TOMB RAIDER 2: A Full Game & Level by Level Review

[Sat42]

Many thanks for completing this series of write-ups, Danjo86! It's rare to get such a thorough review of a game.

Might add more comments later but for now:

- some years ago, I wrote a review for the original Tomb Raider trilogy (you can still find it here and on GOG), my overall verdict for Tomb Raider II is not very different from yours: 75%, i.e., between good and very good. As an action-adventure game, it's mainly held back by an average (5/10) narrative ("narrative" is not just "main plot", it also accounts for "worldbuilding" - there's more than one way to convey a story!) - copy-pasting from my review: the story is OK and is mainly held together by the cinematics (incl. the great intro), which are technically better than previously and still look good today. While the use of Chinese mythology combined with Italian mafia tropes is exciting, the overall plot is slightly inferior to that of the first game, due to the virtual absence of character development (Lara is Lara as previously established, and the main antagonist is cool but one dimensional). Of course, in a game like this the story is as much in the player's journey as it is in the script, and conceptually there's plenty of mystery here to stimulate one's imagination.
- Even something like Temple of Xian doesn't get better than 85% in my book (between very good and excellent); Crash Site in Tomb Raider III is what I'd call excellent (90%); to be completely honest, an easy way of making ToX truly excellent would be to revamp it with TR3's graphics
- you are harsher than me on Venice though (that's an 80% for me!)
- I agree with the high consistency score, I said as much in my first post in this thread (to be clear: the way I'd rate the individual levels would show even less disparity than in your case)

Tomb Raider II was certainly Core Design's peak in terms of commercial success and popularity: still, they would go on to make better Tomb Raider games, but only incrementally, and franchise fatigue eventually settled in (strictly speaking, that is the fault of Eidos).

A little mistake in your last post:
- "Tibet’s average level score of just under 80%" - you actually gave it 80%

As my "childhood" (mostly teenagehood) Tomb Raider game, Tomb Raider II is undoubtedly the one I hold the most nostalgia for and I adore the Tomb Raider 2 Remake demo by Nicobass https://tombraider-dox.com/

[Ring_of_Fire]

The Venice level, and the Croft Manor is the most memorable. Butler, get going please! lol

[Flame_Knights]

Great thread!
And it's a strange feeling to me to see floating islands referred to as "distinctly foreign context". (Although it is true from Lara's perspective.)

[perryloo]

Overall, a very good writeup for a great game.

It has never lost its appeal, even after all these years.

Still seems as good as the day it was launched

[deadmando9]

Interesting, TR 2 is my favorite game in the Core Era series. The floating islands is my favorite level.
I'm happy that the floating islands received 100% on the review.

[Danjo86]

Originally Posted by Sat42

Many thanks for completing this series of write-ups, Danjo86! It's rare to get such a thorough review of a game.

Tomb Raider II was certainly Core Design's peak in terms of commercial success and popularity: still, they would go on to make better Tomb Raider games, but only incrementally, and franchise fatigue eventually settled in (strictly speaking, that is the fault of Eidos).

A little mistake in your last post:
- "Tibet’s average level score of just under 80%" - you actually gave it 80%

I'm glad you enjoyed the reviews, and thank you for commenting as well!

I think it's fair to say that subsequent TR games would be improved in terms of graphics, moves and scope to some extent. However, I personally hold TR2 and TRLR in the highest regard of the Core Design era, but for very different reasons.

TR2 felt like the sort of ambitious and naturally evolved sequel it was meant to be. Sure, Core went a little OTT on human combat (IMO anyway), but it had everything a sequel should have had. Bigger levels, larger and more expansive and even believable environments, vehicles, sky-boxes and of course more weapons.

TR3 felt like more of a disjointed mishmash of many ideas from both TR1 and TR2, with almost gimmicky design choices thrown in on occasion. This included boulders and traps that were nigh-on impossible to react to and some odd puzzles which required pure trial and error. The different global locations of TR3 also felt like individual quests rather than all being part of a whole, which marked a stark contrast to the first two games.

TR4 however, had a real sense of maturity and immersion which hadn't really been captured in the same way in previous games. It suffered from environmental uniformity which became a little draining in the latter stages however.

All of that said, I love all of the Core Design TR games and I may get around to reviewing the levels of TR1 or TR3 at some stage