Travelogue: A Detailed Analysis Of Every Level In Tomb Raider II

The original Tomb raider games were made by Core Design in the late nineties; featuring 3D environments that were cutting edge at the time. Their commercial success led to the team putting out a huge number of titles in just seven years. The pressure to create new Tomb Raider games led to them refining and improving a particular style of game, instead of making a brand new engine; they iterated on their level design with each new release. Because of this, what they were able to achieve within the constraints of that release schedule is worth looking at in detail, which is what I try to do here as both a travelogue and a homage to the work Core put in. Lets begin by jumping off the deep end into Tomb raider 2.

Great Wall

After getting dropped off by helicopter, Lara makes her way from the caves up into old forts and eventually onto the Great Wall Of China itself. It’s starting us off in a real location (even if it is stylised) and this sets the mood for the rest of the game. The first level of Tomb Raider 2 is a gauntlet, abandoning all hub areas for something with much more forward momentum. I love how cool and dark it looks.

I actually wish Tomb raider would take this approach more to be honest. There’s something very fun about a level with absolutely no back-tracking; it feels like a great change of pace if you’ve been playing the series in order. Not to say there aren’t levels with a similar progression but this plays out like the assault course from Lara’s house on steroids.

The way the rooms are laid out allows you to look at areas you’ll be accessing later on, and it shows how vistas can be glimpsed from far away. Core’s Tomb Raider Engine does a great job of interconnecting areas, and it’s key to the way the levels play out here.

You’ll still find yourself using keys and pushing blocks, but the high amount of deaths whether they be spikes or crushing walls shows off new pitfalls you’ll encountering.

There’s also a T-Rex, of course, which Core probably felt obligated to put in. How can a sequel be bigger, badder and better than the first game with no T-Rex?

What’s worthy of praising here though, is were confident enough to have it as a secret. You never get that nowadays.

Venice

Venice is the first modern day city level we’ve ever had in a Tomb Raider game, which is a big risk. When Doom 2 tried to do city levels it didn’t turn out so well. It pays off here however, because there’s something very old and decaying about Venice in the first place; the old boat houses and marble walls and chequered floors fit right into Tomb Raider. I also enjoy how all the villains are a mix between Phantom Of The Opera and Nico Bellic from GTA 4, a neat touch.

This is the first level in Tomb raider 2 to introduce vehicles. Even back in the first game, I really thought they were going to let Lara use that cool motorcycle at some point but they never did. Tomb Raider 2 at least gives us a boat to zip around in. In fact, you could say the whole level is built around it.

This is a departure from the focused platforming in Tomb raider 1. It’s clear that the levels are going to be bigger, but they’re also going to do a lot less hand-holding. Venice sort of just throws you in at the deep end and lets you figure out where you have to go.

There’s a lot of places for a new player to get stuck and maybe even soft locked out of the game if they lose the boats. I say boats because you’ll need to sacrifice one of them to blow up the mines and open a door at the end of the level.

Venice has a lot in common with City Of Vicambia in that it is happy to let you proceed to the end without vital items, meaning you might have to backtrack. Some of the twists and turns are deliberately confusing so you’ll learn the route by heart.

Another change is that enemies now carry important keys to progress; another thing to worry about.

Venice is up there with the toughest levels in Tomb Raider 1, and sets the tone for Tomb Raider 2 being more expansive and challenging.

Bartoli’s Hideout

This level is a personal favourite of mine, though I’m not sure why. It’s kind of short, and the second half goes back to that hub area with three different rooms formula I get tired of; but aside from that there’s probably never been a better realised location in Tomb Raider (at least so far).

You get this idea of Marco Bartoli’s henchmen all being holed up in this mansion even as it’s falling apart, with crumbling walls and lit fires, it’s unlike anything we’ve seen in Tomb raider 1.

What Core Design did here is take the idea of Lara’s mansion and turn it on it’s head, with you now having to navigate an enemies’ personal home. It’s a great idea because instead of cutscenes, you get to know Bartoli’s character by looking at where he and his family reside. You break into his library, swing from his chandeliers and uncover his secrets, all the while being careful not to get bitten by the rats crawling underneath the floorboards.

I don’t know how much the team were going for this, but it’s like Hitchcock’s Psycho, if you just think about the mansion as part of your enemies’ psyche and you can see why this level is so great.

