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Level:	Canterville
Author(s):	Codo

total rating:	8.67	Gameplay & Puzzles		Enemies, Objects & Secrets		Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras		Lighting & Textures
	Aims	8		8		9		9
	CC	9		8		9		9
	db	9		9		10		10
	Dimpfelmoser	8		8		9		9
	Duncan	7		5		8		8
	Engelchen Lara	9		9		10		9
	eRIC	8		0		9		7
	eTux	7		6		7		7
	Freeman Porter	9		9		8		8
	G.Croft	9		8		9		8
	Gerty	9		8		10		9
	John	10		9		9		8
	Jose	7		9		8		8
	Kristina	7		9		9		8
	Loupar	10		10		9		10
	MichaelP	9		8		10		10
	Momster	8		9		9		9
	Monika	9		9		9		9
	Phil	9		9		9		8
	RaiderGirl	9		9		10		7
	Sash	9		8		10		10
	Sheevah	9		9		10		10
	SilentViper	8		8		10		9
	Tombaholic	8		8		10		9
	Treeble	10		10		10		10
	Zentralfriedhof	9		10		10		9
	category averages (26 reviews)	8.58		8.15		9.23		8.73

Reviewer's comments

"You really can't go wrong with a level of Codo's; even her earlier efforts show sparks of novelty, and stand out way above the average level you can stumble upon out there. Playing it a decade after its release (has it really been that long?), I can't help but approach it with a touch of presentism, so I'm not quite as enamoured by it as the majority of reviewers have been, but it certainly has merits that make it play-worthy even in 2013. The atmosphere is dark and brooding, textures and lighting are competently done (I never found the level to be overwhelmingly dark contrary to what just about every other reviewer has said, though some additional flare pickups early on would've been helpful) and gameplay manages to surprise you with a number of great moments (disabling the spikes in the barn at the beginning of the level, the rope jumps in the chapel, some sort-of tricky jumps in the dungeons, the thrilling escape- from-the-wraith and horseman sequences, and so on). The game has a non-linear feel to it, and while occasionally you're locked into (or out of) certain areas till you're done with a particular task to help the pace, not everything about it feels intuitive. The torch never really served any purpose, as far as I can tell, I missed the scroll in the dungeons, and whilst backtracking for it (it goes to the author's credit that it's possible) found out that I actually missed out on a number of other things down there too (the prisons), the maze at the end felt anti-climatic. I suppose you can write down the spontaneous closing of doors, appearance of wraiths, "walking armour" (tin men) as the paranormal activity alluded to in the story, but in context of how we experience these same things in other levels, they never felt tailored to the haunted house experience we were supposed to have here, and the story never really evolves beyond the 3 sentences we get in the level's description. The use of the low quality TR2/3 sound effects and the customized outfit are endearing, if not entirely necessary for the level, as they reflect the builder's thirst for custom content and novelty at the time. All this aside, while I feel the level didn't fully live up to its potential, it can hardly be called a 'disaster,' and has its shining moments for players in 2013, though I probably would've liked it much better, had I played it at the time of its release (but one can't really blame the builder for that). Found 3 of 4 secrets." - eTux (26-Feb-2013)

"This castle level is quite good, but too dark. Half lineal, there are some tricky tasks and nasty traps, but not too hard. I liked the texturing, the ambience in some places, the well builded objects and some nice puzzles like the crates one where I got the dagger (what was the dagger for?). In the bad side, the excessive darkness in some areas, some paper walls in the dungeons/sewers area, sometimes the backtracking; not enough flares to explore adequately the many dark areas and, specially, not clear the places where you can kill the wraiths. Near the end I was turning fool looking for a place with water enough to get rid of the last fire wraith (the small pool with the red gem was mingy), opening double doors and burning and reloading many times till I found the button to open the entrance doors. Very nasty. Even so, a well builded level with good ideas, worth to play." - Jose (08-Jun-2010)

�This is an older level and it plays like it with many things that have since become old hat. For me it has a couple of major drawbacks: wraiths that either can't be gotten rid of (beginning) or wraiths in confined places (dungeon throne room) AND is is extremely dark. I found myself ready for it to end long before it did. If you like dark levels and nasty tricks you may enjoy this one.� � Duncan (11-Dec-2004)

