Levels listed...
TR5 - 31
TR4 - 3141
TR3 - 177
TR2 - 133
TR1 - 61
72368 reviews (20.4/level)
3532 (99.7%) walkthroughs
445 Hall of Fame levels
1221 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
01-Jan-2006 |
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# of downloads: |
83 |
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average rating: |
7.68 |
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review count: |
30 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
39.12 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Oriental |
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| Reviewer's comments |
"In this entry Lara searches for four levers to gain access to a temple holding a prized gem. A few functional issues to discuss first: For one, there is a softlock if Lara slides down into the target practice room before she has the revolver and lasersight. There is also the "busy hands" bug that kicks in when Lara grabs the gem from a pedestal, forcing the player to stop in the middle of the ensuing trap sequence and drawing Lara's pistols so that she can grab again. There is a bizarre moment where Lara must pull up through a solid railing – I thought it was an unintended shortcut but indeed it is the approach indicated in the walkthrough. Other grievances I have include the backtracking through traps that is needed if one of the four levers is missed, and blades in the temple that may get antitriggered with very inconvenient timing. I did enjoy most of the trap sequences, the pushable puzzles (particularly the multi-level room), the target practice when Lara is prepared for it, and the overall architecture of the courtyard which gives a lot of rooftops for Lara to explore. As for visuals, the lighting tends to be flat more often than not and the texturing can look patchy in places, but does the job fine. 45 minutes." - JesseG (03-Jul-2022) |
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"(8) Gameplay & Puzzles
My mission to play and review all of BTB2006, alphabetically, begins with A New Mission For Lara. This level focuses heavily on exploration and puzzles, with a moderate amount of traps. There's almost no combat, and a small amount of platforming. The tasks are creative and engaging, although the game's pacing did flop a bit towards the end, after you solve the colored pushables puzzle in the courtyard. Although most of the level doesn't have challenging platforming, the timed trapdoor run at the very end was super thrilling (once I figured out how to deal with the ctrl key bug). My favorite puzzle was the 4 giant grids, and I did also like the green dragons tile puzzle, although that one is very sneaky and requires a keen eye. Actually, I would say that in general, you will need to have a keen eye on your surroundings, or else you will be stuck running around in circles.
(6) Enemies,Objects & Secrets
Aside from the excellent use of static decor objects, I was a little disappointed in this category. There are very few enemies, which is fine, but the final boss consists of a bunch of snakes that Lara can just combat from a higher area, so she's not in danger. I would have liked to have seen more thought/planning regarding this final fight, and at the very least, a few secrets (there are none). There were some object setup mistakes which detract from the level's polish, and I was also not a fan of the random pole and ladder objects that didn't serve any gameplay use.
(8) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras
Camera usage was done well, although I think the Egyptian crypts ambient loop wasn't quite fitting for such a colorful Oriental environment. There were some boxy natural areas, such as the underground caves, which I wasn't keen on. I think the builder could have put in more effort to make these areas look organic. The man-made architectural design is wonderful -- it truly was a delightful feeling to explore the large, nighttime courtyard by night, and I think that the builder did a good job of connecting all of the rooms together. This is a separate issue to actually texturing these rooms, which brings me to the next section --
(5) Lighting & Textures
There were so many warped textures, and textures that weren't rotated properly... and many rooms didn't have any lighting. At all. I feel that the builder put in a tremendous amount of effort into gameplay and puzzle design, yet didn't apply that same dedication to texturing. Aside from the many objective texturing mistakes, from a subjective point of view I didn't like how the builder mashed different bold and bright textures together.