Tomb Raider 2 stakes it’s claim to being the best in the series because of how it diverges from what we’ve seen in the previous game so heavily. Some don’t like the combat, but a level like Bartoli’s hideout shows Core level design at their very best. It’s the locals you see, that they are making unmissable.

And they’re about to follow it up with their most ambitious level yet.

Opera House

I might change my mind later on, but the Opera House is probably the greatest Tomb Raider Level in the series, and one of the best in any game for that matter. What is a level? It’s a self contained experience that rises and falls in tension, giving you a sense of fulfilment as you overcome the challenge. It’s like a chapter in a book, sort of, but you rarely judge chapters on their own.

It’s hard to describe how much a step above Opera House is from everything else unless you’ve been playing through the Tomb Raider games in order; it’s like a full episode in itself.

It opens at night, with a creepy wooden box swinging back and forth; with the odd sound of the catacombs playing from Tomb Raider 1. It’s not a horror level, but it’s even weirder for the horror elements.

A Harry Houdini portrait hangs on the wall over the canal; with a mustache painted over it to depict Marco Bartoli. You’ve found yourself in a place where nothing is quite as it seems.

As for the platforming, most of the opening jumps which would usually be the way forward lead to death. From the get go, the opera house seems to be saying to you, “slow down, you’re not going anywhere anytime soon. You’re stuck here… maybe forever…”

You have to engage in thoughtful play, looking at every part of the level for that one path forward. You seem to discover every solution just as you need to, without getting annoyed, but every single part of the level seems to link to something more.

You will feel as you play that you are unlocking the mysteries of the opera house, moving around it and exploring every corner. The sense of dread and darkness is stronger here than it is in almost any tomb we’ve seen so far, which is the real trick of Tomb Raider 2; it somehow showed that the modern world can be as decayed and old as ancient monuments.

There’s no waste in this design, every bit of it serves a purpose, and it is so dense with moment to moment decision making that it’s essentially like a full setting of four levels packed into one.

The Opera house is longer than most 16 bit games, and takes you on a similar adventure. Imagine the Resident Evil mansion section packed into one level and you’ll get an idea of how well crafted thise is. I don’t rate the levels in these travelogues but if I did Opera House would be as close to perfect as Tomb Raider gets.

Offshore Rig

This level is kind of like Natla’s Mines, in the sense that it takes away Lara’s guns. I find it interesting they seem to go back to this idea at least once per game; but here it’s done much better in that you get the pistols back pretty early on. There’s a fair bit of head scratching to figure out where you have to go, but you’re as likely to find the path forward by accident if the enemy shoots the windows.

Offshore Rig is the kind of base you might find in a 90s James Cameron movie, it’s depicted as a lived in space really well, with all kinds of yellow paint around the installation. It’s very slick and modern, and for some reason it fits right in to Tomb Raider; in a way that we’ve gradually been building towards this more modern setting.

I can’t make the argument that it feels archaic in any way, but it does feel hidden. You’re far out at sea without any means of letting people know what’s going on. That’s the isolation Offshore Rig and that’s why it fits Tomb Raider. You’re in a dangerous place, away from society, with people who will beat you to death if they find you skulking about.

This is where Tomb Raider works well; it can be modern, but it should still be on an island, or underground or somewhere that just makes you feel you’re a far cry away from everything.

Diving Area

What can I say about Diving Area except it’s more of what we’ve seen in Offshore Rig. There is the addition of new enemies with flame throwers, and harpoon wielding divers that you’ll have to fight underwater. Thankfully not too much.

There’s a ladder section that reminds you of Metal Gear Solid 3’s iconic set-piece, and it even plays a song while you climb. It was at this point I realised something for the first time: Tomb Raider 1 didn’t have any ladders. They are such an obvious fit for the game that you don’t even recognise them as being added in here, you just assume they were always there.

When I imagine all those Tomb Raider 1 levels without ladders, it’ crazy what a big effect they have. That games levels seem way smaller, because when you think about it the platforming was the only link between areas and they were all within jumping distance. You climbed slower in a series of jumps. Tomb Raider 2 on the other hand has more options with the addition of ladders. I don’t want to say, “there’s a sense of verticality,” but there’s no other way to put it.