�Here's an interesting and fun level. Set in a spooky castle and at nighttime can send a few chills down your spine. It was quite difficult from the lack of weapons and medipacks and the fact there are some skeletons and wraiths don't help. There isn't really a story just travelling throughout the castle picking up items or pulling levers so you can escape. It was quite a nice looking castle with textures from highland fling in TR3's lost artefact and the dungeons were nice and spooky with cobwebs and moss stains on the walls. I wouldn't say the actual level itself was tough although some traps are fairly tricky it was just the enemies and lack of medis and not having the right weapons at the right time although you find the ones you need later on when they aren't really needed. Enemies mainly consisted of skeletons but there were some dogs horsemen wraiths and bats about too. It was quite dark which was a pain as there aren't many flares either. But despite them it was a fun level and got better and better as it went along. I would highly recommend it but not for those who hate dark or fairly creepy levels!� � Aims (15-Oct-2004)

�I started this level almost the minute it was out but ditched it as frustration did ran pretty high. Rummaging through my bin found it again and thought why not. Can't remember why I was so frustrated at that time as I had a ball this time around. OK it is dark pretty dark and had I known about the TRSGeditor back then I probably would have finished it. So I cheated and added flares lots of them. In here there is everything that is Tomb Raiding in my book. I do so love castles and this gloomy dark one had a great atmosphere. There are different tasks that Lara has to accomplish and different artifact to find some she takes with her when she hits the end trigger. Enemies are very well placed although I had a hard time to get rid of that last fire wraith and shooting it although it took some trying worked like a charm. At least it left me alone enough to get that gate open and lure it into the water. The dark dark maze was a bit overdone and those dogs made me jump in my chair but I found the finishing trigger. 24-05-2004� � Gerty (27-May-2004)

�Fantastic level with a great atmosphere. Puzzles are hard to solve good enemies. Nearly perfect details and excellent story. Nobody should miss this level!� � Zentralfriedhof (08-Apr-2004)

�This is an unremittingly dark level. I don't like dark levels. That being said I have to admit that I very much enjoyed playing Canterville. I waited until Dutchy's walkthrough was available (12/03) and would have missed a great deal without it. There's a particularly tight timed run near the beginning and for quite a while I wasn't even able to experience the pleasure of having the door slam shut in my face. But then I realized what was necessary (three judicious bursts of the sprint key) and made it through. Gameplay here is mainly an exercise in patience dexterity and figuring out the various puzzles as the enemies are relatively few and far between. Even though the level is dark throughout this actually contributed to the spooky atmosphere. Highly recommended for a fun change of pace.� � Phil (05-Jan-2004)

�Sometimes a level will have a standout feature be it a great setting wonderful texturing and lighting brilliant puzzles but this one just doesn�t have any standout feature. That�s because the whole level is a standout in all those areas. On your journey through this fantastically built and scarily gloomy castle complete with library church and hedge maze you have to collect four stars as well as 4 secrets and although these stars are fairly easy to locate the crowbar that will help wrench them from the walls instead so. You won�t find a lot of enemies in this 75 minute level a couple of skeletons some dogs and sprites a templar knight and two tinmen one on horseback but the suspenseful feel this level gives has you on edge most of the time. Some people may find this level a little dark and sure it is a little dark but it was so perfectly suited to the level itself that I couldn�t imagine playing it any other way this is also a much better level in my opinion than Kerstin�s follow up and if you have to decide between both which to play next I would strongly steer you to this one.� � Sash (10-Aug-2003)

�This is a great level (played April 2003). Setting is a castle complex. It�s a mix of Highland Castle Venice Library and Rome textures all really well blended together. Very dark and this adds to the atmosphere but can be annoying (I admit I brightened the screen after a while). And what about that amazing stained glass window in the church? The church itself is very convincing. At the beginning a �ghost� wraith for want of a better description chases Lara. I got rid of it by opening the double doors in the building near the start of the level and ran up the stairs. For some unknown reason the thing just went away. Nice little touch of the scratches on the library floor to show where you have to drag the globe. A nice change from the usual globe puzzle of pushing globes onto particular squares in a particular order. Really good traps along the way lie the boulder trap a few chain pulling puzzles the 4 switches and trapdoors the route through the underground passages and waterways to find the scroll and that annoying fire wraith when you get into the house. The way I dealt with it was to run up the left hand stairs through blue double doors to a (surprise surprise) bright looking bedroom (where you get the red gem) and push the switch on the wall. This opens the front doors so you can run out again to the fountain to kill the wraith. I had to save a lot as I did this because the little pest kept burning Lara. Getting the crowbar was a very clever idea. In a long crawlspace the camera fixed on the crowbar and she crawls in to claim it. And lighting the candles at the end was really nice. I have a question though. The trapdoor near the switch in this �candle� room where did that go or come from? I�ve obviously missed a few things. Worth going back to again to find out and definitely worth the download.� � CC (23-Apr-2003)

