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Level: Escape with the Amulet of Horus back home search
Author(s): MichaelP
total rating:7.20 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
CC 8 7 5 5
Cuqui 8 8 8 7
Dimpfelmoser 9 7 7 7
Drew 8 7 7 7
EssGee 8 6 7 5
eTux 8 7 7 6
Gerty 8 8 6 6
Kristina 8 7 7 7
Lady Lara 9 7 8 8
LaraFan 8 7 6 7
manarch2 7 6 6 5
Momster 8 8 8 7
Navi 8 7 8 7
Nutman 7 7 7 7
Phil 8 8 8 9
QRS 8 7 7 6
RaiderGirl 8 8 8 7
Sash 8 7 7 7
Treeble 7 7 7 6
category averages
(19 reviews)		 7.95 7.16 7.05 6.63

Reviewer's comments

"Despite the rather amateurish texturing and lighting, this level is quite a gem considering its age, mostly concentrating on gameplay. I found some of the puzzles not overly unique but somehow different to most of the other levels released in the early years and you get a good mix of platforming, puzzles and fights in this level (although the grenade gun could have had more use) but there also were some things I didn't like as the spike caves that had unmarked spike tiles, the fact you had to climb up that tower twice and the rather unfairly hidden timeless sands item - it largely has the same concept as the one in "Search" from CIL, but there, the item was an extra item rather than a key item. The five secrets were nicely hidden although some of them in too obvious places; the dogs and scorpions fights were a nice pace enhancer and I liked the good usage of audio tracks when finding important items in combination to decent camera work, but there was a nasty sound bug in the starting room and the final flyby even if interruptable would be going on forever if one doesn't find one of the (very strangely placed) finish triggers, then the level crashes to the desktop after 25 minutes of gameplay. Overall an interesting enough debut that showed early glimpses of Michael's talent for creative gameplay one can see e.g. in Clockwork Orange. Recommended." - manarch2 (22-Sep-2012)

"Michael's strength is his clever puzzles. And this is clearly demonstrated in his first offering here. But as for texturing and lighting - Michael what were you thinking??? I nearly didn't bother to play this because I found the lighting so uninviting but some clever puzzling and challenges helped me hang in there. And then I was nearly through the level and the earthquake struck. Nausea set in, as I struggled to find the exit on my evershaking screen - not the best way to endear me. I couldn't get out of there quick enough. Oh well we all must start somewhere. If you can put aside the negatives I've just outlined, there is a smart level to be played here. I'm sure Michael would have done things differently if he had his time over with this one." - EssGee (10-Mar-2007)

"Another gem encountered while searching for walkthrough material. Although we have here a fairly pedestrian level, it's never boring and it has what I thought were a few unusual touches. The five-tunnel spike puzzle was well thought out, and I had a good time figuring out how to climb up and down that exceedingly deep room. The grenade gun was very cleverly hidden, and if hadn't been flying around during my preliminary exploration I never would have known it was there. Even when I discovered it, I could find no legal way to get to it until I saw the crack in the wall quite by accident. The fixed camera angles were annoying in spots, but they were essential to the gameplay (except, maybe, for the reconfigured hub room after the earthquake near the end). A well above average level, to be enjoyed both by the beginning and by the seasoned raider." - Phil (17-Jun-2005)

"This is a great first level by the boss himself! It took me a long time to finish this one.. I found it very difficult! Well placed secrets (I found 5) and very hard level overall. Also, I liked the flybys and the music was well placed to suit the atmosphere. The only bad thing is the textures. Although not stretched, some of the rooms looks either too dark, too bright or have just "wrong" textures for my taste :) Anyway, I prefer gameplay to just looking at a stage so I think this is a great level!! 2005-06-10" - QRS (12-Jun-2005)

“I left this and came back to it so often over a number of weeks because it was hard sometimes to know what to do or more exactly where to go. The first level made by the master puzzle maker himself Mr.P. I have to concentrate on the puzzles because the atmosphere and textures were not great and some rooms were awful to look at. The architecture I'm guessing was laid out with puzzles included long before the textures were applied. So leaving that aside we have a brilliant series of climbs swings jumps and very nasty traps in places. The secrets were very well placed and the music suitable. I was stuck for a long time at the pit with the timeless sands and had to read how to get it. We are underground or inside a pyramid and we're here to get the amulet and get out easier said than done. I was fascinated in places by what I saw like a boxy structure with gates to raise. And finally picking up the amulet an earthquake starts and alters the whole place as if I wasn't confused enough and I couldn't figure out how to get out for a long long time even though it's actually obvious what you need to do - the camera angle. So even now heading for four years old this is still a great level to play and one that will get the little grey cells working. Just ignore the decor.” – CC (15-Oct-2004)

