| Reviewer's comments |
"Wow, what an adventure this was! Never a
dull moment! I was constantly kept on my
toes from start to finish! Mind bending
puzzles, awesome environments and
excellent, excellent atmosphere. I have
only positive thoughts about this one, so
download it immediately!" - Ryan (30-Apr-2016) |
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| "It took me 10 years to reattempt this game after it crashed for me, but here I am (hello). As soon as I began I found a walk-through secret -_- so I ended up checking every single wall for next couple of minutes, and it didn't help to feel secure again when I cleared three elemental parts with just that one secret in backpack. Before that I hit a massive shortcut to access the outer wall zone hours earlier, and I fell into a survivable pit intended for bike death. Add to that the whole place is made of passages of unclear order and you could say the game starts as bad as it can. But I took a deep breath and persisted for immersion, as the style is like nothing I have seen before, and it was worth to stay: the corridors very quickly explain themselves and at one place I counted five unique puzzles in timespan of five minutes. Since that point it was only better: huge unexpected flipmaps, extraordinary transparency usage, brilliant color scheme binding divergent textures together, a feature pretty missing in the previous part. And most of all, The Source - one of these few worlds undefinable with regular descriptive tools yet forming coherent realities of their own, making you want to check every corner to comprehend it all. No wonder I got over five hours in stats, and that's without counting the hunt for skipped secrets (some of them aren't my type so I missed them despite of inquisitiveness, but in the end I saw the solution was always nearby, so if you see something suspicious just try various things until you succeed). Limiting weaponry to a sole shotgun is a quite unusual idea, and particularly working in the inventory crowded with other items, however I would add a supersecret revolver to kill things with one shot. I found one bug when properties of the exploding tree got ported to the bush below the pushable egg, so Lara kept dying when approaching it, but when I did that pushable directly after the bull puzzle, all went fine. It's good we got more torches provided, for the number of leveljumps is numerous and in the end I used all the burning sticks except two. My favourite parts were the ice world secret and the event occuring after grabbing the symbol handle hanging above the outer temple - both a surprise I won't spoil here. And it was nice to hear the Icewind Dale soundtrack again, I like connections to other custom levels. SUMMARY: A great thing, play it with care and you will be rewarded. Elvis's approach is really unique and he should build much more, the third part could be called "The Source Awakens" or something." - DJ Full (22-Feb-2016) |
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| "This one surprised me!! Really an amazing raid!! The whole levelset is complex with superb puzzles and amazing gameplay. I was stuck here many times not knowing what to do but i didn`t look for walkthrough because i love exploring and i love every moment spending in masterpiece like this and i love every moment when i resolve puzzle. I have found only 6/16 secrets so i`ll replay it for sure just to find all of them. eTux is talented builder and all i can say is thank you very much for this excelent adventure. High recommendation!!! 10/10/10/10" - OverRaider (31-Dec-2012) |
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| "I'm not going to discover Elvis' skills with the leveleditor. Even with an old version of the editor he knows how to implement the most incredible features and effects. A lot of retextured enemies and objects, cool animating textures, clever puzzles and all kind of surprises await if you play this adventure full of imagination and quite unreal. I think the gameplay is confused with all that jumps between levels and finding often dead ends with a good dose of backtracking. Also near the end I found excessive locusts in the floating structure. An adventure full of good and interesting ideas, worth to play but better with the walkthrough near." - Jose (17-Jul-2012) |
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"This pack is set over three levels, but, technically they
are each so large they are split into 2-3 pieces. Like the
original level the texturing is extremely eclectic, perhaps
even more so than the first one. Here, however, it's done in
a way that works and manages to legitimately feel like
interesting twists on standard themes. There are also some
very original uses of objects and almost universally
excellent lighting. The first level is a Temple with element
puzzles in the vein of the original level (although they are
only a part of it this time), the second is a beautiful
floating Jungle type place and the last is a gloomy floating
temple that feels like it was the inspiration for the
Farplane level in Revenge of Osiris (although it's nowhere
near as crazy).
The gameplay includes lots of unique puzzles, and there are
a few object uses I don't think I've ever seen before.
