| Reviewer's comments |
"this a home level that really doesn't play like a home level at all actually, someone
has been murdered and lara is on their trail to hunt them down. the gameplay is quite
basic and simple finding keys and switches etc but its in a fresh environment where the
way forward is not completely obvious and you do encounter a variety of different traps
and enemies which are always welcome for me, the textures and lighting could be better
unfortunately, i did like some of the textures but they just looked odd and out of place
in a few areas. overall this level lacks anything new or exciting but it definitely was
a short stint that i did enjoy playing" - John (30-Apr-2021) |
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| "There were quite a few issues with this level, such as wafer thin walls, a pushable door that goes straight into a wall (?), the end of the world within reach, untextured spots, no scripting so all keys read as Load, etc. What bothered me the most, however, was the mix and match of several different textures which didn't quite work well — the Egyptian textures and doors felt especially out of place in my opinion. Gameplay is very linear and straightforward, with side areas only existing to contain the next key or lever you need for the main path, so there really isn't much going for this level when it's all said and done. The introductory fly-by was nice, though, and there was a concept of 'chase' with the route the mudererer took closing off in your face a couple of times. 20 minutes, 2 secrets. 03/21" - Treeble (21-Mar-2021) |
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| "Not a masterpiece, but enjoyable enough this short level with a fast and lineal gameplay. An assasin kills a Lara's friend, but soon she takes a right revenge near the end of the level. There are some too dark rooms, but I found enough flares, the secrets are very easy to find, there are also enough guns and ammo to deal with small and giant spiders, workers and give the killer his due. Good use of the cameras and musics, there are some defects as paper walls or wrong animations when pressing buttons, but nothing really important for the gameplay. As I said, short level but enjoyable anyway." - Jose (22-May-2017) |
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| "The level begins with a rather disturbing
cutscene showing the aftermath of Lara's
friend's murder and there's Lara in the next
room, presumably having arrived a moment too
late. The resulting level, then is rather
simple, and mainly trap-oriented with a few
enemies added in for good measure. You
encounter the murderer at the very end, where
is he taken care of in a suitable manner (if
you don't kill him first, that is). A quirky
novelty." - Ryan (04-Mar-2017) |
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| "Interesting concept. The level starts with the murder being committed (an unfortunate house guest who sleeps with her glasses on) and concludes with the murderer (in my game anyway) receiving justice from a giant spider. It's billed as a house level, but let that throw you off. Nothing you see here will remind you of Lara's mansion, so enjoy yourself for the 25 or so minutes that you'll spend here. You get the revolver early, as well as two shotguns (one early and one late) along with plenty of ammo. You'll encounter a few sneaky traps along the way, some shrouded in darkness, so you'll need to stay alert. Nice catchy title and a fun raid." - Phil (29-Oct-2016) |
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| "I must say that I was not hugely impressed by this
mansion level, even though it has some nice moments. For
example, the beginning fly by showing the murder of
Lara's friend and the fly by in the end were both very
nicely done. This game neither has any serious flaws or
bugs, and most of the time gameplay flows very fluently
from task to another. However, what the gameplay needs in
my opinion is more variety, since it consists mainly of
finding keys and switches to open doors. Occasionally you
are also attacked by plumbers and spiders, both small and
big ones. What comes to environment design, it needs also
some work, since texturing is for example a bit messy
containing lots of different textures that don't fit
particularly well together. There are also couple of
missing textures and generally the level looks like
everything has been put together very quickly without
much consideration. Briefly, this is not a terrible
level, but it would be more enjoyable if it included
gameplay elements besides finding keys and switches and
if the environment was built more carefully to make it
visually more appealing." - Samu (08-Oct-2014) |
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| "Honestly, after seeing the starting cutscene I expected a lot more from this level than it actually was. The start reminded me a bit on "A Rift in Sedona" with the murderer running away from Lara and closing some doors, I also liked the rather cute bed with the corpse in it, but afterwards the level only shows a few interesting cameras but honestly not much more. Texturing gets worse and worse in this level until a room where most of them are actually missing, there were a lot of nasty bugs like doors not opening when using a button (had to perform a little glitch in order to avoid that), the spider sounds being omnipresent after entering the room with them, keys that fit in two different slots. The gameplay mostly involves pushing a lot of buttons, finding and using keys and backtracking. I really liked the concept but the execution is rather crude. Finished this little level in 20 minutes." - manarch2 (14-Jul-2012) |
