TR2 is a really annoying game because I feel so torn on it. On one hand it’s a genuine improvement over the first with much more variety and a improved sense of scale and spectacle, and on the other it’s just as frustrating, not fixing things that a sequel should aim to sort.
The story is very minimal again, in fact I had even less of an idea what was going on this time. But the cutscenes are animated better and are definitely more action packed.
There were some gameplay improvements however the remaster added these to 1, so not really noticeable for me. However Lara can now climb certain walls… very slowly. No control or camera issues were fixed, and level design is still a massive double edge sword. The variety is much better in terms of the places you visit, and this helps inspire more natural feeling stages. But they are still jam packed with instant kill beginners traps, awkward jumps that feel extremely inconsistent and plenty of dark rooms where flares can only help you so much.
Combat is once again awkward, and they throw so many enemies at you It often feels completely unfair. Lara’s arsenal has grown, and I like some of the new weapons available, but it doesn’t really help when the enemies swarm you before you get a chance to use them, making the Uzis still the best choice as Lara can fire them to her side.
I think they handled level secrets a lot better, instead of just finding a random place to stand in, there are 3 artefacts in each stage that will grant you a boatload of ammo if you manage to find them all. I prefer this due to the fact that they can been spotted from a distance, and the reward feels more worth it.
I have to credit the vehicles again too, they control remarkably well and really vary up the gameplay, I wish there were a couple more.
There are bright spots, such as a couple of vehicle sections, but I felt the need to save constantly just to not lose progress.. and that’s not fun.
It’s a shame that despite these positives, the levels get too long and complicated, it doesn’t feel like they really learnt anything from the first game, and things that I will excuse TR1 for don’t get the same pass here. It’s better, but not by much - 6.6/10
The story is very minimal again, in fact I had even less of an idea what was going on this time. But the cutscenes are animated better and are definitely more action packed.
There were some gameplay improvements however the remaster added these to 1, so not really noticeable for me. However Lara can now climb certain walls… very slowly. No control or camera issues were fixed, and level design is still a massive double edge sword. The variety is much better in terms of the places you visit, and this helps inspire more natural feeling stages. But they are still jam packed with instant kill beginners traps, awkward jumps that feel extremely inconsistent and plenty of dark rooms where flares can only help you so much.
Combat is once again awkward, and they throw so many enemies at you It often feels completely unfair. Lara’s arsenal has grown, and I like some of the new weapons available, but it doesn’t really help when the enemies swarm you before you get a chance to use them, making the Uzis still the best choice as Lara can fire them to her side.
I think they handled level secrets a lot better, instead of just finding a random place to stand in, there are 3 artefacts in each stage that will grant you a boatload of ammo if you manage to find them all. I prefer this due to the fact that they can been spotted from a distance, and the reward feels more worth it.
I have to credit the vehicles again too, they control remarkably well and really vary up the gameplay, I wish there were a couple more.
There are bright spots, such as a couple of vehicle sections, but I felt the need to save constantly just to not lose progress.. and that’s not fun.
It’s a shame that despite these positives, the levels get too long and complicated, it doesn’t feel like they really learnt anything from the first game, and things that I will excuse TR1 for don’t get the same pass here. It’s better, but not by much - 6.6/10