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The Lost Artifact (Demo) by Raildex

Ceamonks890 3 4 3 3
eTux 4 3 5 4
Gerty 4 4 5 4
LuxQSD 4 4 6 7
manarch2 3 4 4 5
MichaelP 3 5 3 3
Nuri 5 6 4 4
Orbit Dream 2 3 2 4
Ryan 4 5 5 4
Torry 7 9 9 4
Treeble 6 6 6 6
 
release date: 29-Oct-2006
# of downloads: 74

average rating: 4.50
review count: 11
 
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file size: 14.10 MB
file type: TR1
class: South America
 


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Reviewer's comments
"How did I miss to review this one back in the day? Maybe I could not get TR1 to run on my old PC? Either way, it worked now (despite presenting me with a few graphical texture issues) and it has not much to write home about, as you get the usual Peru Caves vibes and a few switches, wolves and bears to kill. That massive bat attack was oddly cool though." - MichaelP (06-Dec-2023)
"A level that has you exploring a Peru style level with traps, a lot of timed switches and a choice few enemy encounters. A mixed bag when it comes to level design. Textures are good for the most part and I do like the great open garden room that serves as a 'hub' area. Unfortunately the gameplay flops a bit as a lot of timed switches are included during your adventure, some of which may trap you inside rooms so that you are forced to reload an earlier save. This should be a cardinal sin, in my humble opinion. Aside from that there will be a lot of very dark areas that you will have to squint your eyes in to see where you need to go, with deliberately placed secret platforms in almost pitch black darkness. Not fun to navigate in the slightest. There are also floating decor anomalies placed randomly, like ceiling debris in the final part of the level, which looks really janky. If you are willing to play this and try to enjoy the amount of fun that CAN be had here then download the full version instead, as it adds two more levels to the mix." - LuxQSD (16-Mar-2022)
"Oh boy, this was a very rough demo to get through. Besides having to personally re-adjust to the pitifully small DOSBox resolution expected from TR1 custom levels after so long, the consistent host of technical problems present throughout left me feeling as if I had achieved nothing in my time spent playing this. Gameplay is thankfully simple and brief with a few easily dispatched wolves, bears and bats to contend with as you explore and pull a few switches to progress (with an especially deceitful door that can trap you in one room as a result of the strict entry point, if you choose to go in recklessly). But beyond that, much of the rooms can feel incredibly claustrophobic and not for the better, with lighting that verges on being far too dark at points to legitimately see where you're going and textures glitching out whenever you decide to open up the inventory at any point (breaking immersion instantaneously). Overall, a largely forgettable and unremarkable experience that I'd recommend avoiding. Hopefully the full version of this release turns out to be more fulfilling whenever I get around to playing it." - Ceamonks890 (15-Mar-2021)
"It's very difficult to rate this small TR1 level objectively,as it's so pixelated (and often very dark) that it's extremely tricky to see - not only what you're supposed to do - but also where exactly you are. Dark areas can't be illuminated in any way;and the excessively blocky textures often deceive you into thinking they're doorways,when they're not. Enemies are ok,and provide some action;but the gameplay (perhaps fortuitously) is extremely straightforward. It was pleasant (as it always is) to find myself arriving back in a familiar area,but from an unfamiliar angle - but I was mightily relieved to hit the arbitrarily placed Finish Trigger after fifteen minutes or so. Even dyed-in-the-wool TR1 aficionados would probably choose to give this a miss." - Orbit Dream (10-Jun-2019)
"A short and mainly very simple level in a South American environment. It's not that bad as such, but nor is there much in the way of gameplay (a bit of swimming, trap avoidance and key hunting) and there were a couple of virtually pitch-black areas that made movement a pain at times, and there were a few extremely odd texturing glitches. There's a few wolves around, but even the lone pistols (you get no other weapons) should be more than sufficient for these easy encounters." - Ryan (05-Aug-2018)
"Played this one after the full version "duh" and it is basically just the first level of that. I found some of this hard to follow and the swims difficult with the uneven edges hanging Lara up all the time (especially the timed underwater swim). Objects were sometimes impossible to pick up due to their placement in corners and such. Also (and this is a big no no in my book) there are places were you can get stuck without any chance of escape when doors close behind you. Textures faded in and out and sometimes disappeared all together leaving a crimson mesh in their place. I found if you saved and then reloaded at that point the real textures would return." - Torry (03-Apr-2018)
"Basically, this doesn't differ from other TR1-levels, but you have more exploring in this one. It is a nice attempt, but I felt like there's not much happening." - Nuri (24-Feb-2018)
"Played this one after the full version and got the same nasty changing of textures. Not a bad level but paperthin walls and illegal slopes and a pitch black room (and NO flares). Oh well, I did finish it and in hindsight it was rather nice I thought." - Gerty (27-Oct-2016)
"For a 15 minute Peruvian setting that's intended to be a demo, this is decently crafted, although not without its flaws. The setting is faithful to the source of inspiration and for the most part doesn't offend terribly (some illegal slopes and paper-thin walls come to mind), but at the same time fails to stand out for anything worthy to be committed to memory's treasured moments' troves. Once you think you have pegged just what kind of an adventure you are in for, the level manages to throw some devious twists your way - which, if intended, were questionable as design choices, and if unintended - might indicate that the author's initial playing experience when he built the game must've been fairly different than mine was roughly 10 years from the release date. Namely, there is moment when you use a key, which unbeknownst to you actually opens two doors. This in itself would be a pardonable trickery, if it wasn't for 2 issues - first, that you can get stuck for good beyond the red herring door due to awkward room geometry (so always keep a save at hand), and second - that the way to the real door is shrouded in darkness, which in itself, again, would be pardonable, were it not for the fact that within the TR1 engine there is no way for you to counter this effect (no flares, gunfire doesn't illuminate your surroundings, no in-game settings to boost the gamma). Apart from that, you never get much stronger firearms, which, with a pair of bears, a pack of wolves and a large enough swarm of bats to reenact the Batman origins scene from Batman Begins as your opponents, their absence is not felt too strongly, only conspicuously so due to the amount of ammo you pick up along the way. Even with its faults, it is decent enough level to give a try if you want some 15- 20 minutes of playtime with the TR1 engine, but perchance the demo's already available full-length-game might be a worthier investment of your time." - eTux (01-Oct-2016)
"Not bad for a TR 1 level but there really isn't much going on in here. While texturing and lighting are decent enough (save for an overly flat and an overly dark room), there are a lot of paperthin walls and illegal slopes to find here and the room design is a bit blocky, despite of some attempts to make diversions. The gameplay is not very inspired with a few very simple and classic tasks (mostly about finding levers), some fairly well disguised doors that could just be walls and one trap room that only gets a little harder because of a buggy 3rd view camera. Else than that, the enemies are nicely placed and there are no secrets to find. 9 minutes." - manarch2 (28-Jan-2016)
"This was one of the few levels I hadn't played before and I have to say I was rather surprised when I first came across a pitch black room. In TR1. That's pretty much a no-go, but it's interesting to see how the engine handles it, the collateral effect was rather intriguing. Still, it was rather obvious what to do and it was over pretty soon, but the whole concept felt fresh. Anyway, I digress. This is a pretty standard TR1 Peruvian style level otherwise, fairly straightforward with one or two sneakily hidden doors. 15 minutes. 12/15" - Treeble (30-Dec-2015)