so I was hyper when I heard this got a PS2 port. Whoo boy when I tell you my disappointment was immeasurable and my days were ruined.
SAME LMAO! I first played it on the PS2 and wondered why it looked so different from the marketing material that shows next gen stuff 🤣
As someone who played the ps2 version first when I was a kid, I played the xbox version for the first time last week and I was SHOCKED to see that there was way more content in the game than what I remember. I got really frustrated at times because I thought I was getting some nostalgia but I was just stressing about the climbing engine.
I felt robbed for a second there.
I like some of the corridors from Southern Mexico level and a few other notable part’s excluded from the PS3 version that I could’ve made some interesting parts when exploring the tombs. However, my only justification for the PS2 is that since PS3 was relatively new at the time, a lot of us couldn’t afford to transition into a new system. What annoyed me further was that the Xbox version had DLCs that I would have loved to see on PS3.😠
I remember playing this on PS2 after playing the previous games and holy hell it felt so bad 😅
right?! and to think there’s ZERO MARKETING about the PS2 version makes it even worse because we don’t know how the game looks and feels like 🤣
I have ALL TOmb Raider games for PS2 and Underworld for PS and I can say Angel of Darkness is the worst… first of all: wrong commands, absolutely and smootly (or “slow”) gameplay!
I never comprehended the point of demakes. Yes, certain individuals might not be in possession of that specific console, but a game which isn't designed to be run on weaker consoles will be hindered from reaching its fullest potential, or in this case, be outright atrocious.
I actually played this version first because I didn't had any money for a PS3 or Xbox 360 at first I thought it was great, until I finally played the next gen version
how was your experience with it? 😁
@@higantegamerYT I actually enjoyed it, I was just glad I could play the newest tomb raider back then, if I remember correctly it was even a gift from my mother, but when I played the PS3 version I thought that one was way better, never looked at the PS2 version ever again
What I heard is that they used an earlier source code for the game Wii version ans and even earlier one for the ps2 version or just a broken version of it. That or these two versions were initially made side by side and then diverged later in development, may not necessarily be intentional. Rushed development as well… the nextgen tru itself feels incomplete to some extent.
Will there be a similar video for the Wii version specifically?
Amazing content ! More videos like this please 🙏
aweeeee thank you so much 🥰 yes I'll be covering more commentaries in the coming weeks so stay tuned 💜
I never knew underground got a port to ps2….that’s really stretching
i've always played the pc version of it, didn't know the ps2 one was a disaster.
it is indeed! and to think I paid full price for the PS2 version back in the day 💀😭
Tomb Raider Anniversary and Legends have special nextgen graphics options on PC. It looks much better the PS2 version.
I don't remember Anniversary having next gen graphics.
Legend and Anniversary were superior ps2 games. Underworld ps2 doesn't even qualify.
There were no plans for a PS2 version at first but Crystal Dynamics changed their minds at the last minute probably to milk the PS2 even more
Another huge flex
Don't forget there were bundle versions of Legend and Anniversary that packaged Anniversary directly into Legend as dlc just now on disc. Which means the previous two games put together on one disc ran better than Underworld on PS2
OMG? I vaguely remember that was on the X360 version, right? There was like a pop-up when you play Legend about the TRA DLC 😃
I remember playing the wii port before the PC release and they are truly different games I had no idea!!
I played the Wii port too and it was tons better than the PS2 version despite having the same graphics 💜
@@higantegamerYT how about pc ! The best
The game also (For me atleast) runs horribly on my PS2, literally I think on 15 FPS...
And the weirdest part is it doesnt even just use the TRU engine, its a cross hybrid BETWEEN the TRU next gen and TRA Last Gen engine, this port makes no sense, im glad you made this video! This perfectly summarizes all the troubles the game has, whilst its still cute, it shouldnt have been made.
so true! I remember getting on Amanda's ship for the first time on my actual PS2 and the framerate just dropped immensely! And to think that part of the level is just a freaking ship... whereas TRA's coliseum, which is larger in scale than Amanda's ship, ran smoothly on the PS2. 💀 and also, thanks for the appreciation hehe I always wanted to cover this topic (TRU PS2) for a long time and I finally did it 💜
wait.. u could adrenaline dodge in PS2😭
yes by pressing "square" near an enemy. I only found this out while recording PS2 version footage hahaha.
but I think it's not intentional, maybe they just forgot to cut it out since the adrenaline meter is hidden 👀
Wow, never heard of PS2 version of Underworld
I'm glad I made this vid. I couldn't believe there are still more people who haven't discovered this port 😲
Are we really comparing a ps2 game with a wii+ps3+360 game?
