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BtB2005 - The Origins by Miss Kroft

Bene 9 8 8 8
Bogey 8 7 7 8
CC 7 6 8 8
Deekman 7 8 9 9
Dimpfelmoser 7 6 8 7
DJ Full 6 6 9 7
Duncan 8 7 8 8
Dutchy 6 6 7 8
EssGee 8 7 8 8
eTux 7 7 8 8
G.Croft 7 5 6 6
Gerty 7 6 7 7
Gill 9 8 8 8
Horus 7 7 7 8
Jay 8 8 8 8
Jenni 7 6 8 7
JesseG 6 6 7 7
Jorge22 8 8 8 8
Jose 8 8 8 9
Kristina 8 8 8 8
manarch2 6 6 7 7
MichaelP 7 6 9 8
Mman 9 9 9 8
Moonpooka 9 8 8 8
Mrs rjb 8 8 8 8
mugs 7 7 8 8
nerdfury 6 5 6 7
Neso 7 6 10 9
Obig 8 8 8 8
Orbit Dream 8 8 9 9
Phil 8 8 8 8
rjb 9 8 8 8
Ruediger 5 4 5 5
Ryan 7 7 8 8
Sash 6 4 7 6
Sethian 4 5 7 7
Staticon 9 8 9 8
Sutekh 9 7 8 7
Treeble 7 8 8 7
Whistle 9 8 9 9
 
release date: 01-Jan-2005
# of downloads: 98

average rating: 7.46
review count: 40
 
review this level

file size: 27.69 MB
file type: TR4
class: Cave/Cat
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
moneek@hemikro.com

Reviewer's comments
"Last part of the game was done good - you don't even need camera hints, because the target is always in sight. Unfortunately 80% of the game is a line of keys, doors and switches, so in the end I didn't feel much plot. Optional." - DJ Full (26-Sep-2022)
"(6) Gameplay & Puzzles: This is an easy adventure that took me about 45 minutes. It starts off with a non-linear approach that's interesting and engaging; it hits the sweet spot of "several areas to explore, but not too many areas so as to completely disorient the player". I enjoyed the task of jumping over a rolling boulder several times. After you get your bearings in these starter areas, the gameplay fizzles somewhat, and I didn't find the large hub room very exciting. I think more puzzles and thrilling moments (traps/timed runs) would have kept the gameplay flow fresh from start to finish. The ending is anti-climatic and a slap in the face to the player, as after grabbing the music scroll you need to backtrack all the way to its receptacle. It would have been much better if a shortcut was unlocked at this point; not only for player friendliness in terms of movement, but also it could be a way to enhance environmental immersion. At times the builder does not communicate clearly enough to the player. For example, after using the elevator lever, if you drop down, there is a pool of water, and some of its edges have a fire-y animation. So, you may logically think, "let me drop down into the pool of water, and climb out on an edge where there isn't fire". But all of the tiles will kill you, not just the ones with a fire-y animation. (5) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: Not a good category; many rooms are very lacking in object decor, which detracts from immersion. Why are there 2 revolver pickups early in the game? The 1 secret is very badly executed in my opinion. Earlier in the game, the player will find a couple of essential items inside plain-looking vases. This by itself is not an awful thing, but the issue is, from that point onwards, the player will obviously shoot every single vase (just in case they're hiding another essential item). The one secret is just sitting inside another vase, that's sitting out in the open, in plain view. The secret vase has a grenade launcher, which the player will already have assuming they have been shooting all vases. (6) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: I'm sorry for my harsh words but I did not find the atmosphere very convincing. There are so many rooms that look too big and empty; so many sterile and uniform areas that (to me) do not successfully represent decaying catacombs. For both sounds and cameras, they are OK, but could be a lot better. Some flybys and important events are missing sound or music cues. For example, you finally insert the music scroll into the receptacle and there's no sound for this important event. I recall 2 occurrences where Lara is being attacked during a flyby cutscene and it's just obnoxious. (7) Lighting & Textures: Not bad at all. The texturing is mostly clean, and there are no yucky excessively dark areas. Underwater cracks are common, and there is some very noticeable wallpapering in the corridor areas. This detracts from the overall professionalism of the visuals. Furthermore, I don't really understand the builder's design choice with regards to an intense purple/pink room. The builder mostly uses pleasant, neutral lighting, and then out of nowhere there's this crazy purple room and it looks jarring and out of place. It does not harmonize with the rooms nearby. Overall, the gameplay isn't horrible, but I didn't find it engaging, I'm sorry to say. I feel disappointed with regards to atmosphere and visuals, considering the high bar set by the builder's "Hanami in Kyoto", released 1 year prior to "The Origins". 6/5/6/7." - nerdfury (12-Sep-2022)
