Tomb Raider II Discussion Thread

kaztor · 22-01-22, 12:28

Hi folks,

Discuss anything TRII in here!

I’m playing it once again, into the Tibetan Foothills at the moment.
Awesome game, ofcourse, but one thing still bugs me: The amount of wasted space and lack of pickups for a combat-heavy installment.

Your thoughts?

xdesperado_ · 22-01-22, 13:57

Just last week I was playing just the Tibet levels, it's still my favourite section from the entire game.

.snake. · 22-01-22, 14:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaztor

I’m playing it once again, into the Tibetan Foothills at the moment.
Awesome game, ofcourse, but one thing still bugs me: The amount of wasted space and lack of pickups for a combat-heavy installment.

I actually think the amount of ammo that's placed in TR2 is perfect. It's a bit too much and too generous in TR1, making it too easy. And it's way too scarce in TR3 if you ask me. But TR2 is just right and I never felt I had to revert back to pistols after the first two levels.

Having said that, Tibetan Foothills is definitely terribly bland and empty once you get to the snowmobile areas - but I think that's because the builders were still learning how to make vehicle levels and had to make big areas for the traversal. I also hate how the snowmobile controls, but at least it has the best theme music.

Aside from Foothills though, I love all of the Tibet levels, especially Catacombs. But over the years, the sunken ship levels have actually grown on me as my new favorites. Nothing like eerie blue claustrophobia in TR.

**JACOBryanBURNS** · 23-01-22, 17:51

I just played it for the first time ever actually. Fortunately, I did the whole thing on Twitch so it was made much more enjoyable with some friends to hangout with during the playthrough.

The first part of the game, really up until Tibet, was pretty bad. There are just obscene amounts of enemies that felt more tedious than actually challenging. A lot of the game's logic is really stupid, and the non-ancient places were boring at best and just dull and annoying at worst.

However.

Beginning with Tibet, things do pick up. I quite liked everything from here on out and especially the just extreme WTF-factor they decided to go with for the Floating Islands and such. They really dialed the crazy and imaginative stuff up to 11 an then broke off the knob. I think the end boss fight was also fun and just challenging enough.

Didn't care for the entirely gratuitous level at her house though.

All in all, on okay game that is bogged down by a lot of stupid logic and really snoozy and irritating urban or industrial settings.

But I also get they were trying to do something different and can appreciate that.

ISG · 23-01-22, 19:27

Couldnt disagree more

I mean I understand you if you playled it the first time now in 2022. I played it once it released in 96 or 97. Back in a day it was mindblowing game. Ita my favourite TR aling with 4 and 3

TRExpertgamer · 24-01-22, 19:08

Hello!!! Do any of you know what level is this inside of this TR3 demo? I see it's in this TR2 disc which looks very amazing

https://imgur.com/gallery/qJmPYTg

perryloo · 25-01-22, 12:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaztor

....but one thing still bugs me: The amount of wasted space .Your thoughts?

They needed that amount of space for the snowmobile runs and fights

**TombHackR** · 25-01-22, 16:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by .snake.

I actually think the amount of ammo that's placed in TR2 is perfect. It's a bit too much and too generous in TR1, making it too easy. And it's way too scarce in TR3 if you ask me. But TR2 is just right and I never felt I had to revert back to pistols after the first two levels.

I completed TR2 & TR3 again recently, and at the end of TR2 I had so much ammo. At the end of TR3 I had drained out every single weapon, except the MP5 in which I had nearly 1000 bullets ! I do have a tendency to stick to the pistols as much as possible though

.

I'm going to have to complete the games again sometime because I really want to make full use of the weapons, especially in TR2. I also forgot that in TR3, when you lose your weapons in Nevada, you lose your ammo as well... so I wasted all my time in India using only pistols when I could probably have managed not using them once !

trfan16 · 26-01-22, 05:19

My favorite game in the series. TRII introduced a bunch of new mechanics that would later become series staples such as flares, ladder climbing, automobiles, and various other stunts. These were all nice new additions without feeling over-the-top like the later Classic games.

I do sort of like how this game shyed a little bit away from ancient ruin levels. Some of the environments in TRI get tiresome after a while since you're exploring 4-5 levels with the same textures and color palettes (like Greece). It was nice to explore outdoor environments for once with a blue sky (even though some of the TRI levels probably intended to be outdoorsas well). Levels like Opera House, Wreck of the Maria Doria, and the Deck still felt like tombs even though they weren't necessarily ancient ruins. With that being said, there definitely could've been a better focus on ancient ruins. Some of the levels also feel a little bit "samey" at times. As much as I love the Maria Doria section, all of the levels before the Deck feel way too similar.

The excessive amounts of human enemies definitely drags this game down though at times. It felt like every corner you turned and every lever you pulled activated a new enemy,

No reason for the Maria Doria levels to have so many human enemies. These levels featured the perfect atmosphere for introducing more supernatural enemies.