“Well suffice it to say that this is my absolute last review of 2003. It is the wee hours of the 31st here and I am supposed to be getting my beauty sleep in preparation for tomorrow night's festivities. So much for that. This as I am sure you can imagine is Michael's fault. For some reason I decided to go back and try this abandoned level one more time. Well the fact that I am still up means I had a lot fun with it. But only after much cursing. I am not a fan of the 'great big jumping room' - so that orange room at the beginning really pissed me off at first. A room like that is too much like real life you see. You spend a great deal of effort breaking your back without knowing if you are really making any progress. Anyway I loved the textures in this level - when I could see them. Certain rooms were a bit too dark but at least there were flares. Once again I really like Michael's use of bright colors in his levels - he gets it just right for me. And then I almost had a heart attack. Those spiked hallways were not funny - without the thread I would have given up. Everything else was great fun - the right combination of thinking and acrobatics. All technical aspects were solid - sound cameras etc. Oh yes and why did I give up on the level the first time?? I didn't realize that if you walked in front of that door in that first room it would open automatically. Doh! Play this level - it is very engaging. Good way to close off tomb raiding for the year!” – Lady Lara (01-Jan-2004)

“This was a nice challenging level to play. There are a lot of interesting rooms to visit like the 4 spike filled caves the high orange room near the start and the messy final area with just naming a few. I think it was strange that sometimes they felt like textured with a single texture but since I like colourful lighting a lot I didn't rate that category down too much. Avoiding the spike balls and spikes popping out from various directions was fun and not overly difficult so this also is a good level to start with for new raiders too. It's well worth play this for the many colourful rooms and traps to avoid so get it now!” – eTux (06-Jan-2003)

“This is one of the first custom levels I played. It was very hard for me. I found some points quite difficult as the way down and up in the big room the rope swing some jumps or getting the sands of time with this spike ball falling and the final earthquake sequence. I was stuck very often. It's a very well designed level and the gameplay is fun. It's a great experience.” – Cuqui (19-Nov-2002)

“This level takes place in caves. The atmosphere was reassuring because it was at times easy. Lara has to find the Ankh. In addition she must solve different mysteries and find puzzle parts. In the end was it again stretching. Which was not particularly difficult. The lighting was partially very bright but varied. Some textures were very stretched. Camera and sound were ok. Opponents were scorpions dogs and annoying bats. My Lara found all five secrets. For a first work it was good. One sees the designer went through some trouble. For beginners suitably.” – Navi (02-Oct-2002)

“A standard gloomy level at times with a nice flow though. A guardian key and two cartouche pieces is all you need to complete this and much patience at the end. If you are sensitive and getting sick easily I think you need support to get through that earthquake and find the exit. One problem was at the ropes where Lara was getting inside the walls while swinging and at the end if you were waiting for the flyby to be over and proceed don't just step forward to finish the level. Not a difficult one some interesting jumps and traps especially the spike balls in the room with the sands of time you need a little more effort to get passed that the spike tunnels were nicely done. Many dogs will chase you and in one room after another spike trap they come right at you five or more. A level made in the old days but still interesting after all that time.” – Kristina (22-Jul-2002)

“This level took me 15 months and 50 minutes LOL. Thank goodness I found my way to this forum (again thanks Nef) I had tried and failed this level so many times. The furthest I ever got was getting the 2 cartouche pieces but I could never get them to work in either place provided. Finally after forum help success. It’s a tribute to Michael that I tried so many times. And am so glad that I did for this was a stimulating experience. Once I finally got on my way after the torturous big orange room with its ladders jumps and ropes and the dark cavernous pit where I found the sands of time I was plagued with scorpions dogs and spikes spikes spikes. I found 3 secrets but am sure I missed one. The final sequence with the fixed camera and earthquake was to be sure daunting. But again thanks to a forum posting I found my way out of the crumbling structure and up into the sunlight with my Amulet clasped tightly to my bosom.” – Momster (20-Jul-2002)

“If you are looking for a level that will not let you take more than a few steps before having to contemplate your next move carefully then this is it practice your jumping skills because there are some tricky ones to be found here especially if you want all the secrets this level moves at a really nice pace and never lets you get bored especially the final earthquake sequence which will keep you on your toes especially as the camera fixes in spots just to make our lives that little bit more difficult.” – Sash (21-Jun-2002)

“35 minutes of concentration and 15 minutes of adrenalin! This is what makes this a good level! The concentration part is mainly based on the big deep room. Go down there with hard jumps and get up go down to grab the artifact and then go up again! One of the final areas bored me a bit! You have to pick a path and go on but how would you know there was a death trap without dying on it? I had to load and reload saved games lots of times. But after all I think it’s worth the almost one hour of net gaming.” – Treeble (21-Jun-2002)