"This is a rather standard catacomb level. Most of the areas look very nice, but quite a few seemed somewhat uninspired and perhaps too big and empty for their own good (not huge and boxy, but still too big). Gameplay starts out of a hub to four different areas and the walkthrough optimized my time here by cutting down all aimless roaming about. It's also quite on hte short side, so I managed to slide it into an otherwise too busy day and for that I'm grateful. 25 minutes, 1 secret. 08/21" - Treeble (15-Aug-2021)
"Oof...unmarked spike traps, poorly marked grabbable surfaces, and a cutscene that lets a skeleton potentially kill Lara offscreen, that kind of stuff may rub players the wrong way. The rest of the level plays pretty straightforward once the player figures out the layout of the level. Most of it is traveling back and forth, but a boulder trap in the beginning provides some nice challenge. Visually the level is about average, the main thing I would point out there is things are built a bit too big, especially the long empty corridors. 36 minutes." - JesseG (21-Jul-2021)
"At first this seemed quite promising, but it quickly deteriorated. One good thing is that the author was kept from her usual sense of kitsch by being limited to the Catacomb WAD and TGA with this BTB entry. Of course, one room just had to have bubblegum purple-pink lighting. I guess we can never escape. I ran around some endlessly huge corridors and rooms, wanting something I could finally sink my teeth into. Soon enough I started to see that without a revolver and laser sight to shoot some things, I wouldn’t be able to progress anywhere. I couldn’t find the laser sight, only to discover there was a well camouflaged climbable wall in the very first room of the level. After finally making some progress (with loads of arbitrary backtracking implemented by the author as usual) I entered the ‘main’ area of the level, but I was already tired of it after those endless preliminary rooms. A rolling ball ‘puzzle’ early on really got on my nerves since this area needs to be traversed a few times, and that darn thing wouldn’t stop rolling. The level seems to only have one secret, and it’s a bit of an insult at that because it’s staring right in your face, it’s the grenade gun, and there is no way you would have missed the first grenade gun the author provides 10 minutes earlier. There were some cool camera setups, and a great shot of Lara high up on the monkey swings crossing the gigantic room. That was the only highlight. When I found the music scroll at the very end, I had to laugh because I recalled the plinth it’s placed on at the very beginning of the level… so, back again to the start. I stuck it out and eventually finished this rather uninspired redundant romp." - Sethian (20-Oct-2020)
"Compared to Monika's later sterling efforts, this feels like a slight disappointment, but as a Catacomb level within the competition, it stands well. The surroundings are solid enough with a couple of standout parts (the huge purple hallway, and the main room with many traps) and the gameplay sufficiently entertaining to see through to the end,with a couple of sneaky puzzles and trap sequences. There's also one arty camera angle on a monkeyswing that can constitute a memorable moment. Again, this isn't amongst my favourites of the contest, or even Monika's other levels, but it's pleasant enough all the same." - Ryan (12-Nov-2017)
"Just as with Dwellers of the Abyss, this level is a small disappointment regarding the respective builder's other levels. The gameplay is mostly based on exploration, and is pretty solid at that, but there are way too many levers and items to find and use, and there are a few missing camera hints. There are some particularly interesting trap sequences, especially in the large room at the end, which increased the enjoyment a bit (which is also nicely introduced). Lookwise, it's also a rather solid, yet not very outstanding game, with a bit of a sterile look and feel of the various rooms. The textures are quite solidly applied though;the lighting ranges from effective to flat so it's all quite a bit of a mix. I found one secret, which felt a bit odd since you can find a grenade gun (which is the reward) earlier. Overall, this level doesn't really stand out for anything in particular, yet it doesn't make anything wrong either, so the 25 minutes spent in here can't quite be called wasted time." - manarch2 (06-May-2014)
"Something about the water and use of light beams gives this level a light and airy feel that's quite refreshing. A couple of areas are a little plain but it's mostly detailed and interesting, especially the giant room that makes up the gameplay in the second half. I'd definitely put this level in the upper tier of this contest in terms of visuals. The only thing I wasn't so sure on was the texture used to mark death traps, which seems a bit of an odd choice.