**ANoDE** · 26-01-22, 06:53

Technically, TR2 was totally a step in the right direction. I also really liked all the new mechanics mentioned before (while I don't necessarily agree that TR1 gets tiresome - the textures may be repetitive, but the levels are designed well enough for this not to take precedence).

What I didn't like about TR2 was the sheer amount of enemies the game throws at you from time to time. Especially human ones. Tomb Raider always felt different for not focusing on Human to Himan combat, but rather having Lara survive treacherous nature. That somehow was lost in TR2. But I guess that sorta comes with the inclusion of 'urban' levels.

I agree with Jacob, that the Level designers really upped their crazy at some points in the game (especially lateron), which I also didn't mind at all. Those WTF moments were what made the game special back then.

22-01-22, 12:28	#1
kaztor Student Join Date: Nov 2021 Location: Atlantis Posts: 136	Tomb Raider II Discussion Thread Hi folks, Discuss anything TRII in here! I’m playing it once again, into the Tibetan Foothills at the moment. Awesome game, ofcourse, but one thing still bugs me: The amount of wasted space and lack of pickups for a combat-heavy installment. Your thoughts?

23-01-22, 17:51	#4
JACOBryanBURNS Golden Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Malmö, Sweden (♂) Posts: 10,805	I just played it for the first time ever actually. Fortunately, I did the whole thing on Twitch so it was made much more enjoyable with some friends to hangout with during the playthrough. The first part of the game, really up until Tibet, was pretty bad. There are just obscene amounts of enemies that felt more tedious than actually challenging. A lot of the game's logic is really stupid, and the non-ancient places were boring at best and just dull and annoying at worst. However. Beginning with Tibet, things do pick up. I quite liked everything from here on out and especially the just extreme WTF-factor they decided to go with for the Floating Islands and such. They really dialed the crazy and imaginative stuff up to 11 an then broke off the knob. I think the end boss fight was also fun and just challenging enough. Didn't care for the entirely gratuitous level at her house though. All in all, on okay game that is bogged down by a lot of stupid logic and really snoozy and irritating urban or industrial settings. But I also get they were trying to do something different and can appreciate that. __________________ "If you can't say something nice, say something clever but devastating."

26-01-22, 06:53	#10
ANoDE Golden Join Date: May 2005 Location: Austria Posts: 6,637	Technically, TR2 was totally a step in the right direction. I also really liked all the new mechanics mentioned before (while I don't necessarily agree that TR1 gets tiresome - the textures may be repetitive, but the levels are designed well enough for this not to take precedence). What I didn't like about TR2 was the sheer amount of enemies the game throws at you from time to time. Especially human ones. Tomb Raider always felt different for not focusing on Human to Himan combat, but rather having Lara survive treacherous nature. That somehow was lost in TR2. But I guess that sorta comes with the inclusion of 'urban' levels. I agree with Jacob, that the Level designers really upped their crazy at some points in the game (especially lateron), which I also didn't mind at all. Those WTF moments were what made the game special back then. __________________ ~ Die Welt? Ein Tor. Zu tausend Wüsten, stumm und kalt. ~

22-01-22, 13:57	#2
xdesperado_ Archaeologist Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: UK Posts: 1,259	Just last week I was playing just the Tibet levels, it's still my favourite section from the entire game.

23-01-22, 19:27	#5
ISG Hobbyist Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 11	Couldnt disagree more I mean I understand you if you playled it the first time now in 2022. I played it once it released in 96 or 97. Back in a day it was mindblowing game. Ita my favourite TR aling with 4 and 3

24-01-22, 19:08	#6
TRExpertgamer Inactive Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Home Posts: 1,453	Hello!!! Do any of you know what level is this inside of this TR3 demo? I see it's in this TR2 disc which looks very amazing https://imgur.com/gallery/qJmPYTg

26-01-22, 05:19	#9
trfan16 Archaeologist Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,812	My favorite game in the series. TRII introduced a bunch of new mechanics that would later become series staples such as flares, ladder climbing, automobiles, and various other stunts. These were all nice new additions without feeling over-the-top like the later Classic games. I do sort of like how this game shyed a little bit away from ancient ruin levels. Some of the environments in TRI get tiresome after a while since you're exploring 4-5 levels with the same textures and color palettes (like Greece). It was nice to explore outdoor environments for once with a blue sky (even though some of the TRI levels probably intended to be outdoorsas well). Levels like Opera House, Wreck of the Maria Doria, and the Deck still felt like tombs even though they weren't necessarily ancient ruins. With that being said, there definitely could've been a better focus on ancient ruins. Some of the levels also feel a little bit "samey" at times. As much as I love the Maria Doria section, all of the levels before the Deck feel way too similar. The excessive amounts of human enemies definitely drags this game down though at times. It felt like every corner you turned and every lever you pulled activated a new enemy, No reason for the Maria Doria levels to have so many human enemies. These levels featured the perfect atmosphere for introducing more supernatural enemies.