Tomb Raider II

"A great sequel to the original."

Lara's back better than ever! This was the first Tomb Raider I bought, so I was impressed when I played it. I'd say out of all the Tomb Raiders, this one is the second worst, next to the first Tomb Raider.

GamePlay: 10/10

It's the same idea as the original, only better. You run around monster-infested ruins with guns, a backpack and a pair of short shorts. All the guns are great. There are tons more than the first game. You get pistols, a shotgun, uzis, a harpoon gun, an M16, Automatic pistols and a grenade launcher. Lara's also got some new moves, too. Now she can climb walls, zip line, roll in midair and if you get the moves just right, you can make her BLOW UP!

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics slightly improved since Tomb Raider 1. Things don't look as square. Lara has about 500 polygons here. It's about 32-bit graphics. The cut-scenes improved too. There is a lot more detail.

Story: 7/10

It goes like this........you're Lara Croft. You're looking for the dagger of Xion implanted in a dragons chest deep below the Great Wall of China. The only way to get the dagger is to face the dragon and the only way to kill the dragon is to remove the dagger. You go out to get the dagger. There is also a bunch of bad guys who want the dagger too and will stop at nothing to keep you from getting it. You get the dagger and win.

Sound/Music: 10/10

The sound was great. The sounds of the gunshots were great. Animal roars rocked. I even liked the sound of Lara landing headfirst into a pit of spikes. underwater sounds were great. The music was also excellent. It matched the event perfectly. It would be calm at first, but when enemies show up the music turns exciting. Definitely deserves 10/10!

Difficulty: 7/10

Tomb Raider II isn't too hard. Some levels are just tougher that others. I guess to some it's simple and to others, it's next to impossible. Keep playing and you'll eventually get through it.

Replay Value: 3/10

After beating this game, I don't think you'd want to play it again unless you wanted to go again with codes. I guess if you're a huge fan of Tomb Raider, you can't wait to play again.

Overall: 8/10

This was a great game and a great improvement on the first Tomb Raider game and had few minor flaws. I recommend you buy this game. You probably won't beat it in rental time.

Hope this helped.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/02, Updated 08/21/02