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GRAPHICS: Tomb Raider was a revolutionary game. It deserves nothing less than a perfect score, even if there are glitches and a few misfires in detail. Tomb Raider 2, unfortunately, is not the revolutionary game its predecessor was. Undeniably, however, it is a stunning game. Lara looks fantastic, her curves are well defined (not that I err… look at them), and she actually has a pony tail, which has by now become many a man’s object of fascination, as well as new costumes. The backgrounds are often more breathtaking than the original’s, especially when staring about from precipices, and overall the 3-D environments do show endeavor from the developers. However, the people at Eidos apparently decided that a smaller polygonal count equals more gaming depth, as is indeed the case in TR2, so many of the characters are very cubical in shape, particularly the muscular men. The story sequences between levels are made with the game’s graphics for the most part, so they are not very good. The CG introduction is not very interesting (I recall a better one in the first game) but still looks great. A disappointing thing about this title was the texture of the walls and other surroundings—all in low resolution. And what bothered me the most was that the objects laying on the floor (like small tables and chairs) are not climbable, and like in TR you simple bump from them if you try to climb them, meaning that they are not 3-dimensional. As I’ve said, too much like the original to be considered grand.
SOUNDS Lara has her set of voice emissions, with both old and new examples (‘Aaahhh!’ when falling is old, ‘Ah-ha’ when finding items is new), that go along with every situation during gameplay. Some are very irritating, like when she sounds disturbed when climbing ladders and such. The enemies have their own, of course, and the rest of the environment obtains life with realistic sounds just like in TR. The music is nothing special, since there is barely any of it in the first place. However, on certain occasions one is treated with magnificent orchestrated tracks, as well as fitting music for every aspect of gameplay, such as revealing an important passage or being attacked by a T-Rex. Much like its predecessor, the sounds are sufficiently pleasing and surprisingly sufficient. Though not much has been added, there is little to complain about. PLAYABILITY Controlling the game is not an easy task for a rookie, it could take a while to master TR2 for someone with no TR experience. But despite much criticism, the control in this game is nearly perfect. Having said that, let me say that this is one hell of a playable game. There are new moves like ability to climb and the handstand, new tools like the actually-useful flares, new weapons such as the M-16 and grenade-launcher, and many new different enemies. Many claimed the first game a little dull because of an absence of action, well, someone was listening because the game is packed with far many more enemies, smarter puzzles, etc. The story leads you to very unexpected situations, such as escaping giant sharks while scuba-diving, finding yourself imprisoned without weapons or fighting a T-Rex…in the first level! The training mode is extremely more complex and, in fact, fun; especially since it becomes an adventure of its own and allows you to trap your butler in the freezer. In fact, it is possible to summarize this game in one word: fun. When compared to games like Resident Evil 2, it is also an extremely long game. Perhaps the only complaint I have to give TR2 is the absence of decent secrets (sometimes a secret is just obtaining a dragon), but this little fact does nothing to subtract a great deal from the game’s ultimate completeness.
OVERALL: Though not very much improved from the original as far as graphics and sounds go, TR2 was tremendously enhanced by a superb adventure and an incredible amount of things to do. Lara is a great character and one worth checking out before the movie comes out. Still, I doubt she is the reason for the game’s popularity. In my opinion, it's appealing because it is as fun as any game gets. With Tomb Raider 3 in the loom, this is still the very epitome of the action/adventure genre and should not be missed. SCORE: 9.5 (A)
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