trle.net
Level: The real Life of Tut Angk Amun 1 back home search
Author(s): J.J.S.
total rating:8.85 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Dimpfelmoser 10 8 9 9
Doug E 10 10 10 10
Dougsan 9 9 9 9
eRIC 10 10 10 10
eTux 8 6 7 7
Evan 9 9 10 10
Gerty 7 8 10 8
Hendrik 9 8 10 10
Jorge22 9 8 10 10
Jose 7 7 7 9
Kristina 7 7 8 7
Magnus 8 7 8 9
MichaelP 8 8 9 10
Miguel 9 8 9 10
Needle 10 9 10 10
Nicky 9 10 10 10
Percys 9 9 9 9
Phil 9 9 10 9
Qwendo 10 9 10 9
RaiderGirl 8 8 9 8
Samu 8 8 9 8
Sash 10 9 9 9
Seemeister 10 9 10 9
Sheevah 8 6 7 6
Tombaholic 10 8 10 9
Treeble 10 9 10 10
WebKnight 10 9 10 9
Whistle 8 8 9 8
category averages
(28 reviews)		 8.89 8.32 9.21 8.96

Reviewer's comments

"Very well builded this egyptian level. Great architecture and the best I liked were lights and textures. But gameplay is not so good; too much switches to open too much doors. There are some interesting areas as the burner alley or the spike alley but there are many confusing situations as the lot of doors which I couldn't open or the several ways to proceed in some areas. Even so it's not a bad level for me and there is a good ambience with some good cameras to help you. The crossbow appears too late so, there's only the uzis as extra weapon through the entire level. If you like egyptian levels this could be a good level for you." - José (21-May-2008)

"And yet another oldie that Lucas had started but dropped before he was dragged into the core of the level itself. Hard to believe this was built using only Tut1-WAD, not only it looks very beautiful (lighting effects are jaw dropping), but it also plays quite well. I think it's a bit too non-linear for its size, and it's easy to get lost, but there's an extensive walkthrough available, should you need a nod in the right direction. I don't think I came across any mistakes other than fantastic and inovative puzzles, such as the boulder/fire combo for the second pieces of both Cartouche and Eye and the ever moving doors puzzle. I thought in the end we'd get to the surface of the pyramid, but since the author had originally planned a trilogy, it only made sense to have the end of the level at its bottom instead. Recommended. 60 minutes, 1 secret. 08/07" - Treeble (11-Aug-2007)

"The beginning might feel a little boring because all you have to do is to run around simple corridors and rooms and activate some switches but after I had played this a while I realized that this level isn't so bad. Further in this level there will be also many big and good looking areas and I liked especially the outdoor areas. The gameplay is mainly quite linear and for me it was okay because I usually like linear levels. I must admit that this level is created pretty smartly if considering that it is built by using the original tut1 wad and the only moment that was slightly boring is the beginning. I don't know if the author is working on the part 2 because it's couple of years since this level was released but if he is still building it I'm looking forward seeing the next part." - Samu (21-Aug-2006)

“Ladies and gentlemen I give you: an Egyptian level which is not a bore! Challenging at times imaginative graphically very good and all that resorting to the original Egypt textures baddies and traps of the Last Revelation. There isn't much more I can add about this wonderful mini-game... I sincerely enjoyed playing it. It never offers any near impossible tasks such as totally confusing paths or jumps you'd never believe you could actually perform. There are zero dull moments as would be sky-high ladders or crawling along highway-long tunnels (and maybe finding scorpions that won't let you proceed when you're right in the middle - yuk!) and it's clever enough too. It is a delight and I'm only sorry to notice the author never built the continuation to this part 1. Play it now if you want to make peace with Egypt in Tomb Raider.” – Jorge22 (12-May-2004)

“The first time I played this level has to be either in the end of July 2001 or beginning of August the same year. ‘Why?’ I hear you asking. Well because I remember that we (my brother and me) had to turn off our computers early because we were going to travel to Gothenburg the next day and had to get up early the next morning. I remembered that when I came to the large room with oil in it where you had to go through a timed door. That was the place I was when I turned off my computer. ‘What does this have to do with the level?’ I hear you asking. Well… nothing… Except that that was a longer way of telling you that I had already played this level before. (134 words and none of them had anything to do with my review. Sorry it won’t happen again… Hopefully…) The level was rather fun even though it’s not the best Egyptian level I’ve played. The texturing was good and the lighting was good but too dark (level-builders never learn do they?). The level itself was fun and challenging at places although I found it to be rather confusing and also quite boring. I didn’t really care for the level the first time I played it either but this time I looked at it through a reviewer’s eyes and saw that it was better than I thought the first time. The texturing lighting placement of enemies and music that is. I really couldn’t look any different on the gameplay. At one point in the level it seems like you can take two different routes (though I only used DOZY to take a closer look at one of them but I think I took that route the first time I played the level). There isn’t anything spectacular in the level; ninjas rolling boulders long swims. We’ve all seen it before but it really mixes great in this level and it’s certainly worth downloading (not if you’re tired of Egypt though). My time? 45 minutes but as you already know (how could you have missed?) I’ve already played the level once.” – Magnus (29-Jan-2004)