Things are on the challenging side, with lots of tricky
jumps and non-linearity, along with requiring the use of
some non-standard gameplay features (like certain torch
moves and Shotgun aiming). It verges on a bit vague at a
couple of points but generally has enough clues. There are a
few flaws but it mostly hasn't aged at all and is still a
classic. Make sure you find the Thistle secrets as you get a
bonus area for it, it's not that large (and the general
ending remains the same), but it's a nice bonus." - Mman (03-Oct-2011) |
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| "Just so Elvis doesn't have to wait another five years, I booted this one up right after finishing the first level. You not only get the longest title for a custom level ever here, but you also get an equally long and eventful raid. It picks up in the exact room the first level ended, but the similarities end there. There's just so much to do in this set of levels that even if I wanted I would never remind all of them. The initial quest for the crowbar (which has received a long name as well, lol) spans four different environments, and the author came up with nice alternatives to the "four elements" cliche puzzle. Funnily enough in one of them you have a sign "Be quiet... Avalanche zone", and as soon as you get Lara near that sign she screams wildly, lol -- that woman must have a death wish, I tell ya! Later you get to The Source, a level built in "classic eTux" style with all the hanging rugs and quite a lot of gameplay is crammed into this level. There's a particularly repetitive sequence which involves pulling a boulder through a catwalk with switching raising blocks, but nothing that harms gameplay. You also get a bull in this level and you'll get rid of it in the most brilliant manner I've seen yet (and look at the age of this level!). In the treetops you'll unleash a spirit that'll help you out for a couple of minutes and there's even a hidden windmill in the level. Also well worth noticing is that this level introduces crystals to help gameplay progress. In the Dark Side of the Source, crystals reveal the safe way and also help you dismantling a triple bridge completely covered in mines -- another puzzle that gets a little repetitive due to it's duration, but really ingenious nevertheless. Towards the end I came across a not-so-familiar but recognizable tune, which I presume to be from the X-Files, and a minute later I was inside an alien ship fighting them. I thought it was a nice touch and it really felt like a bonus level. After destroying the malign entity, perhaps an homage to Mother Brain of Metroid fame, you are free to go home, but there's quite a bit of backtracking to get there. Visually the levelset features a number of different environments thus a true combination of all imaginable textures, but it works pretty well. Environments are brilliantly crafted and lighting never lets down, except maybe in the Dark Side of the Source where it's generally a bit on the simplistic side. All in all, it's no surprise this level is a classic -- it's almost 9 am in the morning and the level kept me glued to the computer all night long. A definite must play. 4 hours, 7 secrets. 03/08" - Treeble (30-Mar-2008) |
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| "It's not often that I come across such an original masterpiece such as this, but I was really glad that I did, as it's definitely one of my favourite custom levelsets ever. The environments that we roam around are varied and beautiful, and massive in scale. The most memorable moment for me would be the 'floating-island' style section in The Source, with it's lush greenery and wonderful views. Traversing around these places was also a joy, and there were a lot of tricky jumps and other puzzles to work out, including a poor bull falling into the hands (literally) of a trap. While the difficulty level was quite high at times, it's both manageable and fun enough to warrant continued playing. In general, the gameplay and visuals were sublime, and there is pretty much nothing that I can fault here. An astounding game, and one that I will remember clearly for a while to come." - Spike (27-Sep-2007) |
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| "Now here's a review that's long overdue. If it were a baby, the mother would be pregnant in her sixteenth month right now. I had the pleasure of beta testing this level before it was released, and wrote my review afterwards. It was probably for the best that I never sent it in, because all I did was whine about how I can't make reviews interesting. You'll have to excuse me if this one won't be very interesting either, since I don't have a lot to work from. I'm sure every other reviewer will have mentioned this by now (curse my procrastination gene!), but I couldn't help but be reminded of Floating Islands when I played this level. Mostly because of the, you know, floating islands, but this level shares something else with that level - great gameplay. It was fairly challenging, and even more importantly, varied. Just when you think you have the level figured out, the author throws something new at you. I'm sure everyone who's played this level has fond memories of the X-Files moment. The texturing is nice and the huge open areas are impressive. I never was very fond of Lara's outfit, though. I think it was the sunglasses I didn't like. The biggest problem I had when playing this level was that it crashed during certain level jumps, but I think that was fixed. I never did replay the level, as there weren't a lot of things that needed to be addressed in the beta version. It's not that I didn't like the level, but it lasted two and a half hours, so I really didn't feel like playing it again so soon afterwards. Anyway, great level - play it." - Magnus (02-Jul-2006) |
