| Reviewer's comments |
"Just a non-demanding, linear pickup hunt, but also a rare catacomb which really feels like a tomb. You can give it a try." - DJ Full (29-Sep-2022) |
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| "Lara is on a quick hunt for five golden stars, and it would have been nice if this information was not hidden behind a set of rolling boulders for Lara to run back and forth through. Actually there's quite a lot of backtracking in general, especially if Lara overlooks one of the stars. Aside from the aforementioned boulders there's not much to threaten Lara aside from a couple of spike traps and a few enemies to run away from, making this one of the easier levels in the collection. The visuals are about average, the texturing is very wallpapered in some rooms though, and the lighting is a bit flat and on the dark side. 37 minutes." - JesseG (23-Jul-2021) |
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| "I have to be honest here and say that this
level never fully grabbed me. It's not
that it's bad, and maybe I'm being overly
critical here, but my overall impression
is that this level misses something to be
rated higher than I have. The texturing is
fine within the Catacombs assets
themselves, but the lighting relies far
too much on arbitrary shadowing, making
things darker than they need to be. The
overall gameplay objective is to locate
five Golden Stars located across different
corners of the level, but that essentially
forms the basis of the entire level,
there's not much in the way of puzzles.
Enemies are used imaginatively on one
occasion (the high walkways with mummies
and skeletons), but just placed wherever
elsewhere. The ending was rather abrupt,
but that's the way it is I suppose. I
suppose it's fine for those expecting an
adequate raid, but it's definitely not
among my favourites." - Ryan (12-Nov-2017) |
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| "This second level is like the first of this btb saga not very hard. But some golden stars are sometimes very well hidden so you certainly back through the level to try to found them.
This one is aslo maybe a bit dark than the previous one but there are enought torchs to finish the game without difficulty.
A very good use of the various catacombs objects specially for the big Nepture heads and broken pillars.
Some textures are sometimes wrong rotated but nothing very important ... it's catacombs after all.
Another good entry for this old btb2005." - Bigfoot (28-Aug-2014) |
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| "The level started off a little slow for me, but then it picked up pace and got
interesting. The goal is locked away with 5 stars being the key to victory and
letting you grab the 'Seal of Tisaria'. Most were easily obtained with the
exception of one or two which made me do some backtracking/hunting. The
mummy room and boulder trap were pretty interesting... overall I enjoyed
playing through the level." - droogie (25-Aug-2014) |
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| "I honestly never quite warmed up with this level, and it also ranges at the lower end of my personal BtB ranking. The gameplay is about finding five stars along the rather linear path, and if you miss one (which is rather easy because they often blend in with the walls) you can backtrack all the way to them. The various tasks don't pose much of a difference, they are fairly uninspired and mostly are about finding a lever or the next star, and even the boulder"puzzle", which could've been quite interesting, is quickly passed without much thinking. I rather liked the boulder corridor with an interesting usage of poles, but given that this rather small detail is actually one of the level's highlights, it says a lot about the rest. The room design is rather barren and blocky, there's not much detail in the various areas and everything is rather flat. The lighting and the texture placement is okay, but it doesn't really help to create a better feeling to the level, mostly because the colour scheme rather similar in each and every room. Found two secrets (which were easier than some of the stars) in 20 minutes of net gameplay time." - manarch2 (06-May-2014) |
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"This is another relatively straight-forward Catacombs themed
level. The main visual thing that sticks out is the strong
use of reddish-brown as a primary colour; the lighting
itself isn't especially great and lacks contrast, but it
certainly makes a statement compared to the more traditional
whiter colouring of the other Back to Basics levels. Object
use is decent enough, and there's some interesting
rollingball use.
