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Level: The Roofs of London back home search
Author(s): Bibi Phoque
total rating:8.30 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
CC 9 8 9 9
Dimpfelmoser 8 8 10 9
Dougsan 9 8 9 9
Duncan 9 8 10 9
Engelchen Lara 7 7 8 8
eTux 8 8 8 7
G.Croft 8 7 9 9
Gerty 9 7 9 7
Jose 8 8 9 8
Kristina 7 7 8 8
MichaelP 9 8 8 8
Momster 8 7 8 8
Moonpooka 10 9 9 9
Necro 8 6 8 8
Obig 9 8 9 8
Orbit Dream 9 7 9 10
Phil 8 9 9 9
RaiderGirl 9 7 9 9
Sash 8 9 10 9
Treeble 7 7 8 8
Tune Razor 8 9 8 8
Wendee 8 7 8 7
Whistle 9 7 10 10
category averages
(23 reviews)		 8.35 7.65 8.78 8.43

Reviewer's comments

"This time Lara has to explore roofs and terraces of London, sometimes with dangerous (and entertaining) rides with the bike. Good gameplay although sometimes you have to reload if you don't do the things like the author thought, as the room with the machine gun and the white ninja where you get totally stucked if you alert him, or in the other room with the breakable tiles with the secret at the end. Even so, the game was very entertaining and not difficult to finish,, with some interesting puzzles and half-lineal gameplay. Perhaps too many enemies to shoot in the sandy courtyard area, good cameras and correct textures. A level worth to play." - Jose (03-Dec-2010)

"I must admit before i go any furthur that I don't like levels set on rooftops / london. I prefer tombs and catacombs etc but it would be unfair of me to give this level a low score for that reason. As far as story / gameplay goes its sound. theres plenty to do but there are a few areas where you have no idea where to go. In fact, I pulled a switch near the end which was suppost to lower a ramp but it didnt. I had to go back and pull it again before it happened but I didnt realise that until after 40mins are time wasting. On the plus sides, the area was well designed and beautifully laid out. If you like these kind of levels, then go for it. The walkthrough was bobbins too. It didnt help. It told me to go back to the bike, run/jump to the ledge, etc. This wasn't clear enough. I went back to the bike then started to look for the ledge to run/jump too. I realised the the run/jump to ledge was telling me how to get back to the bike. . Never mind. Not a bad level and quite challenging." - Necro (18-Dec-2008)

"Well, having enjoyed the original outside levels of London very much, I desperately wanted to like it, and maybe that was my problem. Don't get me wrong, as my ratings indicate I still liked this very much and found most of this to be pleasingly clever and never frustrating as with any levels of the author, but I thought that there was a cherry atop the cream missing to make this a super level most other's of Bibi have been. Even though there are a couple of chances to get stuck permanently, and you can get down to the streets with a few dirty in-game tricks, it still has many clever tasks with the final motorbike jump and sneaking past the ninja being my favourites. The whole environments as you can guess are rooftops, and you get to pass them in the most unimaginable ways, including riding with a motorbike on a pixel-sharp edge of the roof. I found 2 secrets along the way but I suppose there could've been more. I missed the revolver somewhere, but still could shoot the final canister in order to escape the level, so it's not that bad, but I found the abrupt ending not so good here. What did she achieve, where was she going in the first place? Don't know about that, but that doesn't make this level less enjoyable and recommendable to play, so go ahead and try it!" - eTux (05-Feb-2005)

“This level is a good adventure. Just as the title tells it has a similar feeling to the London level of TR3. We are walking through the rooftops of London with Lara. According to the story we have to find and liquidate the headquarters of a terrorist group (trle.net). In the first part of the level we have to get the key that opens the way to the motorbike then we reach our goal by motoring on the roofs. The textures are well elaborated they suit the story only it is dark insomuch as it is night. There are token puzzles for example getting the third secret presented some difficulties for me and the switchable ramp was also a good idea. The enemies are represented by some ninjas soldiers and dogs; they are easy to finish off. I found three secrets the creator made more difficult getting them with some cunnings. Who loved London should not skip this level. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version) savegames and pictures here: http://www.freeweb.hu/treditor/12/the_roofs_of_london.htm ” – Obig (08-Dec-2004)

“If you can enjoy the wackiness of riding a bike to the top of the London then you should have a great time with this one. Lots to do great camera work and some excellent bits. Not an easy level but one well worth playing and a load of fun.” – Duncan (08-Dec-2004)

