| Reviewer's comments |
"Just starting you have to use the fly cheat because you can't get to the other side of the
lava pit. Then there's this confusing and extremely dark room where you must find another
key item. Uh, not sure what it was all about and I also don't know why the secret chime
sounded randomly when you filled a hole with sand (maybe that was the secret of the Kalima
but I still don't get it)." - alan (01-Apr-2023) |
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"‘What’s a monkeyswing?’ said jesting Begebies; and would not stay for an answer. The readme sees the builder in apologetic mode, acknowledging the obvious fact that Ganesh was a trainwreck, even if he can’t help advertising this follow-up as ‘a good level’ at the same time. Yet it doesn’t take him long to get his players terminally stuck once again—in fact this time he manages to do so a mere minute or two into the level; but unlike Ganesh, where your journey terminated at a door that wouldn’t open, this one allows you to proceed past a dysfunctional monkeyswing by using the flycheat and actually reach the finish trigger, some ten minutes after you embarked on this adventure.
This sophomore effort thus testifies to a certain degree of progress the builder’s part, but it still doesn’t amount to more than a first sketch of a playable level. It’s of the Settomb type, and your goal is to acquire two Timeless Sands items and place them in the hands of two pharaohs, who have to sit on sandy slopes because some joker purloined the blocks on which they’d normally sit and carried them off to the first room of the level. The initial area is textured in patchwork mode (a wall may be made of rock, stonework and sand all at the same time, perhaps with a hieroglyphic tile thrown in for good measure, why not); the final room, probably the first that was built, doesn’t look too bad by comparison, although lighting is absent (as it is in the entire level, disregarding the infamous Dark Room); all the rest, wallpapered. The rooms are correspondingly boxy, with occasionally dodgy portals and the odd wafer-thin wall or hole in the geometry.
DJ Full’s walkthrough describes the course through the level as it is presumably intended, ‘secret’ lever and all, and with a rollingball threatening to block your path. However, it turns out that this lever, the large pit that it fills with sand, the Dark Room and the rollingballs are all redundant for the simple fact that one of the two paths leading up to the Dark Room is legally accessible with a standard standing jump from a block on the ledge in the lava cave. After a ridiculously long corridor, you find one of the Timeless Sands items sitting right there in your path at the entrance of the Dark Room. If you’re so inclined, you can now turn around, use the ‘secret’ lever, and pick up the second Timeless Sands, thus finishing the level even more quickly and avoiding the Dark Room altogether.
However, this is not the route I took when I played the level straight (after the one required instance of DOZY). Instead I unwittingly skipped the ‘secret’ lever and the sand pit, approaching the cluster of rollingballs from the other side and using a tall block to jump over the spike tiles. As a consequence, the rollingballs were triggered long after I had passed them and had reached the far end of the room, leaving me mystified as to their purpose. Taking this route entails navigating the Dark Room to its full extent, which, however, I didn’t consider too irritating; largely because I could run along the top of it, which pretty much cancelled out its mazelike character.—In sum, apart from the monkeyswing everything works, but only sort of; there’s too little of it, and what is there isn’t well-conceived. This is, pardon my French, not a good level." - Mulf (15-Mar-2022) |
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| "Not sure if the author wanted the players cheat to finish this level, but in that case I'm completely disagree. When I got stucked in the lava room, I took a look at the walkthrough and quickly left the game and I deleted it. Shoot a bat and pull a lever was the only tasks I could do without cheating in less than five minutes. A pain." - Jose (05-Jan-2018) |
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| "There’s not much to say here, the level is not that great,
there’s also the fact that you have to use DOZY to finish
it. Not really worth the time." - SeniorBlitz (04-Dec-2017) |
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| "An improvement over this builder's previous,
surely, but there are still fixable issues
around. It doesn't start out badly but quickly
deteriorates into floor lever fever for the
remainder of the 20 minute duration (minus a
lava pit that requires DOZY and a couple of
Timeless Sands artefacts). There's also a pitch
black room already expanded upon, so I won't go
there. Not really worth recommending." - Ryan (19-Nov-2016) |
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| "It's always hard to give good marks to a level that can only be completed by using dozy - it really does spoil a game. To be honest, even without the dozy, this was never going to be a winner - it's mainly a lever throwing exercise, although some of the effects with the sand are appealing. Really only one for reviewers and completists." - Jay (23-Sep-2016) |
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| "It was a simple level that had a lot to be fixed before being released. You have to use dozy and there is no way to reset the sand trigger if you stay in that hole. A simple solution to that was making that hole impossible to use during the sand. The pool that you have to dozy is just strange, did the author even play this level? Still, it had some nice details in the stairs (the trigger with the ball and their turning into a big slope) but besides that, just frustration. The "maze" was just plain dark and annoying (even if challenging but if I didn't dozy I wouldn't have enough flares, a torch would save the day there). Some simple things would make this level so more enjoyable. I can not recommend this level in this state" - Leeth (25-Mar-2016) |
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| "It's a shame that the author "gave up" doing levels after
this one. I can see his desire to improve from his note.txt,
but after the bomb of negative reviews he didn't want to
continue. It's a shame, everyone starts somewhere and i can