The gameplay is a enjoyable trip through various obstacles
with a nice variety of tasks and some slight twists on basic
tasks to (like the rollingballs I mentioned earlier), it's
let down by one major problem though; you need to find five
stars in the course of the level (along with the crowbar to
get them) and they are placed almost randomly at times; if
you miss even one it can seriously break the flow of the
level and result in minutes of backtracking. The level would
work much better if you only needed around three to open the
exit and the last two allowed you to access a secret after
or something. There are also some large rooms that feel too
empty and could have done with more gameplay in them. While
let down heavily by one or two flaws the gameplay is
enjoyable if you don't get caught up by the star hunt." - Mman (25-Oct-2012) |
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| "This solid Catacomb adventure could also be titled 'The search for the five stars' with complete accuracy,as this is basically what it's all about. The aquistion of four of the five require the solving of puzzles and the achievement of physical challenges;while the fifth is (cheekily) hidden in plain view and guarantee'd to be missed the first or second time. The various uses of rolling balls showed originality;enemies were well placed,but easy to avoid;the physical course was fairly complex and initially a little tricky to familiarise,but ultimately shaped up quite nicely.Texturing was generally of a high standard (although one waterfall_object was a little awkwardly placed);sounds and cameras were incorporated at just the right moments,and lighting was everywhere effective.Despite all this,the adventure ultimately felt a little underwhelming.The five-star hunt should ideally have been a significant part of the overall adventure,rather than absolutely all of it;and I was left feeling that it was in need of some more puzzles,building toward an appropriate and exciting,Finale - rather than the 'running toward a solid wall' which was all you were given as an ending here. It's still a lot of absorbing fun,and I recommend it; it's just that it should have contained rather more." - Orbit Dream (18-May-2010) |
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| "More : Reddish ambiance, very caracteristic. The architecture, in my opinion so realistic, except the strange room with mummies and skeletons. Fluent gameplay.
Less : Cameras were a bit too long. Around the end, texturing looks dashed off. Always forgetting a star is not really pleasant (first time I missed 3 stars, second time only one). Maybe one or two more wraiths would be a good idea, the room with animating10 is under-used.
30 minutes." - Neso (23-Dec-2007) |
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| "Your objective here is to find 5 Golden Stars in a dull orange-yellow catacomb-complex. Most of the rooms are very squary and symmetric, no memorable architecture to speak of. The gameplay was pretty linear, once you pick up a Golden Star a passageway somewhere opens for you to continue so it was rather difficult to get stuck. It might be just me but I think that also in this level there were too many audios used, I never like that. The enemies were easy to avoid and the traps weren't too difficult to master either. The textures were mostly well used but the orange and yellow lighting became boring just after a few rooms..." - Horus (07-Oct-2005) |
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| Well, three months later I'm back to this level. The first time I was playing it I had trouble with my PC and the outcome of that is that my soundcard was fried. I didn't think it would be fair reviewing levels without being able to listen to the level sounds properly, so I had a break. Now with the new soundcard set up, though, no more excuses. ;-) Anyway, enough small talk. This is the second level of the Back To Basics series and just as all of the others it's set into Catacombs. I'm still not entirely convinced about the whole Catacombs theme - it just doesn't appeal to me - but this one was a nice little level. I'm trying to become less of a walkthrough junkie but I just couldn't help checking it for this level, but I avoided reading more than I should, so I just zoomed through looking for the locations of the stars - twice. Turn out I had missed both first and second ones, so I had to backtrack. Twice. I'm just really glad that I could, I'm not much of a fan of non-linear levels because it's easy to lost track of what you've done and what not (at least I tend to forget), but everything worked pretty fine here. I thought the beginning was a bit too dark, but enough flares are provided and it gets brighter later on. 45 minutes, 1 secret. 07/05 - Treeble (11-Jul-2005) |
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| "This level had a lot of neat rooms. I really liked how Peter combined the lightning and shadow in some of the water rooms creating a very nice effect. He also shows that it is possible to create amazing rooms using the good old catacomb.wad file. The only downside is that the secrets were too easy to find. Overall a very good level. 2005-04-29" - QRS (29-Apr-2005) |