“Here's another level that reminds me very much of the London section of TR3. You play it in consistently dark surroundings which makes perfect sense because it's nighttime. Still there's plenty of light so you can see what you're doing at all times. I tried playing this when it was first released and gave up in frustration. However Dutchy has written a walkthrough in his clear and straightforward style so this time getting through the level was a relative breeze. There's an extended routine with the motorbike which I enjoyed as most levels I've played recently that use the motorbike only use it to get over a ramp or to complete the level. No fun at all. Here it seems as if you're using the motorbike rather constantly for the second half of the level. This is a good one so download it and play it if you haven't already done so.” – Phil (28-Nov-2004)

“This is not another ordinary city level. It’s set on the rooftops of a city! You’ll of course get down to the ground for a couple of times to get the bike mainly and then back up to the roofs you go riding a bike. The very final jump with the bike brought me memories of the Matrix Reloaded when Trinity jumps out of a roof and blows a guard office. But you break into an office - and from there to the end was a short path. There are nice little touches here like the ninja who runs to activate the alarm and also the one who is just standing. If he sees you he’ll activate a sentry gun and the exit doors will be locked. Good design and although I never thought these London textures could be appealing Bibi really put them in a way it looks great! 40 minutes 1 secret.” – Treeble (28-Jun-2004)

“Looked at this level again (May 2003). I played it last December and it's still looks great. London by night and Lara has to make her way around the city high up near the roofs. I did go down to street level but there's nothing to do there. Very well built cityscape with excellent textures and lighting. The first main task is to find a key for that keyhole that annoys you every time to pass it and when you do you get the bike. I remember that area had me stumped and Pam explained it very well in the forum. There's another room where you have to crawl around crates so that the ninja(!) doesn't see you to get the key that was great. It seems that wherever you see a union jack flag there's something to be done for example the drop into the room with the breakable tiles. You make you're way up ramps to the topmost roofs for a final tremendous jump across the street through a breakable wall. I had great fun on the final roof blowing up the machine guns and helicopter. I ran to the crate just in front of them targeted the gun on the left and blew up the whole shooting gallery all the while taking bullets from that gun. At one stage you must back Lara out of a crawlspace onto a painter's platform and that took some thinking about she does do it if you keep holding the left key pressed as she drops. Another tricky situation is when you pull the lever in the room with the grenade gun secret to alter the ramp you must go back the way you came because if you drop to the switch down below it changes the ramp back again and you're stuck. I love city levels and this is one of my favourites. I was sorry when it ended. Great fun and well worth the download.” – CC (29-May-2003)

“A wonderful level which I really enjoyed. Find your way around the rooftops and get the bike ride around the sky scrappers fighting guards dogs and ninjas. Some tricky levers to find and things change along the way. I loved the buildings and the areas below really did give you vertigo being up there. A brilliant smash through the wall job at the end to get to the other side shoot the guns and escape. Quite a hard level I was stuck for two days on one bit and needed some help from CC don't think I'd have done it without her help! Superbly put together and a must for any Raider I can't find anything in the level to complain about it was exciting and very different from any other London level I've played well done to the author!” – Moonpooka (29-May-2003)

“One and a half hours after beginning The Roofs of London it came to an end and I was sad! What a terrific and imaginative level. How imaginative can yet another city based level be you might ask. How about one where you spend most of your time driving around and jumping between rooftops on Lara’s trusty WW II motorcycle (shouldn’t this be retired)! The jumps are realistic; none being even close to impossible. The dirt and gravel are piled in such a way as to cause the bike to lose traction. Yes the bike can actually get stuck! Wonderful stuff like this fills the level. There is a drop onto a scaffold where a support rope is a hindrance as it would be in reality. There is an almost easy drop to an intriguing place from which there is no escape and in which there is nothing of value. Why did Lara visit? Because it looks interesting! Wonderful wonderful stuff. Puzzles? There are puzzles galore. How do you get back to the bike after completing a necessary bit of business? Whoops! Super design effort. Great game. Lots of fun. Bravo!” – Dougsan (19-May-2003)

“Lara making a small trip to London here ;-) And quite a lot of things to do. Puzzles consist of pulling levers jumping around the rooftops and very smartly outwitting a baddie (at least if you want to stay alive when getting that key). There is also a bike to drive and it felt a bit illogical to drive around on rooftop ;-) and later into the skyscraper. Enemies were dogs guards and baddies. Texture were suitably chosen sound as well. Lara also picked up three secrets along the way which does require a bit of work.” – Engelchen Lara (14-Feb-2003)