This level starts off very non-linear, and there's a slightly obscure monkey swing in the starting tasks (although the clues are there), but after you've got started it maintains a nice flow and spreads over several areas before focusing once you reach the second half. This gives a good feeling of progression, and there are some interesting tasks (like slightly unconventional pot-shooting). The only issues I had were some forced damage and an anti-climatic ending. This is another personal favourite from BTB catacombs and it almost seems a little underrated to me." - Mman (27-Oct-2012)
"You can't go wrong with a Miss Kroft level! This features a few of her favourite 'gags' (particularly the 'shoot the underwater vase' idea),spiced up with several neat little puzzles,pesky enemies and quite a few moments where you really need to stop and think in order to work out your next move. Aside from a rather unsatisfying moment where you have to run through spikes to get an important pick-up (or was that perhaps not intended?),everything flows smoothly and is put together with eminent skill. Lighting and textures are well applied;cameras are generous,and atmosphere is everything you could require of a Catacomb adventure. 45 minutes of highly enjoyable raiding." - Orbit Dream (11-May-2010)
"More : Those huge empty rooms are not a problem to me, on the contrary it feels really atmospheric. Above all, I especially enjoyed all these flybys (even if several could have been improved), so full score 10 (first one for this level). The whole level is really enjoyable, I really don't understand why it has been rated so low. Less : Many minor bugs. Skeletons are free to run everywhere and I acknowledge it is fairly disturbing. Some traps are really kick-ass. 30 minutes." - Neso (23-Dec-2007)
"Another splendidly enjoyable level in this B2B2005 competition. The variety of styles encountered by this stage has been admirable and this one was no exception. Just about everything is covered in other reviews but I must just say how much I enjoyed the big room with many puzzles. First class. Thanks Monika. :-)" - Staticon (26-Nov-2005)
"Keep your wits about you as you will easily miss switches/movable objects. Lots of searching and running from area to area and back again, as you pick up the necessary items. Jumps swings and some large areas to explore, which keeps the interest going and gives an atmosphere of large empty and desolate places. Enemies are skeletons, a wraith, mummy and some dreaded beetles (easy to get rid of though). Also lots of spike traps. Graphics and lighting good as was the sound which was just kept to a minimum in the background. A well constructed level which is very playable for all skill levels." - Whistle (22-Nov-2005)
"I think this level reminded me a lot of the original Catacombs-level, especially the big hall. In the beginning there are some vast and long corridors that could have been garnished with some objects or so - they looked really empty and a bit boring. Concerning the gameplay I liked the rollingball-track - that was really tricky, the rest was ok too. Camera hints are always given if needed (and also if you don't need them at all). It is hard to say something about the atmosphere because everything seemed too bright in my opinion and also a bit "sterile" - I missed some broken things and ruins a bit. The textures were used well, such as the audios. The enemies were rather easy to deal with because you could always run away from them quickly without getting hurt." - Horus (07-Oct-2005)
"This is one is fairly simple and straightforward. It has all the usual dressing-up one would expect from the catacomb wad - spikes, skellies, and the rest. There is a clever rolling ball trap and a very large room with all kinds of dangers. The level felt a bit empty and loose to me, so it lacked the carefully laid out and energetic play that I associate with this author. A fun bit of distraction for those who enjoy the catacombs." - Duncan (03-May-2005)
"I got stuck on this level right at the beginning. I'd never think that before entering the palace, we can climb the rocks. As I experienced it later, this was not the only difficulty on the level. Precisely performed jumps and lots of traps characterize this gem of the Catacombs Project. Unfortunately there are some inevitable injuries, but we can find enough medipacks that last until the end. We also find lots of guns; we can pick up the Revolver and the Grenade Gun even twice, though it is not needed. However there's no shotgun on the level, we can also find ammo for it. We can discover one secret, a Grenade Gun in one of the vases. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://www.treditor.hu/15/back_to_basics15_the_origins.htm " - Obig (22-Mar-2005)