“I'm not sure how many of you have noticed but Dutchy has been performing a valuable service to the Tomb Raider community by taking some of the older highly-rated levels and writing walkthroughs for them. This gives added exposure to excellent levels the names of which may no longer be on everyone's tongue and it provides incentive for some of us skill-challenged players (myself included) to tackle some of these old classics. A big round of applause for Dutchy please. Anyway this work certainly deserves to be ranked among those classics. It has a little big of everything that makes Tomb Raider so much fun to play; and in fact Dutchy even made a little editorial comment at the end of his walkthrough by describing it as a ‘perfect level’. The scenery is stunning the puzzles and other challenges are stimulating to the brain cells without giving them data overload and there's one particularly nasty area with intermittently-firing burners near the end that will keep your adrenalin flowing until the task at hand is complete. This appears to be another one-shot marvel by the author (just like the one by eTux) and he needs to be encouraged to make additional contributions to our gameplaying enjoyment.” – Phil (18-Nov-2003)

“This is one of those levels that I feel people will either click with and enjoy fully or find confusing and not so much fun. I kind of fall in the middle as I felt confused part of the time finding the right route and just getting through the puzzles so much so that I started it and then put it away for quite a while but when I resumed it and took on the challenge of finishing it I actually fell in love with it. I find it hard to think that anybody couldn’t find the setting just fantastic in the least as it is in one word inspired the way Joerg took the miserable old standard tut textures and made them into a solid indoor outdoor Egyptian setting different from the norm makes me feel there is hope for the future of tut levels. There are some really great room changing effects to behold here too as you search for 7 key pick ups of which only one wasn’t tricky to collect as well as for me 3 secrets in the 80 minutes I took to finish. Though it’s been over 2 years since this was released I implore Joerg to release the second part as I know it would just be an absolute ripper if this was what he could give us all that time ago. I recommend this one very highly.” – Sash (10-Oct-2003)

“It is hard to believe this level is as old as it is (July 2001) and as small (1.64Mb download). It plays with the look and feel of a '03 game. The textures sound puzzles etc. are as good as just about anything I've seen lately. I tried this ’old’ level because of a comment Dimpfelmoser dropped in another review. Lucky for me! There has been more than enough written about this level. I will simply add I really liked the puzzles and the story. Jörg appears to be a lover of the original concepts of TR. This level grabbed me from the beginning to the end. Well done and highly recommended.” – Dougsan (22-Mar-2003)

“Good example of an Egyptian type level. Plenty to find and tricky routes to follow with hard jump sections and more than one possible route at times but some leading to blind alleys. Find umpteen ‘Stars’ Cartouche and to get out an Eye. Ninjas scorpions and zombies form the main enemies and plenty of spikes and fire to catch the unwary. Especially liked the running fire sections. The graphics although typically Egyptian based show some good variations and thought. Lighting etc good with darkish areas setting moods and hiding things. Definitely a level to play.” – Whistle (20-Jan-2003)

“If the number 1 is an indication that there will be another level I can only say: bring it on Jörg. I played it once before but for the life of me couldn’t get past the deadly water. Thanks to an explanation of Eric in one of the threads now I could. Took the one without the timed run apparently. The room where I found the first piece of the Eye had me baffled just have a good look and you’ll find the answer. There are 3 or 4 hands to find and the Eye of Horus and even a Cartouche. Although afterwards I can say I had a great time playing this level the climbing of boxes and crawling shimmying and all the small rooms you will enter does NOT make this level a fast paced one so take your time. There are tiles triggers and boulder traps also a nasty spike trap some burners and blowers. There are some enemies ninjas and a lost scorpion or so and some roaming mummies. Almost at the end you need to find the laser sight and crossbow as there is some practice shooting. Found 2 secrets 11-12-2002” – Gerty (15-Dec-2002)

“The first half hour really dragged for me with all the close spaces and dark tunnels - I almost wept with joy when I pulled up from out of yet another underwater tunnel to a beautiful brightly lit sandy area outside. I was hoping the level would open up a bit more from then on but it was soon back underground to a few more dark rooms and maze like tunnels. The whole level reminded me of a maze actually. There are quite a few switches to hunt down floor tiles that activate something when you run over them boulder traps deadly water and a few ninjas along the way but the main ingredient here is simple exploration.” – RaiderGirl (08-Dec-2002)