The gameplay is creative and interesting, although overall I didn't have a very positive experience with ANMFL, as I feel that the builder did not polish other aspects of the level." - nerdfury (02-Nov-2020) |
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| "This level provides a couple of good
gameplay concepts, mainly around pushable
puzzles, nice use of texture hints, a fake
timed lever and a hub room motif. It's a
shame that there are no secrets, music is
hardly used, and lighting is rather plain
(thankfully not dark, so I'm not
complaining), but the gameplay is what
counts here." - Ryan (12-Sep-2017) |
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| "Honestly, the lighting and textures category seems to be quite a bit overrated in here, there is almost zero work put into the lighting which is unchanged for the most part. The texturing is a bit better and there are some creative things done with them, yet feel rather repetitive and not as utterly innovate to cover the complete lack of efforts put into lighting. Additionally, the end of the world you can see in many places and once you even have to climb a roof where you bump into the black nothing - not very careful that is. Gameplay caught me on the wrong foot as I missed a lever on the high building, dropped down in the hub area with the four puzzle pieces and faced a dead end - there's no chance to return to this lever again, so I had to reload an earlier save. That aside, the puzzle-based gameplay is really fun to work through and even if one particular puzzle (jumping on three of five identical looking platforms) was without a hint and climbing through a fence is not totally obvious, I enjoyed the creative approaches very much here - especially the shootrange and, the puzzle that has to be solved by searching for hints in the room below. There's even a nice red herring to find in here. On the downside, the non-climbable ladder objects are rather confusing, many items are not correctly named (even the levelname is wrong in-game), there are a few paperthin walls and overall the architecture feels very much based on the gameplay, without being quite working nicely on its own. Enemies are few, yet the fights are always interesting, the object design is decent yet also rather gameplay-related. Unfortunately there are no secrets to find in here in 25 minutes of net playtime that mostly stands out for the creative puzzles, yet not much else, sadly." - manarch2 (19-Mar-2015) |
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| "This seems to be by a new author, but it's also somewhat paradoxical in that regard; there's almost no lighting,
music cues (outside the last few areas), objects are named
"load" and there's several parts where you can reach the end
of the world. But there's also some interesting texture use,
semi-complex puzzle set-ups and a generally interesting and intuitive level structure, geometry and item use. It's a
shame the lighting is so lacking because with it this could
actually be a quite great looking level. Gameplay is mostly
exploration-based. Outside of one too-hidden crawlspace it
flows well with some nice puzzles and trap sequences, along
with a couple of more challenging moments. Although it's
mostly relatively simplistic. The only major downfall is a
jumping sequence near the end, which exploits a glitch that
prevents you from grabbing, requiring you to find a place to
momentarily stop during a timed sequence to fix it (and if
you don't know about how the glitch works, you could think a
game-breaking bug has happened). A good level, although it
feels like only half the presentation is present." - Mman (16-Jan-2012) |
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| "Not a bad level, but searching the hidden crawlspace or the way for open the doors is your activity most of the times. There is also 1 puzzle (room with green blocks) without any clues and without the walkthru you can play at this game through several months... Textures are ok, the level is well decorated with various objects, but the light is almost the same everywhere." - Jerrod (08-Apr-2010) |
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| "There are a few mistakes here like thin walls and the occasional stretched texture that has been forgotten somewhere but overall it's a nicely done level with Ying-Yang pieces to find, a gem as a prize and rubies (those red gem-like artefacts). The traps with the knives at the end were a nice obstacle but nothing too difficult. The jumps on the roof tops were nice as well but there were few enemies and the gameplay as simple as can be. No secrets to find and the level became a bit boring from one point after with all those doors to open. Do give it a try though as tastes vary." - Kristina (10-Mar-2006) |
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| "We are guiding Lara in a temple and in its courtyard on this level. Our goal is to get the blue crystal that has the name Hand of Orion on this level. To complete the mission we have to solve many puzzles in order to get into the temple, where it is guarded, then we have to search for 4 Yin-Yang symbols too - these open the way to the jewel. Sometimes it is hard to figure out how to solve the puzzles; the missing pink switch was a great idea for example. This we will find somewhere else. There are not much enemies, only some monks and six snakes, but the snakes you can let live longer. There are many traps; we have to avoid blades, moving walls and spikes. Dropping down from the balcony takes some of your health; I could find a method here to avoid it. For the aimed shots we need the revolver and the lasersight, and we get enough ammo and medipacks. There are no secrets on the level. The textures are very beautiful, light, and the locations are wonderful. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/16/btb2006_15_a_new_mission_for_lara.htm" - Obig (01-Mar-2006) |
