Tomb Raider II

"Highly underrated game from the highly underrated series!"

About two years ago I had just come off a brief obsession with the Resident Evil games. I was
completely against wrestling games and basically any game with no story or adventure. I was
looking for games that were adventurous. I read a review of a game called Tomb Raider III in
my latest issue of Game Informer. I decided I was gonna give these games a shot. I went to my
local Funcoland, bought the game and bought a guide. I sat down and had one of the most
enjoyable game experiences of my life.

Gameplay: 10

The gameplay in this game is great in every way it possibly could be. Lara could do over a
dozen moves in nice environments and backdrops. The Tomb Raider games often catch a bad
reputation for having bad camera angles and bad control. It’s a game that definitely requires
some effort and time put in by the player to master the controls. Being a master of the series (In
my opinion, I’m the greatest! Woohoo!) I find the controls to be fun actually. To those who
complain about the bad camera angles, press the L1 button to look around for god sakes! I had
fun through this entire game.

Story: 8

The story revolves around the Dagger of Xian. A sword which has mystical powers to the one
who possesses it. Lara is on a hunt for this dagger, but along the way she must get through
Marco Bartoli and his Fiama Nera cult. Marco Bartoli is a very cold hearted guy who, no
surprise, has a cult. Throw in Lara, some monks, and you get a pretty cool story.

Audio/Video: 10

The music in this game rules. It is never over-used and it always seems to chime in at the right
moments. Standout themes are the Venice theme and the snowmobile techno style song. The
music is all traditional Tomb Raider style. Sound effects weren’t bad either. All of the guns
sounded really crisp, although there is one bad drawback. When Lara pulls up on a block, she
makes this annoying moaning sound which gets very old by the end of the game. The graphics
are a good upgrade from those of Tomb Raider 1. They are much sharper and have a better
overall look to them. The graphics are the most enjoyable thing about this game. I can
remember being in the Barkhang Monastery on the ground level approaching the giant statue,
thinking to myself how much this game kicks ass. High marks for the audio and video category!

Replayability: 9

All I can say is that I’ve replayed this game twice, and plan on doing it again. Saying that, keep
in mind this game is fairly long. I’m proud to say that last time I beat it I got every secret in the
game, used no cheats, and beat the game in thirteen hours which, kicks some major ass. It
doesn’t add much to the original Tomb Raider formula, but it has new locations, and builds on
an already good foundation. Replaying this game all depends on the player.

To Rent Or Buy:

It’s a greatest hit, so why not spend twenty smackers and buy it! What have you got to lose?
Be warned though, a FAQ or strategy guide is recommended if not a complete necessity. Have
fun, and don’t get discouraged if it seems difficult. Just keep on chucking away at it and you
should be fine by the end.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/01, Updated 03/20/01