I didn’t write a review for Tomb Raider 1 but I enjoyed it quite a lot. It had some rough patches that obviously were a result of its age but it’s still a solid 8/10. I went into Tomb Raider 2 with pretty good expectations considering this is a lot of TR fans’ favourite entry of not just the classic games, but the entire franchise.
Tomb Raider 2 is a game that I think has even more explicit highs and lows compared to TR1. At its best you got great levels like the Great Wall, 40 Fathoms and Barkhang Monastery where it has fun puzzles in impressive settings with brilliant set pieces but at its worse you get boring levels that focus way too much on the combat or gimmicks that aren't well thought out (such as the awful Tibetan Foothills) than the actual tomb raiding with areas in some levels being designed in ways that you legitimately cannot avoid taking damage (such as having to drop down and take fall damage somewhere to progress) to the point where the games gives you medpacks afterwards because they are aware of it. I don’t understand why people defend this because why couldn’t these levels be designed so you don’t take unavoidable damage instead of slapping down a large medpack and calling it a day? That brings me onto my next issue.
Most of this game you aren’t raiding tombs, but more modern settings, with pretty much 85% of the enemies being humans. The combat in TR1 was not very good, so I have no idea why TR2 pushes the combat so hard with gun wielding enemies around most corners without doing anything to improve the actual combat in a game that clearly wasn’t designed for heavy combat to begin with. If I wanted to play a game where I dual-wield pistols and smgs killing dozens of henchmen I’d boot up Max Payne, not Tomb Raider, and Max Payne has fantastic combat unlike these games.
Additionally, the middle portion of TR2 starting from the Offshore Rig definitely drags on for too long and pulls the “you lose all your weapons” trick way too early into the game. I hope you like the same rusty looking shipwrecks because you spend a lot of time running through them, even if some of these levels (40 Fathoms, The Deck) look very nice at times.
But even with these lows, TR2 has some of the best highs. The new weapons like the M16 and Grenade Launcher are extremely useful. The M16 has great range which lets you snipe enemies before they can retaliate and the grenade launcher is a great “fuck-off” button against enemies that you really want dead. Some levels like Venice and Tibetan Foothills have vehicles. The boats in the Venice levels were good. The snowmobile in the Foothills… not so much. It overstays its welcome, controls like complete shit and seems to explode over any minor drop or bump. If you couldn’t tell I REALLY don’t like this level. An over abundance of bullet spongey hitscanners on top of a janky vehicle section is not my idea of fun. However, the high points in TR2 are even better than TR1. Fighting alongside the Monks in the Barkhang Monastery is awesome. Other levels like the Monastery such as the Deck and the Catacombs of the Talion introduce this almost immersive sim level of "just go wild and complete your objectives in whatever order you like" which was a nice change of pace and because of how brilliant the level design is, you almost never get lost.
Overall, Tomb Raider 2 is just as good as the first Tomb Raider and I can see why it's viewed as the best in the series by many.
Tomb Raider 2 is a game that I think has even more explicit highs and lows compared to TR1. At its best you got great levels like the Great Wall, 40 Fathoms and Barkhang Monastery where it has fun puzzles in impressive settings with brilliant set pieces but at its worse you get boring levels that focus way too much on the combat or gimmicks that aren't well thought out (such as the awful Tibetan Foothills) than the actual tomb raiding with areas in some levels being designed in ways that you legitimately cannot avoid taking damage (such as having to drop down and take fall damage somewhere to progress) to the point where the games gives you medpacks afterwards because they are aware of it. I don’t understand why people defend this because why couldn’t these levels be designed so you don’t take unavoidable damage instead of slapping down a large medpack and calling it a day? That brings me onto my next issue.
Most of this game you aren’t raiding tombs, but more modern settings, with pretty much 85% of the enemies being humans. The combat in TR1 was not very good, so I have no idea why TR2 pushes the combat so hard with gun wielding enemies around most corners without doing anything to improve the actual combat in a game that clearly wasn’t designed for heavy combat to begin with. If I wanted to play a game where I dual-wield pistols and smgs killing dozens of henchmen I’d boot up Max Payne, not Tomb Raider, and Max Payne has fantastic combat unlike these games.
Additionally, the middle portion of TR2 starting from the Offshore Rig definitely drags on for too long and pulls the “you lose all your weapons” trick way too early into the game. I hope you like the same rusty looking shipwrecks because you spend a lot of time running through them, even if some of these levels (40 Fathoms, The Deck) look very nice at times.
But even with these lows, TR2 has some of the best highs. The new weapons like the M16 and Grenade Launcher are extremely useful. The M16 has great range which lets you snipe enemies before they can retaliate and the grenade launcher is a great “fuck-off” button against enemies that you really want dead. Some levels like Venice and Tibetan Foothills have vehicles. The boats in the Venice levels were good. The snowmobile in the Foothills… not so much. It overstays its welcome, controls like complete shit and seems to explode over any minor drop or bump. If you couldn’t tell I REALLY don’t like this level. An over abundance of bullet spongey hitscanners on top of a janky vehicle section is not my idea of fun. However, the high points in TR2 are even better than TR1. Fighting alongside the Monks in the Barkhang Monastery is awesome. Other levels like the Monastery such as the Deck and the Catacombs of the Talion introduce this almost immersive sim level of "just go wild and complete your objectives in whatever order you like" which was a nice change of pace and because of how brilliant the level design is, you almost never get lost.
Overall, Tomb Raider 2 is just as good as the first Tomb Raider and I can see why it's viewed as the best in the series by many.
too much combat, cool locales