The developers did what they could with 299 MHz
They did what they could with the LOWEST effort as possible. Because why purposely trim down levels when Legend and Anniversary even had large areas without taking a toll on the PS2's hardware? It's just the devs being lazy by not optimizing the engine they used for this port 🤷♂️
I already had the ps2- Version but it was a completely different version from the ps3
So I changed the game again the next day and wanted my money back
HELLA YES HAHAHAHA it feels like the PS2 version is the "beta" of the PS3 TRU
It came out 6 months after the PS3 version. It looks beautiful. Angel of Darkness has a broken camera, but if you have steady hands, it can be done.
I bought the PS2 version because I couldn't afford a PS3 at the time.
i remember played on PS2 and i dont have almost any good memorie about this game, maybe it was because of this.
because this port is forgettable hahaha 💀😂
The PS2 has 4 MB of eDRAM as VRAM, a fraction of the Wii's (!) VRAM, 64 times less then the PS3 and 128 times less then mid-range GPUs of the time. So, this late in the PS2's life, they had two options: 1. Do what many developers did and just upscale the PSP ports to 480p. 2. Severly cut down on the full experience. The 2. one is the better choice!!!!
Atleast it has that extra Jan Mayen Island bike riding segment. Never understood why it was left out in next gen version.
I wouldn't blame BuzzMonkey. It's more of Eidos/Sqaure Enix fault for wanting the game to release on a console that clarely couldn't handle the next gen tech. The publishers wanted to maximize profits even though the new game couldn't run properly on PS2
It is such a massive pity, the playstation 2 generated phenomenal graphics in the past, but each console has at least one disappointing game
the devs just don't utilize the capabilities of the PS2 in this port hence the bad graphics and overall presentation.. if this was given more time and love, it will probably turn out better 😞
@@higantegamerYT Unfortunately not all game creators are that wise, just look at Enter The Dragonfly, Crash Twinsanity and Angel of Darkness
@@Alex-ng6hc I believe Angel of Darkness went into development hell because Eidos (the publishers) were rushing them to release the game on time.
But I think it still has to do with Core Design's lack of knowledge with the PS2 hardware during that time to the point where they had to overhaul the engine again because they didn't implement analog controls, which is a standard for PS2 games in that era.
anyways, Angel of Darkness will be my next commentary video so stay tuned 💜😁
Although the PS2 version may have less impressive graphics, it stands out for its superior color quality and level design. In contrast, the PS3 version was incomplete and somewhat underdeveloped. Several ideas originally cut from the PS3 version later appeared in the Xbox DLC, as well as in the DS and Wii versions.
The real question is, if the 'next gen' versions didn't exist and you didn't know better would you enjoy the PS2 game?
Omg I so regret playing the PS2 version, it was years until I got my own PS3* because back then, I had a huge phobia of change. (Some autism stereotypes are true!) And Alister's death kickstarted a time in my life I call "The Great Depression of 2009".
*Unfortunately I got it waaay too late. I bought it in 2013.
if the problem is storage capacity.
they should have split it into several parts on DVD cassettes.
like FF7 on PS1
sounds like a good idea but it would look and feel so dated considering that most PS2 games only use single disks during this era of gaming 😧
LMAO the fire in croft manor on ps2 looking like the fire design on hot wheels
LMAO TRUE HAHA FOR REAAALLL 💀 even the fire effects on Anniversary and Legend were better hahaha
I didn't even know there was an 8th? Gen version until I found the trilogy pack. I'm glad they made the ps2 downgrade so I didn't have to wait til 2015 (when I got a PS3) to finish the story. I also appreciate that there were less enemies, like in the corridor before Natla's Tower. Instead of just going from one enemy to the next, my first time playing I was more defensive because I didn't know when the next troll would be. The other levels I could look around and appreciate the level designs (despite how limited they were) without animals bothering me, especially the respawning ones.
