| Reviewer's comments |
"A Coastal setting with an introductory flyby suggesting Lara’s arrival on the scene via helicopter and the subsequent destruction of the latter, which happens for reasons, and off-screen. Another flyby mid-level is unadulterated self-indulgence, but executed with such gusto that I up the score for it regardless. With the area that it shows, the builder apparently attempts to put the ruins back in “Coastal Ruins”. It doesn’t quite work, but it’s a valiant effort. This time, there is also a fixed camera, a particularly annoying one focusing on Lara through a closed trapdoor, which may result in a stupid death by drowning if you are not careful.
Gameplay consists in a fetch quest for various items and is therefore without particular interest, but it’s fluent and devoid of the non-sequiturs of some of the builder’s later levels. The builder’s penchant for modifying some of his objects usually has mixed results, but in this level it works best (although the retextured crowbar door may throw off some, as it did eTux). The third of the builder’s delights (next to flybys and object modification) here takes the form of a flipmap that changes the slope leading to the ‘ruins’ into a series of climbable blocks. In other news, a few skeletons present a slight challenge to get rid of, but nothing as serious as Blue suggests (use the water hole for the first two, and the doorway where you entered for the third; no big deal).
The level is presumably the second of the four shorts that the builder released simultaneously, an educated guess based on the way lighting is used. It is as intense as it is in Egyptian Pyramid Temple, but this obviously fits the Coastal setting much better, and the harsh contrast with shadowbulbs is absent. Again there is a memorable light effect, used twice, which combines a light static and a lens flare. (Also, two of the three warthogs drop shotgun ammo, as a scorpion dropped flares in the Tut1 level.)
The ending comes abruptly just as you’re about to enter a new area, and an unused room and a ledge that you can’t reach further suggest that the level is unfinished. The secret seems to have been added hastily as an afterthought, as you need to use the Torch on only one of the two Fireropes, and the boulders are suspended behind a wafer-thin wall. Such gripes notwithstanding, this is my favourite of Richard Ba’s levels, the two longer ones explicitly included." - Mulf (23-Feb-2021) |
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| "I've been playing some good TRLEs lately and I decided on
purpose to pick something that has a low rating, which is
something I've not done before, just to see what a bad
TRLE is like.
Well, it starts with a helicopter seemingly droping Lara
(this is just my assumption because the camera doesn't
show this directly) I presume in a weird Coastal area,
perhaps ruined but I'm not sure because the entire level
is so bland looking I couldn't tell. The gameplay is
simple, arbitrary and uninamaginative with just some boar
shooting, skellies pestering you and some items to pick
up and place where they belong. And all of this takes 10
minutes, which you could probably finish it in 5. I also
don't understand the name of this one, the level isn't a
valley, it doesn't anything to do with the concept of
time so why is it called "Valley of Time"?
Anyway, since we came to the subject of time, don't waste
your's with this one, it's not worth it, and I've already
wasted enough of mine satisfying my morbid curiosity." - Cruzader (28-Aug-2020) |
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| "The opening scene with the helicopter promised great things to come but alas it was not to be. The level quickly descends into a short hunt with little or no exploration required, simply follow your nose. Ten minutes and it was all over. The torch gains you access to the level's only secret, a trident." - Torry (02-Dec-2019) |
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| "Very easy to play this short coastal level, with simple tasks I only missed an explosive gun to blast the skeletons, and the wild pigs dropping shotgun ammo was simply... hilarious. Simple architecture, correct tecturization and use of camera shots, not a marvellous level but enough enjoyable to play." - Jose (25-Jan-2018) |
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| "How to explain a level that lasts little more
than 5 minutes in lengthy detail. Err... The
helicopter crash-lands (?) in an Egyptian
coastal area and Lara has to locate a gem,
golden star and coin artefact (the torch is
useless), use them and end the level at the
trapdoor. Well, I tried my best..." - Ryan (03-Feb-2017) |
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| "Back in Egypt yet again(albeit in a coastal setting this time around), and I'm afraid to say that this is probably the worst out of the four levels released by the builder on the same day, with flat lighting, bland texturing, uneventful gameplay(including an utterly worthless torch) and dull level design(including a completely nonsensical flipmap that turns the landscape which was formally a steep slide into steps that you can easily climb up, in order to return to the start.)