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| "Some games are just waiting there for me, sticking their
main screenshot out of the Featured Level box, calling me
"Hey! I'm here! Play me!" I saw this Venice/Home mood and I
fell in love at once. This love was then tested several
times in painful ways: a double slot for one key, allowing
to bypass a whole bossfight area, a missing trigger, and
also one stand-still-to-activate trigger. Anyway the game
didn't lose anything of its gameplay density and thrilling
atmosphere, and that's a huge achievement. This happened due
to wide variety of climates and a whole mixture of object
usage - there are not many builders who make use of AI
nullmeshes, and who care about relations between enemies in
order to create a fluent troop hunt cutscene. It is visible
as clearly as these black letters You're reading atm, that
this author is very talented - his great imagination
prevails over unawareness of certain basic things like
necessity of using meshswaps and possibility of misplacing
sounds while joining wads. Great work, truly recommended,
not only for crime story fans. One of these games which - if
only longer and more polished - could have been widely
known. UNDERRATED. In the end, I didn't have enough of it." - DJ Full (07-May-2012) |
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| "Here we have a short level, which starts really interesting but quickly after the first 2 rooms turns out to be a basic find keys - open doors style level. There were plenty of small and giant spiders, a couple of disgruntled construction workers and some boulder and spike traps - all easily taken care of. Game play also included some ladder climbing and a bike ride in the end. I actually turned the bike around and drove all the way into the mountains where I found a hole with ammo and a Medipack. I thought that should have counted as a secret. The walkthrough made no mention of that place either. The texturing was plain and simple. A bit of a standard house texturing with some other stuff like doors from TR1 Egypt thrown in. Lighting was not bad and the atmosphere was decent. There is nothing really memorable here, but it is a quick and entertaining level for in between. (25 min, 2 secrets found)" - Blue43 (24-Mar-2011) |
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| "Not bad level. We are searching nice house with few guards and...big spiders. Someone has killed Lara's friend and we must find him. Beautiful textures and nice music." - Andzia9 (05-Oct-2009) |
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| "Starting with an innovative initial fly-by which is also the highlight of the level, it pretty much goes downwards from there. The chase for the murderer who killed Lara's funny female friend with a beard is sort of interesting, as in unusual, but offers nothing particulary exciting or new but a search for keys and moving on from point A to B till you reach the end where a spider kills the murderer for her. The looks are somewhat decent but feel rushed due to the bit cartoonish look and many untextured surfaces. I didn't really enjoy the trial and error aspect of the game with the lost library's double doors, where opening some of them burned Lara, and having to stay on a tile for at least a second after activating a switch caused some confusion along the way as well, but on the other hand the spike tunnel to get the third key was a pleasent chalange. An interesting level to play, far from the best, but far from the worst either." - eTux (20-Aug-2005) |
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| "Another good level; the storyline starts with a murder, then you have to avoid all the traps and spiders while pursuing the murderer and ultimately crush him under your bike. It's a nice level but secrets are a bit easy, good for time pass." - Anurag (24-Jul-2005) |
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| "People were a bit hard on this one I think. Personally I thought it was great and would have rated it higher if it had been somewhat longer. Don't be turned off if you don't like house levels. It had a great opening sequence some scares and some cool enemies. A half hour of solid fun - should be played and can't wait for more!" - Lady Lara (12-Oct-2004) |
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| "Easy easy easy... And I'm not saying this to give Steve a boost and make him build a transcendentally complicated level the next time. Or to make him give up building. Not at all. But it's just that's it's really that easy... You follow your path do what you have to do kill some workers kill some guards (the murderer or murderers by the way and who knows why?) kill some big and small spiders that won't even attack you unless you attack them or get really close a motorbike ride till before the first curve. I didn't like the aesthetically unpleasant mixture of styles in the level I never do: why would Lara's friend have for instance ancient Egyptian doors in her mansion? But I've seen worse... And what the hell was that thing near the beginning you open doors and get roasted? I believe that must be a premiere and I swear I've saved my game more than often after that because I never knew what could be waiting next. But no the rest is quite harmless. Your usual tomb raiding stuff. I'm not saying I didn't have fun with the game. It's nice not to have to think not even once from time to time. But I thought it was all a little too obvious wasn't it? (August 11 2004)" - Jorge22 (11-Aug-2004) |