"Sweet. That's the first thing coming to mind, when I have to describe this level - sweet. The level seems charming in its innocence. The big hallways at the start, your first encounter with the unexpected spike or boulder traps, even if dangerous all seemed cute in a kind of way and thus it felt like a feel-good adventure. At first it may seem a bit uninspired, but IMO, the big hall is where the real adventure begins, though the hole in the floor before raising the walls already was a giveaway of things to come there. The only secret - grenade gun is too easy to find, you can even get one before this one, thus getting rid of the annoying problem - mummies and skeletons - though they're not that many in here. The adventure is quite linear and straightforward, so in case you're stuck a solution is nearby all the time. The texturing is standard with the only real highlight being the big hall, but generally it is pleasing and I really would have to try hard to find something wrong here. Worth a play if you don't want anything complicated." - eTux (06-Mar-2005)
"The game begins in a canyon, with a monkey swing and a moveable structure ... and no immediate reason for the moving thereof ... intriguing! Traversing from here to inside the building, one of the first puzzles to be encountered is the two overlapping spiked boulders, these to be negotiated by carefully timed and placed runs and jumps. I was inordinately proud of managing this! Other highlights of the game for me, were the abundance of water and waterfalls, (especially toxic water made safe and deep water drained ... both actions necessary to the continuance of the game ...), the flybys used ... (giving encouraging and helpful hints ...) and the amazing camera shots of 'Lara in the Sky with Diamonds' on a monkey swing (which, incidentally, was quite difficult to negotiate with Lara getting stuck or going round in circles). This amazing scene comes just after the beetles, the irritating nibblers trying to sap all of Lara's strength. Overall, another B2B game that is well worth playing having some ingenious ideas and puzzles." - Mrs rjb (03-Mar-2005)
"This starts out a bit odd - long, empty, well lit hallways to run around in with nothing to do. Then a few spike and fire traps spice things up slightly and soon you will meet up with a rather ingenious little puzzle involving a rolling ball, a pushable object and a monkey swing. Very clever - but really the highlight of the level for me. From there it is fairly obvious, also thanks to excellent camera guidance and when you reach the big room shown in the load screen you can shorten the level by legally mastering the spikes and fire on your way to the scroll and back (yes, it's possible), but you would deprive yourself of another 20 minutes of fun raiding, so leave that shortcut alone and explore around the big room - the camera on the monkey swing is all worth it. Very little done with secrets (only one and hard to miss) and enemies (only a handful and don't bother much), but look and feel is good and it's an easy 40 minutes raid, so give it a try." - Michael (01-Mar-2005)
"Another nicely laid out level with realistic architecture. Lots of FMVs (thanks!). A great Tomb Raiding experience. Not too hard, but no walk in the park either. Great level for first time raiders." - Deekman (01-Mar-2005)
"The first thing that struck me about this level (in the cave area where you first start) is how the lighting seems quite wrong. Corners should be shadowed yet radiated light as if they contained light bulbs? Some oddities on gameplay: after the spiked ball run in the alley, you'd have to make your way back to the beginning (and outrun the spiked ball again) if you hadn't previously moved the block out of the way of the switch - yet how are you supposed to know to do that until you get there? Sure you can rush around and push levers and pull blocks and not know why you're doing them at the time, which defeats the purpose of the whole game I thought? I'd like to know what it is I'm supposed to be doing and why - not find out the hard way when I get there. Another is the pillar/wraith and spike run - why trigger the wraith to get a pillar which pops the spikes up prematurely when you can just jump over the spikes anyway? It was a bit nasty to have to run through them too - no climbable wall to get back to safety? Another thing is, is that you get the grenade gun (two if you find the secret) right at the end of the level with nothing to use it on, I'd have preferred it at the beginning to blast all those skellies out of the way from the get go! The last room was the most enjoyable part of this level: trying to find your way to the button and turn off the fire and spikes guarding the lever to the next area - that was super! Just didn't know what the large water area at one end of the room was for or the smaller pool surrounded by fire - as the small pool was so prominently featured, I'd have assumed you could do something in it - at least get some pick-ups? Camera positioning was spot on - excellent fly-bys showing what switches and buttons do (probably necessary in such a huge level!) and the angle from the ground of Lara monkey swinging was great! All in all, it was fun, a bit sparse and probably unnecessarily overly-big in size but still an enjoyable romp." - Jenni (24-Feb-2005)
