The Golden Mask

The Golden Mask
Tomb Raider II Gold
Release Date	4th June, 1999
Platforms	PC, Mac
Levels	4+1
Secrets	12+3
Developer	Core Design
Publisher	Eidos Interactive
Rating	ESRB: Teen
Game Chronology:
Tomb Raider II	The Golden Mask	Tomb Raider III

The Golden Mask (aka Tomb Raider II Gold) is part of the TR2 Director's Cut. The Golden Mask consists of four regular levels and one bonus level. The first three Tomb Raider games included add-on adventures which were released at a later date as an expansion of the Tomb Raider game it complemented.

Levels

Lara on a snowmobile in The Cold War.

Melnikov Island

• 1 - The Cold War
• 2 - Fool's Gold
• 3 - Furnace of the Gods
• 4 - Kingdom

Nightmare in Vegas.

Nevada

• Bonus - Nightmare in Vegas

Synopsis

During the course of her day-to-day investigative research, Lara comes across some 'clues' referring to a small island in the Bering Sea: a faded photograph showing an Inuit whalehunter holding what looks like an ancient Golden Mask, an old newspaper from 1945 referring to a conflict over an Alaskan gold discovery, and the blueprints to a secret Soviet military base and mine. Lara is primarily interested in finding the Mask, as it is rumored to be the famed Golden Mask of Tornarsuk - a 'greater spirit' said to bestow powers of re-animation on the mask wearer.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Golden Mask in exactly the same as Tomb Raider II. The weapons and moves Lara used are the same. This is why Golden Mask is an expansion of Tomb Raider II, even though it is technically a separate adventure. To gain access to the bonus level, all the 12 secrets of the previous 4 levels have to be collected.

Characters and Enemies

Characters

• Tornarsuk Hunters

This group of mercenaries is also searching for the Mask of Tornarsuk. They will always attack and try to kill Lara. Although they count as Baddies, they are mentioned as characters since they are the only humans other than Lara, that appear in The Golden Mask.

Enemies

• Armed Mask Hunters
• Barracudas
• Brawlers
• Dogs
• Eagles
• Polar Bears
• Rats
• Sharks
• Snow Leopards
• Snowmobilers

Gear

Weapons

• Pistols (with unlimited Ammo)
• Shotgun
• Uzis
• Automatic Pistols
• M16
• Grenade Launcher
• Harpoon

Vehicles

• Snowmobile

Locations

• Alaska

Lara travels to the Bering Sea, which lies between Alaska and Russia, to visit the Islands of the Four Mountains, part of the Aleutian Islands. A certain island is marked red on the map and the handwriting says Melnikov Island. This name seems to fictitious or an alias. The bigger island circled is in reality called Amukta Island, the small dot, barely visible at the top right corner of the circled part is Chagulak Island.

• Las Vegas, Nevada

Development

Designers

• Gavin Rummery (lead programmer)
• Neil Boyd and Heather Gibson (level designers)
• Nathan McCree (music and sound effects)