“I’m quite partial to London Levels and it’s always a pleasure to see Lara in her black leather gear and as The Roofs of London has more light than many London levels I found it doubly enjoyable to play. Things are a bit bewildering at the start but once you get going the level opens up in a pleasing and logical away. I did myself no favours by forgetting where the switch that raises and lowers the painter’s platform was and stalled there for a while but aside from that I found the puzzles pleasingly challenging without being too obscure. The ‘stealth’ puzzle has been commented upon elsewhere and is something of a triumph. It’s quite unusual to have such a subtle puzzle in a fan level. The second half of the level involves traversing various walkways and rooftops on the motorbike and was less enjoyable for me; I prefer Lara to explore on-foot. Nevertheless there was plenty of fun to be had and no excruciatingly tricky manoeuvres to perform. Enemies aren’t that plentiful a few guard dogs SAS men and unexplained ninjas but all are well placed enough to be challenging without being too irritating and there are some alarm triggers that will alert more trouble if you don’t dispatch certain enemies quickly enough. I found three secrets (no indication of how many there were to be found) a couple of which were quite tricky to reach or return from or both. I thought the secrets were particularly well executed in contrast to some levels where secrets seem to be something of an afterthought. In summary a very enjoyable level not too hard but not too easy either. Visually attractive and atmospheric it’s definitely worth downloading.” – Tune Razor (12-Jan-2003)

“Although gameplay was always interesting and often exciting the city itself is that star of the level as far as I'm concerned. The beginning reminds me of the Thames Wharf level and has what seems like a complete city block to explore. There are many floors to search in these buildings for a key and a few switches with a pushable block puzzle to solve and one puzzle that has you crawling around a room behind some crates trying not to get noticed by a guard. The second part of the level is spent driving the motorbike around the roofs of London before you crash through the wall of a building and then make your way to it's roof where you must disable three machine guns and then make your escape in the awaiting helicopter or maybe you should just blow it up for some fun. Great use of the motorbike in this level along with some fun exploring plus at least four secrets to search for.” – RaiderGirl (28-Dec-2002)

“If you suffer from vertigo then avoid this level it has a ‘health warning for you’. You do get the feeling of height from the outset and the opportunity to jump over cavernous areas as you go searching. Be observant and you will proceed through the level. You will need to exercise Lara's grey matter though (or get your brain in gear) to solve some of the puzzles you encounter in order to work out where or what to do next. Release the motor bike from its garage and then on with wild roof top rides to the explosive end. The only enemies apart from the ground are thugs and ninja along with the odd ‘dog’. The secrets can be found again being very observant. Beware some of the switches do not overtly let you know what they do. The graphics etc and atmosphere created were stunning even to the blurred skylines of London at night and the big moon at the end. Definitely a level to play.” – Whistle (20-Dec-2002)

“Splendid! The recreation of a section of London combined with clever gameplay elements (the sneaking past the Guard moment; the raising Painters platform) and by far the best motorbike sequence I've yet come across in the whole TR canon combine to make this a wonderful and most impressive level. My only complaint is that the puzzle solutions (especially the aforementioned Painters platform) weren't always made properly clear. But no matter. I loved this. Beautifully designed constructed and textured it's a joy to play.” – Orbit Dream (18-Dec-2002)

“As the title says the level is full of roofs and jumps. Nothing original except passing through a ninja without him detecting you otherwise you're trapped in that room. I had trouble getting out of the room with the crowbar because one of the ropes that holds a platform was too close and Lara needed a combination of keys left+action to safely drop. I didn't like very much the buildings in my opinion they didn't match one another it wasn't convincing to me anyway. I wonder what ninjas are doing in London and in a city level I can understand the guards and the dogs although the red eyes were too much but ninjas! Finding the crowbar and getting a key to open a door which will lead you to the main areas along with some levers are the whole gameplay. One secret room that contained the grenade gun needs a combination of actions to access but as the level is too dark for my liking I didn't bother. At least the flares were enough. The bike is essential from a point after to reach the end with the revolver and laser-sight at hand blowing up a helicopter and two sentry guns with it. Lara was entering a crawlspace when suddenly the level ended.” – Kristina (16-Dec-2002)

