My Top 5 Games of All time - Part 4

This is basically a list of my top 5 games that I have played in my entire lifetime that I will be presenting in 5 parts with each part containing each game. Obviously they are my own personal choices but I would urge any avid gamer that hasn't played these games before to give them a go, with that said lets continue.

4. Tomb Raider 2 (for PlayStation)

Original Game Case

Now don't get me wrong, I love the whole tomb raider franchise, even when it got a bit wobbly on PS2. But this tomb raider was my favourite, still is, and that includes the most recent prequel that I recently played on my Xbox. It was just something special, some people may argue that the first has to be the classic but not for me, my love for tomb raider never really began till I played this epic game. The first I didn't enjoy that much, only enough to give the second instalment a punt and how glad I am that I made that decision.

 Now of course this game followed on from the first, so to speak, and it also was very similar in game play to the first bar a few new moves and slightly improved graphics. Despite all of that for me it was far superior, it is very hard to explain but let me try and indulge a little bit more although what you read may run very close to the first game if you have played it. Saying that if you have played the first and not the second then do so and you may see were I'm coming from. Anyway.......


The premise of this particular Tomb Raider, in short...... very short, was the hunt for a dagger which if plunged into the heart of its owner would turn them into a dragon. Just your typical mythical/paranormal classic Tomb Raider plot. There were many weapons, enemies and locations for your enjoyment. If you are not familiar with Tomb Raider it basically revolves around Lara Croft ( pointless info alert! who I named my dog after) who is a, well...., tomb raider. This entails going on epic but very dangerous adventures to uncover the truth about mythical tales.

Thats a nice house.

Keep going,  tick tock.

From the get go I was enchanted by the experience I was offered here from the fact you could explore Lara's whole mansion which offered many avenues to explore plus a timed obstacle course to practise your skills on to a pool to have a leisurely dip in if you so pleased plus many more rooms and secrets to uncover and this was all before you even started the main story. Plus a butler who followed you around the whole house with whom I took great pleasure messing with.

Now I don't remember much of the very first tomb raider but I'm pretty sure this game also offered this option but somehow the second game just had something extra to it for me, something that just made me love it straight away and want to keep playing over and over again. That includes the main story not just the sandbox style mansion.

Made it to the top, whats next.

From the moment I started the main story and was dropped into some area at the bottom of the great wall of china by helicopter, had to fight a tiger then make my way to the top where you find a room that moves you through a hallway with a very Indiana Jones theme where you have to get through many traps (one of which did include a rolling boulder in a long narrow corridor) I was hooked. Now I died alot trying to just get pass this first phase of the game but for me it just spurred me on even more to keep going and see what else I could conquer and I wasn't disappointed.

Is it cold or is it just me.

The game itself had many exotic locations to travel to, each one being the next level of the game with secrets to uncover, puzzles to solve and many strange beings to put down which included bog standard 'bad guys' , wild animals and mythical creatures and they were all very exciting additions to the quite obvious puzzle platformer that the game, at its very core, was and still is. Climbing and and solving puzzles was the name of the game and a real sense of achievement was always ready to be had, as all tomb raider games have if you haven't had the pleasure.

Ok im scared.

One of the most memorable and exciting, if on the flip side, intense and at times scary was the undersea level. You dived to the bottom of the ocean with a submersive device to an overturned sunken ship which you had to get into before you were eaten by a scary shark. I failed many times just from the sheer fact that I was so jumpy at the fact I  had this predator chasing me that at times I didn't even see, it was all totally exhilarating and just elevated it from some video game to a great experience I was having with emotions taking over.

Lock and Load.

All the way through the game there were many 'toys' to be had, by toys I am of course referring to the many weapons that could be collected in the game. These ranged from your iconic pistols to an M16 and a Grenade launcher, all used to dispose of imminent threats. On top of that the game added flares which you could pop and hold for extra light if it was so required.

On top of the exotic locations, weapons, enemies and the intense emotion drawn from me as I played, there was also two vehicles to use on particular levels. One of the levels was in Venice and you had to solve a puzzle with the use of a boat to get to the next area to explore. It just added a new depth to the game that I really didn't expect. To be honest I don't remember the exact details of the other jus
t that it was a snowmobile, but I do remember it was very fun to use.





The game, as do all Tomb Raiders, escalated quickly from simple explanations to finally having the serious consideration of maybe calling the ghostbusters as backup at times (I mean you fought a dragon near the end..... yes, a dragon) but that was the beauty of the progression of the story. It was never boring, never linear and always intriguing and engaging. Granted most Tomb Raiders will give you a similar experience but for me this was the best by far and for the story, the locations and game play it still ranks in my top 5 games of all time. So if you like tomb raider but were late to the party or you have never gave it a go I implore you to begin with Tomb Raider 2, it really was the original classic and always will be for me.

Have fun finding that dagger.