Levels listed...
TR5 - 31
TR4 - 3141
TR3 - 177
TR2 - 133
TR1 - 61
72342 reviews (20.4/level)
3532 (99.7%) walkthroughs
445 Hall of Fame levels
1221 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
15-Oct-2019 |
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# of downloads: |
131 |
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average rating: |
7.60 |
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review count: |
13 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
69.10 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Oriental |
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| Reviewer's comments |
"Ah, the good old assets from the BtB2006 package - I always liked those and it was good to
see them put to use in this 30+ minutes adventure. Really nice work on the load and the
title screens as well and a cute little scene added to end the level, so extra points
awarded for all those. Gameplay flows nicely and has you figure out a few jumps, spot a few
jump switches, solve a fairly obvious and not overly tedious push puzzle, battle a few bad
guys and it all results in a pretty cool boss fight. In summary, quite a well rounded and
fun experience, so give this one a try." - MichaelP (13-Dec-2023) |
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| "It's very short but still manages to include a pushblock of 1/4 of duration. Broken sfx and heavy controls don't help it. However great storytelling, lore and cutscenes make it worth trying. Recommended especially for THAT animation." - DJ Full (23-Nov-2023) |
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| "This took me 30 minutes to complete and I only had to refer to the walk through once (that pesky swim through crack) so kudos for that. I found the level enchanting and my ONLY complaint is the slowed down walking animation for Lara. The level was well laid out and you can get to the boss fight without the shotgun but I recommend you find that swim through crack and follow through to get it for the boss fight. Even with the Uzis she is formidable. No secrets that I could find and I am unsure if there are any." - Torry (12-Jan-2020) |
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| "Of course, not a masterpiece, but a very good level for me. Short but interesting and entertaining with no hard tasks, always keeps the interest with cool cutscenes and a fluid gameplay. Nice environments, new objects, you'll always find a way to continue playing, and the extra ending was a good touch too. Only a wrong sound when Lara picks up items is not enough to defile an interesting level. Good work, MBog1 Recommended for everybody." - Jose (06-Jan-2020) |
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| "I agree with the earlier reviewers. This fun level is a
quantum leap forward for MBog. It's good looking throughout,
it's well lighted, it provides sufficient challenges for most
of us, and the divergent ending paths is a fresh, creative
touch. I don't know if anyone else used that upper level
switch for the pushpiece puzzle, but from the way the posted
video unfolded I suspect it was put there as a red herring.
Diabolic, I must say. No secrets, but that's no reason to
deduct points. Instead of saying "aha" when Lara picks up
something, you get this sound like a Tinnos wasp dying.
Another offbeat variation. Nothing fancy, nothing really
memorable except for the gorgeous surroundings, but still a
good, pleasant raid." - Phil (31-Oct-2019) |
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| "Definitely less "mini-er" (I'm doubtful
that the Oxford English Dictionary lists
that as a word, but you know what I mean)
than the previous Mini Adventure
installments, this is now more of a
sufficiently entertaining experience in
its own right. It's still markedly shorter
than other average-length levels out
there, but that's just a passing comment
and isn't reflected in the scoring. It's a
very smooth flowing raid in itself, with
the only possible stopping point being the
pushable puzzle halfway through, although
that should be easily solved providing you
hit upon a reliable strategy. The
cutscenes moved the story along nicely and
the atmosphere was well caught in an
Oriental sort of way. Lara's ninja garb
seems to have restricted her movements
quite a lot though, which I really
disliked. I'm not sure why this figure is
still used, but each to their own. I
encountered a couple of minor sound issues
when picking up objects, but nothing too
annoying. However, my overall impression
of this jaunt was definitely a favourable
one, as reflected in my scores. And I
thought that the double ending was a
really neat touch." - Ryan (31-Oct-2019) |
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| "A nice, immersive level, if a bit brief. Gameplay includes a trap sequence, a pushblock puzzle, and some enemies; the rest is exploration. As the story implies, there is a way for you to alter the way the game ends if you are observant enough. I always like the idea of multiple endings and thought this was a nice touch. Camera cues are needed and would have helped me figure out what I was accomplishing in the game. Textures and lighting are nicely done, and the rooms are filled with a good amount of decorative objects. 44 minutes." - JesseG (28-Oct-2019) |
