Full Review for Tomb Raider 2: The Dagger Of Xian by John Woodman

Introduction

Lara adventures continues, in the land of Dragons. The story behind the action in Tomb Raider II involves The Dagger of Xian, an ancient weapon that supposedly gives one the power of the dragons. Lara is after this legendary item, and, of course, so are a couple of other people.
Your task, of curse, is to recover this precious artefact before all the others.

Graphics

Good job, nothing bad to say about it, the graphic were good for their time, but really aren't as good as the later generation Tomb Raider games on the same game system.
It's sometimes very blocky (for example you will find ladders that look like they�re painted onto the rocks), but not too bad for a Playstation game. The console does his work in a somewhat decent way, and you have nothing to really complaint about that.

Sound

The first thing I have to say, voices good. Gun shots are really well worked. But unfortunately, there is only a few music, mainly for short topic moments, or cutscenes.
It's a real pity you don't have any real in-game music. For most of the time you have to play silently, and it may not be a bad thing, because sometimes silence built tension better than any music. You will be aware of that if you will play the game.

Gameplay

This game is not for all. It�s hard, and requires more skills than the first Tomb Raider. It's almost a requirement: you got to have experienced the first game, if you want to achieve good results with this one.
Probably it's for that reason that the programmers put a training level (Lara's home), longer and harder than the first one, and I suggest you to play it over and over, until you are ready for this new adventure.

Lastability

Again, we find an interesting story, and the game is long, very long. You will find more enemies, more weapons, and a variety of locations and scenery in the game. There�s an interconnection between levels in the same geographical area that was not in the first game.
A real problem with the first game was the lack of enemies. This time you will find a lot of targets for your bullets: tigers, eagles, sharks and (of course) bad guys will be available for more exciting fighting. Even too much.

Overall

A good game, and a good sequel of the first Tomb Raider. It's a real pity that this game has been flawed by some little bugs... Like a work done by the programmers in a too fast way.
But, if you liked the first game, you will surely like the atmosphere and the story of the second episode. It's a good buy if you can find it for a low price, or as an used game.

Final Score: 80%