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| "This is a very dark level, not dark so I needed all the flares, but Lara was like a black silhouette through most of the level. It was quite empty, like it had been raided a few times already, but it had some nice architecture. What I enjoyed the most was a water maze, I enjoy swimming. I don't like skellies so much, but if you do, there is a room where you could have lots of fun exploring different ledges for goodies, while dodging the nasty knights." - Solange (15-Apr-2005) |
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| "An enjoyable and atmospheric catacomb. It has some nicely built rooms and a plethora of passages which can lead unwary explorers (such as myself) to get hopelessly lost (but then, I always get lost hopelessly). I very much liked the boulder alley and the large room with all the Mummies and Skeletons. I really felt as though I was the first person to set foot in this catacomb for centuries. The only part I was not too keen on was when I liberated the wraith before finding the statue that kills it. I spent quite a while being pursued through what seemed like an endless maze of corridors before finally finding that statue. The whole thing took 50 minutes of game time but, in reality, this was my Saturday afternoon entertainment." - Staticon (17-Mar-2005) |
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| "Desolate spartan realism. I had the feeling I was exploring tombs that had been so thoroughly raided over the years that there was nothing left to find. And yet, Lara can find what others can't. Good simple level. Easily played. I 'd recommend this for first timers. It was the only level I played straight through, beginning to end with no breaks." - Deekman (03-Mar-2005) |
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| "I thought this a lovely level. It was faithful to its title, was set completely underground with many passages and rooms adding to the catacombs atmosphere. Throughout the game there seemed to be enough, but not too many, clues and hints and the cut scenes were very useful. The basic idea was to collect 5 stars and a token. The stars were placed in receptors that are all together and only found when all the stars have been collected (or in my case 4 as I missed the one in the 'poison dart room'. The interesting 'hidey-holes' for the stars were very impressive and the one behind a rolling spiked rock was fun .. I did just as the designer expected and presumed that the rock was protecting the medipack and not a double whammy! The other spiked rocks were fun as well .. my particular favourite was the one which fell down onto a pressure pad, in the fascinating water/walkway/mummy/skelly room. Great! What a super way to open a door. The boulder even showed the direction to go that was next on the agenda ... a monkey swing that took you to the last star ... and toxic jets as well... as in many areas of the game a route to go or task to do ... with a twist! I found it an entertaining and enjoyable level." - Mrs rjb (03-Mar-2005) |
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| "What worked with me first, when starting this level in particular was the atmosphere. Very gloomy, and with a setting that truly stays true to the catacomb spirit this made my play here very uneasy. It's more on the dark side, but I never had to excessively rely on my flares, so I guess it's ok. The main goal is collecting 5 golden stars, and be sure you search thoroughly, cause you can easily miss quite a few along the way till reaching the end of the level. But the exploration is not the only thing the level has to offer, there is a nifty hallway which involves avoiding spikeballs, which surprise you when you least expect it, good use of them elsewhere as well, also the swimming sessions keep you occupied well. Maybe nothing generally memorable, but enjoyable on the whole - so why not give it a try?" - eTux (01-Mar-2005) |
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| "In this Catacomb level, I was happy enough to find the 5 golden stars easily, their locations is sneakily subtle, but not hard to miss though, once you know what you are searching for and explore everywhere. The level offers a good variation of tasks, yet not too challenging. A pleasant level that many raiders should enjoy. For me this one was too easy, but it was entertaining. I think the pushable object puzzle at the end comes too late in the game and does not add anything." - eRIC (01-Mar-2005) |
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| "Starting out rather dark and gloomy with some empty corridors and rooms to run around in, this adventure gets better as you go along. Still a feeling of loneliness remains throughout the 45 minutes to an hour you will spend here, as you only run into a fair few mummies and skeletons, some beetles and one wraith. I thought the swimming area was a bit tedious for the all important crowbar and when I reached the room with the five star receptacles I had only three with me, so basically had to play through the whole level again in order to find them. What I really liked was an original use of boulders, some well positioned fixed cameras and how you get back to the start once to proceed there, but all in all the levels feels a bit uninspired in its overall design." - Michael (01-Mar-2005) |
