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Level: Search of the Knight's Gem back home search
Author(s): Sirio
total rating:4.66 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Dimpfelmoser 4 5 4 5
eRIC 4 6 4 4
Gerty 4 5 4 5
Kristina 4 4 6 6
MichaelP 6 6 4 6
Orbit Dream 2 3 3 4
RaiderGirl 6 6 5 6
Sash 5 6 5 6
Scottie 3 3 4 4
Sheevah 6 5 7 6
Tombaholic 4 4 4 5
Torry 2 5 4 2
Treeble 4 4 4 4
Yoav 6 5 6 7
category averages
(14 reviews)		 4.29 4.79 4.57 5.00

Reviewer's comments

"An extended and playable version of the author’s first level. The coastal city is bright as there is no lighting and the undergrounds are quite dark at times and I had to add flares with savegame editor. Another annoyance is a crash when trying to jump behind a crate. The author has tried to give a different touch to a normal coastal city by adding translucent ceilings in some of the courtyards , it was nice to make a visit by the roofs to look at the courtyards from above, and there is a number of objects and enemies (SAS , dogs, bats) added to the usual coastal ruins material. Gameplay is mostly about little exploration , retrieving some objects , drive a bit the jeep to the undergrounds , make your way easily through some deadly rooms down there , and eventually find a last key to end the level with the jeep." - eRIC (09-Aug-2009)

"Lara looks in this coastal ruin level for the Knigts Gem. In addition she opens a few doors, runs over the roofs of the houses, explores an economically equipped library with glass ceilings, fights against SAS-Soldiers, drives a little bit with the jeep and is after less than 30 minutes with the Gem at the level end. So far, so well. Or also not. iEther it is too light, or too darkly. And only the guns donate a little light, because one can't find any Flares. The SAS-Soldiers shoot silently, the jeep also gives no tone of itself, one does see paper-thin walls and one of the water basins is not deadly. Which one? Who knows. And thus one trudges through this level, shakes more than once with the head and is glad if everything is over." - Scottie (24-May-2009)

"This level was actually a reminder of times when things in the TRLE scene were simpler. What you get here is a very simple, bland and unexpressive Coastal environment. Make sure you turn off the music volume in the options, for some reason there's an annoying repetitive buzz (complimented by an aggravating lack of most SFX). At some point down the level, I experienced a crash (it happened the two times I tried jumping over the slope, but I did get to see that it was an illegal slope on the other side) and the end of the world is right within reach when you're on the rooftops. You do get to ride the jeep for a short while, but I took the route on foot instead (after driving the jeep into a hole). I also ran out of flares, the second half of the level is very dark and had me shooting the pistols most of the time to see if I wasn't overlooking anything. 20 minutes, 2 secrets. 10/08" - Treeble (30-Oct-2008)

“That's it is it? Run around a standard Coastal environment for a few minutes shooting at things. Listen to a strangely flatulant audio file. Charge through a walkthrough wall. Open a Gate. Run to the End of Level Trigger. There goes another review.” – Orbit Dream (20-Sep-2004)

“Typical Coastal level many passageways. Mostly Lara runs here kills dogs and soldiers opens doors and gates by stepping on tiles or picks up objects. Also she needs to find two keys - one for the last gate to finish the level. It’s an easy level. Looks good. Worth trying.” – Yoav (23-May-2004)

“A remake as other reviewers have pointed out. I can't say I saw a big improvement but better than the first level. The same areas to explore more or less with one sending you back to the desktop a small room with blue blocks so don't try to go behind the sloped one. Keys to the jeep and for doors the jeep isn't necessary I am still confused about that and the gem to pick up after lava water. A standard coastal scenery not very appealing with SAS guards and wild boars also some bats. The secrets are weapons and very easy to find as a ladder gives away the location. Thirty minutes spent in this level with not much to do.” – Kristina (15-Feb-2003)

“I have read that this is a makeover of an earlier unsuccessful level but truthfully it was not much better. There were one-way walls you could simply walk through the SAS made no sound when they fired their guns it was very dark in places and there were NO flares about anywhere. I had many unopened doors left as I could not locate the crow bar but it mattered naught as I found two keys one of which allowed me to open a door and thankfully exit this level.” – Torry (22-Sep-2002)