glad to see you enjoyed this version 💜
I do agree with the enemies being overboard on the corridors before reaching the Midgard Serpent on next gen hahaha 🤣
the PS2 version of TRU is giving that “classic” feel because of less enemies too
I first played this game in PS2 and enjoyed the extended bike section and that was where i stopped. Then I got the PC port, eagerly waiting for the bike section but it wasnt there. I was confused as to why until today.This video really opened my eyes and showed how terrible the PS2 port was and it was easily very forgettable.
the extended Jan Mayen bike section could’ve been awesome in the next gen version! but sadly they decided to cut it and went straight to the tower section lmao 😭
Recuerdo cuando circulaban los trailers de este tomb raider y me hacian anhelar la PS3, cuando yo solo tenia la PS2.
Un dia en una tienda de mi barrio vi que estaba la version Underworld para PS2, no lo podia creer que aun se lanzaran juegos para esta consola, ya me habia sucedido con Aniversary que pensaba que solo estaba disponible para la nueva generacion y vaya sorpresa ver que lo podia jugar en mi consola.
Ciertamente me lleve esa sorpresa de ver lo mal desarrollado que estaba el juego en comparacion a sus ediciones anteriores, no podia comprender la finalidad de este juego, igualmente como todo fanatico de los juegos el poder jugar y vivir el argumento de la saga me hacia compensar toda la perdida que tenia este juego.
En fin muchas gracias por tu video, te mando un abrazo grande desde Argentina.
Aside from less overall detail, ps2's version of Underworld is just mad dark for no reason
it was? I remember the PS2 version being brighter because of the lack of dynamic lighting
@@higantegamerYT No, it's darker! like, check it out for yourself 😂 I kid you not. It is most easily noticed when comparing the PS2 version to the Wii's. Just the tow of those so that you can see the brightness transition
I remember owning the PS2 version and wondering how they got away with this crime 😖
seriously like.. they didn't even market it knowing how awful it was 😭
So you're a Seraphine enjoyer, atleast her music! I see you! I love the music too
Yup! But I mostly use Sona instead of Seraphine hahaha I onlu love her music 😅
I love Tomb raider Underworld but I even enjoy Croft Manor
I recently Replayed Underworld on pc and was confused not remembering most of the stuff in the levels. Now I know why, but even looking back from memory when I played it on ps2 I remember it looking as good as on pc LOL.
What is it with 2008 and bad ps2 parts?
007: Quantum of Solace, Call of Duty World At War Final Fronts, Need For Speed Undercover and now Tomb Raider Underworld were all bad. Is it because the PS2 was old news by then? Or is it because the PS2 was the dumping ground for trash ports that were hastily made to take advantage of the system's install base?
Mostly the second thing you mentioned, by 2008 the PS2 was on its way out from a hardware point of view but still selling quite well for a console that old so most companies were trying to squeeze money from that market while it was still viable.
If you have to blame something blame the wii, it gave many publishers the chance to simply mandate the devs to downport Wii games to the PS2 for the sake of easy profits, in essence Nintendo accidentally helped to extend the life of the competition's old console by being successful with a lower spec machine. There's a few cases of consoles receiving plenty of mediocre ports during their last year or two.
Now we want a video explaining why you like Tomb Raider Angel of Garbage
It's honestly great if you look past the bugs, which is what I think he did
AOD commentary video is now in the works 🥰
I wouldn't honestly agree with your saying that it is the worst.
Have you seen the Gameboy Advance port of TRLegend?
They simply had to adapt by cutting so much and adjusting. The PS2 cannot deal with anything more than a dual layer DVD, which was rarely used except for GoW2 and a nameless few.
I remember back in the day I could only play this version because I couldn't afford a next gen system. And true, there is a drastically shocking difference, with the absence of enemies and lack of puzzles... and the poor graphics. But that's about it when you want a next gen game on older systems.