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| "The high ceilings and dark, wide passages are what catacombs should look and feel like, so loved the atmosphere as soon as I started! Though some deep echoy music or sound effects would have set the scene perfectly. Although it is quite dark, the builder left plenty of flares around to compensate. The wide, open water cavern was great to swim through, which made a nice change to tight, claustrophobic tunnels of some levels. In fact, the whole level had an openness about it that was a nice change to the claustrophobic atmosphere of many catacomb levels. Caves don't always mean small, tight spaces. Some rooms, especially at the beginning, were quite sparse and contained nothing, but I liked that as it had a more realistic feel - if exploring catacombs, I think it would be fair to say that many rooms would be empty, which further enhanced the atmosphere of the level for me. The enemies (mainly consisting of mummies) could be easily avoided, and the wraith run was great fun! Not sure if intentional, but the builder seemed to lull the player in to a sense of routine gameplay when it came to overcoming obstacles and enemies, but the pace quickly picked up near the end with the run of the gauntlet of skeletons and mummies, and dodging an alley of spiked balls. The objective of the level was straight forward: collect 5 stars (which weren't difficult to find) to access the ultimate object of the level: a token. It was fun and a great effort - I look forward to seeing what else this builder can do in future levels." - Jenni (21-Feb-2005) |
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| "This is a nicely put together level. It has the usual bag of tricks but well placed, e.g. the wraith. Not hard but you have to keep your eyes open in the search for the stars. Good job, builder." - Sherry (18-Feb-2005) |
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| "Aim: Find five stars that once placed give access to a token, then bugger off. Difficulty: Easy to middling, though hardcore difficult, well for me, if trying to retrieve some shotgun ammo behind a rolling boulder in the rolling boulder alley. Enemies: Like if I have to tell ya then you best pull your head out your ass and get with the Back to Basics program. Duration: 35 minutes. Secrets: 2, at least that's all I found. Wrap: Good flow, nothing really challenging, fun!" - Sash (18-Feb-2005) |
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| "The author seems to have followed the 'Catacombs are dark places' adage with considerable enthusiasm (generally shades of brown) - though quite sufficient flares are provided for our journey. We discover the first of 5 stars that we need to collect (I confess to missing the 4th one, first time through, because of my eagerness to progress) probably before we find the crowbar, but then realise we don't know where we should place it, anyway. (In fact, we shall collect all 5 stars before we do find the place to do this.) The game is generally straightforward, with some nice little variations at times - such as moving a pillar OFF what might be thought of as a pressure pad to open a door (though the beetles that accompanied this movement were less sought after) and having a boulder strike a pressure pad in the 'ledges' room rather than having Lara do so. And it was useful to have seen the bird statuette/anti-sprite before we ran into the sprite itself. There were some interesting rooms - a couple with great 'drops' that were quite splendid - all 'soundly' constructed, but I did find the continual lack of light a bit disappointing (there was a smoke jet or two, and a wall-torch or two, and some reflection in the pools of water). I concede that the dark (and less dark) brownness made it all the more realistic - we were clearly underground the whole time - but for variety (with a personal liking for brightness and beauty [hard to appreciate because of the lack of light - even the water was mainly black]) it would have been a nice change occasionally. I quite liked this game (despite some slight allusions I might have made to the darkness), because it was mainly clear what you had to do - after you'd done the necessary exploration, as with all TR games. I found 2 secrets." - rjb (16-Feb-2005) |