There’s a cut-scene at the end of the level that really shows how good the writing in the classic Tomb Raiders was. In just a few lines of dialogue they really fit in so much lore, witticisms, puns and jokes. The scenes are really well done, and the level transitions here are great.

That reference to James Cameron was fitting in the last level, as we’re about to descend into the abyss

40 Fathoms

If you ever used the level skip to get here, you’re going to be in trouble because we start off deep under water, in the darkness, with nothing but a few sunken barrels and debris to guide our way.

I think criticising underwater levels is like the pineapple pizza meme at this stage, which is to say its a bit played out as a criticism and was never sincere in the first place.

Tomb Raider 2 has some brilliant underwater sections, as you’ll see here, and they come at a stage where slowly you’ve been getting better at them, with those switch puzzles on Offshore rig.

40 fathoms is an introductory level to this deep sea adventure Lara is going on. You probably saw some of it in the manual, with the lovely CGI images of Lara trapped on something like the Titanic.

Most of the level here is using environmental puzzles and platforming. There’s some combat, and the sharks and eels will keep you from getting too cosy at the bottom of the sea. I like how they used fire as a threat and as part of the puzzle. It’s a nice way of showing how Tomb Raider 2 uses contrasting elements to great effect.

This is a short enough run, though you might spend a bit of time looking for levers here and there. It really serves as the preliminary act for what’s to come.

The Wreck Of The Maria Doria

First off, when you hear the catacombs music in Tomb Raider, it always seems to signal a masterpiece. This is no exception, but lets see how it stacks up against Opera House.

First off, Wreck Of The Maria Doria is a huge level. I spent about an hour getting through this and I’ve played it before and like to think I have a good sense of where I’m going. You think it centres around the usual Tomb Raider stuff of getting three keys for an exit, or unlocking the secret of a certain room, but Wreck Of the Maria Doria is all of that and more. It does that same trick Opera house does of dragging you from one end of the level all the way to the other and back again with keys, switches and enemies leading you around.

Except in this case, you’re on a capsized ship, the atmosphere is bleeding through the PlayStation and the designers are coming up on magic mushrooms.

There’s speculation that in Tomb Raider 2 beta, this level was actually called Titanic, and while this isn’t the case in the final game; you are absolutely going to get the feeling of exploring the Titanic. You will even rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, or the boxes. Which is just hilarious as a visual pun.

But really the lonesome feeling of this sunken vessel, with it’s clashing time periods and blend of abstract design with realism is just so well done. It feels like a real place, but it’s structure is also impossible as an unending staircase, making it feel dream-like to explore.

There is a point where you first walk into the sunken dining room and this brooding theme begins to play, where I think Tomb Raider 2 really does rise to the level of art. Most videogames can’t do that.

It’s the uncanniness of the environments that are created all within the structure of the level editor, portraying this imaginary space in your mind; it’s unlike any other game.

The whole point of reviewing these levels came about because of that. It’s not some idea for an article, but only that the levels in these first two games in any case, really deserve to be considered for the things they communicate to players. In the same way we might look at Doom levels for instance. I wouldn’t take such time to do it if I didn’t think it was worth it.

It’s partly to do with Core design having to put these games out withing yearly releases, and them pushing a set of ideas to their limit instead of changing the approach from the ground up.

Very rarely do a team get to push within a limited system like this. And Wreck of the Maria Doria is probably the best they ever did at nailing a specific feeling.

It’s a pity the creator of Tomb Raider 1 left the team, but whoever took over level making and leading the design for Tomb Raider 2 did brilliant work.

It just keeps on getting deeper and more impressive. You think you’re done but you are only approaching the captain’s cabin. You think you’re miles away from where you started and you just fall right back into a room you haven’t seen in an hour. This is just the peak of Tomb Raider, it really is.

What other game has such clever and economical level design? There were times I wondered in this playthrough, just how they managed to fit this game onto the disc.

It’s the kind of mastery that only comes from having to work within restrictions for a long period of time.

And this is where you might want to take a breather, because we’ve a lot further to go.

Living Quarters

Living Quarters is fine. It’s hard to follow up what we’ve just played through, and there’s not much to talk about here. It’s a further exploration of the wreck; with some pretty tough swimming challenges to start things off. There are some nice rooms with old settees and comfy beds, and the theatre is a cool feature if you imagine people, probably long dead, watching pantomimes 40 fathoms under the sea. It’s not used for much beyond hiding a switch though.