“Very great looking level and the London part was also one of my favorites levels in the originals Tomb Raider games. Here you have to get the crowbar before you can jump to the other end of the street. The nifty trick of lowering or lifting that scaffolding and also to uncover the glass panel before a switch was very well done. Also the stealth mode you have to use to get that key. Looking to find a way up or down some jumping sometimes in despair killing poor Lara in the process. Finding levers to push (or pull) but it all made sense. Not a vehicle fan myself I found that bike ride probably not as thrilling as it was intended. I know it is supposed to be night but that means for me playing it in a dark room or use flares most of the time is very tiring on my eyes. There are enemies like SAS soldiers and ninjas. Every now and then there will be some dogs. All the moves Lara learned through her course of Tomb Raiding are in this level. 10-12-2002” – Gerty (15-Dec-2002)

“I don’t normally care for city levels but as I like this author I tried it. Glad I did. Fluent gameplay for the most part with only a couple of confusing parts (at least for me). Took me a while to get that climbable surface/shimmy over to the lever. But definitely worth the 75 minutes I spent with exciting bike riding and jumps. Something I’ve never done in a custom level before was the sneak past the guard for the key trick and found it truly impressive.” – Momster (15-Dec-2002)

“I am really not a fan of the City setting of TRLE so at the start of this level I was a little apprehensive but despite the darkish setting the level really drew me in. Had to search a bit at the start before I found all the right levers and things but then it is progressing quite smoothly with monkey swings burners jumps around the roofs movable blocks levers and many boxes to shoot for pickups. You need a Silver Key along the way and I found three secrets especially the grenade gun one being quite nicely done. Enemies are only a few thugs and ninjas and some of those very scary dogs. The highlight of this level though is a rather clever use of the motorbike with a nice course that you have to alternate along the way and a great jump smashing through a wall. I also liked the elevator with the paint on it and the scene were you sneak past that ninja and blowing up the helicopter as a grand finale is always fun. Maybe a little short at about an hour of net gaming but lots of fun while it lasts.” – Michael (14-Dec-2002)

“A fun adventure on the rooftops of London. No clear mission but to find your way through jumping between buildings sneaking past guards and riding and jumping the bike over the roofs avoiding to fall waaaaay down into the streets. Much fun during 1 hrs and 15 min.” – G.Croft (13-Dec-2002)

“Yes the word London in the title indicates that this level is dark. Not too dark but enough for me to DOZY so that I could get as many flares as I desired. Though the level is not linear by any means it is not difficult to figure out what to do next. I enjoyed the nonstop play and action. I would recommend this level for beginners and advanced players. Approx game play: 1 hour and 15 min.” – Wendee (10-Dec-2002)

“Have you ever fancied riding around the rooftops of London on a motorbike? Well that's the beauty of TR cause you can do all those things that are completely impossible in real life. One of my favourite level builders having a go at one of my favourite scenarios from TR3. Is there any chance of failure?! Of course not; this is a fun level with a fast pace and lots of action the only downside being that it is relatively short. Settingwise this comes as something of a surprise cause from her previous levels I got the impression that Bibi was a bit of a Natures kid. However this London is beautifully reconstructed with modern and old buildings creating a very real and gripping metropolitan atmosphere. It starts with a bit of exploring up and down to solve a pushing block puzzle and get a couple of crucial items that will eventually lead you to the motorbike. The part where you have to sneak around the crates to get the key without being noticed by the guard had stumped me for a while but once you know what to do it's a thrilling experience. There is this excellent cut to a fixed camera angle with the mean guard in the foreground and little Lara on her knees lurking behind a box and waiting for him to turn the other way. Great stuff. There is more excitement to come like when you do the big jump on the bike and crash through the wall of the skyscraper but what is really outstanding in this level is that you can overlook the whole area all the time from different vantage points as you gradually make your way around the roofs until you finally reach the top of the tallest building only to be faced with an array of sentry guns. More levels like this please.” – Dimpfelmoser (10-Dec-2002)

“I absolutely loved every part of this building hopping level with its brilliant atmosphere wonderful construction fantastic use of the bike and nice placement of the 4 secrets I found. What struck me the most though was the construction and layout of the buildings as the path you follow didn’t seem at all obvious at first glance but things just fell into place as you moved along. There is also a chance to check out your stealth skills as you manoeuvre your way around a ninja to find a key but if you alert him then there is no escape from the room you find yourself in. By the way the only thing that did let this level down were a handful of ninjas around as they just did not fit the level at all but as they are used for their speed in activating some triggers this may have been the reason to include them. This for me was one of those levels that we all have where after the hour it took to play I just wanted more but the hour I had was great fun.” – Sash (08-Dec-2002)
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