Tomb Raider II: The Dagger of Xian & The Golden Mask Playthrough

My second favorite from the classic Tomb Raiders after the Last Revelation, and the second that am playing in my Tomb Raider Nostalgia Playthrough Series, had always been Tomb Raider II, what with its emblematic Venetian environments and music, its complex puzzles and sceneries and its unforgettable arch-enemy Marco Bartoli. Like with my Last Revelation playthrough (you can read the report and a brief intro for this series of playthroughs here), I play mostly from memory, and for this reason I am not getting all pickups or kills, but I do go and find all the secrets in every level, and if a pickup is tricky or challenging, I do go for it (like the legendary Uzis in the first level of The Golden Mask expansion).

Again the run is split in parts.

Main game:

Part 1 includes The Great Wall intro and the Venice levels: Venice, Bartoli's Hideout, Opera House.

Part 2 I call it The Deep Sea, and it includes the levels that take place at the rig and on the Maria Doria shipwreck, namely: Offshore Rig, Diving Area, 40 Fathoms, Wreck of the Maria Doria, Living Quarters, The Deck.

Part 3 is Tibet: Tibetan Foothills, Barkhang Monastery, Catacombs of the Talion, The Ice Palace.

Part 4 is China: Temple of Xian, Floating Islands, The Dragon's Lair, and the Home Sweet Home epilogue.

The Golden Mask adventure covers the last part, the Gold expansion of Tomb Raider II that consists of five levels: The Cold Cold War, Fool's Gold, Furnace of the Gods, Kingdom, Nightmare in Vegas.

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