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| "A 45 minute level with basically two phases. After a nice long introduction flyby you first get to do a few mild acrobatics around a set of houses in order to raise four blocks to put pushables to their rightful place. The timed target shooting ranch was fun, the push object puzzles had a certain originality to them and the use of texture tile hints was well designed. There are a few minor technical flaws, like an invisible door block, a thin wall and you can reach the 'end of the world', but they don't interfere much with gameplay. In Phase 2 you enter the big house and run around to collect four Yin Yangs to open the door for your prize, the gem. Here you have blades to avoid and a multi lever puzzle to solve - not too hard thanks to the texture hints. The timed trapdoors gauntlet towards the end was thrilling, especially because I had a bit of trouble to get Lara to grab after the first long jump, but it did work out eventually. All in all, a few good ideas here and a nice flow, supported with good camera work. Only four baddies in your way, so not much fighting to do." - MichaelP (19-Feb-2006) |
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| "This level makes a really valient attempt at good all-round Gameplay,providing a little something for everyone. There are moveable object puzzles (two;neither of them difficult),a lever puzzle,jumps,shimmies,blades,a few enemies,exploration and a fun (and well constructed) gauntlet as a Finale. It is all quite effective and enjoyable,but there occasions when it becomes a little vague (near the start and,especially,inside the big Temple)and there are several unfortunate moments where progression entails coming face-to-face with the end of the world(an 'atmosphere killer' if ever there was one);and other places where life-robbing falls seemed to be the only forward. This is a shame,as the japanese-ish ambience is otherwise very well conveyed and rather convincing. Most of the adventure was quite benign and peacefull,and the various rooms and buildings soundly constructed,but every once in a while there were moments of well-placed action (the target shooting,the back-and-forth jumping and a really nice booby-trapped room with fake platforms)to spice things up.
Although the interiors tended to be a little too cluttered,the use of textures to create interesting patterns showed a creative visual flair. All-in-all,a perfectly enjoyable adventure." - Orbit Dream (17-Feb-2006) |
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| "This is my idea of a near-perfect level. For slightly less than an hour I was treated to a variety of puzzles, some exquisite scenery, tasks that were challenging at times without ever becoming frustrating, and superb lighting that enabled me to see what I was doing every step of the way. That jump sequence to the timed platforms near the end almost did me in, but I found my rhythm after a few tries and made it with no trouble after that. And I might suggest to Sutekh that the artifacts indeed had Oriental names. Instead of one Yin-Yang you had to find four, and the builder might have had in mind that slang phrase we Yanks sometimes use when we refer to an extra thing to pick up: "one for the load." Ouch, I know that was bad, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, I enjoyed myself thoroughly in this level, and that's the mark of a fine piece of work, hence my high scores. Highly recommended." - Phil (09-Feb-2006) |
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| "This level felt good. Containing some tricky but not insurmountable puzzles, a few baddies to overcome, more than one cunningly placed crawlspace to find and a plethora of quite well designed rooms. OK, in one or two places there were walls that could be climbed but not marked as ladders and I also found a couple of oddly placed monkey swings which seemed to serve no purpose but, considering the timescale we had to build our levels in, this is very nicely executed. I did have some trouble with a lengthy passage over a deep pit with timed trapdoors - my poor old keyboard took quite a hammering on that one, but that is mainly down to my poor playing skills. The shooting gallery and temple, though, are great fun and my favourite parts of this adventure. A most enjoyable raid." - Staticon (07-Feb-2006) |
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| "The level has a good look, but there are a couple of things which hurt the
gameplay: who can imagine that Lara could trespass the fences of the balconys?
this is not very real; and the worst is that in the house with green blocks and
blade traps, where's the hint to know what blocks you have to jump and the
order? there are hundreds of combinations and you could play years before
discover it (I know that I'm not a clever player). You'll find very few enemies
and only the revolver so don't expect too much action. Good lights and
textures." - Jose (07-Feb-2006) |
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| "This was one very pleasant raid. As is the luck of Lara, she finds herself sliding down a waterfall to land right into the lovely hidden asian town that is home to the stolen blue crystal of a rich entrepreneurian friend...you know, that old chestnut! In this town there aren't many enemies to worry about, apart from the odd ninja and den of snakes, so it is left up to the puzzles to keep her occupied as she hunts down the crystal. In fact the puzzles that lay in the buildings, a timed target shooting range, a huge double storeyed movable object puzzle, a tile jump, and more, all which lead to levers that make it possible to solve a small movable object puzzle in the gardens, kept me so involved in the game that I barely missed the slight lack of enemies and it was all over before I knew it. My only pet peeve was that there were no secrets included in this 45 minute level and for me secrets are quite an integral part of a level, but I can't be too picky as otherwise this was a great adventure and I had a wonderful time playing it." - Sash (04-Feb-2006) |
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| "From the title of this level I thought that it was a begginer level, but as soon as I loaded the level I found out that I was wrong, because at the strating there is a beautiful camera showing Lara sliding off a waterfall into a pool in a beautiful enviroment.