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| "How terrible poor Lara has just entered her friend Lady Columbia's house as a nazi is running out the back after having just shot her in the head while she slept. What shall she do? Well the more important question is what is Lady Columbia still doing in bed at 5pm. What a lazy cow! Off Lara must go in the chase for this evil man and on the way she finds herself in some odd areas a giant spider room small spider cage area to name a couple till finally she meets up with him again outside along with some more large spiders. The whole expedition takes only 25 minutes and it all felt a little cartoonish without being intentionally made that way. There are also a few thin walls thrown in when you look out some windows you only see clear areas outside where sometimes you should see walls of the building one or two switches didn't show obvious changes to the environment and when you open some doors in the house you either got burnt to a crisp or a wall took the doors place but with all these design flaws and the game having that cartoonish feel for me I still quite enjoyed the unusualness of it all." - Sash (26-Jul-2004) |
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| "This level is a good adventure although is a bit short. Maybe it will be continued. The enemies are an armed man a few workmen small and big spiders. You have to find keys before you can get outside and ride the bike. I found only 2 Secrets. The textures are great but unfortunately there are no added sounds. If you have some spare time take a try. It is not difficult and you can't get jammed. You have quite enough weapons even the Shotgun and the Revolver. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version) savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/12/the_murderer_s_hiding_place.htm " - Obig (18-Jun-2004) |
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| "We hear a shot and a scream the flyby shows us a guard running from the room the revolver on the floor and the poor woman on the bed who has just been shot. We run around to catch up with him and see him off in the distance running away. Or is he the murderer is he innocent and actually chasing the real murderer? Now we have to go around the house trying to find keys to open doors so we can get out and go after him. We go below ground to what appears to be a spider incubating room with resident orange suited thug. Further on we meet Mamma spider what a shock. And move on then to a sewer type place. And finally we get outside. A flyby shows the murderer coming to get Lara but he meets his comeuppance. So if this is his hiding place he has chosen badly. If you are squeamish about spiders I'd advise you to either use dozy there's four big ones in this last area or try to run into the building on the left and get onto the crates. There's no point in diving back into the water the spiders will come after you. I'm saying this as I know people who really have a huge thing about spiders even in computer games and I've no wish to make fun of them. Not much more to do. The idea is good but it needs something more for me anyway to be convincing. There are texture problems blacked out stretched or just plain not right. Another thing is I don't know what turned off the fire in the house was it that raised tile that I ran over? The doors that open and burn Lara didn't make sense. Steve obviously has an imagination and with more experience I can see some terrific stuff coming in future." - CC (09-Jun-2004) |
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| "This is a level to be played because of the very inspired opening sequence. Unfortunately not so much so after that. It is a fairly straightforward linear run after the bad guy finding a few keys avoiding spikes and boulders on occasion killing guys in orange overalls and spiders and after 20 minutes witness how the bad guy actually gets killed by a spider so Lara did not even get her revenge. But nonetheless great creativity demonstrated with the storyline so looking forward to more from the author." - Michael (05-Jun-2004) |
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| "This has a clever premise: As Lara visits an old friend she (the friend) is murdered in her own bed. This sends Lara off in hot pursuit. What follows may be short in game play but can be rather intense at times. There's a spike trap that's easy to get through but much harder to return from - at least for me. Very imaginative from a first time builder who has a lot of promise." - Bene (24-May-2004) |