�Canterville is a great level that's worth playing. The gameplay is very complete with few puzzles and a lot of exploration in a beautiful environment. The enemies are skeletons dogs Templar Knights and tinmen; all of them match well with their places in the scene of the Castle. The re-build of a Castle is superb with some rooms totally breathtaking. The secrets are related with some objects (the heart and the music scroll) and there are items with no game use (the dagger and the prison keys that don't seem to do nothing more than free one skeleton). The atmosphere is one of the most perfect in custom levels. Some of the sounds are taken from the TR2 game and I love TR2 so the voice of Lara in this level and the sound of the doors (and by the way the use of Venice textures) is really like playing in Tomb Raider 2. The lighting is very dark in some places but these are really dark places (the crypt and the sewers). Almost a perfect but only downrated in sound because sometimes I had a lost sound when Lara was shooting to an enemy. Recommended.� � Loupar (13-Jan-2003)

�Man I am sure my four tens were deserved by this level. There has been some time I spent so much time solving puzzles battling enemies and most of all trying to find an exit because this level is very complicated ;) My suggestion for you is to spare some time to download and play this awesome level. It's set in a village and Lara's quest is a heart (at least I didn't find anywhere to use it) which she finds right at the beginning of the level but then trying to find the end of the level was the best part. You will explore a library sewers fountains a big house varied settings you see. Oh and it was a clever idea to add the crowbar in the middle of the level so you should find an alternative path to go back and get those four stars. All in all this level is well worth the download the sounds were well worked (adapted from TR2) and I was very pleased to finish this adventure after 90 minutes. Congratulations Codo! :)� � Treeble (21-Dec-2002)

�This could have been a good little level with an interesting city a castle a library and sewers to explore. There are many innovative puzzles and the texturing is rather good. Unfortunately the wraiths in this level have ruined completely the gameplay and the fun for me. Each time I began this level this first wraith never wanted to die near the cross nor anywhere else. So I used the savegame editor to add many medipacks for poor Lara: I played half an hour with this annoying wraith following Lara everywhere and finally it exploded without giving an explanation of its stubbornness. And there is also this deadly fire wraith at the end and too much darkness in the level. Not a great fun here in Canterville.� � eRIC (15-Dec-2002)

�This was a level just to my hearts delight. The atmosphere was like it could be in Canterville wherever that might be. There were dogs skeletons white wraith and fire wraith to cope with. Also Horseman with and without a horse. The undead crusader was no real threat and he kept out of the way during the run to the timed door. The most important item is the crowbar and it is not so simple to find it. I found 4 secrets. If you like spooky castles and a bit of a challenge then just try this game.� � Monika (05-Dec-2002)

�After reading how dark this level was I had been putting off playing it but now that I'm finished I can't see why I waited so long. Other than the almost total lack of light this level was so much fun to play with it's spooky atmosphere and great textures clever puzzles (made hard at times by the darkness though) and well done secrets that almost could have been a game by themselves. The setting is a large castle with many areas to explore and some exciting moments with the elementals timed doors chains lava boulders mechanical guards and other various traps. I was sorry to see this end after two hours of enjoyable gameplay.� � RaiderGirl (24-Nov-2002)

�From an atmosphere perspective a Top Level. Lara is here in a castle where she has a lot to do in order to find the exit. Lara must solve many riddles that are however not too difficult. The only thing where I got stuck was the crowbar, I was too stupid and ran again and again past it, instead of picking it up ;))) Again, thanks to Gandalf :) - without this hint I would still be at the same place. After that it progressed quite fluidly. Must say, the opponents were well placed - what annoyed me were the fire wraiths that kept my Lara on her toes. The sound suited also very well to the atmosphere. I would recommend this level to everybody :)� � Engelchen Lara (02-Sep-2002)

