As evinced by my play time, in addition to a modded executable and playing the CD version before Steam even came along, I love TR2. The game as a whole just feels so right - the musical ambience, the variety of locations and visuals, Lara's quick wit and enquiring mind... but the story really stands out for me. It's an incredible achievement that showcases everything these early titles can accomplish.

The story begins with Lara already clued up on the Temple of Xian beneath the Great Wall of China, but is stopped short by a heavy door with an unusual lock and a thug. The thug provides Lara with clues as to his employer, and so we follow Lara as she tracks down more information regarding the temple. From Venice to an offshore rig, to 40 fathoms under the sea to a shipwreck, to Tibet and the monastery of Barkhang, eventually leading back to the Temple of Xian itself, the sense of adventure is very satisfying.

Control-wise, not much has changed since the first Tomb Raider game. There are now flying foxes. Climbing walls is now possible, as is the 180 flip jump, allowing Lara to change her facing direction in a jump, similar to the 180 roll. Sprinting and crouching are not introduced until Tomb Raider III. There are more weapons, with the M-16 rifle allowing for greater enemy spotting and targeting distances, rapid-fire, but also slower aiming and changing between hip fire while running, to shoulder fire when standing.

The addition of more weapons is a welcome boon due to the very large number of human foes relative to the first game. There are goons everywhere! Thankfully there is no question of whether or not to shoot these guys (unlike some other TR titles,) seeing as they are (almost) all from Bartoli's dragon cult. I say 'almost' because there are the monks of Barkhang monastery that can be friend or foe depending on how you play it. The choice is yours.

As with the first game, there are tricks to the combat that can make combat a breeze, due to the turning circle they have to take to line up a shot.

There are still too many angry animals for my liking, but I tend to play minimalist on kills, especially with animals, as I feel it is out of character.

While the vanilla is similar to the first title in terms of being too bright and making flares seem like so much useless junk, it is a little better - some dark areas I found to be a lot darker than the first game, so it's a subtle improvement, but it does still need more work. Even with mods, I found myself editing brightness and contrast for my gameplay videos I've made for youtube.

Although her signature costume makes a return, we have some additions. The diving suit is used for the four underwater levels, while the Tibet levels see her with a winter jacket.

With the large number of human foes, gameplay leans away from navigating tombs and terrain to focus more on gun combat. Some levels will be more balanced, while still other levels (like the Temple of Xian itself) are more focused on puzzle-solving and trap-dodging.

It's worth noting the secrets have changed to dragon artefacts now, and the secret chime won't play until they are picked up. The secrets are always 3 per level (except the last level, I think) and come as Stone, Jade, and Gold statuettes, with the 3rd pickup rewarding a fat special ammo bonus. It's worth collecting them all so you can unlock the bonus level, Nightmare in Vegas. For even more fun, be sure to hunt down The Golden Mask for an extra four levels. Starting a new game right after finishing the game unlocks all weapons and ammo, much the same as the first game.



For such a dated game I'm amazed how many times I've played and enjoyed this. You can speed run, set your own limitations, or just plough on through without a care. I wouldn't call it a hard game, and Lara's FMV encounters are very entertaining.

Lara - "Pardon me, if that's your way of trying the doors for me."

Goon - "Hehehehehe, with a tommy gun on my key ring!"