see here a few good ideas. A little more practicing and
probably someday he would be a great level designer. This
little level actually represents a bit of challenge once
faced with the dark maze, but the complete obligation on
using DOZY should not exist. I like to think Begebies didn't
do it on purpose, but forgot about something it that room. Oh
and for me the last blocks didn't rise...so once again i was
forced to use the cheat to finish the level." - Zhyttya (25-Mar-2016) |
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| "Actually, you don't need to cheat to use the Timeless Sands - there is a lever switch which raises the blocks, what makes you able to get to the statues and place the keys in the hands of their owners. But that doesn't change the fact the monkey swing in lava pool area doesn't work and all in all you have to use DOZY. This lowers my gameplay rating to "poor". Puzzles are also poor (there's only one of them, and some switches to pull), what results in overall G&P score of 2. The level is generally empty, there are some architecture elements in the first room only, just like the author wanted to make a sales pitch telling us: "Hey! There are some fine objects in this level! Behold the awesomeness of the first room and play the rest of the game!" And after that room, we can see no more architecture. It's a pity, a commercial I dislike very much. So I give 0 for the objects. And 0 for secrets, as the only one present ingame isn't secret at all but it's included in main gameplay thread. No enemies but one bat in the beginning. Shame. And the atmosphere is none, due to the lighting, tiring at the beginning and unacceptable in the end. Texturing doesn't help much. It's average only. And one of the cameras should show raising blocks, but it's pointed in the wrong direction and, as a result, it shows nothing. SUMMARY: One of the most melancholy levels I've ever played. Depressing, dull, not worthy of playing at all." - DJ Full (25-Oct-2010) |
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| "I'm sick and tired from those levels! One has to cheat to get on generally. One is in a pitch-dark something which has a resemblance to a labyrinth and has absolutely no notion what is to be done here. And then one has to cheat again to use both Timeless Sands. The problem is that the level looks quite good. At least that what one can see. Unfortunately, one cannot be glad about it, because the frustration about the botched Gameplay prevails quite clearly the joy at a few well built rooms." - Scottie (21-Mar-2010) |
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| "During my mammoth quest to review every level on this site, I am starting to come across a new breed of level. Joke levels. This was a joke to play, and I'm not usually cruel with my reviews. I dont understand why the author ha created a room that you cant get across, unless he forgot to put in the monkey swing. I had to use the dozy cheat to get across. Things got slightly better with the timed run but then I found myself in a dark room with no clue as to where to go. I finally completed the level and was quite disappointed. there were no enemies or secrets and the design was almost a carbon copy of the tomb of sett. However, no one is perfect and as this is an early level, I can get past all these flaws and see the potential the author has in terms of gameplay. there are one or two good ideas; it's just a shame they are implemented in this extremely poor level." - Necro (06-May-2008) |
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| "A very old level I presume, repeated textures & only black shadowed area with no lights as the lightening effects" - Anurag (02-Feb-2006) |
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| "I don't understand why a level even years after being released is not fixed when an obvious serious problem is pointed out to the author. In this case I was in a lava room and I tried for ages to find a way across guessing all the time that maybe there's a secret hidden passage or a fall-through texture or maybe one of the lava floor squares is safe etc. only to find I 'had' to use dozy. The simple solution would have been to either put a monkey swing on the ceiling or make one side of the walls climbable. I tried this too to no avail. So this kind of put me off really early in the level which is a shame because there are some good elements here like a rising sand floor and a flipmap after a lever to turn a slope you ran up into a slide down. It is a short level though and that's its saving grace. And if anyone wants to have a look it's all very settomb with dark red walls and green gates." - CC (15-Oct-2004) |
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| "Someone ring the alarm! What kind of level is this? The author says it's an apology for his/her bad first level but how can a mistake correct another mistake? This level clearly shows it's far from completion bad placement of objects terrible camerawork textures stretched all over the place and what's worse - you do have to DOZY if you want to see what was supposed to come next. I at least couldn't figure whatever I should do in the first lava pit I came across. There was no way back and no way forth. There was though a monkey swing in the ceiling that would connect a door to another but why if there was a catwalk just as well? I can tell you why - the monkey swing doesn't work (but to arrive there you need to cheat anyway). Then you can proceed a little further see some new places dozy a little more until you arrive in a pitch black sort of maze. Lots of holes wait you and in some points your flares will be useless. You should need two Sands of Time but I found only one. Probably the other one was in that black void but how was I supposed to look for something in that place where you just run around and around when you barely can see the walls around you?! Lots of paper thin walls complete the disaster. Stay away from this one better worlds are waiting for Lara out there. You just need to look for them (and no - this Kalima has *nothing* to do with Calima from the 'Planet of the Apes')." - Treeble (20-Sep-2004) |