I love TRU, and I believe they just wanted to release it so they'd make the trilogy complete on the system where it started so 🤷
If you can play the other versions, then do it and skip the PS2 one because it's not that great
I agree with Legend GBA hahaaha I find it funny that they tried to recreate the entire levels into a 2D form factor 🤣
The graphics were completely understandable to be bad on TRU PS2 since the console is starting to age during the time.
But entire puzzles being cut away and levels being stripped down is a different story. However, it might have been an engine problem cause TRA PS2 can handle large levels like the "Sanctuary of the Scion" using the old engine.
@@higantegamerYT True. Had they opted for the TRA engine, I believe the game and everything would have been much better.
Also, I believe they just wanted to sell as much copies as possible? Cause the PS2, despite its limited performance and age by then, it still outsold most of the consoles.
So basically anyone can grab a copy for their kids/relatives without wondering whether it looks the same, cause to be fair, graphically speaking? It's very close to the Wii version which I never played despite owning several Wiis, cause heck no.
TRA is awesome with the motion and all, but the GC TRLegend was not as great as the xbox/ps2 actually 👀
If they used the TRA engine they would probably rebuild the game from scratch again hahaha. Buzz Monkey must have thought it would be easier to just use the TRU engine since they already have the assets for it. But then again, they didn't optimize it for the PS2 hence it turns out as sh** hahahaha 💀
The PS2 version, clearly had the potential to be really good. But, unfortunately, the developers butchered it. It's so choppy and uneven. Playing it, is like, "Oh, this is pretty good!... Oh, this is terrible!... Oh, this is pretty good!... Oh, this is terrible!"
The entire game fluctuates from being "ok this is fine I guess" to "holy crap wtf is this?" hahaha 🤣
I wonder how it would've turned out if they used the old engine that was used for Legend and Anniversary instead hmmmm
The first time I've played TRU was on a PS2. Only replayed it almost 10 years later on PC... I have to say that I didn't knew how different they are til now.
I remember getting this for the ps2 and the levels were so different...
right? I remember finding TRU PS2 walkthrough videos especially for Southern Mexico because I was stuck and all I can see are next gen walkthroughs 😭
@@higantegamerYT I was so buzzed for the game, waiting everyday for it. Then when I got it, the levels were not the same.... I was gutted, totally gutted. I was 15 at the time so bummed lol
I'm curious to watch a video of yours explaining why do you like Tomb Raider The Angel of Darkness so much.
Great! because that will be my topic for our next "chika" discussion 😉
so stay tuned and don't forget to gimme a sub for updates of my upcoming AOD video 💜
So the advancements in the TRU engine means they had to either port that engine down to PS2 or take the old engine that would otherwise be incompatible with TRU and remake the entire game from the ground up on the old engine. Now while I could see that being a viable option for something like Black Ops 3 on 360 where you're mostly asset swapping for a multiplayer only game, on a single player game the amount of time to recreate the game is far beyond what the team had to work with, hence why TRU on PS2 looks like crap; they had to port down far more advanced code than the first two games in the trilogy.
But this isn't true about rise of the tomb raider, a game that was also on cross-gen consoles
rise of the tomb raider for the X360 had the BUDGET because it was backed up by Microsoft because of the exclusivity deal hahaha
The PS2 version was the first version I played and I have a fondness for it even though it's not as good as the PS3 version.
I’m so glad I never picked up the ps2 version back in the day lol
yeah it's the WORST version lmao even the Wii version is more fun since it's more on par with next gen 😂
At least we see some differences from last gen to next gen!!! nowadays the differences are missing hahaha
nowadays, the difference would be extra shadows, some few effects/particles, and enhanced saturation then that’s it 🤣
Imagine if this game gets ported to PS5. I can see it happening if they've already done it to Tomb Raider Legend
You thought Angel Of Darkness was great? Lol Underworld was also quite shit and this version looks pretty great tbf. Impressive for the PS2.
