Tomb Raider II

"Tomb Raider II is still one great game to own"

Waaaayyyyy back in 1997, Tomb Raider 2 was released, with a promise to surpass the first Tomb Raider: Adventures of Lara Croft. Tomb Raider kept it's promise and surpass the first game in every aspect as possible! This game is good, very good. It's dirt cheap nowadays, so if you across it, buy it. Lara Croft is back and badder than ever in Tomb Raider 2. Tomb Raider 2 takes you out of the Tombs and the jungle wildlife, where Tomb Raider 1 took you. This time Tomb Raider 2 takes you around the world. The game takes you from Venice to a sunken ship, from Great China and other interesting places around the world. Well, not in that sequence, but you get the picture. Just like the first Tomb Raider, this game game won't be easy. You'll use you brain 70% of your time thinking. The rest of your time is having fun and shooting things up. Lara is on a mission, or should I say an "Adventure", to retrieve The Dagger of Xian, as it can somehow summon Warriors and Dragon, or something like that. So we don't want anything like that Dagger in the wrong hand now, do we?? Anyways, there are people and crazy cults out there plotting against Lara! And they will follow you everywhere you go, until they have the Dagger they want. Not only do you battle humans cults and stuff, you also battle animals throughout the game, as well, as in the water. There are also plenty of enemies throughout the game for you to blast up. Eidos has truly revolutionized the Tomb Raider series for years to come. Flares can now be used to light dark areas throughout the game. You can use flares in the water while swimming too. Gunfire can also light dark areas now also.

Lara also has new moves too! Lara has all of her nifty moves from the first Tomb Raider, with some new moves also. Lara can now climb walls. Swimming is also as smooth as possible. Although there are a few minor control problems through out the game, it not really a big problem at all. The controls are pretty good in the long run. I'm impressed at Eidos! They actually cleaned up the graphics, and the glitches too without messing up the game speed at all. Although there are minor slowdowns, this might be because the game is PACKED with HUGE LEVELS! This game is no doubt full of large incredible levels! You can see the space and feel the space. You actually have room to run around freely. This is especially useful while fighting enemies and wildlife animals. There will be tight spaces for you in the game though; But Eidos has to be given credit for the large environments for an early game in the series. There are a few very large water levels too. Eidos has created all of these extremely large levels, plus you can save your game anywhere now! Unlike the first Tomb Raider where you had to find Save Points. So if you save your game while your on fire, you'll be on fire when you reload your game. Plus there are enemies through out these huge environments! Unlike other games, enemies bodies don't magically disappear either, EVEN AFTER YOU SAVE! So if you've killed an enemy and have saved, after you turn your game off, or whenever you decide to play the game again, the enemies will still be there (Dead of course). One thing I learned about this game, that's different from the other Tomb Raider games is that; Lara doesn't back track a lot in this game. Meaning that the game isn't really repetitive at all! Literally speaking, of course you'll find keys and stuff, but it isn't as repetitive as you think, trust me, this game is fun.

Now on to more things about the game; Polygon count stays up, during gameplay in these huge levels too. In each of these levels, Lara is packing too. Well, I mean packing heat! Lara has plenty of weapons at her disposal. However, you will still have to find ammo for these weapons of course. Each weapon has its pros and cons, which balances out the use of the weapons. There are more than 7 weapons in the game. As you can see while reading, there have been many improvements for Tomb Raider 2 and the Tomb Raider series. The PC port runs even smoother! I couldn't believe it. Don't get me wrong, the PSX port holds its own ground too! The game's diolage and voice overs are passable, no academy award or nothing, but passable. You also get treated with FMV's in the game too, after completing a few levels here and there. The FMV's looks wonderful too. There are in-game cut-scenes too.
Tomb Raider 2 is no doubt one of the best games in the series! And receives a 9 out of 10!

Graphics: 7.5/10
The graphics are superb and the polygon count has been drastically upgraded. I was very impressed by Eidos and Core! Levels are huge and polygon count actually stays up. A lot of things have been upgraded graphic wise. Flares also add a nice ambient to the environments. With only a few graphics glitches here and there Eidos and Core proved that the PSX had a promising future. Real time graphics, no pre-rendered graphics here. Very nice touch Eidos. Good graphics and everything runs smooth in the game. The game is a tad bit old, but it still holds it's own graphical ground on the Playstation 1! These were the standard graphics for the future Tomb Raider games (as you can see).

Controls: 8.5/10
The controls have been upgraded from the first Tomb Raider. There are also 4 different control schemes, so you can play the game to your liking. Lara has some nice moves that requires the use of some tricky fingers. The controls are pretty much responsive. The default controls are set, for the best style; So gameplay should be a breeze. BUT, damn I wish Eidos and Core would have added Dual Shock Analog support with the Greatest Hits Version!! Your fingers will probably get tired after a while, but no problem, that's just another reason why it is helpful to Save you game anywhere! Sorry, of course there was no Vibration support for the original Tomb Raider 2 (Dual Shock wasn't out then), but there is also no Vibration, nor Dual Shock Analog support for the Greatest Hits Version neither. Anyways the controls nice and responsive in this game.

Gameplay: 9.5/10
The gameplay, just like everything else, has been upgraded too! The game runs smoothly. And to top it off, loading only takes anywhere from 9 to 13 seconds!!! I was surprise at how quick the game loaded the huge environments! Lara moves smooth, as well as other enemies and objects. Polygon count is pretty much always high in the game, even when you are in these large environments. Although, there are slowdowns throughout the game, there's really never a major problem with the gameplay. It's an PSX one game for crying out load, so there will be minor slowdowns while playing a few levels. This is the trademark revolutionary gameplay for Lara Croft for years to come, trust me.

Fun Factor: 9/10
When I judge older games, I don't just look at graphics or just gameplay, I look at the game as a whole and how it balances out. And also how fun it is to play! Tomb Raider 2 is a major step from the the first installment. Lara moves as fluid as ever, and looks good while doing it. The weapons are impressive, the music and the environments. The in-game music sounds nice, and sometimes scary, not to mention crystal clear. The weapons and sound effects are on point too, although the weapons and the sound effects sounds either: 22,050hz mono (or stereo) or 16,000hz mono (or stereo), which is not very clear in any case, the music is clear though. But anyways, the weapons and the sound effects sounds good, never the less. Enemies are also more of a challenge too, so don't be thinking this game is a piece of cake, cause it ain't. There are traps still around, and plenty of deadly cycles in the game. The vehicles are fun to ride too, but I won't spoil that for you, just in case you've never played the game before. This game keeps wanting you to play it more. The action is here, as well as the adventure. Each level in the game has it's own unique feel to it, so some levels feels scary, while others feels homely. You can see what the developers where trying to depict while creating the levels. The puzzles are pretty good to. Some are easy and some are kinda hard to figure out. This game is also packed with 18 large complex levels, offering tons of hours of gameplay. Plus, you can save anywhere, which is helpful when you are on the run, it only takes 1 block of memory to save also. Tomb Raider 2 has a lot going for it and is worth a purchase. It's a classic, so if you can still find it in stores or on the net, buy it. This game is a blast!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/07

Game Release: Tomb Raider II (Greatest Hits) (US, 1998)