Then you have to slide on doors, jump on roofs, swiping levers, opening doors etc (usual stuff) to raise 4 blocks so that the dragon pushables can be put on their respective tiles.
The real stuff begins after this, collect 4 Ying Yang Peices by jumping in crazy ways & saving Lara from blades. After this collect the Eye of Horus & the blue Gem.
Then be ready for the grand Timed ledges & boulder run finale. Put the eye of Horus in its place to end the level.
A great level, beautifully done specially the 2nd half of it" - Anurag (02-Feb-2006) |
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| "This Village on the Island of Honsu, Japan, is a pretty little place, with two
and three storey buildings, little gardens, waterfall, and a lot going on
underground! Gameplay involves exploring the buildings and
accomplishing four task,s to raise four blocks, to complete the puzzle in
the central courtyard. This opens the main building, and here we need to
find four yin yang discs. The ultimate goal is to find a ruby and gem. And
that in a nutshell is the basics of this level. The tasks and puzzles are
great, some might seem a little tedious (the object pushing ones), others
a little obscure (the dragon trigger tiles to open the nearby gate - (the 'clue'
is actually right there in plain view), and some a little hair raising (that run
across rising and falling trapdoors in a dark cave). This took many tries,
but eventually I figured the best way was to make Lara jump in a zig zag
way across some trapdoors, giving her enough room to run/jump/grab to
the next one. All tasks are interesting and the player just needs to stand
back for a moment and think about it. The author has put one of the
sneakiest (if that is a word) traps I've come across in one deep room
where you pull a switch and the trapdoor falls. Finding that missing switch
and yin yang up high in the main building took a while because of that very
well hidden crawlspace. I believe a lot of people had trouble with this
crawlspace. Jumping over the blade to grab the hole in the wall did take a
few goes alright, but it can be done, albeit a pixel perfect jump; jumping to
crawlspace itself was easy. The ultimate goal is to find one ruby, the other
one is right there where you place them. The level does have it's
problems, but it might have more to do with the author trying to get the
level out in time for the competition. Problems like seeing the end of the
world (but this is not such a big deal in this level), lighting, wrong
animation at one point, and script changes needed. I'm not sure if the
author intended some of the seemingly unorthodox moves, like being
able to get onto the roof of the main building and sliding down to the
courtyard behind that closed gate! And towards the end I was convinced
there were still at least three doors left to open. But when I think of it now, I
don't think they do, because we do explore in behind them. The readme is
intriguing. A rich American wants her diamond back. It has been stolen by
a 'powerful group of people'. So, did these 'powerful people' take back
what was their'se in the first place? Did the lady acquire it legally? And
why would Lara get involved in such shenanigans! Then again, perhaps I
should concentrate on getting the next level up and running and continue
raiding . . ." - CC (01-Feb-2006) |
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| "Nice bright beginning, lovely waterfall slide. (Not-so-good bits first: several high-up illegal slopes all too easy to reach v.near the start; more than one EoW instance; a place where we can jump up to touch the sky. Fortunately, all these were only at the start, so initial negative feelings dissipated the more we progressed. Some flares would have been good, though, as there were several dark areas.) Helpful early fly-by, showing us something of the layout. Several intriguing - enticing, even - ways to explore. Many Japanese screen doors: few open at first and it is a nice surprise when some do. Not sure about the 'ladders' that are not ladders - confusing. Nice idea to achieve gradually the ability to solve a cube puzzle. (Our compulsory health-loss in one place can be reduced if we can engineer the first warrior we meet to push us off a balcony onto a raised path below.) In the second major section, we see the ante is 'upped' considerably. (Especially traps, jumps, places to 'spot'.) A curiosity: after negotiating several traps we have to open 2 ground floor gates. A certain combination of levers does this for one gate but, playing twice through, 2 DIFFERENT combinations (NOT interchangeable) opened the second gate - the combination [for the same gate] in one strand would NOT work in the OTHER. (For those in the know: 011 worked in one strand but 111 worked in the other.) I liked the escalating difficulty of the game. My 'thorough exploring' time was 2:15 hrs and my 'fast as possible, pick up everything' time was the slightly shorter 19 min! With care, we can suffer just 9mm health loss in the game (2 drops from balconies)." - rjb (30-Jan-2006) |
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| "The level starts a bit slowly, but the more you play it, the more exciting it gets, I found the last puzzles/traps quite enjoyable. I got stuck for a moment, because I didn't think that Lara can climb through the fences to the balcony. (I don't know if that was the right way, but I couldn't find anywhere else to go.)