“I did not enjoy this level on the contrary I got very frustrated. First of all at least in one occasion the camera showed a door opening but the area was so dark that it was impossible to identify it not even a single clue. The result was for Lara to run around for a long time searching blindly. There was also at least one door I didn't open I hope it was a secret and nothing vital to the game therefore you could bang your head against the wall to figure out how to access it when it wasn't really worth the effort. The thing though that made me really mad was that a hand was dropped by a ninja so if you got out of that area without shooting the guy and use the hand at the end you will find yourself missing half of the Eye and there is no way to go back and search for it. I had to go back to an earlier savegame and redo a little less that half the level. I am sorry but nor the textures nor the puzzles and certainly not the atmosphere are so great to justify high marks. Moving objects hands and the Eye of Horus as mentioned above are the puzzles ninjas and mummies that are no threat are the enemies. A maze and most of the level being underground isn't exactly my kind of fun. The situation I got into and possibly others may too doesn't leave any choice than to rate accordingly.” – Kristina (02-Dec-2002)

“Seriously neat if you ask me. This was the first custom level I managed without external help and what a great feeling of accomplishment it left me with. Also as this is pretty close to the way the adventures in TR4 are mapped out I felt right at come when I played this in the early days of my custom level career. 9 months later it still looks utterly wonderful to me bearing in mind that all of this was done with the tutorial wad. It's unbelievable really. The gameplay is highly imaginative and you never know what might happen next. The course is so clever how it brings you back to areas already visited and how it alternates between indoors and outdoors. How water spikes flipmaps fire boulders are used here is so inventive I would say that the common levelbuilder could make five levels out of all the ideas you get here. Of course now we are used to more spectacular and exotic scenarios but especially the big area near the end is extremely impressive. The camerawork the setting the enemies the secrets the architecture the tasks; it all works so well together and for once we get a proper storyline that starts out in dark and claustrophobic tunnels deep underground and then gradually opens up and as the pace picks up you can't help but be completely engrossed in this marvelous adventure. Old fashioned maybe but an absolute must nevertheless.” – Dimpfelmoser (25-Aug-2002)

“Indeed a good level which I enjoyed playing very much for the 90 minutes it lasted. Nice touch to be listed in the credits when in fact my contribution to this level is zero ;-). As advised by the author you should read the storyline in the readme as the level nicely reveals it. The real highlights for me where the cameras which are well placed and not overused and the excellent lighting. The limited availability of enemies in the Tut1 WAD only allowed for certain placement but that was well done. There are few but impressive flipeffects like the one after the pick up of the first Eye piece many twists and turns along the way and in the later part of the level the puzzles get better and better and actually become quite original like the swinging doors and the series of mummy fire and spikes gauntlets. The sewage system is design in a very believable way and when you manage to get through it you are rewarded with a nice outside oasis scenario. I found 2 secrets but guess there may be more. ” – Michael (21-Jun-2002)

“Don't skip this level because of the Egyptian title. It is an Egyptian level but an extremely well done one. Some very tricky puzzles tough passages and imaginative traps will keep you going for a couple hours or more. Using the standard Tut1 WAD the author has crafted some really stunning and memorable rooms. Enemies are thoughtfully deployed within the storyline (I was even startled by a mummy at one point - that's a first). I'll be looking forward to part 2 of this series.” - Tombaholic (21-Jun-2002)

“Jörg has built a nice and vast level which impresses with a great atmosphere and rooms built with great attention to detail. Enemies are placed perfectly and the puzzles are ‘top of the notch’. I especially enjoyed the flipped rooms and am looking forward to the sequel.” - Qwendo (21-Jun-2002)

“At the first minutes I thought: "Oh no another dark crawl-level" but... hey that was totally wrong. If you get through these first minutes where the gameplay feels like an old chewing-gum you will receive a whole bunch of brilliantly built locations embedded in a senseful line of puzzle quests. Lights and textures are great and it’s nearly unbelievable that the author did only make use of that old boring TUT1.wad. I´m waiting for the 2nd part.” – WebKnight (21-Jun-2002)

“What can I say. This is by far the best level I’ve seen outside of Eidos. I just had to give it top marks. Graphics-Textures-difficulty--all brilliant. Took me a good 2 hours as I got stuck half way through. Well done J.J.S.” – Doug E (21-Jun-2002)

“Very very good level! Atmosphere very impressive exciting riddles not to difficult opponents and a surprising end. I’m waiting for your 2nd part. Well done J.J.S.” – Seemeister (21-Jun-2002)