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| "We are adventuring in the catacombs on this level too. Our aim is to get the Token, because we need it to leave the level. But for this we need to solve puzzles and in the meantime collect 5 Stars too. Mummies and skeletons try to set us back, but they have no chance. :) From the wraiths the small statue will fend us; the best strategy is to explore them, in order to know where to run. We have to push statues and run away from rolling stones. There are two secrets on the level, the Shotgun and medipack. Maybe the level could have been harder, but it's not bad as a warm-up. :) You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://www.treditor.hu/15/back_to_basics2_catacombs_of_tisaria.htm " - Obig (16-Feb-2005) |
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| "Enemies consist of skeletons, zombies and wraiths. There are also numerous falling spiked balls. Large area to investigate, with nooks and crannies to find ways into. You can often see where you want to go, but finding the route takes more thinking through. No real puzzles except moving the statue near then end. Lots of jumping, often to avoid spike traps. Graphics etc give the Catacomb feel as you really feel you are actually in catacombs. Good atmosphere is also generated. Secrets were not evident, but the search for the 5 stars (often sneakily hidden) was enough to search for. Well worth playing." - Whistle (14-Feb-2005) |
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| "Lovely level to play, the nice catacombs at the start of the level. Looking for 5 Stars you'll encounter several enemies and those stars are hidden very slick, must have run past that one on the pillar at the Spirit a couple of times before I saw it. The rest wasn't too hard but quite entertaining." - Dutchy (14-Feb-2005) |
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| "Hidden stars of Tisaria would have been a fitting alternative title of this catacomb level. You need five stars, and most of them are well hidden and easy to overlook. There are plenty of flares to light up murky areas with, though. The level has some nice traps, but a somewhat too uniform setting, characterised by a rather dim reddish light." - Bogey (14-Feb-2005) |
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| "This level was very cool, and I actually managed to get through all the way without peeking at the walkthrough (and not miss anything at all, lol). Good, fun and challenging...however I wish I would have received a weapon to take out those bothersome mummy's at some point." - Brigidsgirl (13-Feb-2005) |
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| "The main goal in this level is to get 5 stars and that was easier said than done as I did find 4 of them pretty easy but literally the first one eluded me completely first time around. Getting to the place where you had to place all five of them and being short just one, I almost ditched the level. The were some nice surprising things in this level, like the boulder that had to fall to open a door and the two boulders alley you had to get through to the room where the receptacles were for all the Stars. The lighting could have been better applied as some corners were too dark and some rooms too bright. Found 2 secrets and this one had me going for almost 3 hours, because of that first Star I missed. Found one invisible block before a door. 03-01-2005" - Gerty (05-Feb-2005) |
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| "Not sure how the builder will take this, but the thing I remember the most about this level was the extreme darkness, in some places, not so dark in others, but all
over just . . . darkness. Then again, I suppose that's what we really should encounter in a catacomb! I had to use a lot of flares, and to save using them all up I lit one, ran around to have a look and reloaded the last savegame. The first dark area is a search in all nooks and crannys for pickups and shooting vases. A simple pillar pushing move will open the door, but will also release a swarm of beetles that chase you into the next area. The level itself, gameplay wise, is quite simple, it's the darkness that makes it longer, makes it look bigger than it is, but is excellent for hiding things like crawlspaces. What you're looking for are five stars, very well hidden, so look up, down, and everywhere for those crawlspaces, and if it looks like you can get in there - go in. After a particular flyby you enter a room with waterholes, skeletons, and a wraith coming for you. A word to the wise: run around first and look for the ladder on one of those supporting columns to the walkway above, the cross is up there. You can outrun the skeletons, it's the wraith you need to get rid of in this room first. There is an unusual falling boulders run in high corridors; the boulders themselves are suspended from the ceiling by ropes. I've never seen that before. There's an underwater maze, a quick run across columns and into a room with ramps and climbs to reach a floor lever and drop another boulder high above; into another easy water room and finally place your five stars to escape. I found two secrets, one a shotgun, handy for the skellies, and the other a coin you leave with. Looking back on it now I'd say this is a fairly straight forward level. I'll be glad now to get into an outside and brighter level." - CC (04-Feb-2005) |