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| "The builder is slowly but steadily getting better in building and this is definately his most mature release so far. While the starting area seems a bit boxy and rushed (the first jumpswitch is not needed at all to progress), the game evolves towards the end, especially if you find the alternative ending. If not, you will miss a lot, perhaps a bit too much actually because it is a run-off-the-mill story with less gameplay. On the other side, it is a reason to replay this one. The traps are decently used in this game, although few pose an actual threat, the pushable puzzle was agreeable but it is way, way simpler than it looks at first glance. Concerning the visuals, they also improved during the game although the architecture is still simplistic. Texturing and lighting are quite good, perhaps the sounds when picking up items and some others are a bit odd. As usual I will give a minus point for the odd running animation. Overall a nice little level that ends on a high note if you manage to access both endings. 20 minutes." - manarch2 (26-Oct-2019) |
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"It’s about time MBog thought about renaming this ongoing series of his or maybe dropping the overarching title altogether, as ‘mini’ seriously undersells this most recent offering (if admittedly not its predecessor), and I could never quite figure where ‘Hollywood’ comes into it anyway.
What we have here is an entertaining and in most respects well-designed ‘Oriental’ fantasy with a running time of comfortably less than an hour and pretensions towards a fully-fledged stand-alone game complete with plot. In this latter respect it failed for me, not least because of the fact that in the finale, you can both kill and not kill that lady at the same time (I forget her name, but it’s something other than Schrödinger); also, I haven’t any better idea who that Winston bloke may be than Lara, who asks herself that question in the game—but I do know that the builder wanted to have another artefact besides the combo item that is your nominal goal in this game, so Winston and ‘his present’ were written into script (maybe there [i]is[/i] a Hollywood connection after all). However, coherent plots have never been TR’s strongest point exactly, and I, for one, don’t play TR for its storyline. At least it wasn’t so cringeworthy in this case as to distract from what matters.
With that out of the way, let’s talk business. The game was made using mostly prefab material (from the 2006 BtB contest), which has been given a new spin, most obviously by the addition of a new Lara model (ostensibly a ninja, but really a catburglar), and yes, Bobbing Lara is back, much to my chagrin, as irritating as ever. Over the course of the game, I became somewhat used to her animations, but I’m never going to like them: excellent though they may be from a purely technical point of view, they are annoying in-game, the running in particular feeling clunky, unresponsive and, with weapons drawn, looking silly. However, according to recent forum posts, MBog has taken criticisms like these to heart, promising to ‘do better next time’, so there’s hope.
For most of the game, your only opponents are a gang of burly kendo enthusiasts; it’s only near the finale that you get to see the spiders from Xian once more and, eventually, a re-modeled (and killable) Seth. The former retain their TR2 looks and feel therefore slightly out of tune with the otherwise high-res environment; the latter is, I believe, a modification of Trinity’s Princess Amygdala, who has no legs (the download includes no readme, hence no credits). Because she has inherited the original animations of ol’ Seth, it pleases the legless princess to stomp around a lot.
The traps that you have to pass through present players with moderate challenges; players can usually assess how best to deal with them in advance or while negotiating them, and are thus allowed to work smart rather than hard. This does not apply, however, to one ill-devised boulder trap (players who go back rather than, counterintuitively, forward will find themselves permanently stuck).
There is also some platforming to be done, but not much in the way of puzzles. The pushable puzzle is one of those in which you have to use switches, ‘raising blocks’ and trapdoors in order to move the pushables where you need them. It is neither difficult nor unduly prolonged, but it is colour-coded, and the colours are not easily distinguished. I don’t know whether this was an issue in the BtB contest where they made their first appearance, but the builder silently acknowledges the problem by preventing the player from moving the one to be used last (red, but doesn’t look like it) until it becomes necessary. Very considerate, but surely something could have been done here with the lighting instead?