AOD for me was great in terms of story, cutscene presentation, voice acting, and musical score. The rest is hell hahahaha 😂
You can view my AOD commentary here: ua-cam.com/video/736glVXw9Hg/v-deo.html
I remember playing this on PS2 because it was my only option at the time, and since I was chronically online I knew it was gonna be trash by the reviews that I saw. I still played it anyways. It was so bad. I eventually replayed it on Xbox 360 and it was so much better.
I started my gaming journey with tomb raider legend on the ps2 and was baffles how underworld was so lackluster of course little old me did not even dream at that time that there were better versions of the game, in 2008 it ran smooth for my eyes just the story was meh now looking back at it …
This game should've been developed with Legacy of Kain engine like Legend and Anniversary. I don't know if it's ambition or greed that had them made this decision to create an entire new engine and set of animations while there's a huge story to wrap only in a year to it's release - but I concur it's both. After all we didn't really learn anything from The Angel of Darkness.
Game was buggy and PS2/Wii port was even worst... graphics and gameplay was different than Legend and Anniversary so it felt like an entire new game rather than a sequel... there was tons of stuff got cut from the game so in the second half of the game you are running in empty corridors killing generic zombie baddies... every aspect of the game was a fiasco and the direct reason why the franchise went to second reboot phase.
Had they taking time to develop Underworld with Anniversary's modified game engine for another year while throwing Unfinished Bussiness dlc to hungry hyenas that is TR fans between the gap - game would had more success and the whole franchise would went in for the remake era where we would get classics remakes with Underworld's engine.
I still can't believe there's only a year between Annniversary and Underworld.
Hello I was curious , what about the PC version of this game? Is it the same as the PS3 and XBOX 360?
Yup! The PC version is basically the next gen version with configurable graphics 😁
@@higantegamerYT Wow that's cool! Thanks !😸
@@kirainvitro5510 no worries! you're welcome 💜
I didn't love the water level honestly. So that's a win win for me.
This is my experience on ps2 only, never played it on ps3 or pc or whatever. I played the other tomb raiders on ps2 then I finished the saga by this shit lol, the best for the end
- The horrors of Tomb Raider Underworld on PS2 -
- an enemy spits blue smoke that is supposed to come out of his mouth but comes out through his neck because it was not centered
- a gear system waiting to be activated but there is still another one that turns while crossing it
- The positions so uncertain that when Lara climbs, we don't know where she's going (example she turns around as if to jump behind her when finally it's to jump to the right on a ledge that is angled 20 degrees in the anticlockwise)
- There are fake ledges you think you can hang on to, and then POOF you earn the right to read again what's written on the loading screen while waiting respawn.
- This girl is more like a dump truck, it's a sheet of paper, you barely move, she takes a 3 meter step, not practical on a pole perched 1 km from the ground (the devs must have taken the reproaches too seriously from the PS1 Tomb Raider games).
- Cutscenes that fall off without warning (not recommended for cardiacs or epileptics) which in addition are sometimes useless, like 15 seconds where Lara mumbles something about her research.
- The game makes you ultra long camera movements to show you where to go when it was already obvious! And yeah you can't pass it, but when there is a little hidden shitty ledge go get over it yourself !
- If you don't activate at least the progressive scan mode your eyes bleed, the framerate transforms Lara into a robot and with a sheet of paper-robot character you move the joystick a little bit and you are now TELEPORTED at 10 meters.
- Lara's bike is a damn mad bike, it is equipped with a second accelerator on the left, surely to warm up Lara's hands in the winter level! the guys have thought of everything..
Don't ask me how they did with brakes and clutch.
- There are these "bonus relics" to pick up here and there, it looks like nothing but butter wafers, i mean on ps2 it's super ugly. #Laraclette
This was half translated by google and me from my memo so it's normal if you didn't understood some
Take care
ALL OF THESE ARE SO TRUE HAHAAHA as if the next gen version aren't buggy enough, the PS2 version is a trainwreck in some aspects overall. Though playable, but still they should've ironed it out before releasing it hahaha
@@higantegamerYT yea ! Haha glad you agree 😂 i did not even finished the game, i gave up at the begining of last level arctic sea 😂