"This level straight away had trademarks in my opinion of a certain female author and I would be very surprised if it turns out not to be hers, but also on that same note if this is indeed her work then this is not her best by any stretch of the imagination. The first half of this 40 minute level has the player running around large hallways collecting items that eventually open up the huge room of the second half. In the second half the fun actually starts with lots of moves to get to all different levels finding buttons and levers but still this didn't entirely grab me and when I placed the scroll and slid out of the level I was somewhat unsatisfied, this could have come down to the lack for myself of a real challenge, in puzzles and enemies, and that the temple didn't overly appeal to me aesthetically. I found one secret." - Sash (18-Feb-2005)
"First time around I had a hard time getting the sight, the vase wouldn't shatter, but second time around there was no hitch at all. I liked this game, going in 4 directions and finally to a huge room with all kinds of traps. Finding artifacts is of course the name of the game. I finished and I never used the Pillar as it is possible to jump over the spikes near the water and walk through them to get back. And if you look good, you can get two revolvers and two grenade launchers, not bad for the prize of one. The best was the monkey swing with the camera angle. 08-02-2005" - Gerty (11-Feb-2005)
"I had a lovely time playing this level, it was good fun and it had some nice game-play, the atmosphere was great, as you were wondering around these temple areas in search of the missing scroll. But first you need to find many other items to help you to succeed in this mission. By pulling some levers, dodging some enemies, avoiding many traps, which will help you to proceed deeper into this wonderful adventure, until you finally reach the second temple area, where you will be avoiding more spikes, fire traps, doing some tricky jumping skills, finding some well hidden buttons and floor switches, out-running those dreadful beetle's, until you finally reach what you came here for, to finish this wonderful adventure. The game-play was excellent, textures and objects was very well placed, the lighting was superbly done, and you don't venture into too many dark areas during this level, which is an added bonus. The whole layout of this level was brilliantly done and the cut-scenes assisted me a lot, as I made my way through this level in finding and retrieving my prize, the scroll. On the whole, this is an excellent level and I really enjoyed playing it, I wasn't bored for one moment, as it kept me thinking throughout the game-play. So d/load it now and give it a bash and see for yourself, I'm sure you won't be disappointed, as I certainly wasn't." - Gill (06-Feb-2005)
"This level had more of a coastal feel to it in places, long high plain walled corridors and lots of water. But for the rest it's very much a well made catacomb level. I found two revolvers and two grenade guns, but apart from a couple of annoying skellies and mummys there's no 'enemy' to use them on, unless you did what I did and blow things up at a distance, like the the pots and vases. The only time I got stuck was I reached a gem receptacle in front of toxic water I had to cross, but I had no gem. Well, obviously I didn't shoot everything! (this is a hint by the way). Spikes feature heavily in this level, one interesting lot of them are sticking out of a slope you need to jump to. The only boulder I remember is constantly rolling along a corridor where you have to outrun it in both directions. There's an interesting object pushing exercise, a bit of swimming, a skeleton that sneaks up on you during a flyby, some great climbing way up high in an enormous room, that leads you to a long interesting monkeyswing. All this allows you to claim the scroll and escape." - CC (04-Feb-2005)
"Lara goes back to Egypt and explore just for the fun of it! Easy gameplay lots of hints where to go next. Rolling ball spikes fire and a wraith are the worst enemies since the few skeletons/mummies and the small crowd of scarabs doesn't do any big harm. Got the revolver twice as well as the grenade gun. Find the pillar the knot a gem and finally the scroll to finish." - G.Croft (25-Jan-2005)
