Some of the graphical changes in the game were new clothing skins, including a wet suit and a bomber jacket. dynamic lighting effects, and the ability to view Lara under the water exploring a sunken ship. The flares would reflect and bounce light, replete with wisps of whatever dominant color was nearby. And one of the game's key features was Lara's ever-so-perfect ponytail. In the original Tomb Raider, Lara's hair was worn in a sort-of bun. For Tomb Raider II, the developers chose to create Lara's trademark ponytail, as well as soften the angularity of the polygonal model that made up our hero.

The PC version

Since most of Lara's interaction in the original game was with people, as opposed to animals, new animals were thrown into the mix to add variety and color to the game.In Tomb Raider II, Lara encountered crows, a yeti, and the cuda dog. And of course it is important to stress that all the levels were new. There may have been some similarities to the first TR in the design concept, and the manner in which Lara traversed the levels, but the visual impact was all new and very intriguing for adventurers.

The PC version

New weapons introduced to vary the gameplay and management aspects of the game included an M-16 carbine and an underwater harpoon gun. New vehicles were introduced to the game as well. Lara could pilot a snowmobile or a boat. This served to keep the game's structure from becoming monotous and offered you new skills to master, and make use of, in your archeological quest for the prized dagger. Nonetheless, the developers kept the majority of the gameplay and interface intact, so as not to alienate gamers, and, more so, not to tamper with what was construed at the time as perfection.

Lara had the chance to explore an opera house, an oil rig, the deck of a sunken ship, the foothills of Tibet, catacombs, the Ice Palace, the Dragon's Lair, and much more. Hence, her empirical education swelled with each adventure. Talk about on-the-job training....

Tomb Raider II was laced with terrific puzzles, though some game players commented that they found the puzzles in Tomb Raider II less satisfacatory than those in the first game, and there were some major complaints about the quality and difficulty of the puzzles. The level design, however, was generally fairly well lauded. The new locales opened up the gameplay to more expansive areas and gave the game a less claustrophobic feel. For some this was welcome. Others claimed it took away from the fear factor produced by rummaging around creepy tombs. Overall the game was deemed much more difficult.

TOMB RAIDER II Gold
This game offered the PC version of Tomb Raider II as well as five PC-only levels: the Cold War, Fool's Gold, Furnace of the Gods, Kingdom, and Nightmare in Vegas. Nightmare in Vegas was not accessible unless all the gold secrets were uncovered in the first four gold levels.

These segments were worked into the game at the very end, as Lara was preparing to go home and rest. On her way home she learned that A.V.A.L.A.N.C.H.E, a group of mercenaries and treasure hunters, had taken up residence within the protective regions of the Aleutian Islands. So she set off to pick up more firepower and dole out tons of punishment, amidst lots of snow and ice structures. The other levels took place in different areas, like tripwire-infested bunkers, molten gold-infused tribal homelands, and forest areas.

Show me Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft