Tomb Raider II

Tomb Raider II is a video game in the Tomb Raider series, and is the sequel to Tomb Raider. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive, and was originally released for PC and PlayStation in 1997.

Plot
The story of Tomb Raider II concerns the mythical Dagger of Xian, a weapon which in ancient times was used by the Emperor of China to command his army. By plunging the Dagger into its owner's heart, the weapon has the power to turn its wearer into a dragon. A flashback reveals that the last battle which was fought with the Dagger ended in defeat when the warrior monks of Tibet succeeded in removing the knife from the Emperor's heart. The Dagger was then returned to its resting place within the Great Wall and locked up for centuries.

The game opens in the present time near the remains of the Great Wall, where Lara Croft is investigating the truth behind the legend of the Dagger. When she discovers the entrance to the chamber of the artifact, it appears that the key to the door lock mechanism is missing, and she is suddenly attacked by an Italian who claims to work for a man named Marco Bartoli. Lara soon learns that Bartoli is a Venetian mob leader who has founded a cult obsessed with the ancient lore of the Dagger. She travels to Venice and follows Bartoli on board his airplane, headed toward an oil rig in the Atlantic. At the site, the cult is carrying out excavations on a sunken ship called the Maria Doria, which once belonged to Bartoli's father Gianni Bartoli. Lara learns from an imprisoned Tibetan monk, brother Chan, that the shipwreck carries an ancient Tibetan artifact called the Seraph. For generations the monks of the Barkhang monastery have been dedicated to preserving the Talion, the key to the door lock mechanism of the Dagger of Xian, even going as far as to sink the Maria Doria.

The Seraph in turn is the keystone to the chamber which holds the Talion. Before brother Chan reveals more however he is shot by Bartoli. Lara dives to the wreck and successfully retrieves the Seraph, after which her journey takes her to Barkhang monastery in Tibet. With the help from the warrior monks, she opens the tomb to the Talion and recovers the artifact from its resting place.

A high speed Jeep chase with Bartoli in pursuit ends back in China, where Lara opens the door to the chamber holding the Dagger. Before she reaches the artifact however, Lara plunges into the catacombs beneath the Great Wall. Meanwhile Bartoli drives the dagger into his heart, thus transforming into a dragon. In the final showdown, Lara manages to temporarily render the creature unconscious and pulls the dagger from Bartoli's heart. In the epilogue, the remainder of Bartoli's men track Lara down to England and invade her mansion.

Setting

 * England (1 level): Once again, Lara's mansion in England is home to a training course designed to get the player acquainted with the controls of the game. This time training takes place outdoors on an expanded assault course and inside a thorn bush maze. The old but loyal family butler of the Crofts, Winston will follow the player around during training. The final level also takes place in Lara's mansion, when the remains of Bartoli's cult break into her home looking for revenge.


 * China (4 levels): The game begins with a prelude at the Great Wall of China. After the Tibet missions are completed, three more levels in this location follow, all taking place in and around the catacombs which hold the dagger.


 * Venice (3 levels): In Venice Lara infiltrates Marco Bartoli's hideout. The levels provide the player with the first opportunity to drive vehicles, in this case a motorboat.


 * Offshore Rig (2 levels): While hiding on board Bartoli's plane as a stowaway, Lara is knocked unconscious by one of Bartoli's henchmen. When she wakes up, she finds herself stripped of all her weapons and trapped on an oil rig surrounded by a huge ocean.


 * The Wreck of the Maria Doria (4 levels): The game continues underwater into the remains of the wreck of the Maria Doria, a luxury ship that sank decades ago. On board is the mystical artifact called the Seraph.


 * Tibet (4 levels): In Tibet, the player moves through the ancient catacombs beneath the Barkhang monastery to acquire the Talion key, after which the game returns to China.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Tomb Raider II builds upon the basic set up of the original game. For a detailed discussion of its features, see the gameplay section of Tomb Raider. Innovations in Tomb Raider II include, new weapons, extra moves, a small set of vehicles, larger levels, and many enemies.

In terms of movement, Lara can now climb walls and perform a mid-air roll used to land in the opposite direction of which the player was facing. The range of weapons has been expanded to include a harpoon gun (though, more correctly termed, it is a speargun), a grenade launcher and an M16 rifle, which requires Lara to assume an aiming stance to fire. The item inventory now includes pyrotechnic flares, which are used to light up dark corners and take advantage of the improved lighting system implemented by the developers. The two vehicles in the game are a motorboat (in Venice) and a snow scooter (in Tibet). Both are used to travel long distances across the map and can speed up on ramps or run over enemies.

For Tomb Raider II, Lara's appearance was given a make-over by the designer, Stuart Atkinson, giving her a free-flowing pony tail, a smoother appearance, and several new outfits. In China and Venice she wears her familiar Tomb Raider outfit of a tanktop and shorts, in the ocean levels a half-body wetsuit and in Tibet a flight jacket.

The object of the game remains unchanged from the previous game: each level must be finished by solving various puzzles, collecting key items, and performing difficult jumps. However, this time there is an emphasis on gun fights and the killing of human opponents as well. Secrets no longer immediately reward the player with weapons or medipacks. Instead, each secret is marked by a coloured dragon ornament: silver (or stone), jade, and gold, according to the difficulty of their location. Only when Lara has collected each of these dragons in a level will she receive a bonus.

Development
Development of Tomb Raider II was already in its conceptual stages before the first game was released. By the time Core Design wrapped up Tomb Raider, more ideas and suggestions had been put forth, some of which could be incorporated in the first game, others which would shape up to become the next installment of the series.

While two key members of the original team had left – most notably Lara's creator Toby Gard, who was replaced by Stuart Atkinson – the design team for Tomb Raider II was expanded to more than twice of its original size. Subsequently, the game took a shorter amount of time to develop than its predecessor. A decision was made early to keep the engine from Tomb Raider, adopting a tweak-and-improve approach, rather than starting over from scratch. Minor camera issues and object glitches were fixed, while new features were added, such as dynamic lighting and a more flexible control system. With the improvements to the graphics engine, a larger number of polygons could be rendered on screen, allowing large outdoors areas and more atmospheric effects.

Core Design used a custom built level editor that made it possible to explore each stage as it was being created, allowing levels to be play tested on the fly and eliminating glitches. A team of six playtesters continually tested the game up until it was set to be sent to Sony.

While the original Tomb Raider was released on both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn game consoles, Tomb Raider II was no longer designed for the Saturn, with Adrian Smith citing technical limitations of the console to program an adequate conversion.

Reception
As one of the most hotly anticipated games of 1997, Tomb Raider II was an immediate commercial success, quickly surpassing the sales of Tomb Raider. As its predecessor, the game was critically acclaimed. Of particular praise were Tomb Raider II's improved graphics, the use of vehicles to add variety to gameplay and the more action oriented objectives.

At the time of Tomb Raider II's release, Lara was arguably at the height of her fame. A third installment in the series was inevitable and by the winter of 1998 Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft was released. Talks for a screen adaptation were in progress, Lara Croft featured prominently in several SEAT and Lucozade commercials and U2 famously used her image as a pop icon on their 1997 PopMart Tour.

Versions and Expansions
Tomb Raider II was released for Windows 95, Macintosh and PlayStation. The only differences between the versions are improved speed and graphics for the desktop versions.

Tomb Raider II Gold
In 1999, Tomb Raider II was re-released as Tomb Raider II Gold for PC. The game comprises the scenarios of the original Tomb Raider II and 5 new bonus levels in a separate mini-adventure entitled "The Golden Mask."