There’s a scarce amount of med-kits in this level, and some of the enemies can be damaging enough to make you try a few times over. Not much fun.

There are some interesting ideas here with the platforming; backflips onto slopes and then forward jumps which is always pretty cool in Tomb Raider. They will also illustrate to you the differences in Lara’s jump if you press grab early or late, which you’ll need to figure out for one of the rooms.

All in all Living Quarters is okay; it’s one of the weaker levels so far, but that’s no real denigration of it’s quality.

The Deck

The deck is basically sealing the deal on this episode of underwater themed levels. Of course you get to run around on the top of the ship, platform around all sides and take in the view. It’s pretty much all based around that premise and it’s pretty well done. It is spooky how the whole ship is just laying there in the darkness, made spookier by the PlayStation 1’s graphical style. When you’ve come this far, it starts to hit you as very odd just how large the interior was, and how weird it all seemed. It’s more of a surrealistic dreamscape of a ship than a real ship, but now that you see it from the outside, things feel more tangible. It’s still a ghost ship if I ever saw one though.

Anyway, you’ll be doing some pretty open ended exploration at the beginning, trying to figure out just how you’ll tackle this huge structure.

The surrounding caverns provide ways of accessing higher decks of the ship, and there’s a fair bit of key hunting.

There is probably the first real example here since Venice of you maybe forgetting what you’re trying to do. You’ve a very good chance of winding up opening a door only to find another door inside that needs a key, or finding a key with no idea where its respective locked door is. This is a side of Tomb Raider I really don’t like, but this The Deck sort of leads keeps you on track by spawning new enemies in the direction you need to go.

There’s a section where you need to be at full health to drop down and find a key, and it leaves a med-pack beside the opening, but if you use the pack wrong you’re going to have to do the entire level again.

For these reasons, although the deck is really cool to explore, there’s a certain amount of roughness that creeps into the design. I have a strong suspicion whoever designed this did levels for Tomb raider 3 but I could be wrong.

If we ever get to that game, I’ll certainly have a lot to say.

When you claim the artifact at the end, you’ve no real idea you were even looking for it. You are transported back to the surface through the magic of a really nice cutscene. It’s been a fun trip to sea.

Tibetan Foothills

We start off in a brand new area, at square one again really. I think the snowy theme of the level reminds me of Caves, but weirdly enough it feels like there’s been a ton of this types of level theme before even though this is all we’ve played. It might have to do with this theme being reused in Antarctica in Tomb Raider 3 and the weird Russian Base level in Chronicles.

Anyway. In my previous analysis of Lara’s first adventure, I think every level was just getting better from here on out, but this is no longer the case in Tomb raider 2. The descent from greatness starts here.

It begins with a feeling of fatigue as you realise you’re going to be doing a whole new area from the beginning.

I think Tibetan Foothills tried to make up for this by adding in another vehicle section. The only problem is I really don’t like the vehicles in this game. There’s no point making excuses for them they are a net negative to the game. They control bad and break the intricate level design of Tomb Raider. But when it came out, this was a thing Core needed to put on the back of the box as a new feature.

Just like the new moves in Tomb Raider 3, vehicles are the big change to this game even though we don’t get to use them for most of it. And you can see why.

I should mention I think this is the best Tomb Raider level that features a vehicle in the classic games; so the fact I’m not enjoying it doesn’t speak much for their addition.

It definitely has a few cools set-pieces, especially the end where you get to jump over a cliff into the water, but there’s also a lot of frustration.

It’s not even the controls or whatever you can make arguments for, it’s just they are having the opposite effect of increasing the momentum and quality of the levels, the vehicle sections here are like a reprieve from something we’re starting to enjoy.

This is the worst level so far but I don’t want to say it’s designed bad. It’s actually done better than Venice, but it’s not nearly as appealing to look at.

Barkhang Monastary

Another huge level. This must be Tomb Raider 2s idea of an immersive sim. You play as a sexy woman who invades a tibetan monastery and gets all the men to fight to the death while she steals their treasure. How else can I put it?

Well, there are puzzles as well. In fairness, this gimmick of having factions face off against each other works out pretty well. It is actually fun watching the battles happen; and the monks are really useful so long as you don’t shoot at them.