I also liked that personal touch with zigzag texturing. There were some end of the world points, which were a little strange, some fences there instead of an invisible wall would do it. Some doors were wrongly turned, producing the invisible block.
Time: 1/06/39. Difficulty: average/easy. Lighting: bright. Gameplay type: puzzles. Tech skills: basic+. Other: Access to the rooftops. :)" - Bojrkraider (30-Jan-2006) |
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| "Game play is as the level outline suggest-puzzle orientated. The first problem is to find your way to open the gates, and it feels some what cheating to go over the roofs. Virtually all that you do is related to one puzzle or another, and even if it is not then it is a puzzle to find your way. Enemies are baddies and snakes often in multiples but not very frequently appearing, so, especially at the end easily splatted with the revolver. Finding the objects ranges from the blatantly obvious, to the down right well hidden, shame no secrets to also ponder over finding. Lighting and textures were fine, except the walls were often paper thin and some of the flybys were over long and presented too much info in one go. Camera angles and placing caused no problems and generally a good atmosphere was created." - Whistle (29-Jan-2006) |
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| "Be careful in finding how to do things the right way as it isn't that obvious. So first of all, the way is to jump onto a balcony on the right after visiting the roof. Lara does grab and hoists herself up through the railing. Found a paperthin texture and it is a bit sloppy to call the Yin and Yang Load. I still have a couple of questions as I couldn't open a door. Probably wasn't mend to be opened as that was the building with the times shooting but do make the door solid then. I went there as I wanted to know what that underwater tunnel was where there is a current. Well it is nothing, just a way back if you accidentally fell down in that part. Another question was, what about the rooms with the poles, strange as they served no purpose. First time around I only used one lever on top of the roof, but I didn't need to worry as the door for that second lever just opened when Lara approached it. For the rest it is a nice adventure that has to be played with eyes wide open. Nice traps and overall not difficult apart from the end as that was a thrilling timed sequence. 02-01-2006" - Gerty (27-Jan-2006) |
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| "Set around a main Puzzle where blocks had to be raised so you could finish that puzzle and open the big doors. The several tasks you had to perform for raising the blocks were well invented with one sneaky hidden crawlspace. A very nice switch puzzle and a wide variation in objects although some were named a bit odd in my game (NO I don't use DOZY) Got no Secrets.... Oh there weren't any... Great level anyway." - Dutchy (26-Jan-2006) |
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| "I'm a little undecided on this one - overall it's pretty average, but when it's good - it's really good. The trump card of this level is it's brilliantly paced and innovative gameplay, that makes you want to play this on, despite its shortcomings in other fields. The tasks are creative and generally use the environments well (the end of the world when climbing upon the roof was a bit weird, though), the tasks, even if on the whole - nothing ground-breaking, are pleasant twists on well known tasks, and the tension in some of the action sequences, like the final trapdoor-athlon, is well done. Though maybe somewhat confusing, one of the last puzzles - the one with the 'misplaced' switch is quite clever too. Mind you, that doesn't mean that it's all perfect in this field. The pit with the red herring trapdoors and climbable walls that don't look like ones for the most part, still has me puzzled - as you use almost no elements of this room and it feels like you've gotten around the task illegally. If I indeed didn't get around here illegally - and "red herring" are the key words here, then I guess I simply