So in conclusion, not recommended." - Ceamonks890 (18-Jul-2015) |
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| "A very short adventure revolving around just a couple of rooms. Lighting is pretty bland most of the time, much like level design and texturing to be honest, and gameplay is extremely simple. I never found any particular use for the torch - shooting the wooden fence and jumping over the boulder still allowed me to collect the secret. I quite enjoyed the helicopter crash though, thought it was cleverly done. 10 minutes, 1 secret. 09/14" - Treeble (26-Sep-2014) |
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| "A level filled with potential I would say (using nice and
useful cameras, varying in items and set in a rather pleasant
scenery), only really short (can be done in five minutes),
often boxy and sometimes buggy (flame may miss, rocks may
fall after shatter than after the burn). Sometimes a bit
unexplainable geometry disturbs the movement and the laser
sight seems useless, however the game is overall recommended,
e.g. perfect as the last thing to do before falling asleep." - DJ Full (25-Mar-2013) |
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| "A short mini level with easy game play. There are a few pickups and enemies. The wild pigs were dropping ammo, which was convenient but the skeletons were somewhat irritating and it seemed hard to get into position to finally get rid of them. The texturing was very basic and there was no decoration of any kind. Everything was a bit boxy and repetitive looking with a rather bright and even lighting, but there was a good sound track and atmosphere. Nice, short and easy. Good for beginners. (12min, 1 secret found)" - Blue43 (23-Oct-2011) |
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| "In a very bright coastal setting, poorly textured, Lara opens a few doors while skeletons try and stab her. Usually behind a door, you find only the key for the next door, so "straight forward" is a polite description of the gameplay that's over after 10 minutes quite suddenly, just when Lara climbs out of the water. A few cameras are flying around but the shaky style seems to indicate the camera-man was drunk. I could not find anything that makes a connexion to the title of the level, either. Strange and really uneventful." - Ruediger (09-Feb-2008) |
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| "The shortest of Ricardo's level for me, as it ended after 8 minutes. Nevertheless it was a pleasant time spent in a Costal setting, a few enemies , and not many puzzles , it is all about finding objects and key artefacts. Well introduced level, it ended abruptly." - eRIC (03-Feb-2008) |
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| "Ten minutes exploring a coastal style level with some good effects like the helicopter dropping Lara off and then the sound of it crashing in the distance and the rope appearing. Few enemies so I left them all alive - crocs skeletons and wild boars - plus one secret to find which was fairly easy." - RaiderGirl (28-Oct-2003) |
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| "Another mini adventure this time in a coastal setting. I have to say that of the four offerings from this author this is my personal favourite. As befits a coastal setting you get pigs skeletons and crocodiles to play with and of course an artefact or two to find. You also get a torch to set fire to ropes holding boulders which gives you access to a secret. Rather a charming little level I thought. 24.09.2003" - Jay (24-Sep-2003) |
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| "It maybe would have been a better solution if the author had edited together the 4 self-contained levels. He maybe would have got a far mach better appreciation. So this is a very short level consisting only 2 locales. The enemies are a few Skeletons which you can shoot into the deep or the water but I prefer shooting their heads with the Revolver and they are just running around. What's more they could fall into the deep since they are blind. :-) And there are 3 wild-boars too. You have to find the Golden Star. Placing it don't forget collecting the Tin Sun's Medal as it will be needed for completing the level. Get the Poseidon Artifact from the only Secret. The textures are great but nothing special. I loved the added sounds: the helicopter and the drums." - Obig (18-Sep-2003) |
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| "Well our Ricardo seems to have several abilities up his sleeve because he managed to get the flying helicopter in his level and then suggests it explodes behind the building after dropping off Lara. It's the suggestion that does it: love it when author's pull these kind of tricks. Gameplay is extremely straightforward unless you blink when you put the star on the wall... Another little level by Ricardo that's fun while it lasts and another little in-betweenie to take a breath in between big and/or impossible levels. Oh yeah next time watch out when you meet a little boar they carry ammunition... Not as funny as Ian Smith's crowbar-dropping scorpion though!" - bERT (16-Sep-2003) |