“With it's spooky atmosphere and chilling music this level kept me on my toes the entire time as I went in search of the magic Amulet of Horus. In first exploring the area I noticed a dark tunnel leading off in one direction and then I looked into the 'pit' a large deep room with ledges ropes ladders and sliding blocks used to get to the bottom. My jaw dropped - there at the very bottom was a cartouche I so desperately needed. My objective was to obtain two cartouches and the Guardian Key in order to finally obtain the Amulet of Horus and make my escape. The path though was perilous and filled with spiked boulders spike traps wild dogs and a few scorpions. It also included rooms of great beauty including a room entirely covered in gold. Picking up the Amulet triggered an earthquake that made me want to get poor Lara out quickly. I found my way to the exit as the room was filling with sand and was rewarded with an excellent fly-by of the way to freedom ahead of me. I found four secrets in my travels and plenty of pick-ups and ammo to keep my backpack well stocked. Overall a thrilling experience and one I highly recommend.” – RaiderGirl (21-Jun-2002)

“This was a hard level to give points as the rope swing where Lara disappears into the wall could easily have been avoided. The other one is the earthquake although nicely done I was not able to finish the level because of that. I got really sick to my stomach trying to find my way out. Apart from that I liked the way the level progressed thinking and re-thinking what to do next. All the rooms were different and nicely done. More than enough ammo and I could finish the game (as far as I got anyway) with Lara's trusted guns. Had no problem playing this game on the Mac even with the revised Wad I used.” – Gerty (21-Jun-2002)

“This is a good level especially since it is Michael’s first. Its been a while since I played it but what I remember most is a huge room that is very deep where you have to do lots of accurate jumping to reach the bottom (and get back up again!). There are some other very interesting rooms like a golden room i.e. King Midas. Nice level” - Nutman (21-Jun-2002)

“A really well designed level especially for less experienced raiders (like myself)! As one specialty there is a huge room -in fact a deep pit- where you have to find your way down and - of course - up again - every time thinking about your next move. Enemies are few but well placed. The earthquake at the end combined with the fixed camera position made it difficult to find the exit.” – LaraFan (21-Jun-2002)

“Am I getting better or what? It's all coming back to me now. I've completely forgotten. This was in fact my very first custom Level. Only back then I didn't make it very far. Ha ha but not this time. So this must be the first custom level site I ever visited and before I made it to the Top 50 I clicked on ‘My own Levels for download’ as this sounded so inviting and Horus came first. I remember back then I was very confused by the non-standard texturing the big empty rooms and the strange noise at the start. Frankly now four months later I've seen weirder things and it didn't bother me at all. Ok little pervert that I am as this is one of Michael’s levels the temptation to give it a good slagging is almost unbearable. In fact I toyed with the idea of giving it such a low rating that it would fall within the jurisdiction of the jury only to accuse them of being biased once my review got rejected. What a sick fellow I am to be sure of. All jokes aside I really liked the gameplay here although at one stage Lara dies too often without warning and the spiked boulders were a bit repetitive. But these are mere details and didn't inhibit my enjoyment. As you know the route where you always come back to the starting point is my favourite course anyway the jumps are good fun the big room that you have to climb down and up again (here I failed four months ago) is really cleverly constructed and we'll give extra points for having only two levers. Sadly enough the texturing is a bit monotonous and inappropriate at times; the rooms differ a lot as far as design lighting and colours are concerned thus resulting in a kind of patchwork level that just can't decide on a overall atmosphere. As for the earthquake combined with a fixed camera angle. I really hated that until I found the exit and then it all made sense. Anything in the pipeline that I can test the jury on?” – Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002)

“This custom level is simple and straightforward. Neither is it the easiest nor the hardest but a good blend of both. While this may not appeal to those who seek harder challenges and puzzles no one wants a too complex game either which only produces nothing but confusion. So how did Michael the author achieve that? For one the collective game rooms are not so huge (there's no room for getting lost pun intended). One logically leads to the next and the important pick up objects are along the way. Because of this design the goals are clear. And for another there is no messy timed sequence in this game - both a plus and a minus factor depending again on your gaming level of satisfaction. Beneath the deceptive ease the game does have its share of difficult moves - dare you to try getting that hour glass in one pass; those physically demanding jumps on the sloped columns to get out of the room after getting half a piece of the cartouche; or the trip down the sand room to get the other half where a wrong jump can lead to instant death; or that four-cave spike room beyond the gate of the starting point; and that final escape amidst a wrecked and shaking background. Yet you don't get that desperate and frustrated feeling in doing all these and more. Very good for a single level custom TR.” – Drew Pizza (21-Jun-2002)
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