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Tomb Raider II: Gold
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Graphics & Sound:
Sadly enough, there was no FMV at the beginning. You are just dropped inot an icy cavern filled with water (oh - and a huge shark, too). But the graphics are exquisite, especially the sky in the 1st Level (The Cold War). The sound effects and background music are fabulous as always with the Tomb Raider series. There were some nifty new additions, such as the use of break-away sheets of ice, ice floors and molten gold. Oh - and I thought the full skeletons found in caves with ammo conveniently next to them was a nice touch. I strongly recommend good 3D acceleration, as I tried TRII Gold with two different systems (see 'Test System' above) and the game would 'hang up' frequently on the lesser of the two systems (usually at a critical moment), but it worked flawlessly on the higher end system. Whatever you do, DON'T try it without a 3D card. I did, for kicks. Ick.
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Gameplay:
Standard 3rd Person Perspective 3D action/adventure with everybody's favorite game girl. The gameplay is good and I actually enjoyed these extra levels far more than the original Tomb Raider II (which of course, is included as well). There were innovative characters (Ice Phantoms and Yeti), new features in levels (molten gold, more detailed ice levels), more enemies (and a little smarter too) and all around more fun. Did I mention the non-stop action? There's a huge shark waiting for you at the game's start and it rarely lets up after that. If you are a PC Tomb Raider fan, definitely add this one to your collection.
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Difficulty:
If you are an old pro at PC games, the difficulty isn't too bad. It's standard TR fare, only with a good many more enemies. It is made easier by the 'Save Anytime' feature, which you may like or not, depending on your skill level and adeptness with the keyboard commands. But it's a nice security blanket, anyhow.
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Game Mechanics:
Lara has her tried and true moves here - run, jump, roll - and most importantly - Blow 'Em Away! The same weapons from TRII are available to you and that means tons of shooting fun. The keyboard commands took a bit for me to master as I am used to gamepads, but once you get them down, it's not bad. Everybody loves add-ons and Tomb Raider II Gold will not disappoint. Buy it.
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-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins |
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows 95/98, P90, 16MB Ram, 4x CD Rom, DirectX 5.0 or higher, DirectX Compliant Sound and Video Card, 3D Accelerator Card |
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Test System:
K6-III 450, 256MB RAM, ATI Rage IIc, SB Live! and K6-II 400 with 3D Now!, 64MB Ram |
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