Tomb Raider fans have been spoiled these last few years. Not only did Lady Croft’s seminal series see a glorious return to form after having veered so terribly off-course before, but fans were treated to no fewer than one new Tomb Raider game per year for the last three years. Lara’s re-emergence culminated in last year’s Tomb Raider: Underworld, an excellent entry sporting the same beautiful environments, fantastic puzzles and superb platforming that the series has been known for. It seems like it might be a few years before we see another Tomb Raider entry, but fortunately Crystal Dynamics and Eidos have treated fans to Tomb Raider Underworld: Beneath the Ashes.

Available exclusively for the Xbox 360 version of the game as a download from the Live Marketplace, with a release for other platforms apparently not in the pipeline, Beneath the Ashes is the first of two downloadable expansions to Underworld.

Beneath the Ashes works well as an expansion to Underworld, offering fans most of the same elements that they love about the main game. There is a degree of disappointment as well, though. While Beneath the Ashes looks and plays just like another Underworld level, it’s not necessarily up to the standards of the best levels that Underworld had to offer. Furthermore, it comes across as a little lacking in ambition, as it doesn’t really bring anything new to the game.

Beneath the Ashes starts off in Lara’s father’s study, with our heroine coming across references to a powerful artefact that he had uncovered. The artefact is said to be able to create thralls – mystical, living slaves that can be commanded to do anything. It turns out that there are secret catacombs underneath Croft Manor, with the artefact hidden somewhere inside it, and so Lady Croft sets off to find the treasure.

The story in Beneath the Ashes is a little underwhelming. It clearly fits into the narrative of Underworld, but the developers have not been very clear as to how exactly it fits in. By the end of the adventure, we’re still not sure as to whether it precedes the events in Underworld, or whether it follows them. This is not necessarily a weakness – the writing is mostly up to the same standard as that of Underworld – but it does come across as something of a missed opportunity. The adventure builds to a surprising and intriguing conclusion, although with the timeline confusion its impact is somewhat diminished.

On the side of the level design, Beneath the Ashes again offers Tomb Raider fans what they have come to expect from the more recent franchise entries. The catacombs beneath Croft Manor constitute an intricate and ancient adventure playground for Lara. As with the levels in Anniversary and Underworld, the developers have managed to craft an environment which feels non-linear, even though Lara’s path through it is mostly completely linear. As the ancient mechanisms are slowly brought back to life by our heroine’s tinkering, new paths open up, and so Lara will move through the same environments multiple times but in different ways. This design philosophy – revisiting the same environments without any actual backtracking – worked well in the previous two games, and it works well here. Towards the end of the adventure the true ingenuity of the level design becomes apparent, and it’s clear that this is something that Tomb Raider still does better than almost any other gaming series.

The level design does disappoint in terms of scope and ambition, though. Underworld featured some level designs that were simply breathtaking in their sheer scale, with the Thailand and Mexico levels in particular offering sprawling environs that dwarfed those of virtually every previous Tomb Raider game. Beneath the Ashes does not deliver in that regard, featuring something that’s more on par with Underworld’s smaller environments. Furthermore, the visual design comes across as quite uninspired and occasionally bland. The catacombs are all a dull grey, with very little detail to be found in the art design. It’s disappointing that the developers hadn’t made use of this opportunity to offer something that could at least match Underworld’s best design.

From a gameplay perspective, Beneath the Ashes plays exactly as if it were another chapter in Underworld. This is not at all a weakness, as fans can expect the same first-grade exploration, platforming and puzzle-solving here that they’ve come to know and love. Even on the combat front there are no surprises, as both the enemies and the weapons have been lifted from the main game. One thing that Beneath the Ashes does very well is the use of the grapple rope. Underworld had a few gameplay sequences where the grapple rope had to be used to solve physics-based puzzles, and Beneath the Ashes features several of these sequences. This was a great gameplay mechanic in Underworld, and it works equally well here.

Like Underworld, the halls and passageways of Beneath the Ashes are packed with hidden treasures to find. The expansion itself will take between two and three hours to play through, but obsessive tomb raiders will probably need twice as much time to find every last trinket.

As an expansion to Underworld, Beneath the Ashes works well, but in some respects still comes across as somewhat disappointing. It’s clear that the developers used their best ideas in the main game, and didn’t really challenge themselves all too much when they set out to work on the expansion. Xbox 360 owners who thoroughly enjoyed Underworld are advised to spend their money on Beneath the Ashes as well, as they are sure to enjoy what it offers. Less enthusiastic fans are, however, advised to rather pass on this, as they’re unlikely to find it worth their time.

Pros: The same great gameplay and design as found in Underworld; good use of the grapple rope.

Cons: Not up to par with the best levels of Underworld; no new ideas; uninspired art design.

Purchase: