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Post by Vinegaress on Mar 21, 2013 2:32:33 GMT
Basically, what is your favorite part of each of the sections, China levels, Tibetan levels, Maria Doria levels, etc.? Water Levels: My favorite level in the entire game is Forty-Fathoms and my favorite part on the whole section is probably the intensity. You never know when those flame thrower guys are going to be near you, so you have to be on your toes. Plus, I just love the idea of the underwater levels. And who can resist the Sola wetsuit? China Levels: While this is a super tough one to choose between, I think I'd have to say the Temple of Xian is my favorite. Absolutely one of the best level designs ever created in Tomb Raider history, if not the best level design ever. I really love all the traps and the versatility of the levels, spring boards, boulders, spikes, spiders, heights (the ones where you'll die if you're not careful), scary enemies. Just really a wonderful idea. In accordance to that, I'd have to say that my favorite part of the China levels is all the color. There's so much variety in the scenery and the environment that it really gets your attention. Venice Levels: Choosing my personal favorite from this is extremely hard since I really love all of them. But Venice, I believe takes the cake. There's so much beauty and fun to be had driving through the canals, blowing up the motorboat from the mines and finding all the hidden keys and secrets. I think my favorite part about them is how the guys appear out of nowhere within the story. For example, Lara's not really sure who this Marco Bartoli guy and as she goes along, you find out he's more or less cultivating a cult of believers of the Dagger of Xian, which is an important part to the story. Tibetan Levels: Tricky choice for favorite as enjoyed all the segments of the Tibetan levels, but Barkhang Monastery is divine. The idea of people fighting with you, working with you to defend a common cause is really unusual and awesome in Tomb Raider. I also love all the puzzlers for each of the prayer wheels. There's tons of platforming and discovering to be hand in the monastery itself. My favorite part of the Tibetan levels would probably be the idea of them; There's this ancient temple/monastery high up in the mountains of Tibet that no one has probably ever been to before that hides an terrible secret of the story of the Chinese emperor and the monks' rebellion. When you're there, at least to me it felt like this, you really feel like you're learning something new and discovering a lost people, who are just as tough and determined as Lara to keep the dagger out of the wrong hands. I've shared my stories, favorites, thoughts. What are yours?  |
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Post by AJ.R on Mar 25, 2013 17:05:50 GMT
Venice has always been my favorite since I played the demo for TR2 way way back, lol
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Post by Aglaophotis on Mar 26, 2013 11:58:16 GMT
I've got to say the underwater levels, only because I am completely hydrophobic when it comes to games, so those four levels always terrify me when you have to take the inevitable plunge.
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Post by cynicalhippie on Mar 27, 2013 22:36:19 GMT
I've got to say the underwater levels, only because I am completely hydrophobic when it comes to games, so those four levels always terrify me when you have to take the inevitable plunge. I agree completely. Water freaks me out entirely. I just watched a 20 minute video on youtube of amateur wreck diving and it was intense. Playing it in TRII was the very same. Temple of Xian is my favourite level but the Maria Doria set was really intense. It didn't matter if the environments opened up, it was always claustrophobic cause you knew there was 40 fathoms of water up to the surface. Lara needs to go wreck diving again. |
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Post by Vinegaress on Mar 28, 2013 0:09:14 GMT
I've got to say the underwater levels, only because I am completely hydrophobic, when it comes to games, so those four levels always terrify me when you have to take the inevitable plunge. I agree completely. Water freaks me out entirely. I just watched a 20 minute video on youtube of amateur wreck diving and it was intense. Playing it in TRII was the very same. Temple of Xian is my favourite level but the Maria Doria set was really intense. It didn't matter if the environments opened up, it was always claustrophobic cause you knew there was 40 fathoms of water up to the surface. Lara needs to go wreck diving again. Why are you both so afraid of water? The only thing you need to be afraid of water is the fact you can drown. So maybe it's not the water itself but the fear of drowning that irks you both. I can understand the claustrophobia because I'm claustrophobic but for some reason, being underwater didn't bother me like that. As I've said to others: Put me anywhere you want underwater, just don't put me up high, lol! Primarily, I really enjoyed the underwater levels, for another reason: Exploration. I literally spend countless hours on those levels, just having fun and looking around. I really liked the color scheme too, there was quite a bit of variety. In 40 Fathoms, it was rusty and orange, brown and blue with some black here and there. Inside the Maria Doria, it was blue, green, bits of yellow, gold, white, gray. The colors changed drastically in my opinion. Venice has always been my favorite since I played the demo for TR2 way way back, lol When I first played the demo, it was for the Wall of China and only went to the part to where you escape the rolling boulder and have to jump over the spiked floor and into the hole with the colliding spiked walls (right before the green dragon secret). See, Venice almost took the cake for me. It was almost a tie, but eventually the water levels won in my heart. Probably because I'm such a water fanatic.  |
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Post by Aglaophotis on Mar 30, 2013 16:16:44 GMT