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| "Easy gameplay. The way is filled with traps jumps and of course mummies! Search a tomb to find and collect 5 stars. Use the stars to find the treasure - The seal of Tisaria." - G.Croft (25-Jan-2005) |
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| "Starting off in the rocky halls of this temple you need to find your way into and up higher through the alley ways as you search for 5 gold stars. Sounds simple but in fact it isn't. Especially when this only becomes clear when you find the Star receptacles and sadly are not equipped with all the goodies you require. And so you must scurry back to discover where you missed some vital inventory. The architecture is fairly simple but suitably portrays a dingy tomb. The texturing and lighting add to a consistent feel through out. As much as this is probably how one might really imagine a tomb to be it is unfortunately a little dull. However the author does succeed in creating a sense of realism in this approach. The downside of this is that whilst the environment is well portrayed the level lacks a killer punch. Enemies were fair and the wraith chase is quite doable as long as you've noted where the wraith trap is located. Texturing is generally somewhat bland but in keeping with a real tomb and is well applied but some rock areas are subject to distorted textures. I also found one invisible door block. I finished with 1 secret plus a Token and clocked in at 1:14 net gaming." - EssGee (25-Jan-2005) |
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| "A 'Back to Basics' level using the catacomb wad so I won't go into detail about enemies and objects - you know the score. This level really does evoke catacombs - quite dark and brooding with lots of passages small rooms and alcoves - it's very atmospheric. It took me ages to find the fifth gold star and wouldn't you know it turned out to be the very one I should have found first but I had a lot of fun along the way. I found two secrets." - Jay (23-Jan-2005) |
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| "Well this level had me running around right from the very start I just had no idea where the crowbar was I was running around for about 30 minutes trying to find it. After which everything was rather plain sailing in search of the 5 missing stars that were scattered all over the place in all these various beautiful rooms with some nice added traps like boulders spikes darts & some nice cute beetles thrown in as well. Your enemies are skeletons mummies and a fire wrath but luckily you will find the shotgun right at the very beginning so you were able to blast a few of these skellies away into some water to help you in proceeding and making your mission that little bit more easier. The whole layout of this level was amazing I just loved it atmosphere was great and there are so many places to explore and you really do need to explore really well in order to retrieve those stars so make sure you check every nook and cranny and you won't be disappointed. The textures lighting & layouts was brilliantly done but you do travel through some rather dark places which actually gives you a nice spooky feeling throughout the level which made this level even more exciting. The game-play is excellent which kept me on my toes and thinking throughout this wonderful adventure I never got bored for one minute and found this level quite a challenge. I had some great fun in that room with all the skellies mummies ledges and in the process trying to get to switch gee what a pain those mummies were they were certainly making my task that little bit more difficult in achieving my goal. On the whole this is a nice level very well laid out and great fun to play I had a lovely time exploring and yes I certainly did that." - Gill (22-Jan-2005) |
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| "Catacombs of Tisaria begins simple. In a catacomb with several ways to go you run through without worries just pick up some ammo avoid some bugs and a wraith (the way to the cross is pretty far though). After a swim you pick up the crowbar go for the first golden star and suddenly you realize you're into it and start having fun. The lighting is very strictly orange which may seem a bit monotonous and doesn't make orientation easier but it helps the atmosphere a lot and so do the well placed music and a lot of really dark areas. Did I ever mention I like dark levels? Guess so. Well flares are provided generously don't be afraid. The use of textures seemed a bit odd occasionally some floor textures were used for walls and some wall textures for floors but do as you like. Some traps were too easy to avoid thus the level may not be difficult enough for some of you but I enjoyed it." - Rüdiger (19-Jan-2005) |
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| "Wicked spikes at the end of your opening slide set the tempo for this raid. You are off in search of five stars - two of which proved most elusive (we don't want them too easy now do we?)! Skellies and mummies galore but manageable. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and think you will too. Stormchaser is my bet for this one and it's a good thing because my chips are all but spent." - Mugs (19-Jan-2005) |