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| "This short level starts with a fly-by showing how the helicopter which probably dropped Lara here flies away and after a few steps you can already get the lasersight and revolver - and the first skeleton appears too - if you're swift enough you can shatter their heads with the revolver. There were only 2 points where I didn't know what to do - the first thing was the wall behind the lock-guarded door - it took me some time to realize that it can be opened with the crowbar. The other stuck point was when placing the star - I presume the medal appeared straight afterwards on the same tile - but I still had to run around a bit to realize that it was there - so look closely. The coastal setting here is not very attractive but you can give the level a try if you want a short coastal experience." - eTux (15-Sep-2003) |
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| "At 9 minutes for me this just skimmed over the time line to not be the shortest of this authors 4 recently released levels. After being set down by a chopper in a coastally textured environment where you play almost entirely outside Lara needs to find four pick ups a crowbar star transparent gem and tin sun medal to open a trapdoor and swim to the end before you swim to the end though if you collect the torch you can collect the one secret a trident after burning some ropes and releasing a couple of boulders. There a couple of nice skeleton head shots with the revolver and scope to be made which unlike the previous two levels gave me a slight adrenalin rush when it came to the enemies and I really liked the one twisty flyby but again way too simple way too short and way too uneventful." - Sash (14-Sep-2003) |
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| "We have a coastal level this time with skeletons and crocodiles. Lara needs a star a gem and the Sun's Medal which had me confused for a while and thanks to Michael I could finish. I am sure when I placed the star the medal didn't appear I have no idea what triggered it but we could use a camera at that point. There is a trident as a secret and the boulders aren't placed very well they are very close to each other and the result of that is to only burn one rope which does the trick anyone. It's a fifteen minutes level and the way I see it all the levels of the author could be one game somehow linked together instead of making ten minutes levels separately. Have a look at it." - Kristina (14-Sep-2003) |
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| "Right so I just found out you can use the revolver and sight to kill the skellies so I feel much better now and went to play the level again. Having been able to now kill those boney little irritants I enjoyed the short trek a lot more. Set in the Coastal surroundings the areas are quite nice there's a star to collect and place which then gives you your next item then return to the outside to collect a gem and head up a pole to place it with the sun dial disk then deal with a skellie and get a torch use the torch get a secret leave the level and that was it! Short and sweet and only a few boars to kill along with the skellies and there's no need to kill the croc at the end so not too much happening here and I felt there could have been a bit more to this level. So if you don't realise you can kill the skellies you won't enjoy it if you do then you'll like the small time it takes to play but wish it was a tad longer." - Moonpooka (14-Sep-2003) |
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| "Lara is dropped off by a helicopter into this 15 minutes adventure in a coastal setting. There is not much to do: get a star a gem a medal use a torch for a trident secret get rid of a few skeletons warthogs and a crocodile and that's about it but some objects are customized and the flybys are a little different in style giving this level a certain uniqueness." - Michael (13-Sep-2003) |
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| "This a very small level with the first thing you find is a revolver and a sight. But then you still need the crowbar. Shoot a lock and find a star and use the coin and gem. Even find a secret (Poseidon Artifact) and the level is over before you know it. Enemies are skeletons and the shotgun comes a bit later so run for your dear life and some warthogs. Only way to leave this game is hitting the end trigger or use Alt F4 sloppy. 11-09-2003" - Gerty (13-Sep-2003) |
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| "Not much of a valley nothing to do with time nor even much of a Level really. Grab a few objects (look out for the Coin) burn a rope swim out of a Trapdoor and that's it. A point added for the interesting use of a very bright sun; but generally speaking this is a good example of the style of all four of Ricardo's levels: well made but so short as to be rather un-involving." - Orbit Dream (13-Sep-2003) |
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