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| "I don't want to over-praise this level, but it got into my Top 10. I felt that certain feeling also this time that it is completely believable, and a relic hunter may chance upon such a place like this. So I was sweating together with Lara. The author used such physical and psychological effects that I was just gazing, I was so amazed. There are some bugs though; without them I think all the ratings would be 10. We are adventuring in temples, under the ground and also above on floating islands, and we drive the snowmobile through snowy landscapes. The textures cover all TR episodes from TR1 till TR5. They are various and wonderful, and the gameplay is exciting. Noone should skip this masterpiece. :) You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/16/armageddons_temple2.htm" - Obig (25-Feb-2006) |
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| "Wow! What a great set of levels! The story goes that there is a UFO heading towards earth everyone is worried about it thinking it will take over the world. Lara made her way deep into the temple to place and released the spells from the scrolls she obtained. Doing so destroyed the UFO but not without a price. All the positive energy has been used causing dark forces to awaken. The temple knows Lara can stop the evil and will do all it can to stop her. Trapped in the temple Lara falls asleep and in her dreams a knight tells her what to do to set things right. So starts the journey! In this mini game you travel through 3 different environments to get the items needed to complete it. There is a snowy area in which you use a snowmobile and the other two are floating island style levels; one being in the daytime with temple of Xian textures and a giant tree and the other being nighttime with some castle type settings. The game was so much fun and so original with retextured items objects and enemies! I did find it quite difficult as you spend most of the time on floating ledges so there is a lot of careful runs and jumps to avoid going splat! lol Some of the textures were really eye catching which really made the level so fantasy type. There was some custom audio but it was the texturing that really made it stand out. There is the clever idea if collecting thistle secrets to get to a secret area which is worth it to get a password for the secret zip and meet a certain someone! I had so much fun playing these levels and would play them over again! It took me just over 5 hours (I know! a long time I like to admire the scenery lol) and I managed to get a fair few secrets and the 3 thistles! ;) A brilliant mini game highly recommended to everyone! Play it now!" - Aims (30-Sep-2004) |
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| "An excellent level series from Elvis! There are so many wonderful things in this series. We have new puzzles new objects and new enemies too! The adventure starts in the Outer Temple which takes place in the Armageddon Temple complex at night around arctic surroundings. The rooms are nicely built and we also have a snowmobile here too! The next level The Source changes the entire surroundings and the place seems very heavenly too with its bright and colorful surroundings. More interesting puzzles abound here too such as turning the bull into gold and button pushing too. In the final level The Dark Side of the Source the place is dark and sinister looking. There are also interesting puzzles such as exploding your way across a bridge and some difficult jumping too. Overall this is an excellent level series that nobody should miss." - Relic Hunter (30-Jul-2004) |
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| "What can I say but oh my god! To me this is the best custom level I have ever played. I loved it so much because there were a lot of different environments and the texturing was really great and also very varied. I was really astonished by the different creative puzzles that are in these levels. They reached from burning plants to pulling around balls and everything that's in between. Another positive thing is that the level appeared very not linear to me so it's not just 'ah here's a door so around the corner is the switch for it'. What I also think of as very important is that in this level everything is very detailed and some rooms and environments are just there 'to be looked at' what gives the level a very special something so when there was a switch to be placed the author of this level not just created a 4*4 boxy room to place it but a whole environment around it. What I learned from this level is that I'm probably not gonna release my level that I have been working on also since 2002 after I saw this ;). At the end I just want to say that this level can totally catch up with anything Core ever did. Thank you for the great hours with this custom level." - Rene (09-Jul-2004) |