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| "I found this to be a nice level; it has enemies and good traps. I liked the idea with the spike balls that might look harmless at first but can hurt Lara while rolling down rather than when dropping. The player has to go through various areas to find five stars that will give the desired token. I would like to have seen more puzzles though to balance the traps and there was a problem with an illegal slope near the start. Lara can stand on the sand or rock pile whatever that was and while trying to get down she'll surely get stuck between the slopes towards the wall with no way out. I also noticed some textures that weren't properly aligned. The mummies and skeletons near the end weren't really a threat. I found two secrets which were ammo or health. I can't put my finger on it but I felt like something was missing in this level maybe the puzzles I mentioned above. The feeling I have from this one is more about the traps than anything else. It's nicely done." - Kristina (17-Jan-2005) |
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| "A strange level because there is so much rooms that haven't any function only for ornate. This is not usual in most of the level builders. In the beginning if you climb up till the door which let you access to the bridge over the initial room you can't go next to it you collide with an invisible wall (the door is not well designed). What can I say about the textures it seems that the author only used three or four textures in all the level. This gives a bored impression. Geometry is simple too. If a player arrives to the end of the level and has missed some stars he has to go back and explore all the level again looking for it. This makes the level boring. In the last room I don't know why the author put two marked tiles to open the same door. But the level isn't bad it's entertaining secrets are easy to find and enemies are well placed. Perhaps I miss more cameras which help us to get all necessary items to not have to go back many times." - Jose (15-Jan-2005) |
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| "In a quest for 5 stars you begin with some annoying beetles nipping at your toes. Do remember where the crosses are so you can get rid of those pesky wraiths. The underwater maze holds two items one essential in completing your task and the other a secret makes the task easier. Look everywhere the fourth star is harder to spot than the rest. There's a nice water room where you can blast skellies off the ledges. Basically it's push button get star push lever whatever...Hey it's catacombs but it's fun. I found 2 secrets thankfully one of them was the shotgun." - Alarable (15-Jan-2005) |
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| "A nice change of scenery as Lara enters the underground Catacombs of Tisaria. With its sandy textures high arched passages dimly lit alcoves and tiny rooms leading off the main areas I really liked the feel of this place and thought the design was superb. Off to collect five stars Lara has to make her way through some pretty tough rooms with falling spike balls spike traps mummies skellies and wraiths. There's a wonderful room where many enemy lurk up on high bridges and jumping around there was a lot of fun. No back tracking as such which was nice because I really hate to do that too much so unless you forget something you'll be making a straight run through collecting your stars on the way and then placing them to find the gold coin token in order to leave the level. I did get the inventory bug though which was a shame as I had to get a save game from someone after collecting two stars they disappeared from my inventory when I got the third one this happened before in levels so I guess its down to the LE and not a builders error so he/she is forgiven lol. I thoroughly enjoyed this level though and can highly recommend it." - Moonpooka (10-Jan-2005) |
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| "The second of the series if played by alphabetical order this level is a bit tougher than the first (Another Catacomb) but not that much. Again no feeling of frustration nor boredom and a solution for each problem be it wraith beetles (I HATE those critters with a passion) boulders or spikes. Mummies of course can't be gotten rid of and remain in the way which just spices things up and makes some tasks more interesting to complete. Quite creative use of boulders too although a bit too easy to pass. I like my boulders with a touch of adrenaline rush and those ones were unfortunately lacking it. The lighting is indeed VERY good and adds a lot to the atmosphere. I loved that reddish glow which combined to the mummies' growls manage to give some spookiness to the whole set which isn't that common in catacombs levels (oddly enough). Well done on the music placement too. Be it for warning or plot purpose this was perfect. Although not a 'wow!' level a good one indeed which I enjoyed very much playing." - Sutekh (09-Jan-2005) |
