Tomb Raider II (1997)
Tomb Raider II is a 1997 shooter video game made by Core Design.
Tomb Raider II sends Lara Croft after the Dagger of Xian, a relic with the power to turn its wielder into a dragon, through the Great Wall of China, an Italian opera house, a crashed oil rig, and a Venetian canal district that actually lets her drive a speedboat. The sequel leans harder into combat than its predecessor: human mercenaries replace most of the animals, and Lara's arsenal grows to include a harpoon gun, grenade launcher, and M16. Core Design kept the methodical platforming intact while giving the whole thing a pulpier, more action-film edge.
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Tomb Raider II in our writing
- Companion guide: Eidos Interactive: Lara Croft, Deus Ex and the British Golden Age
A few thoughts on Tomb Raider II
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life is the closest screen equivalent, sharing the globe-trotting structure, the Chinese opening location, and the artifact-with-catastrophic-power premise. For a more faithful animated take on the character, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft picks up the spirit of the classic games.
Lara Croft across every medium
Tomb Raider II expanded the franchise into underwater sections, motorcycles, and a Venice setting while keeping the same core character. The same Lara appears in the films, the 2024 Netflix series, and the tie-in novels, each version building on what the games established.
Sequels that raised the stakes
Tomb Raider II added human enemies with guns, vehicles, and a more globe-trotting scope than the first game. It belongs to a tradition of sequels that kept the bones of what worked while making the world feel bigger and more dangerous.