Apart from the atmospheric and consistent, but somewhat murky lighting, and the slight incongruence of some low-res enemies as well as the TR3-style box-shaped trees at the beginning, there is not a lot to gripe about concerning the visuals, though much of the credit obviously goes to the creators of the material that served for a base. Well, the waterfalls, prominent as they are, stand out as grey and should have been given a tint more suitable for them to fit in with the rest of the environment; nor would an adjustment of scrolling speed (or simply choosing a different texture) have gone amiss. Sound design, however, is a different matter. Absolutely no effort was made by the builder to mend the sounds once Wadmerger had successfully messed them up. Although the builder was luckier than others in this respect, there are sounds noticeably missing (levers, the ‘plough’ trap), Lara makes some weirdly high-pitched noises, and most annoyingly, something like an electric crackle can be heard throughout a considerable chunk of the level (due to a wrong sound placed in or near the room where you pick up ‘Winston’s present’, I suspect). This grave negligence (and the Bobbing Lara problem) I hope to see addressed in the builder’s next effort." - Mulf (19-Oct-2019) |
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| "Loved the shotgun ammo retextured as Mun Shou pottery. Hated the use of clunky Lara – she might have looked cool, but she moved like a constipated hamster. Otherwise, this is rather pleasant. The oriental setting is well done and attractive and the enemies appropriate and not over used. For a mini adventure, it manages to pack in some good traps/puzzles etc. I liked it." - Jay (18-Oct-2019) |
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| "It is a mini adventure, but not so mini that it becomes
appalling for its shortness (it gets near that point
though). Quite straightforward and good-looking, it's a
nice pastime for each and everyone with a couple of puzzles
and at least a minor trap environment, some Japanese
warriors and a spirit that almost depletes you of your
entire health near the end. The truly annoying thing is
Lara's animation (and I still don't get why anyone would
choose this king of thing): rather slow moves, hands down
when carrying the pistols and it looks like she isn't going
to grab anything when she has to because she keeps an arm
down. Oh well. But it was a nice little adventure." - Jorge22 (17-Oct-2019) |
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| "Head and shoulders in quality above this builders other
levels,this hour long romp was a lot of fun.The visuals
have been beautifully handled;the enemies,entertainingly
varied;the gameplay was eventful without ever being very
difficult (although progression through the opening area
required a bit of thought);and you even get a choice of two
endings (although the significance of the imagery in either
of them was lost on me). What irritated,though,was the
incorporation of 'sticky' movements in the Lara model;which
made all her moves feel irritatingly sluggish.
Nonetheless,this is a highly entertaining not-so-mini
adventure;with a noble attempt at telling a plot.
Recommended." - Orbit Dream (17-Oct-2019) |
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| "More than a typical Oriental level , even if the textures and some of the objects are those of the Back to Basics 2006 , we have also some different objects and animations ;
first a ninja/Lara who seems to be more lymphatic than the normal one and this model sometimes makes sounds of a woman and sometimes sounds of a little girl. There is also
some weird sfx for ex when you pick up some object. The originality in this level is the two different endings both linked to the storyline, and some animations. Now the gameplay is rather classic and user-friendly with easy moves , a couple of traps area which were enjoyable, and a puzzle with coloured pawns (btw i found it strange that placing one pawn on the correct tile then moving it away , then placing the 3 other pawns on their correct tiles opened the door , so far so good , but then i noticed that placing the first pawn which was moved away back on its own tile shuts the door). Looking wise it is rather pleasing , it was strange however to see all the waterfalls with very fast moving anims but no waterfall mist in the water. A recommanded level , not very long , to see a few different things , and the 30 minutes spent here were pleasant." - eRIC (17-Oct-2019) |
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