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| "A very nice level this particularly the mummy/skelly room which was a spark of genius. I also liked the hanging boulders that dropped if you went too near them. Not sure I've come across that before. A lovely level then and one that players of all skill levels should be able to enjoy. The only time I had to 'cheat' was to visit the forums in the hunt for the 5th star (nice not to have to do this too many times). This jaunt took 45 minutes and I found 2 secrets." - gfd (05-Jan-2005) |
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| "We enter a sort of catacombs once more this time to the catacombs of Tisaria to find the seal of Tisaria which looks just like a gold token. This was a nice level to play and it presented a good use of spiked boulders. Other than that there were some nice rooms to adventure through and I really liked the somewhat challenging room with the skeletons and the mummies and the ledges and the hanging spiked boulder. The corridor with the boulders was quite fun too. The goal of this level is to discover the five golden stars to get our hands on the token and then we do a short puzzle before getting out of here. The textures were applied rather well though the architecture seemed rather square all the time in the rooms but the lighting was nice too though a bit dark at times. The enemies in this level were mummies skeletons and a wraith." - Relic Hunter (04-Jan-2005) |
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| "This is the second level I've played in the Back to Basics Challenge and it equals or surpasses the high quality of the first level. What we have here is good ol' fashioned Tomb Raiding with no frills or embellishments in the grand style. Your quest is to find five stars (after you use the first one you find) that are scattered throughout a well-placed environment. I never found the ornate handle but this didn't prevent me from finishing the level. You can become confused by the fact that you're allowed to reach certain rooms before you're really ready to do anything in there but the layout of the level is quite well designed. I'm having a great time with this series and I think the concept is one worth repeating." - Phil (03-Jan-2005) |
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| "This is a search for five stars with the likelihood that at least two will be more difficult to find than the others. Good use of wall color 'camouflaging' the room where that star is to be found. The other is in an area where the Raider's attention may be drawn elsewhere. There's a wraith that was not easy to get rid of only because I could not find the protective cross - it was either in a newly opened room or one I ran past earlier and didn't see. There's one secret (I think) and that's the Gold Token that ends the game. Very atmospheric and enjoyable." - Bene (03-Jan-2005) |
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| "It feels a bit strange to write a review and have no clue who the author might be. You fear a disparaging remark could be taken the wrong way. This is only the second game in the back to basic competition and I already wonder if the whole thing was such a good idea in the first place. The author proves here that he is able to build an entertaining level with only the original wad but hey we knew that this is possible ever since Catacomb Towers was released. This starts out in a mazelike tomb and your objective is to locate five stars and then swap them for a coin that you take to the exit. It's rather linear in a non-linear kinda way which I liked a lot. What I didn't like was that it was very easy to overlook one of the stars and you would never notice until you reached the place where you put them. There are skeletons mummies spiked boulders and a wraith to avoid pillars to push a bit of jumping and swimming; a nice mix of tasks really. I thought the lighting was a bit enigmatic in places seeing that some areas were pitch black when by rights they shouldn't have been but some picturesque rooms make up for this. It was fun while it lasted and the setting is not half bad but nothing really memorable happened here neither as far as the storyline is concerned nor the atmosphere." - Dimpfelmoser (02-Jan-2005) |
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| "Another catacomb... No wait that was another game! Oh well this is well done with a lot of exploring to do and some swimming too. The aim is to collect five stars (of which one easily eludes the player) in order to find a token and end the level. There are some very interesting moments namely the room with several skeletons mummies and bridges where one can encounter some tension. Good use of the spike boulders. Were there any secrets? If so they were very well hidden since I believe I have found none. Good fun. (January 2 2005)" - Jorge22 (02-Jan-2005) |
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