"After entering via a sandy cave you find yourself in a sprawling set of cavernous halls. Although structurally correct and textured these areas seemed a little cold and empty to me. Business picks up once you enter the main temple area depicted in the load screen. Your main aim is locate and place the music scroll. I liked the main hall construction but felt that other areas were too vast and empty and I certainly clocked up the mileage running Lara back and forth along those long corridors. Just as well she's in good shape. Architecture is mostly well created without being spectacular. Gameplay was logical without being too challenging. An enjoyable raid at 57 minutes net gaming plus I found one secret." - EssGee (25-Jan-2005)
"A 'Back to Basics' level using the catacomb wad so I won't go into detail about enemies and objects - you know the score. Within the first five minutes of gameplay I'd found the shotgun and two revolvers so I was prepared for legions of skeletons. As it turned out there were hardly any so it was a comparatively peaceful raid. Peaceful it may have been but it was no stroll in the park. I got pretty confused once or twice running around looking for switches etc. that I'd missed. Good gameplay though I thoroughly enjoyed it especially the room with the fires and spikes. I only found one secret but I believe there was only one." - Jay (23-Jan-2005)
"There are some good traps and puzzle situations in this level but it is not a very exciting place to explore and it has a number of glitches like Lara staring on the wall for no obvious reason and a puzzle item whose sole purpose seems to be to announce a trap although you will probably fall into the trap before trying to use it. However it is a fun game to play." - Bogey (23-Jan-2005)
"The gameplay is sometimes difficult but more in a confusing than an exciting way because it's often just a search for the next switch while you have access to rooms where you can't do anything at all and walk miles in vain. The design suffers from lack of logic. For example why were identical textures used for spike traps climbing surfaces AND fire tiles? Why were the spikes also coming out of blocks not indicated as spike-holes? Why was one water area still on fire although I had pressed a button for making it a safe passage? Why were some fire tiles not burning but still deadly? It was a trial and error with too many deaths sometimes. Also there was a pushable which you couldn't push only jump past it using a fault of the editor - it never makes good gameplay deliberately employing such imperfections in my view. Comparatively few enemies but one skeleton appeared just in time to stab Lara with its sword while she was helplessly locked in a camera sequence. 'The Origins' is among the 3 least favourite levels of mine in the BtB challenge I'm afraid. I want to mention two things I enjoyed though: the skeleton you shoot into the pool where it keeps wandering around was fun and the room with a rolling ball between the switch and the door it opens." - Rüdiger (22-Jan-2005)
"And so Lara gets back to the origins... Quite nice Alexandrian (not dark!) settings for an equally nice adventure most specially in the pre-final big room with the spikes the flames and the monkey swinging in search of a music scroll. We may divide this adventure in two distinctive parts: in and out of the 'big room'. The first of these is interesting but not as good as the second apparently much more solid be it in graphic or in action terms. A lot of skeletons chase Lara and become very irritating (but that's their nature) until Lara can finally blast their heads off with the revolver and lasersight. I left one skeleton running against a wall when I moved to the big room and when I came back this time with the grenade gun (found in two places one of which brings along a lot of those pestilent beetles) it was still there. But not for long eh eh! Play this enjoyable level where you may become stuck once or twice but not too much. And keep the pharos pillar in your backpack as a souvenir since you won't really need it. (January 19 2005)" - Jorge22 (20-Jan-2005)
