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Level: The Refined Simple 1 -
Tomb of the Underworld		 back home search
Author(s): SuperGamer
total rating:5.39 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
eRIC 6 7 6 5
eTux 5 4 4 3
Gerty 5 4 4 4
Jay 6 6 5 5
Jose 6 6 7 6
Kitkat 7 6 6 5
MichaelP 7 5 5 5
Orbit Dream 5 4 5 5
Treeble 7 7 6 5
category averages
(9 reviews)		 6.00 5.44 5.33 4.78

Reviewer's comments

"There's nothing wrong with this level per se,but you simply can't put together a level based entirely around shimmying along cracks and jumping to the occasional platform.As a consequence,this becomes repetetive long before the Finish Trigger despite the interesting new moves on offer. An occasional trap along the way spices things up a little (including a pleasing rolling-boulder trap at the very start),but this remains an adventure of interest only to platforming fans.Enemies are varied enough but the lack of objects results in depressingly sparse environments,not helped by the lack of lighting. For a relatively undemanding forty minute entertainment this pretty much does the trick,but don't expect to become too overwhelmed with excitement." - Orbit Dream (14-Aug-2009)

"Despite not being a top level, I absolutely enjoyed all time I spent with this level. Sure there's a number of things that could be improved as far as looks are concerned, but there's a distinct fun factor to this level. The lighting is nearly non-existent, but there are a few 'dark' rooms which I thought were rather fun to spend your time in (and the first one even had a fear aspect to it), so the transition between these different areas is rather bad. Lara can perform ledge jumps, much like in Legend, so there are quite a few rooms which are all about acrobatics and while some people don't like it, I'm a sucker for platforming and enjoyed working my way to the top and then back to the bottom. The audio tracks are fitting for most of the time (the only one that really felt out of place was the AOD one), and the flare bug is eventually reached, but it was still quite a pleasant raid for me. 35 minutes, 1 secret. 10/08" - Treeble (17-Oct-2008)

"Sure that this builder likes TR1 game; even the outfit is from that game. Old TR1 textures and puzzles, simple rooms, animal enemies from TR1 (centaurs, lions,rats,...), same old traps,... but with some different modern touches like the new movements or the torches. This game could be better with a little effort with the architecture and objects and avoiding some bugs I found. I didn't like to deal with the enemies only with the pistols and six shells for the shotgun; and neither the very dark room with the keys throwed everywhere. But the style is not bad (I like TR1 too) and there are some interesting ideas you can enjoy. Good attemp." - José (12-Jun-2008)

"As I said before, the use of all new moves don’t make a nice level. Especially as they are rather overused as you can experience in here. Admitting this level is much better as his previous one but this is not my cup of tea. So now you’ve shown us you can build, time to put more atmosphere in it. No big empty rooms with wallpaper effect, or pitch-black room. Although there are not much levers to pull you have to schlep the Torch around. Luckily you do get Torches when you cannot take that thing with you, due to climbing/jumping or other activities. As for the lack of ammo/medipacks, I just added them, now sue me." - Gerty (22-May-2008)

"Well, this certainly is a vast improvement over the author's first level - but there's still room for more (improvement, that is). The new moves may be nice and all - but if you try to (intentionally or not) twist in mid-jump from the shimmy-crack Lara will get stuck in the air, and you have to reload from an earlier save to progress, but besides that inconvenience, the whole shimmy-room concept grew old after the first room, but I counted no less than 3 such rooms throughout the 30 minutes I spent here and those ended up being the more tedious moments from this straightforward fairly action-based adventure with numerous centaurs, lions and rats to battle, some traps to avoid and a number of torch puzzles - which needlessly included a number of pitch black rooms along your way as well. Visually - it's far from striking, with one or two textures used to set the scene in each room and the lighting - apart from the previously mentioned pitch black rooms is pretty bland and uninspired. I also found it odd that up to a certain point I spent the whole level in dead silence, but that could've just been an issue on my side. More could be said about various finer nuances, but overall - while it is far from a good level yet, the author is definitely on the right track. It might be a good idea to find some experienced beta-testers for his next effort before the release. As for this level - if you don't mind the one or other repetitive element, this is not an entirely bad level to play, so worth a shot." - eTux (11-May-2008)

"There’s a real TR1 look to this level, partly because it is a TR1 Lara and partly because the textures look somewhat grainy and lacking in detail. Due to Lara’s new moves there’s quite a lot of ledge jumping/shimmying to do, together with a simple block puzzle and a spot of torch work. It’s a fairly short and uncomplicated level and your only real challenge will come from trying to deal with the enemies (centaurs, lions and rats plus one lonely crocodile) with very limited ammo and medipacks. You’ll need to be quick on your feet. Not a bad level and a most definite improvement on the builder’ first offering, which is always good to see. Keep up the good work SuperGamer." - Jay (07-May-2008)

"The level really doesn't bother much about trying to look nice, but I had a lot of fun playing through it with the new moves and smart use of them in the rooms where you need to jump up and around the crawlspaces, some boulder traps, several good uses of the torch along the way and quite a battle with four centaurs. After almost 40 minutes you end the level after grabbing the Scion and clearly the author is about to get the gameplay part, now it's time to focus a bit more on the looks of his levels." - MichaelP (27-Apr-2008)

"This is a level that actually makes use of its 'new moves' for Lara. They are used nicely to enhance gameplay. There is lots of jumping and a couple of torch puzzles, traps to be avoided and enemies tend to show up in groups. Looks wise it could be alot better. The textures are applied well but they are rather insipid and uninspiring; the lighting is either just too bright or far too dark; the rooms are a little empty and would have benefited from more furniture/decorations. However, there are a couple of nice fixed camera moments, showing the action form different angles. And the atmosphere reminded me of TR1. Despite its ordinary looks this is a good raid." - Kitkat (27-Apr-2008)

"This is certainly a much better level than the author's first release. The texturing is still a bit repetitive and the lighting is almost inexistant, but the applying of the textures is correct, and the level was pleasant to play. The gampelay is straightforward, but varied and rather enjoyable. The new moves were pleasant too. Only in the end it became a bit repetitive with the use of the torch again and again, and there is one moment which was annoying trying to spot a key in a large and dark room, even with the torch this kind of riddle is utterly boring. I like the atmosphere in this room though, with the attack of the pack of rats and a centaur. Others enemies are a few lions and a crocodile. I don't know why the author has placed the shotgun and no other ammos for it, what a player can do with only six bullets ? I did not found any medipack either except for the secret place at the beginning, so it is wise to watch out your health. A good thing that the enemies do not take long to die. The author has sharpened his skills technically with the occasional flip map,use of trigger triggerers or even sinks. This level is quite a decent one this time, I can only congratulate the author for his efforts." - eRIC (26-Apr-2008)
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