Living Quarters

Was this level even in the original game?  I swear, I have never seen any part of it in my entire life.  Even Diving Area was more recognisable.  Maybe they needed to fill up space on my Greatest Raids disk and thought, “hey, whose going to notice another sea level out of the millions of others?”.  They all blur into a big orange-and-blue smush in my brain eventually.

Living Quarters starts off as an uncharismatic ‘industrial’ level but soon leads Lara back to the slightly more endearing Maria Doria (well as endearing as a sunken ship full of armed henchmen can be).  It’s another fairly entertaining level with no particular defining features, but hey, it means we’re one level closer to the end of this bloody ship.

Lara continues exploring the wreck of the Maria Doria, tripping over the odd cultist and sea snake as she does so.

This isn’t the actual start of the level, but it’s very near it.  As you can probably see, Lara is underwater.

 

Is there anything that says “fun level” more than a room full of rust and metal?

Yes.  Everything else.

 

For whatever reason, this ledge (and several others) were completely impossible to climb upon.  Annoying, but hey, at least this is a very rare occurrence in Tomb Raider II, and not some kind of unofficial game feature à la Legend.

 

Apparently that lumpy piece of ham on legs that calls itself a henchman possesses more physical dexterity than Lara and can easily avoid rolling barrel death.

 

Ever wondered what Lara Croft would look like with a moustache?  Of course you have.

 

Ugh, those nut-can snakes have received an upgrade and now resemble nightmarish crocodile/eel crosses.  Crocodeels?

 

After just a little too many industrial-themed rooms, we make our way back into the ship; namely, the theatre, which includes seating for the many whale-sized guests it must have accommodated.  Lara’s aunt was probably a regular.

 

Fed up of the standard push-and-pull, Lara attempts to flying-kick this box into movement.

 

Here we have the theatre, a very pleasant room that is unfortunately overshadowed somewhat by the earlier Opera House level.

 

Cross-dressing henchman or the only female enemy in this entire game?

Look at him.  Posing like he’s on a swimsuit calendar.

 

The second-worse place to sit at the theatre.  First place goes to that chair with the dead body on it, because it’s facing entirely the opposite way (and has a dead body on it).

 

Finished!  One more level until we get to see the sky again.