Tomb Raider II

aka: Tomb Raider 2, Tomb Raider II: Estrelando Lara Croft, Tomb Raider II: Il Pugnale di Xian, Tomb Raider II: Starring Lara Croft, Tomb Raider II: The Dagger of Xian
Moby ID: 487
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

The Dagger of Xian is a legendary weapon that was used by Chinese emperors to command their armies. It is said that a person can turn into a dragon by piercing his own heart with this dagger. When one of the emperors used it for that purpose, Tibetan monks manage to withdraw the dagger from his heart and return it to its resting place on the Great Wall. While investigating the legend, the archaeologist Lara Croft finds out that a powerful Venetian crime lord is hunting for the dagger, and must do everything in her power to prevent him from obtaining it.

Tomb Raider II is an action game with platforming and puzzle-solving elements, similar in concept and gameplay to its predecessor. Most of the gameplay consists of traversing hazardous 3D levels utilizing Lara's athletic skills and solving environmental puzzles. The sequel puts more emphasis on fighting enemies, adding many human foes to the mix. Additional weapons include a harpoon gun, a grenade launcher, and an M16 rifle. Automatic pistols replace the magnums from the first game.

There are two vehicles the player can drive in the game: a motorboat in Venice and a snow scooter in Tibet. Lara can now climb ladders and perform a roll in the air, landing in an opposite direction. The sequel also allows the player to save the game anywhere.

Spellings

  • 古墓丽影2 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 古墓奇兵 II - Traditional Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

72 People (59 developers, 13 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 85% (based on 48 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 176 ratings with 3 reviews)

Great Release For The Mac!

The Good
Tomb Raider II is one of my favorite games in the series. I also think that the storyline in this installment is one of the most interesting among the other Tomb Raider games. Anyway, this review is for the Aspyr Macintosh release - not for the game itself.

To begin with, the graphics in this Mac version seem smoother than my original PlayStation copy. The gameplay seems to flow a bit smoother as well. Aspyr's default control settings are near terrible, so it's wonderful to see that you have the option to configure the controls to your own liking in this re-release. There's nothing unique or newly added to this release, which isn't a bad thing, and quite frankly I wasn't expecting anything new anyhow.

The Bad
The game runs fine on my MacBook Pro and has yet to lag or crash during use. However, there seems to be this bizarre glitch where upon loading a game, Lara will not move but instead look around as if the player is holding the 'Hold' button. This happens somewhat frequently and can be a bit tedious at times - especially when this glitch is persistent. Sometimes this glitch can be fixed by simply reloading or more annoyingly by closing the game entirely and reloading it again.

The Bottom Line
Tomb Raider II is currently $7.99 in the Mac App Store. I definitely recommend this program for fans of the Tomb Raider series or for anyone whose looking for a good full-length game with a great story to play on their Macintosh computer. Lots of action, puzzles, exploration, great fun. Aside from the glitch, this is quite an enjoyable port of Tomb Raider II.

Macintosh · by blancmange (52) · 2014

Not as great as they claim it to be.

The Good
Well, some puzzles were nice and well thought and I liked some of the settings you visited and the in the first levels it might be fun to play before getting frustrated and feeling bored as an oyster suffering of depression.

Don't remember any more good stuff about it, really.

The Bad
The controls, I hated them, maybe it's just me, but I finished the game without mastering Lara's jumping skills, I found myself thousands of times falling to my death because Lara didn't jump at the time I told her to.

Most of the level design was poor, the levels felt empty and "blocky".

And the last level was just ridiculous, I felt very empty when finishing the game, the story development was so lame...

The Bottom Line
I have never understood why those series are so popular, maybe if I programmed a pacman game with boobies and lots of press coverage it would also be a best-seller...

Anyway, you might like that game if you are really into action and shooting games without a good enough plot.

Windows · by Depth Lord (934) · 2005

Lara returns with more puzzles, more adventure, and less action...

The Good
The Graphics: Getting better and better, but Lara still likes to disappear into walls... But the 3D graphics are really good and the movements are lifelike.

The Adventure Side: Well, we have MORE puzzles, MORE jumping, MORE swimming, and MORE thinking to do, this would be considered a bad thing, right? Well, call me a freak, but I LOVE it, I hope the upcoming "Tomb Raider: Next Generation" will give us more of this, well, it has promised that, and with the new gameplay style and all "TR" will be getting better with every new release.

Level Design: Outdoor areas, better design, making the puzzles easier to figure out (in "TR1" there were some really weird puzzles that were blocked by a ledge or something on the walls, so it was really bad), but still although this is a great game, it still has it's flaws, mentioned below...

The Bad
Action: Well, there are more enemies and all, but you have to agree that the action is less here, I know that there's a big T-Rex at the end and all, but the adventure took over the action here, this is the only flaw, so I'll end this review quickly...

The Bottom Line
Lara has more areas, more enemies, and more levels to conquer. All excellent stuff!

Windows · by Jim Fun (207) · 2001

Discussion

Subject By Date
Entry name Plok (200148) Mar 4, 2017
What is the best Tomb Raider? Unicorn Lynx (181788) Oct 1, 2011
Even Ebay uses our screenshots ! GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) Oct 30, 2008

Trivia

The Prodigy

This game was responsible for the delay of the UK band The Prodigy's 3rd Album The Fat of the Land because all the band members got sidetracked playing this game on their PlayStations.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Adventure Game of the Year
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - PlayStation Game of the Year Runner-Up (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Action Game of the Year Top Write-In (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Adventure Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • 1998 Buyer's Guide - Most Overexposed (Lara Croft)
    • 1998 Buyer's Guide - Most Hype for a Game Runner-Up
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/2008 - One of the "10 Coolest Levels" (It is the first real Tomb Raider level that isn't set in a ruin and the motorboat sequence is fun, difficult and thrilling.)
  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/1998 - Babe of the Year 1997 (for Lara Croft)
  • PSExtreme
    • 1997 (Vol.3, Iss.3) - Game of the Year
    • 1997 (Vol.3, Iss.3) - Best Exploration/Adventure Game of the Year
  • Power Play
    • Issue 02/1998 – Best Action-Adventure in 1997

Information also contributed by Big John WV

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Related Sites +

  • Stella's Tomb
    Excellent Tomb Raider Fan Site. Here is the place to go for walkthroughs and some great Lara Croft art. You can even download the "Gold" add-on levels here *free* if you already own Tomb Raider 2.
  • Tomb Raider Home
    The Official Tomb Raider site
  • Universal Hints for Tomb Raider 2
    If you're stuck in TR2, this is the place to go. These hints give you nudges before the final solution is revealed.
  • Wikipedia: Tomb Raider II
    Information about Tomb Raider II at Wikipedia

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 487
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by robotriot.

PS Vita added by GTramp. PSP, PlayStation 3 added by Foxhack. PlayStation added by Grant McLellan. Macintosh added by Jeanne.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Syed GJ, Jeanne, tarmo888, Alaka, festershinetop, Richard Kaplan, DreinIX, Paulus18950, Zaibatsu, Patrick Bregger, Danfer.

Game added November 28, 1999. Last modified March 8, 2024.