Game along with the Geek: Tomb Raider Day 3

Snow behind us, last night I got back to "Tomb Raider: Underworld" where, ironically, I was trooping around the snow all level.

Again, for spoiler reasons and so you know, I have just finished the mountain level and am now starting the boat level.

And remember a couple of days ago when I said the game's positives were far out-weighing the many negatives? Well, the hammer room was enough to make me change my mind.

You see, my friends, I have a confession to make. Up to my ears with frustration after spending over an hour trying to figure out how to mount that final hammer, I gave in for the sake of finishing the game at some point and - gulp - looked online at a walkthrough, being very careful not to read anything but the section on the hammer room.

To my relief, it turned out I needed no help whatsoever in solving the puzzle of the room, I simply didn't realize tapping the "Y" button allowed me to climb across that metal chain fast enough to not get carried into the wall for the one-billionth time. I cannot even give you a ballpark on how often poor Lara died in that final hammer room.

The sad part is, before that room, I was really enjoying the puzzle on the whole from that section. I was stumped in a couple of sections, but not for so long and not without options of what my next move would be. I even find it pretty ingenious to begin the level with a sliding piece of pavement and then force you to use other slanted piece to jump to the necessary ledges. It took me a while to find my bearings and know which hammers to ride and which to take only as far as the wall, but all along I was mentally challenged, not angry at flaws in the game.

If only I knew what the "Y" button could do ahead of time.

That said, how cool is Thor's hammer? I tried it out a little bit on the boat before turning the Xbox off for the night, and that hammer really sends enemies flying. This also tells me the game is on its way to wrapping up, since you generally don't get such a powerful weapon if you've long to go before the final challenges. And, after how aggravated I was at that last hammer room, I'm not sure if I will be sad to see this adventure end.

I'm heading home now for another long session with Lara. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to tell you all about it.

By the way, given the subject matter, I thought you all would love reading THIS KOTAKU SCOOP.