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| "Not difficult to play I had a lot of fun in this level. Riddles are easy to solve. The level starts with the cut sequence where the player sees the killer and hears the scream of the killed person. Lara can climb on ladders find keys use switches and swim under water. After she did everything in the house she gets into the outer area. Pulling switches releases small spiders and later she gets to the big spider. The big spider guards the key Lara is looking for. Weapons are revolver and shotgun. Opponents are workers with a monkey wrench. I liked the sequences and the interior decoration of the house. Unfortunately the level ends too soon. After getting the bike Lara is able to escape of the killer's house. I found two secrets. Playing time was half an hour and it is not difficult to find the way to the end of the level." - Avmaster (23-May-2004) |
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| "The minute Lara enters this house a murder takes place. Now she is in search of all kinds of keys to end up near a bike she can take with or or not. There are some traps in this level spikes boulders fire and some booby trapped doors. There aren't that many enemies up until the end and I was glad that Lara could shoot while the last scene played out or else she would be minced meat. The game is rather straight forward I thought and getting that golden key scared the hell out of me LOL. Have a look at the two small doves on top of the hedge so cute..... 09-05-2004" - Gerty (18-May-2004) |
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| "This level has an excellent start which raises high expectations with an ugly murder and the baddie getting away. Then it gets rather routine until the very end which is also good. Lara should have had more sightings and close calls with the baddie during the chase to create tension and keep up expectations. Nonetheless a fun level and a good play. Congratulations." - Duncan (16-May-2004) |
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| "This is a strange house Lara's found herself in. Some rooms set you on fire as soon as you open the door one makes the secret chime and one opens up to reveal a solid bit of wall rather tastefully wallpapered in blue flock. Lara's on the trail of the murderer of her friend which takes her through rooms cellars surprisingly industrial looking areas and ultimately to a garden that must have been designed by the world's most eccentric landscape gardener. There's a quite endearingly bizarre mix of textures and styles and possibly the shortest bike ride in the history of raiding right at the end just after you dispose of the murderer. Other enemies are a couple of spanner wielding thugs small jumping spiders and their giant cousins (yuk yuk yuk). Something of an oddity this one but displaying lots of imagination." - Jay (11-May-2004) |
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| "For some reason I really love house levels and this one was great for a first one. The theme had potential but it really had nothing to do with the murder. I liked Lara's outfit. The big spiders made terrible noises. A good level if you don't want to think too much but just enjoy it." - Capt. Abbey (09-May-2004) |
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| "Even when she goes round to a friend's house for a social call Lara is unable to escape violent death. Not hers obviously; in this case it's some old Dear who's mercilessly gunned down in her bed. A terrific beginning (which sets the scene extremely well) leads to a rather routine half-hour or so of door-opening (some of which you need to to backtrack to locate) in a rather well-built setting. For a first level this is good work; but the lack of character interaction means that the storyline can't properly develop; the Murderer gets his comme-uppance to be sure (in a particularly grisly manner provided you refrain from killing him yourself) but we stand no chance of finding out his motive or identity. There were also a couple of booby-trapped doors which were pointless and terribly annoying. However the highlight of this adventure is the 'picking up the Gold key' moment which (even though I was prepared for something given it's strategic positioning) still took me completely by surprise and is not for the squeemish! This is otherwise standard stuff but a very solid start nonetheless." - Orbit Dream (08-May-2004) |
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| "We have a simple level here with some keys to find until you reach the bike and finish it. Twenty five minutes Lara was opening doors avoiding spikes and shooting guards. The setting was colourful but nothing special. A poor girl that looked like Lara but had a beard was murdered in that house but Lara in her nice outfit didn't find the murderer. The boulders were really dangerous and the fires were easy to avoid. At the end you reach the outside area with some rocks and open the final gate that gives you access to the bike. I didn't understand why we needed the bike since it's not a long walk or not to the finishing trigger. Getting on the walls in that area one can see the blackness behind. Not one of the best levels but a nice try anyway." - Kristina (08-May-2004) |
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| "It's a house level (not Lara's house) and looks nice - easy gameplay; 20 minutes of playing - a few keys to find a few switches to pull kill small and big scorpions and open the door to the motorbike... for his first level I can say: well done." - Yoav (07-May-2004) |
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