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| "Prepare yourself for a sumptuous feast painted with a master's palette on truly epic scale. This is the real deal; absolutely perfectly created by a genius artist's sure hand. Once you are drawn into the Outer Temple your world will slowly become Elvis' world. It will take over your waking and sleeping moments and if you're smart you'll surrender yourself because this is a journey you've been looking for all your Tomb Raiding life. This world is so vibrant that the colors will begin to shimmer around you while you breathlessly spin around surrounded by awesome beauty you'll keep muttering that it couldn't get more intellectually challenging or aesthetically gorgeous. But it does! None of us will ever forget that moment of awesome discovery in a totally magical world when we ran down the ivy covered hallways and emerged into the mist-shrouded beauty of the Source. The author never hesitates to remind us of the necessary Dark Side and just when you think you've kept your wits about you he'll kill you with laughter. Catch all those secrets along the way for a great ending; you'll catch a glimpse of the artist engaged in a fascinating dialogue with his muse about.... well I'll let you decide. We can only hope that he continues it." - Mezcal (06-Jul-2004) |
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| "This is one of the best levels ever made. The graphics in some of the areas could hold a claim to being the best ever. The feel of these levels is so surreal and strange that it's enough to give Richard Lawther nightmares. And it all plays just as good as it looks. Tons of things to do places to go and vast rooms and caves to admire. There are also quite a few new objects and even some new ways to use them. If that wasn't enough you even get a proper 'ending' unlike most levels which just dump you back to load screen when ever they feel like it. It still has a couple of flaws though. The first being the fact that you have to constantly traverse back and forth across very difficult terrain that should really only have to be crossed once or twice (perhaps put a shortcut in when a player has completed these very tough sections in future?) The second flaw being the occasional but extremely annoying fixed cameras that crop up here and there. These will frustrate you to hell and back like fixed cameras always do. Bad points aside then this is a brilliant set of beautiful levels that took me 6 hours to complete (picking up 6 secrets along the way)." - gfd (28-Jun-2004) |
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| "Funny thing this 'rating' business. We try to assign numbers to a person's creativity originality and hard work put into making a level. Yet in the many hundreds of levels I've played a few just stand out in my mind in a way which defies numerical quantification. Psiko Magplus Inchdix Rene Josep and Richard come to mind as having taken the LE beyond a tool and made something really quite marvelous with it. I came away from this latest creation of Elvis' with the same feeling. A wonderful combination of gaming design lighting and imagination combine to make this one something very special. The frequent level jumps are a bit annoying but the whole is something not to be missed. If you're a fan of TR2 as I am you'll feel right at home here with scenarios ranging from Tibetan temples to Flying temples. And fans of 1001 Arabian Nights will even find some flying carpets. Oh and brush up on your Latin too... And well one personal little pet peeve - it's nice to see someone finally remake a familiar enemy from TR4 in a new image and well done at that. The long and short of it is that this is a very special game (there's tons of neat stuff not mentioned here) that should NOT be missed by any serious raider." - Tombaholic (12-Jun-2004) |
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| "Wow! This game beats any other custom level I've ever played and that includes the best among the best! What are you saying Core? Floating Islands? Well sorry to disappoint you but that belongs in pre-history. I don't even like levels that look like Floating Islands a lot but let's do the man some justice: his Floating Islands are top of the tops. No flaws. Perfect. But this isn't all about Floating Islands it is a wonderfully made mix of TR2 and TR3 in inspiration and it also has the baddies from TLR together with the need to jump from level to level making everything so much more confusing but at the same time so perfect. In this level you'll encounter the most beautiful sceneries a well balanced dose of action and lots of mind-boggling puzzles which will keep you occupied for quite a long while. Have I mentioned how most of the puzzles are truly original as in never seen before? I haven't followed the walkthrough and in result I only found one thistle out of three - yes do remember you should search thoroughly in order to get the 'good ending' where supposedly the author gives you the key to an encrypted file which will allow you to jump levels and dozy around as you please - but I was still entitled to two whole endings (yes of course I tried both) in which a limousine awaits your arrival to take you back home on a well deserved vacation after having faced so many perils in a row. I wonder how the limousine will manage to get out of the Floating Island it stands upon and get to some regular road... No need to say any more. This is what I call a truly inspired and inspirational game. etux I didn't know you had it in you! Please accept my humble admiration coupled with four well deserved tens..." - Jorge22 (31-Mar-2004) |
