Lara's back. What a suprise to us all. Of course, this time 
around, she's pulled a game with her that's amazingly better than the 
first one.
	Tomb Raider 2's plot is built around the legendary (fictional) 
Dagger of Xian. Don't ask me how to pronouce that, I don't know. 
Anyway, the stories say that if you thrust the Dagger into your heart, 
you are given the power of the Dragon. Lara, for some reason, wants 
that Dagger. I guess she thinks she's not buff enough. Anyway, she's 
not the only one who wants the Dagger. A mysterious cult is also 
searching for the Dagger, and it's pretty much Lara versus them. She'll 
visit such exotic areas as Tibet and Venice. So much for Tombs; after 
all, you visit exactly 0 in this game.  However, Lara has some new 
tricks, such as a Grenade Launcher (very fun), a M-16 (Wow!), and some 
new physical stunts to help her out. But how does this game stand up to 
#1? Oh, it's better. Much better.

STAGE 1: Graphics
--------------------------------------------
	I always thought the graphics on Tomb Raider 1 were damn good. 
They're even better here. The dark browns and greys of the First 
'Raider seemed a little bland. Plus, indoor stage after indoor stage 
got a little tiring. So much for that! A large palette of colors are 
shown in Tomb Raider 2. Venice is decked out in many colors, with the 
buildings being yellows, reds, blues...very nice to look at. The Sunken 
Ship levels are mostly blue, but the occasional red carpeting and the 
yellow tables fix the monotany. And as an added bonus, there are levels 
outdoors! The Venice levels are all under a "sunsetted" sky. This adds 
a real atmosphere to the game. Don't think that all of the levels are 
indoors though; the Sunken Ship and the Oil Rig levels are indoors. 
Another upgrade, probably one of the biggest, is the light sourcing. 
When you light flares or shoot guns, the light appearing around you is 
truly stunning. But other than atmosphere and colors, the same great 
complements from the first game remain; outstanding 3-D art, and the 
water hasn't changed -- I don't think I could have been made better. 
Did I mention that Lara looks even greater? They actually added her 
long hair to this game, which sways back and forth; very impressive. 
Now Lara is composed of twice the polygons than in the first one, and 
doesn't look nearly as jagged anymore. Same for your enemies. The human 
fighters look great, and move realistically. The tigers have stripes; 
which was missed from the 1st adventure. However, a complaint from Tomb 
Raider 1 has also returned; polygon clipping and breakup, along with a 
few more annoying polygon problems. The same polygon clipping problem 
(Clipping is when polygons appear to separate, or breakup) returns; it 
is especially noticeable in level 1. When enemies fall down dead on an 
incline or off of a drop, they hover -- it looks like a strange 
levitation magic trick (Usually generates more of a laugh than a 
groan). You can walk right through some opened doors, and always 
through unanimated sprites and dead bodies. If had Core would have 
fixed these problems, I don't think the game would be changed that 
much, but it would take care of the one major complaint of critics. 
However, the overall graphics are excellent. They are a total joy to 
look at.
---------------------GRADE: 8 out of 10 (clipping problems)

STAGE 2: Sound
-------------------------------------------
	Tomb Raider 1's sound was always interesting to listen to. The 
padding of her feet, the echos of a large cave, the sudden stressful 
musical interruptions...it was done perfectly. However, I thinked they 
have loosened up a little for this sequel. While the music remains well 
done and still sounds great, some music cues aren't quite correct. They 
even carried over some tunes from the First Game. Most of the time this 
is okay, but the "Echoing Cave Noise" should not be heard while 
traversing a hallway in a Sunken Ship. A large area, yes. A hallway? I 
could've swore a heartbeat could be heard in a couple levels. Another 
gripe; when a music track is playing, and you pick up a secret, the 
"Secret Sound" cuts in on the music track (both of which are played off 
of the CD)...and after the 3-second SS is finished, the music doesn't 
kick back in. "But what about the sound effects?" Well...they've gotten 
worse. Lara now makes an even more erotic "uhhhh" sound when you lift 
her up, but I guess that comes with her new voice (Yes, she has a new 
voice. More Britishy.). A growling tiger almost sounds like a flushing 
toilet, and when Lara has grabbed onto a ledge and is moving sideways 
on it -- this is the worst -- it sounds like papers are being stapled. 
When she rolls, the nice crunchy earthy noise from the first game is 
reaplaced by a "bonk bonk" noise that sounds like she's rolling on 
wood. However, the crows, human grunting and voices in the movie clips 
are excellent, as the gunfire on all the weapons (The grenade launcher 
makes a deep "thunk" when you load -- always fun to hear!). Overall, I 
guess the sound pretty much evens out to be very atmospheric and great 
to listen to.
---------------------GRADE: 8 out of 10 (music cue problems, odd sound 
effects)

STAGE 3: Controls
-------------------------------------------
	It couldn't be easier controlling Lara in this game. For those of 
you who played the first game, nothing has changed. The only thing 
changed for the control pad is that L2 now does a flare and L2 is used 
for side-stepping. However, for those of you who haven't played the 
first game, you have nothing to worry about. Running, jumping, 
shooting, rolling -- it becomes second nature in no time. A fun and 
(re!)playable tutorial level is availible when you boot up the game to 
make sure you cover all areas. Scared of walking off edges? Hold the 
walk button, and Lara will creep up slowly to the edge. Need to look 
up? Hold the look button, and you can peer any direction you wish. Of 
course, the best part of Tomb Raider 2's controls are the jumps. 
Jumping a huge gap, just to barely grip the other side is as easy as 1-
2-3; if you jump correctly (Explained in the tutorial). A new jumping 
manuever allows you to switch directions in mid-air. Blasting bad-guys 
couldn't be easier than jumping and switching directions in the air, 
only to land in back of them -- pumping out lead the whole time. Very, 
very nice. Hoo ha!
----------------------GRADE: 10 out of 10 (outstanding!)

STAGE 4: Fun Factor and Replayability
------------------------------------------
 	This is the category that overthrows then all. This game is 
SOOOOOOOO much fun to play. The whole hunting, swimming, searching, 
jumping, shooting, sneaking, raiding aspect of this game just plain 
rules. You will NOT have an easy time putting this game down once you 
start playing, because you'll be so thrilled to find out what lies 
around the next corner. Tomb Raider is BUILT on the Fun Facter aspect? 
Replayability? How does tromping through any level again with all 
weapons and infinite ammo sound? How does blasting 40 guys in a level 
to pieces with a grenade launcher sound to you? This is some DAMN good 
stuff.
----------------------GRADE: 11 out of 10 (I couldn't resist!)

SUMMARY:
------------------------------------------
	If you liked Tomb Raider 1, you should NOT be waiting to get this 
game. RUN to the store, quick. If you have NOT played Tomb Raider 1 or 
2 yet, RUN RUN RUN to the store. You have NO IDEA what you are missing. 
This is the best adventure game of the year BY FAR!!!!

OVERALL VIEW OF SCORES:
	GRAPHICS: 8
	SOUND: 8
	CONTROLS: 10
	FF&R: 10
	OVERALL : 9 (GO GET YOUR COPY NOW!)