10 Times Developers Abused Players To Make Better Video Games

4. Tomb Raider II - The Great Wall

What They Did: Coming after the industry-shaking popularity of the original game - and how Lara's buxom-fuelled image meant Tomb Raider as a brand started to be thought of as boobs first, game second - Tomb Raider II set to right that wrong immediately.

Opening with a devastatingly proficient level called The Great Wall, you'd be dodging tigers, spike walls and other traps within moments. Even getting up and out of the cave you find yourself in was an exercise in scanning the surrounding rockery to pick out handholds and ledges to grab.

In short, this cemented everything the fans loved about Tomb Raider outside of Lara herself, but damn if it doesn't play like a slap in the face.

Why You Had To Endure It: Fracturing the player base right down the middle, getting through The Great Wall brings a brilliant sense of relief. There's a palpable sense of peril to these older Tomb Raider games thanks to their awkward controls and vertical chambers comprising intricate climbable pathways, and focusing on that entirely made for a sequel aimed at all the right people.

CORE knew it was imperative to remind the world that Tomb Raider was a pioneer of playable 3D spaces before it was a headline-grabber for gaming's most prominent sex symbol.

The Great Wall accomplished all of this in one level.