Unless you've just got out of jail after a 20 year sentence, you'll have heard of the Tomb Raider series, and it's well-endowed heroine, Lara Croft. Lara has been splashed all over the media, and now even has her own range of clothing and watches. A film is reportedly in the works. With all this attention being given to their star, it's easy to forget that Tomb Raider I, II, and now III are games. So are they any good, or are they just bought by terminally sad teenagers eager to see Lara run around on their screens?
 
A Unique Experience
The Tomb Raider games are like no others. They bring the adrenaline rich action of trap-filled platform games into 3D, meaning you can run around cities, temples and so on as in real life, rather than through a cross section of them. Because of this, playing Tomb Raider II is a unique experience, as you swing from chandelier to chandelier in Venice, navigate the dangers of the great wall, traverse snow covered Tibet in a snowmobile or explore a sunken ocean-liner.The graphics are fairly good and quite realistic, but nothing spectacular. In some ways this is a good thing, as Tomb Raider II will run fine on a humble 80 MHz machine.
Warrior Monks
The plot, which is developed through a series of 3D animated sequences goes something like this: Lara Croft and 2 other parties are trying to find the Dagger of Xian. Legend has it that when plunged into the heart of someone it gives them immense power. An emperor of ancient China was meant to have possessed it before some warrior monks pulled it from his heart.
Frustrating Control System
The game play is undeniably rich, relying as much on find the switch type puzzles as shooting. You can pick up all sorts of weapons, ranging from automatics to uzis, M16s to harpoon guns, and the 17
levels will last you for some time, no matter how good you are. With all these good points, there has to be a fault. There is - the control system is often frustrating, meaning that you can easily fall to your
death by accident. But this aside, Tomb Raider II comes highly recommended.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Cheats
Remember that these cheats could seriously spoil your enjoyment of the
game. If I were you, I'd use them in moderation.
ALL WEAPONS: Holding flair take one step forward one step back turn around 3 times
jump backwards
LEVEL SKIP: Holding flair take one step forward one step back turn around 3 times
jump forwards
DIVE: While holding ACTION and WALK, press JUMP and FORWARD.
HANDSTAND: When hanging on a cliff, hold ACTION, and WALK, then press up.
DETONATE: Turn around three times and jump forward to see.