must've missed the point as far as this puzzle goes. Another minor issue was that you could get on the balconies that ultimately lead you to the end-of-the-world roof and a switch before you should be able to get there legally from one of the roof slopes of the main temple - but as it's quite obvious that you can't progress in the area this switch unlocks it's not such a big issue. That would be covering gameplay shortly. When I mentioned other 'shortcomings' I probably exaggerated as there generally is nothing wrong with the level - it's not ugly, unimpressive or boring - just not standing out too much otherwise. The lighting is flat, room geometry simple, there is the occasional beginners mistake, the script issues seem to be untouched mostly (oddly named or unnamed puzzle items), chaotic texturing or simply the scale of the rooms, though I must agree that mostly they are quite well used and not empty - which is the most common mistake. Even if the looks and atmosphere will fail to impress you, like they did for me, this level is still worth to play for the fun and creative 40 minute gameplay elements it offers." - eTux (25-Jan-2006) |
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| "Yet another thoroughly enjoyable entry in the series. I certainly had fun with the various puzzles and tasks in and around the beautiful Japanese temple areas. The puzzles are good and, although some may seem obscure initially, there is a logical solution if you just study the colours and/or patterns for clues. I didn't find anything difficult to achieve really, except for the raising platform/boulder run at the end - that is definitely hair-raising and may well take you a fair few tries." - Jay (23-Jan-2006) |
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| "This was an enjoyable mission. Plenty of puzzles or puzzle-like actions, a few traps, some enemies along the way, not too obvious in the beggining but it soon starts making sense. If this was built by a begginer, my congratulations. Well, my congratulations, anyway, to whoever the builder may be. The settings won't leave you open-mouthed but they're nice and straight to the (good) point. Maybe the lighting was a bit too flat... I particularly liked big puzzle room with the blades along the stairs. Very nicely done, albeit not always very obvious. As for the almost final platform part, I thought there was bug there, since Lara wouldn't grab a platform - I mean, you could see she wasn't obbeying to the ctrl command! Anyway, I finally managed to get through it by curving in middair like an acrobat, but I think there's a weird slowness in Lara's reactions to the ctrl command there... Hmmm... Anyway, very nicely done. Clearly advisable." - Jorge22 (20-Jan-2006) |
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| "When it comes to this level I'm a bit in two minds. On one hand I missed having a few more enemies(here the first enemy appeared more than halfway through and the ones that were only consisted of some ninjas and snakes), finding some secrets(as there were none in this level at all) and the puzzles could have been harder. Apart from the fact that the temple bewildered me a bit at first it was the easiest BtB level I've played so far. The puzzles weren't that challenging either: mainly pushing and pulling moveable pieces back and forth and at one point solving a really obvious switch puzzle to open some gates(well, obvious once you could find the switch that was missing). The sound was lacking a bit too and I would have loved to hear more musical pieces in this one. A times the gameplay felt a bit slow-motion and there could have been added some more traps or a timed run or two. As for the atmosphere, texture and lightning I can only say good things. For some reason I was struck by the beautiful scenery and also the tranquil atmosphere. This level was a real eyecandy to me and for most parts I really enjoyed playing it. I absolutely loved the room where you had to move the moveable pieces upstairs to match the tiles below. Of items to find there were 4 Yin Yang symbols, 2 Eyes of Horus and finally the blue Diamond she came to get.