“I was a little put off in the beginning with some really claustrophobic spaces and a lot of retracing but it opens up beautifully. Gameplay is very linear without feeling like it. I found myself several times sitting there stumped as to what or where to go next. Tons of nooks and crannies to explore and finding an occasional secret or pickup. Flybys give you just the right glimpse of the area coming up. Everything was perfectly lit and richly colored. I spent well over 2 hours on this one and couldn't believe it was a single level! Congratulations to the author--easily as good or better than anything from CORE! If this is #1 I can't wait for #2!” - Evan (21-Jun-2002)

“A very very good level! A good mix of puzzles and traps. Sometimes a bit dark and just a few flares but it was fun to play it anyway. It took me about 2 hours to finish so it's not one of the short ones. :-) Yes it was really great!” – Sheevah (21-Jun-2002)

“This is my first review. But I already played some of the great levels before I found this site. This is my first try but I think it’s a great level - somehow conservative and somehow original at one time! What I really enjoyed was the great atmosphere and lighting - a bit dark in the beginning but it fits to the storyline - what can i say: play it you might not notice that this was not made by core design!” – Needle (21-Jun-2002)

“This level was really nice to play - the builder has done a very good work for our eyes and the atmosphere and lighting does his work very well. If you like playing and investigating a little bit of challenge and action at same time - you should play this. Even the sound is selected well for what comes up. I especially liked the well made rooms and flipmaps and that what comes without waiting for it. For all who likes Egyptian - levels - this is a good one. JJS is an excellent architect and did his best to give us the feeling of the location. I hope the second part comes quickly. One and a half hours of gameplay - a lot of fun.” – Miguel (21-Jun-2002)

“There are levels which one cannot remember after some days no more. However there are also levels which you will rant about years later still - and this first part of the Tutanchamun trilogy is such a level. Clever puzzles let the player endure fixed before the PC. The enemies are well selected and appear in instants where one does not expect them. The first paragraph of this masterpiece (the sewer system) is dark and the players must be smart in order to move Lara by through the branched and tight underwater tunnels. The puzzles to solve here are really tricky and nothing for beginners. One could think that the designer of this level is an archaeologist because as detailed Egyptian buildings as in the second part of the level I could rarely admire in the original TR games. The climax of the level is then certainly situated in the final where a marvelous scenario is offered to the player. From lighting via texturing the imaginative ruins up to the beautiful camera flybys this level has a realistic atmosphere which turns the player into a real discoverer. TombRaider-Heart – what else do you want?” – Hendrik (21-Jun-2002)

“Cool level with large locations to explore! Very much in the spirit of TR4 most of the time you don't even notice it's a homebrew. Some of the puzzles are pretty hard and for the secrets ... well we (my son and I) didn't find one! What I liked most: the atmosphere the lights/colors and the fact there wasn't an enemy around every other corner. What I didn't like: On our Mac some textures were missing after Lara had died and we had gone back to the main menu to reload. Nothing serious though just a bit annoying. It's levels like this that give us true tombraiders hope (BTW ... who is Core???:)) As I read a follow up is in progress - all best wishes for that” – Percys (21-Jun-2002)

“A very good level although it is not as long as I hoped it would be. Very nice lighting sometimes a bit dark but that brings the shivers in! The textures are well used and they fit beautifully in with the atmosphere. The cameras were well placed. A nice level to play maybe the sequel can lasts a bit longer. Looking forward to finish that one too!” – Nicky (21-Jun-2002)

“What an awesome level! I had some difficulties with it because I did not understand some of the subtle puzzles. This level must be played at least twice as it is impossible to visit all the areas at once. Actually the level is not straightforward and there are two different ways of progression in the middle part two different ways to change the toxic pool in clean water. According from where you come from pushing statues does not have the same consequence. I have never seen this before in a custom level this level can be replayed in a different way! How does the author has done such a prowess in building this? The clever and subtle gameplay the puzzles the traps the atmosphere camera texturing lighting everything is perfect.” – eRIC (21-Jun-2002)

“Not a bad Egyptian level but I think I've played a lot better ones that even are not rated so high as this one. If honestly through some challenging parts of this level I really bored to death in here. When I finished this level there were places which I hadn't seen and that's what I don't like that much. I liked the outside areas they were very well done there are not much level designers who can make outside areas look so good with the limitations of the editor. This level has a great story what I really love when playing a level and sometimes give levels higher ratings because of this. This level is really great for the time it was released but I think you wont find anything if you're searching for something new and I'd advice to play another level if you do so.” – eTux (21-Jun-2002)
Tag Cloud from Reviews:
back home search