"Now that I've nearly finished playing the BTB series (3 more levels to go) I've detected a distinct two-tier classification of the levels I've played thus far. There are about twice as many levels in the former group than in the latter. Since I hardly ever play a level that I don't enjoy I consider a level rated in the 6.5 to 8.0 range to be a workmanlike effort that's not too difficult and has at least one or two memorable features. That's where I would place The Origins. The other category is what I consider the high-octane levels that require a lot of thought and manual dexterity combined with innovative touches and visually pleasing surroundings. These levels are normally rated 9.0 and higher. Examples I've seen so far in the BTB series are Abyss Shadow of Death Serpent Tower and Pseudo Tomb. Getting back to the task at hand The Origins gave a little more than 50 minutes of solid gaming with some challenging aspects (the rolling boulder at the very beginning) and some gorgeous scenery such as the huge room where you complete your mission. I'm going to be sorry when I play that 18th level and realize that there are no more to follow at least not in this competition. I applaud all of the builders who have contributed to this January orgy of TR fun." - Phil (19-Jan-2005)
"A good level easy to play with no complications. Good gameplay with good puzzles although no contribute very original tasks. Secrets easy to find at least what I found. Cameras are very well. Lights and textures nearly perfect. A well playable level to take a good while." - Jose (18-Jan-2005)
"Despite a very pushy skeleton and an irritating (only to me perhaps) constant rolling ball beginning I found this level and the puzzles in the large room after placing the gem to be well thought out and fun. The angled spikes and clever return to the top of the room made this an enjoyable experience. There's no real need to place the Pharo's Pillar and after placing the Music Scroll I did expect something more - not just a rather flat ending - but those are just minor details. I returned a few times to a fire pit that I thought would have made a great secret place but that was not to be. There's a fixed camera view when on a monkey swing that is memorable and dizzying. All in all short but interesting. I'm glad I played it." - Bene (18-Jan-2005)
"Some levels like this one although they don't have many puzzles or hordes of enemies are so enjoyable. Who needs to be slowed down every now and then by a dumb skeleton anyway! The enemies should placed in such a way that have a purpose in the game or 'guard' something and not because you have to place some. I liked the way the player starts it doesn't seem much at first with a few rooms to visit some items to find and a very nice jump over the spikes where the gem was. In fact you can skip placing the pillar because all it does is to make the spikes appear early which in my opinion wasn't necessary. Sometimes builders make things more dramatic than they should be. After some not so interesting tasks the next area is very well built and the gameplay improves. I think the author has a thing with spikes because they appear all over the place then you get some beetles a mummy and skeletons. From high up in this area you have to work your way down and make a few stops in between for some buttons that make spikes retract or turn off fires; which reminds me. After pushing a button I show a scene with that fire below a ladder that had extinguished but when I went there shortly after it was on again. Well you don't even have to bother with it because you can simply jump over it it's dead easy. The desired item in this case is the scroll which will be the last thing you have to place. That camera showing us the door though just a few steps away was totally unnecessary I mean how can you miss that door. I found one secret the grenade gun but my joy lasted only for a few minutes as it is given again later on; what a disappointment. One of the good and fun levels out there play it." - Kristina (17-Jan-2005)
"Here we have all the usual suspects: Skeletons mummie wraith and beetles. They come with a good load of traps - including one nasty perpetual movement boulder some jumping which while not really tricky do require a bit of focus one single puzzle and one single secret - to my knowledge - way to easy to find in my humble opinion. I had great moments of real fun shooting the skellies in the head and watching them running headless in circle mainly because I missed the shotgun which is in fact available quite early in the game. Two concept glitches though: in two occasions I did things which apparently wasn't expected allowing me to take accidental shortcuts which I only realized afterwards. Maybe a tad more beta-testing could have prevented that. The setting while not stunning is pleasing to the eye with a rather bright lighting and spacious rooms. Flybys are smooth and quite helpful. Atmosphere is average but the level is still immersive mainly because of its fluidity. Despite some challenging moments I never felt lost nor had I to resort to external help (ie: the forum) and could play it in one smooth go." - Sutekh (17-Jan-2005)