I've got to say the underwater levels, only because I am completely hydrophobic, when it comes to games, so those four levels always terrify me when you have to take the inevitable plunge. I agree completely. Water freaks me out entirely. I just watched a 20 minute video on youtube of amateur wreck diving and it was intense. Playing it in TRII was the very same. Temple of Xian is my favourite level but the Maria Doria set was really intense. It didn't matter if the environments opened up, it was always claustrophobic cause you knew there was 40 fathoms of water up to the surface. Lara needs to go wreck diving again. Why are you both so afraid of water? The only thing you need to be afraid of water is the fact you can drown. So maybe it's not the water itself but the fear of drowning that irks you both. I can understand the claustrophobia because I'm claustrophobic but for some reason, being underwater didn't bother me like that. As I've said to others: Put me anywhere you want underwater, just don't put me up high, lol! Primarily, I really enjoyed the underwater levels, for another reason: Exploration. I literally spend countless hours on those levels, just having fun and looking around. I really liked the color scheme too, there was quite a bit of variety. In 40 Fathoms, it was rusty and orange, brown and blue with some black here and there. Inside the Maria Doria, it was blue, green, bits of yellow, gold, white, gray. The colors changed drastically in my opinion. It's the utter lack of control the water gives you. On land you're able to climb up to a ledge and use any of the weapons you have at your disposal. You're out in the open and free to flip, jump and run as you please in order to evade hits. However, in the water, that is all taken away. You are given a limited amount of time to swim around in it, before needing to find an air pocket, you have enemies that are relatively silent stalking you (have you seen those sharks in TR2?! They're horrifying! That damn eel too). You only have one single weapon to defend yourself with and it has an awful firing rate. That is assuming you even obtain said weapon. The water also holds the fear of the unknown. With the other levels you at least know you're on land and within proximity of society, whereas down at the bottom of the ocean, there's only one way to get back and it's impossible to make it on your own. |
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Post by Vinegaress on Mar 30, 2013 23:04:01 GMT
It's the utter lack of control the water gives you. On land you're able to climb up to a ledge and use any of the weapons you have at your disposal. You're out in the open and free to flip, jump and run as you please in order to evade hits. However, in the water, that is all taken away. You are given a limited amount of time to swim around in it, before needing to find an air pocket, you have enemies that are relatively silent stalking you (have you seen those sharks in TR2?! They're horrifying! That damn eel too). You only have one single weapon to defend yourself with and it has an awful firing rate. That is assuming you even obtain said weapon. The water also holds the fear of the unknown. With the other levels you at least know you're on land and within proximity of society, whereas down at the bottom of the ocean, there's only one way to get back and it's impossible to make it on your own. With said explanation, I guess I can understand your fear. The only thing I really had a problem with being afraid of, was not knowing where I was going (just figuring it out as I went) and the ambiance of the levels. As you said, you never know what's really going to pop out at you and if you'll be prepared for it. Even after replaying the water levels again as another run through, I did drown a couple of times going zig-zagging my way through the ship's shafts in 40 Fathoms. That got annoying, but it did make me push more to figure it out. |
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Post by sineadcroft on Aug 24, 2013 13:41:35 GMT
I loved the water levels. I thought that the level design for them was fantastic and that the developers did a fantastic job at making the player feel a little claustrophobic whilst playing Lara underwater. I also got very lost playing those levels, in particular the final level in the underwater series. I was stuck on it for hours, but I throughly enjoyed being lost. Plus those flamethrower guys were a real challenge to fight. I've lost count of how many times I incinerated poor Lara to death!
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Post by Lori Croft on Aug 24, 2013 13:47:35 GMT
When this poll was originally put up, I had to go away and think about it as I'm unable to decide which section is my favourite... ... And I still can't decide!  I love them all equally: the creepiness of the water levels, the elegance of Venice and the sheer beauty of Tibet! Least favourite is probably china as it was so hard, but still absolutely gorgeous to make up for it! |
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trarchaeology
Graduate
Tomb Raider fan and amateur archaeologist
Posts: 44 
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Post by trarchaeology on Aug 24, 2013 13:51:49 GMT
The Tibet section of the game is probably my favourite. Barkhang Monastery was an awesome place to explore and I can only imagine how beautiful it would look with modern-day graphics. And who doesn't enjoy zooming through icy caves and tunnels on that snowmobile? The only things I hated about those levels were the Yeti (urgh) and the fact Lara has to kill snow leopards (why, Lara?! They're my favourite animals)
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herbienut1337
Archaeologist
When playing Tomb Raider II, the save button is your best friend.
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Post by herbienut1337 on Jan 24, 2014 20:18:14 GMT
I think My favorite level(s) were the ones from the Maria Doria. I'll admit, I was genuinely scared at the beginning when Lara was at the bottom of the ocean with no diving equipment. I almost ran out of air until I found an air pocket. It was the level I managed to find the M16 in. It made fighting those pesky flamethrower guys MUCH easier. And besides, who doesn't love the SOLA wetsuit? :3
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I love them all equally: the creepiness of the water levels, the elegance of Venice and the sheer beauty of Tibet! 