They actually did this so that Lara wouldn’t just be gunning down everyone she sees in the game. A consideration they abandoned with her character for Tomb raider 3.

These Tibetan levels are probably the most experimental in Tomb Raider so far. The only Tomb Raider games I haven’t played are Last Revelation and Angel Of Darkness. One I don’t think I’ll ever play and the other I’ll hopefully get to.

But aside from that, they do try a lot of ideas here with the engine. I think they thought a lot about making the environments feel more realistic, and the combat encounters like set pieces. One section for instance, sees Lara running up a corridor and getting shot at; she needs to jump through a window and open the door to let the monks in to help kill the bad guys. This feels cinematic even if it’s all done with basic ai and very little scripting.

It’s not really something that continues into Tomb raider 3 as I remember. That game is far more difficult, and you rarely feel cool or powerful. Which isn’t to say it’s bad.

And this isn’t bad either. As a level. There is one section where you have to jump to get a prayer wheel, and it will make you think there’s an invisible barrier, and that right there is the puzzle. That’s one of the worst parts in the games yet, but not enough to drag things down.

Overall Barkhang Monastery is a decent level, but it’s extremely long, and you’ll start to wish there was a sprint button for the first time. But it’s also fun and memorable. So we continue onward.

Catacombs Of The Talion

Somehow, the enemies in Tomb raider 2 are always one step ahead of Lara even though she’s the one holding the keys. Here’s what I think of Catacombs Of The Talion, it plays a lot like an okay Tomb Raider 1 level. Nothing about the look of the place, or the atmosphere or the story it tells stands out to you as being remarkable in any way even though it tries to do a good job with these things.

I have a real feeling that the designers of Tomb raider 2 were much more inspired by the innovative modern settings of the game, but when it came to doing old fashioned tombs, they just weren’t as into it.

I really have the feeling that there is a version of Tomb Raider 2 out there where they never planned to have those city levels, and they began with this theme for the game, but they quickly realised it was retreading old ground.

There’s almost nothing wrong with this design; but it feels disappointing after everything so far. There is nothing fun about the giant room with the yetis and the block you’ve to push to hold the gate open, and you’re again just being led from corner to corner of the area pulling switches and doing the usual, but there’s no real sense of mystery or wonder. It’s by numbers and could almost have been a dlc level. I was honestly amazed finishing this and finding there was another Tibet level.

Ice Palace

Well… what can I say. Hardly Palace Midas is it? Ice Palace has this floor spring gimmick that’s a kind of interesting start to things, and Ice palace will eventually link you back into areas of catacombs of Talion, but that’s all it does. Its really interesting that the pace of Tomb raider 2 falls apart as soon as we return to the tombs.

I wish they would have had something with more gravitas for the end of these levels, Tomb Raider 1’s Egypt episode really benefits from having that tower you’ve to navigate. Here… I was just not having a good time. The boss at the end was so ridiculous I don’t even know how to describe it; and the yetis make very poor stand ins for the Atlantean monstrosities we’d be getting to know right about now in the first game.

All in all, Tibet is the worst part of Tomb Raider 2; more due to it feeling like a mix between the colosseum and caves in terms of it’s tile-set. It just doesn’t capture something interesting the same way those undersea levels did, but I will say the monastery was amazingly realised. I kind of wish it had been two to three levels instead of four though.

After all of this, we get a cut-scene with Lara retuning to the Great Wall, where hopefully we are going to get this game back on track.

Temple Of Xian

Well we’re back on track. Temple Of Xian is one of the best trap levels in both games so far, and by that I mean you need to save often, because it has no problem surprising you with sudden death. There is a noticeable step up in difficulty, where we go into what I like to call Tomb Raider 3 difficulty, if I ever play that game it will be picking right up where we leave off here.

I think Temple Of Xian does a good job of replicating the challenge of Atlantis, it even knocks you down multiple floors just as you think you’re getting to a shiny thing.

I really like how you move between the outdoor and indoor environments here; that’s probably what’s done best. There’s no human encounters either, but you’ll still be doing a lot of shooting of wildlife. Without skipping ahead of myself too much, and hey I might never play it through like this anyway, this absolutely feels like a Tomb Raider 3 level. The way the slopes and ledges are designed are getting much less grid based, and there’s a feeling of going into the wild instead of just a tomb, as in a poisonous wild that wants you dead at every turn.