�Well what can I say I really enjoyed this level. It took me 2 hours and there is lots of puzzles and traps to solve and avoid. The main objective is to get 4 stars but find the crowbar in the sewer first! On the way you encounter boulder traps block pushing lighting candle with torches steam spike traps fire lava pits climbable puzzles ropes to swing on poles to climb timed doors to get through and sooooo much more! This level has so much variety in it and was a pleasure to play. The enemies to avoid were knights ghosts and fire ghosts skeletons and bats the skeletons got on my nerves a bit because I couldn�t kill them but there was only one knight and he didn�t follow me everywhere so that was ok. Some of the views were spectacular especially in the church and with the flyby in the beginning. The level is set at night and there is a lot of area to cover with a hedge maze at the end. You really have to use your brain to work out these puzzles and that's why it took me so long to play. The level is also played outside as well as inside which adds more variety to the level. The rooms were made well I found no bugs and no problems with it being too dark. I didn�t have to use many flares. The textures and lighting fit the level perfectly giving the level great atmosphere. I found 2 secrets: the dagger of xian behind a pushable block puzzle and a heart which you put in a slot in the church basement. More use of camera would have been better and I didn�t understand the end because there was switch I never could reach and a door which never opened? Great level! Download now.� � John (20-Aug-2002)

�From the first flyby setting the scene this was a fantastic adventure. And actually the rather varied gameplay with buttons to press chains to pull a planet to move a timed sequence rope swings movable blocks steam and fire traps and the use of a torch even pales behind the extraordinary architecture object placement lighting and texturing that Codo has put together here. The whole complex looks stunningly real as you progress through the library the church treasure room dungeons sewers and near the end the throne and dining rooms. Lara in a sportive outfit needs to find and use a silver key two gems and four stars and she will also collect a dagger (the Darth Maul texture is hilarious) and a breastplate and of course a heart and a music scroll to get a secret with each of those. Four secrets are there to find in total and some require multiple actions to actually get to them in their separate room. Enemies are few but all make sense where they appear. The tinmen dogs knight bats and skeletons are not much trouble but the four wraiths will definitely keep you on your toes (very creative to let them die differently here). Camera work is excellent and helpful. So after all the rambling about how great this level is is there anything I did not like? Maybe the trial and error four level puzzle - and the small hedge maze at the very end really was an unnecessary anti-climax but other than that this 1:20 hours quest happily makes it onto my list of largely underrated levels. Play it and enjoy!� � Michael (21-Jun-2002)

�I'm not a big fan of dark levels but in this case I'll make an exception. Shadow and light are used as skillfully here as in any level I've played. The result is a sinister and eerie atmosphere reminiscent of the Ireland levels in TRC but flares and torches are adequately supplied for the especially dark parts. Texturing is spot on and the use of some TR2/3 sound FX is a treat. Gameplay is entertaining without any really difficult puzzles or skill sequences but there are a few nicely done traps. The plot mainly revolves around exploring and finding the needed objects to progress with the objective of finding a golden dagger and the escaping this haunted place. Along the way Lara will meet some skeletons bats horsemen a rather ineffective crusader and some wraiths. The behavior of the wraiths is very strange as they seem to forget all about Lara at a certain point and just disappear - which is good since there is no other way to dispose of them. Finally there are 4 secrets to be had if you poke around enough.� � Tombaholic (21-Jun-2002)

�This is NOT a run through and push buttons level here you have puzzles all the way. A beautiful flyby in the beginning caught my interest just from start. Spooky atmosphere in your hunt for the crowbar - that was actually a big part of the game ;-) to get your hands on the crowbar but the hunt was fun as the rest of the level.� � G.Croft (21-Jun-2002)

�Really a wonderful nice looking game. But for me it was too dark through the whole level. Sure it fits to the spooky and mystic atmosphere but that was too much for my eyes. Often I wanted to quit but then the nice gameplay kept me in the game. Once I was able to light my flare I didn�t give it away the whole game maybe the most important item in this level. But that is a matter of taste those players who don�t care about darkness MUST play this stunning level. The graphics are beautiful the secrets are hard to get and there are also some new surprises like the heart which you will need for a secret the dagger also looked cool. The wraiths were the strongest enemies the first in the beginning didn�t want to die it took me some time until he exploded at the cross. I have found 3 secrets out of 4 and played about 2 hours. Absolutely recommended anyway!� � Freeman Porter (21-Jun-2002)