All in all a good level and both suitable and recommended for everyone." - Selene (20-Jan-2006) |
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| "An entertaining level with various tasks and interesting puzzles. This author is facetious as times with the red herring in the deep chasm with trapdoors, a pad tile puzzle which was a bit enigmatic, and the last area with the well hidden missing switch (this puzzle is very good). If the lighting has not been worked and architecture
stays simple, the level looks good most of the time. I don't remember many enemies except at the end but the foes are easily outrunned. All in all, a fun and recommended level with many puzzles. Special mention to the ending with a great run on trapdoors." - eRIC (16-Jan-2006) |
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| "At first, I was a bit confused in this level, then I finally got the author's "rules" and things became much easier. The logic to apply to the tasks is a tad unusual here - while not completely unfathomable - and you'll have to think a bit differently. For me, this has turned this level from "just another level" to one quite interesting. One other thing I appreciated is the gradually increasing difficulty, as tasks and traps became tougher as I approached the end. One in particular, involving blades and grabbing the edge of a high alcove, seems nearly undoable at first but can be done without a scratch once you've found the method. One of those moments when you're suddenly very proud of yourself. Enemies aren't a problem as they are few and easily taken down, and there were way too many medipacks, IMHO. Speaking of items, I would have liked names sounding a bit more Oriental than "Eye of Horus" and "Load" ;). Settings is beautiful and tidy, but most of the rooms are indeed too large and the lighting is a bit flat, which doesn't help setting the atmosphere. Not that the latter is inexistent, just so-so. And maybe I'm getting used to it, but I would have liked more music. It is very silent there, at times. In short, a nice level with a solid gameplay, but could have been improved in the visual/audio department." - Sutekh (12-Jan-2006) |
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| "This level is quite huge to look at, and starting with the main outer areas, everything is spaced out nicely and quite beautifully done. To begin with you will be opening the doors to various buildings and gathering ammo and med packs, plus the revolver and sight which you will need for a rather tricky shooting practice session over a spike pit, while standing on a timed platform, Woohoo! That was fun! In this first session you need to raise four platforms in order to move four objects and this will open the way to the second session, and there are a few areas which need some deep thought. In the second area, you will be obtaining four Yin Yang objects, an artefact, and a gem. There are wall blades to negotiate plus a crashing wall room, and a two door lever puzzle. Enemies are ninjas, and there's a nice snake gang shoot out near the end. Eventually Lara will find the final artefact and leave stress free, because this was not a frustratingly hard level at all. I rather liked it, the game play was good and I was able to play at a good pace without having to do zillions of reloads, only on that timed shoot out, but I think most folk will have fun with that like I did. I also liked the fact that this level didn't seem cramped, space was everywhere and the rooms were large, but not so large as to be empty or dull. I found no secrets and wondered if I missed something in one of the pool passages at the start as a currant holds Lara back and I don't recall coming out of this passage at any time. All said and done, this was very nice level indeed and a lot of fun." - Moonpooka (06-Jan-2006) |
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| "A very beautiful Japanese level. I was immediately struck by the beauty of it when I started, so I was more busy taking pictures than exploring. ;)
Lara is in a Japanese temple area with a nice garden among the buildings. You see gorgeous cherry trees in blossom and colourful flowers on the ground. In the middle of the garden there are four chess-like pieces that need to be placed onto their corresponding tiles. But the tiles need to be raised. That means there are four tasks in the level you have to complete to raise them. You will have to explore each building and complete the puzzles and challenges there. None is very difficult, except a tile-puzzle to open a door I was stuck at for a while. Solving the four puzzles, opens the door to the main temple where Lara must solve more puzzles to find the gemstone she is after...
As I said before, the level is beautiful. It was a pure joy to explore the areas and the gameplay was nice and classic. Not too difficult, nor easy. The level is more about solving puzzles than killing enemies, so there are only a few snakes and some men with wooden swords Lara has to combat. Atmosphere, and texturing were all good. A great oriental adventure you shouldn't miss out!" - Thorir (04-Jan-2006) |
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| "This was one strange level to play. There apparently were more medipacks than baddies, but that might have been just me. You're after a gem (ingame called Hand Of Orion) and two Eyes Of Horus to escape this place. Gameplaywise, I'm not sure if I played it the correct way - while looking for illegal shortcuts in a hopelessly stuck moment I jumped from the rooftop into the balconies, eventually reaching the end of the world before getting to the lever, but couldn't find any other way up there. So there. I also found other things to pick on (and I'll be noting them down to make fair ratings): script could use some fixing (objects named 'load'), lighting was quite simple, almost non-existant, a few illegal slopes, the end of the world is reachable in quite a number of spots, the doorbug right on the first room and at least one waferthin wall. 90 minutes. 01/06" - Treeble (01-Jan-2006) |
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