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| "This is an improvement (compared to 'The Shadow of Ganesh') but Begebies still needs to improve a little more in order to make a decent level. There are some stretched textures here and there a paper-thin wall a lava room that requires the use of DOZY a lack of enemies (one bat) a monkey swing that doesn't work (or maybe the author wanted to fool the player) and spiked boulders triggered at an inappropriate moment (ie they don't threaten Lara at all) and it's impossible to place the Timeless Sands objects without the use of DOZY. However there is a finishing trigger the darkness of the level makes the level more difficult (however since you have to use DOZY in order to finish this level you can use as many flares as you want) and the room where the sand lifted Lara to the spikes was interesting. I don't see what this level has to do with the Kalima (I think the Kalima has something to do with Islam. So I don't know why the Kalima would have anything related to ancient Egypt)." - Sakusha (06-Jun-2004) |
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| "How can a builder construct a perfectly good raising floor room and yet not know how to create a monkeyswing? And why is it that they can (quite successfully) create a cave atmosphere at the start and then go and ruin it a few rooms later with a quite irrelevant and silly 'blackness-fest'? Bung in some lights and click on the appropriate monkeyswing toggle and you'd have a decent enough little level. Don't and you end up with this. Let that be a lesson." - Orbit Dream (28-Nov-2003) |
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| "Why do people bother releasing levels where you HAVE to cheat it's just plain annoying. I spent about 20 minutes trying to cross the lava room but in the end I had to use the fly cheat. The rest of it wasn't very good either." - TrueRaider (05-Feb-2003) |
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| "Oh dear I looked at the rating of this level and thought 'it can't be that bad' but - it is. The author has some very good ideas but just couldn't put it together. The spike room you have to race through the steps that change when you pull the switch. But those are the good points. No way to get from A to B the black room I hate it just too bad this did show a little promise." - Momster (08-Sep-2002) |
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| "Is this another one of those fly cheat levels?! Most of the time spent in this tomb I tried to cross the lava room (thankfully I couldn't backtrack otherwise I would still be searching) before I finally resorted to the fly cheat. I don't know why there weren't monkey bars at the ceiling. Or did the author skip the monkeybar chapter along with the enemy chapter? What about a rope then? I liked the bit with the three spiked boulders and the room where the sand lifted you to the spikes but otherwise Kalima looked rather bleak not to say black." - Dimpfelmoser (24-Aug-2002) |
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| "There were a few good moments in this ten minute level - the two rooms that fill with sand one with spikes the boulder traps the room that changes when you pull a switch and the lava room was good but had a few problems. That pitch black room has to go though and never be seen again. The switch to fill the second room with sand made a secret sound but I'm not sure why and the switch to raise the blocks in front of the statues was hidden well. A few areas were too dark and I had to use a lot of flares. I hope the author keeps trying though." - RaiderGirl (22-Jul-2002) |
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| "The idea wasn't that bad but the game falls short on not being properly made. You have to use the fly cheat or else you still be standing in the lava room. And what is with that black room? A pity though. 17-07-2002" - Gerty (21-Jul-2002) |
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| "One of the shortest levels taking me 8 minutes I still found it quite intriguing and nicely put together. There are some cool boulder traps lots of sand dumping areas a sudden room altering effect a lava room which I couldn't find a way across so resorted to flycheating and eventually 2 Timeless Sand pick ups to find and place to end the level. I guess the secret may be:..what happened to the rest of the level!" - Sash (21-Jun-2002) |
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| "10 minutes of classical settomb WAD raiding with a lot of sand and a few spike balls. You have to find two 'timeless sands' to finish the level and I simply hated that pitch black room." - Michael (21-Jun-2002) |
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| "This level is all wrong. A nice idea but there was so much missing that poor Lara had no way of getting places without using a cheat. IE; no way to cross the lava pit. No way to get to the Sands of Time receptacles. Poorly done. ....and let's not talk about the pitch black room." - Torry (21-Jun-2002) |
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| "I still don't know what the 'secret' is but it should be locked safely away along with this level. I hate to say bad things about anyone's level building efforts but this one is uniformly awful in every category. Enough said." - Tombaholic (21-Jun-2002) |
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| "Once again Lara sets out on an adventure trying to find a small empty room. At least that was what she found when the level ended. There isn't much to say about the level actually. The lighting is okay and so is the texturing. There are a couple of enemies but none that pose a threat. In two places you have to DOZY to continue but it really isn't worth the trouble to do it just don't download the level instead. It's much easier that way." - Magnus (21-Jun-2002) |
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| "There is no secret or I didn't find one or Kalima for that matter. All there is to see levers to push getting stuck for ever in a lava room now after I had to use DOZY to get to the other side I looked at the ceiling and there are some darker tiles that I assume were meant to be bars but they are incomplete and many thin walls. Absolutely no enemies and a black dark huge room that I didn't understand its purpose. The only puzzle is the two Timeless Sands you have to collect easy because they are in front of you and push another lever to raise two blocks so you can place them and finish the level. I am pretty sure it is incomplete and I have no idea why it was released." - Kristina (21-Jun-2002) |
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