“The most remarkable thing in this level is that you get shot at by SAS guards in a traditional coastal environment and that seems really strange somehow. You set out to find two keys one for the jeep (which you don't need I think) and one for the gate. You do some swimming run down long corridors and shoot some wildlife along the way. It's all pretty unspectacular and a lot of doors open just by stepping into a room or picking up things I don't know it just seemed a bit pointless to me. As did the whole adventure.” – Dimpfelmoser (20-Aug-2002)

“This is actually a remake of Sirio’s First Level now debutted but unfortunately not fully debugged. Instead of all the floating butts of the first level now they are replaced by office furniture sometimes placed outside and some extra enemies there is also a longer underground area than in the first but it is still a very straightforward level that took me 30 minutes to play with 3 secrets found. As I said though there are still some bugs here a wall that could be walked through in the first version can still be walked through which can make the level a lot shorter and there is one room where if you jump into a corner area the game crashes and the way this corner is set up I think most players will want to check what is in it. A cute level but nothing special.” – Sash (21-Jun-2002)

“Ok - so the author went through the trouble of releasing version 2 of his first level with actually little change other than that this time the full WAD is released and at least the basic objects work ok. Why he added huge sound files which then actually don't work is beyond me. The walkthrough wall shortcut is still there and even though there seemed more to do down below it is not an overly inspiring adventure. Get that gem the three not so secret secrets (revolver shotgun and Uzi) shoot all the SAS bats dogs crocs and warthogs and out of there in about 30 minutes and on to something more exciting.” – Michael (21-Jun-2002)

“Bigger doesn't always mean better. In this case the 10+ Mb download yields a very standard coastal level and some very big wav files which don't enhance the game enough to justify being there. Through a half hour of very mechanical gameplay you encounter many bugs like missing sound FX crashing to the desktop if you try to go a certain place and being able to jump through a wall to the end of the level. As Lara makes her way through blasting SAS and dogs doors mysteriously open and you find keys for the jeep which serves absolutely no purpose to advance the plot here. Then it's over.” – Tombaholic (21-Jun-2002)

“After playing the first version of this level it was interesting to see what I'm assuming the level was supposed to look like in the first place. It actually turned out to be pretty good when you can play the entire level. I admit it's strange to see all that office furniture sitting outside but there are some good traps it's fun to explore the roof tops and there are some neat things to see - the solid but almost transparent ceilings and walls and the deadly water that looks normal. I didn't find the crowbar this time but it seems that certain actions cause the doors to open and after finding the highly sought after gem and three secrets I opened the final gate and was on my way.” – RaiderGirl (21-Jun-2002)

“This level is a remake and it’s still a confusing level. Instead of butts there are at least some soldiers to shoot at. Dogs appearing out of thin air and the line of butts in another area were transformed into bookcases and desks. Very strange. Jumping upon a slanted crate made it back to my desktop. The audio file only gave strange noises. And what to do with the keys for the jeep? This was a much bigger level and I can’t put my finger on it but it didn’t make that much sense. In some areas it is pitch black and I never found any flares so using binoculars every step of the way is a major headache. Some water you can swim and some not some is obvious and some not. Also found the same objects Sheevah found behind a glass window and ended with also the same objects in Lara’s backpack at the end of the level. Very confusing. 09-05-2002” – Gerty (21-Jun-2002)

“Better than the first try of the same author this level is still far from being perfect. I mean you can climb onto the roofs already at the start to come to an area where you get the first door key from a SAS guard. You find the suitable door a little later that means you can finish the level after about 15 minutes. So when I found out that I tried another way. I saw the pieces of a portal guardian through a glass window but didn't ever get them. I don't know if this was intended or not. After all I had a gem some door keys and the keys for the jeep still with me when I finally came to the end. Regarding the level from its technical point there were too many guards for my taste and it was much too dark in many places you couldn't even see the hand in front of your eyes (and no flares to be found!). But I think if the author will go on exercising the level editor his levels will improve sooner or later the tendency can be seen in this level.” – Sheevah (21-Jun-2002)
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