�What a fantastic level! It has exactly THAT kind of atmosphere one expects from an old castle - and I love that! I really had some heart beating while exploring the outside area with the chirping ambient sound first and later on inside the castle. I even felt like whistling when I went downstairs into the cellar rooms. And the one or other dog gave me nearly a heart attack. Find objects press buttons open doors look out for traps - everything was in there I was always busy with some kind of puzzle no annoying moments. One of the best levels I ever played!� � Sheevah (21-Jun-2002)

�Actually a nice and spooky atmosphere even though the textures did not always fit. The enemies seemed always out of place apart from the knight and the skeletons especially the ghosts but I enjoyed fighting the guy on the horse. When you had to jump the jumps were mostly difficult but manageable. All in all too short.� � SilentViper (21-Jun-2002)

�The first thing I want to say about this level is that it�s way too dark. I don�t see why do I have to sit in an absolute dark room and mess with the monitor to have some fun. The whole level is based in that kind of atmosphere and I didn�t like it. Don�t misunderstand me now the lighting is good shadows etc. but I don�t like it when there is not one single area to take a �break� from it. Well at the end there are some rooms that you can see where you�re going without a flare did I mention that the flares aren�t enough it�s so easy to miss items and wonder for hours might be days. I am exaggerating yes because it�s tiring I like levels that have smart game play not the easy way just put some blackness and it�s ok they will miss it. Now about the other things this level has to offer. The textures are beautiful colourful although I did spot some areas with missing pieces of texture don�t get smart now yes I did see that in the dark I had a lighter (I am joking about the lighter).The areas are filled with fountains and iron statues representing knights it�s one solid background. Beginning from above the player continues underground in a dungeon with lava chains small rivers and many firetraps. In the process you will encounter some skeletons and bats demons but this is one weak spot of this level lack of enemies and challenge in that part. Regarding the last fire demon it seems that it likes to go in circles and it�s not into all that find Lara burn Lara because apart from the first few seconds if you move a little in the room you can hear it mumbling but it won�t bother you. As puzzles there can be found a heart a scroll and gems some of those are secrets and not needed to finish the level. To access the final room though you must get the four stars and the crowbar surprise surprise requires some sweat from you to get it. You have a library room above the ground with one pushable and a smart way to solve that mystery as where must be pushed look on the floor hint hint. One more thing that wasn�t the best in my opinion was Lara�s voice it�s a mixer of the old voice and the one we are used to I did like the outfit though nice colours. Putting aside the complaints I must say time well spent.� � Kristina (21-Jun-2002)

�It's not a second Doomsday but it's not that far from it. Ok it's dark it's too dark it's annoyingly dark but don't let that put you off. Some rooms (like the church) are truly magnificent and on the whole the textures are applied with much care but as I hinted above we could have done with a bit more lightning. You get a good mix of tasks some timed runs (not that tricky) a few rope swings (easy to avoid) a couple of blocks to push swims jumps the lot. Frankly you have to do all that in the dark. The enemies are chosen and placed thoughtfully although I could have done with less wraiths. Especially the evil fire spirit at the end is a real nuisance as I combusted after the fourth contact so it took me really long to survive this part of the game. The good thing about the fire wraith is that it gives you a bit of light in this dark level. I liked the heart (heart like the organ and not something to give your girlfriend) that you needed to gain access to a secret and some puzzles were rather inventive. All in all an enjoyable level that should keep you entertained for 80 minutes or so. Did I mention that it is a bit dark?� � Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002)

�Very Gothic very dark and very very good. Perhaps a little too dark for some in certain areas but the lighting does really enhance the general atmosphere. Could maybe use a few more enemies but the ones included are pretty persistent (especially if you don't find the crossbow until the end!). Not too long and nothing too taxing on the puzzle front nevertheless there are a few surprises lots of red herrings and couple of hours of excellent gaming.....So not I suspect to everybody�s taste but if you like your Tomb Raiding dark with plenty to explore I recommend it.� � db (21-Jun-2002)

�This level just dripped atmosphere yes it was annoyingly dark but what would you expect in a haunted castle? Finding your way into and all through this level was nothing short of challenging not the least of which for me was finding the crowbar. Not a lot of enemies but well placed and a good variation of them. This is another one my grandson played with me and it about scared him out of his britches (gotta keep that from the daughter-in-law). But he�s the one who found the book in the library. This level always has you looking for something to do puzzles traps pushable objects and it all worked well within the context of the level. I was one of the 1st to find the dagger and had people asking me where I�d found it. Beats the hell out of me! Daniel and I played 2 hours on this one.� � Momster (21-Jun-2002)

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