"Three interesting 'How do we ...?' puzzles - depending on which way we go first - in the 1st 3 minutes. And despite the empty hallways - giving a sense of abandonment (enhanced by the broken floors pots shallow pools of water occasional skeletors etc) - these 'How to' puzzles continue at a fairly gentle pace. The cut scenes were helpful and attractively done - one fly-by's accompanying 'puzzle music' was timed to perfection just finishing off as we returned to our Lara. While the first spike trap was so unexpected that I jumped out of my chair(!) I felt that these like the 'hot floor' traps were generally 'fair' in having a subtle hint about their likely placement. The main very large hall that we reach is such that it is not entirely clear how we shall move between the various levels to find the different elements we need to proceed. This creates more than a few occasions of 'Now what is next?' 'How can we ...?' and so on adding to the whole puzzle aspect of the game - with moving spikes flames and beetles to make things a little more difficult! To find two grenade guns - one the level's secret - was also somewhat unexpected!" - rjb (16-Jan-2005)
"As I played through this fun game I was struck with the thought that here was a builder who thinks like I do - give me that revolver early in the game don't hide it too good and keep those pick-ups coming. Well done. The setting in this game is somewhat a mixed bag. Many of the rooms are rich and generous in textures etc. while some are simply large and empty. I found the same to be true with the gameplay. This is a game everyone will enjoy playing ! I'm rolling the dice and placing my bet with Miss Kroft on this one." - Mugs (12-Jan-2005)
"Again first some downsides. There is a missing collision and an undulating floor near the water. Only technical details I know and I just mention them to show you how observant I am. I ended the game with an unused Pharao's Pillar and though I came across the slot where to put it I never needed it nor do I exactly know what it does. It's like that you shoot a vessel which contains the Pharao's pillar but which also releases an ice wraith. You then make a beeline for the next cross which involves jumping over some pop up skies that stay in place after you've passed them so in order to get back you have to run through them and lose a bit of health. Now with the wraith gone you have all the time in the world to place the pillar and then watch a dramatic fly by that zooms in on the spikes you just passed. But you won't have to go there ever again. So I thought maybe this pillar makes the spikes disappear if you place it before you jump over them. I reloaded an earlier savegame and placed the pillar only to have the spikes pop up before I even jumped over them. So actually you don't even need to shoot the vessel that contains the pillar thus never releasing the wraith in the first place. Very strange! Almost as strange as the two grenade guns with only a sluggish mummy to use it on. Right but otherwise I thought it was seriously neat with an entertaining gameplay and a nice tomb to match the storyline. A bit heavy on the lever/button side and not many puzzles as such but I liked the steady progress in a slightly non-linear way and the fixed camera for the long monkeyswing near the end was very impressive." - Dimpfelmoser (10-Jan-2005)
"A simple level looks good though the boulder passage was nice but the rest was pretty straight forward. Why the Grenade gun if you don't even get enemies anymore a bunch of skellies in the scroll room would have been nice (at least I expected them there to try out that gun). And a load of buttons and levers I never figured out what they all were for (cameras) Nice to play but finished without real satisfaction." - Dutchy (09-Jan-2005)
"This took me a little over an hour to complete and was one fabulous level. You begin in a small temple area and will visit the rooms leading off of it in order to get a gem. You'll encounter skeletons along the way plus collect some much needed ammo the revolver and a pillar. There's a nice little boulder run to negotiate a wraith skeleton and a spike trap to tackle then once you have the gem you can move into the second temple area. The second area quite large and was really the highlight of the level for me with many tasks to perform before you can get your reward which is the scroll you'll leave there quite exhausted. After some tricky jumps fire and spike traps a bad tempered mummy and a lot of searching you can finally return to the start of the level and place the scroll to finish. Wonderful textures and room designs great game play and never dull so I'm sure everyone will love this level." - Moonpooka (05-Jan-2005)