The incremental difficulty curve that’s been steadily rising is starting to reach it’s maximum tolerable level here, but it’s not even scratchin gthe surface of where the third game will go.

There are one or two swimming puzzles I could have done without, and there is just about enough visual clues to lead you where you need to go, but by the end, you might try to climb the wrong dragon and assume you’ve made a mistake; leading to useless backtracking.

Temple Of Xian is an extremely well designed tomb level. The of rising notes of wind sounds that just play throughout makes things feel pretty dangerous, and there’s something really strong about how it goes from the natural environment to a more otherworldly, mythical locations.

I’m pretty sure this level pushes the limit of Lara’s new move set too, you’ll have to do backflip rolls from ladder to ladder in some fun challenges.

Once we reach the top again there’s a cutscene were Marco the final villain immolates himself and is carried away. You’ll start to see these mafia guys as pretty monkish themselves by now, they throw daggers at you like ninjas. It’s not fun. The combat is about to get a bit much.

Floating Islands

I love the visuals of Floating Islands. It was dreamed up by the designer after an idea she read about concerning floating islands in China, which appear as an optical illusion in certain types of weather. I couldn’t find the illusion she spoke about, but in any case it was a good idea.

The problem with Floating Islands isn’t the level design’s visuals, but the combat. I’ve played through Tomb raider 2 a few times and always remember it being great, but I do find myself agreeing the combat is just too much. Mainly with this level. Now would have been a great time to just have a few difficult encounters spaced out more sparingly. It certainly is not the time to be challenging the player with arena waves in multiple rooms. It’s dreadful stuff and the game mechanics aren’t built for it.

What you’re left with here is some really well done non-linear platforming, and some great visuals, with frustrating enemies that drag the experience down. You’ll be very happy to have beaten floating islands when you get to the end. Unfortunately.

The Dragons Lair

You’ll probably get palpitations starting this final level and not seeing the actual boss, but more enemies. What if it’s another 40 minute level like Floating Islands only harder? Thankfully, this plays out a bit like Phobos Anomoly in Doom 1, there are enemies, but they’re just for effect at the beginning of the stage.

You’ll not be delayed too long from fighting the dragon, and you won’t be disappointed either. It’s a great spectacle when Bartoli turns into a dragon that takes up most of the screen. You’ll need to shoot it to smithereens three times and then pull the dagger of Xian out of him. Hopefully you’ll have enough ammo.

The one thing I’ll say is ammo is generous in Tomb Raider 2 and it never really did leave me without on any playthrough, so it’s nothing too much to worry about. If you need more you can find some under water.

After you slay the dragon, Lara will escape the great wall which blows up, probably causing an international incident. AS she dusts herself off, we get to take in the end of the game.

Sweet Home

Or we would do if it was the actual end. Bonus level time. Sweet home is one of the best ideas they’ve come up with yet for a Tomb Raider level. To use Lara’s home in a night-time setting and have it broken into was such a brilliant idea. On every level it works.

Look at the way it only gives you the shotgun, hidden in that door you can’t access in Lara’s mansion during training. The way the enemies come in through the windows with rottweilers, and the darkness of the house during the break in, it’s actually one of the most violent scenes in videogame history when you really think about it.

Lara is dressed in nothing but a night gown, kind of like Ripley at the end of Alien. There’s tantalisation but also danger and the game plays up to it especially with the don’t you think you’ve seen enough one liner at the end.

This is what people liked about the character of Lara really, the way she lives alone in the middle of nowhere, with a body count that would rival John Rambo, and a strange coolness. Who is she that’s diving into these wrecks? It’s more interesting when we don’t know the answer.

Sweet home really gets all you need to know about Lara across, and what I like about it most is that it’s unnecessary,

Tomb Raider 2 could’ve easily ended with us just escaping a Tomb like in the first game, but they redid the training level to use it for an awesome ending.

I don’t think the series ever topped this honestly, as far as sticking the landing goes, Home Sweet Home is perfect, and it actually justifies the focus on combat throughout the game. It rights one of Tomb Raider 2’s only major faults and cements it as one of the highs of the series.