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| "I've been dabbling in these custom levels for several years now but I don't think I've seen anything quite as varied and refreshing as eTux has given us in this magnificent set of interlocking levels. I played through the first couple of levels with eyes glazed and jaw slack stunned by the visual beauty and the ingenious variations on familiar themes such as the ice apes and the parachute effect after long falls. This is not a venture for the faint of heart even though I found none of the moves to be impossibly difficult. CC deserves a big hand of applause for her marvelous walkthrough; I would have been hopelessly lost without it. My ardor began to wane somewhat in the floating islands segment not so much because of the surrealistic surroundings but because the gamer was repeatedly obliged to make his way tediously back over previously plowed ground to a centrally located platform in order to progress in the game. I was tempted to enable the flycheat until this point. However when I tried to do so I found that the game crashed upon attempted execution. I'm not sure I like the philosophy of 'play it my way or don't play it at all'. There are a number of occasions where I feel use of the flycheat is justified: (1) when I'm browsing through a level in preparation for writing a walkthrough or (2) when I'm facing a particularly tricky move that my challenged fingers simply cannot master (which never happened here I'm glad to say) and (3) when I get a feeling of 'been there done that' (as in this case) and I simply want to move on without having to re-invent the wheel and waste valuable time in the process. I would put this game in the same category as I've previously placed Tomb Raider Peru: It's a wonderful adventure to play--once. The major difference is that I was able to modify the script files to play Tomb Raider Peru with the flycheat without which I would never have been able to complete the game. Fortunately I didn't need the flycheat to complete AT2; it just took me longer than I would have preferred. An expression of my opinion to level builders in general: disable the flycheat if you wish but don't go to extraordinary measures to thwart the persistent among us. DOZY was given to us for a reason. Having said all this I heartily recommend this wonderful series to everyone. It is truly unique." - Phil (28-Mar-2004) |
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| "Wow I really enjoyed this one. More like it please. Such amazing textures and colours I spent a long time just standing and staring at them. I loved the dead ninjas lying there in their own blood and kept expecting to meet some hideous beast to account for it but I never did. I also liked the sound the ninjas made that I shot really made me chuckle. I did things with the snowmobile I never thought it was possible to do and in another part I had a really helpful red guide to follow. I thought the cathedral area with the hidden pits where you have to use a blue crystal to show the safe path over was pure genius. I loved the area with the vulture nests and the part where you hear the x-files music before entering the space-ship was brilliant. Thank God there were no impossible timed runs here to spoil it although one or two were a little tight. Absolutely a gem of a game and one I could certainly play again.......and again.......and again." - Tortoise3 (13-Mar-2004) |
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| "At last the eagerly awaited follow up to the first AT level. Well worth the wait. The basic idea is to obtain an artefact from each of the three main areas and what a lot of fun there is to be had achieving this goal. The Outer Temple: There are some really excellent puzzles to solve in this section and an exciting snowmobile ride through occasionally quite hard to negotiate caverns. Some of the areas to explore are huge and confusing. Take your time and examine everything minutely - it's all well worth a good look in any case. Even the underwater maze is lovely and that's not how I generally describe underwater mazes. You get some interesting things to set fire to with a succession of torches and some really spectacular flipmap effects. The Source: This starts with a flyby of possibly the most breathtaking area I've ever seen in a custom level. There is much to do in and around this gorgeous area - puzzles tricky jumps a tight timed run - surely something to delight everyone and all done in the most inventive manner. The Dark Side of the Source: There are more lovely puzzles in this section and I was most impressed to see the hand of Midas. Our old friend the bull is here and as usual it takes some coaxing to get the dozy beast to follow you. Stupid animal. Demigods turn up in the most unexpected places; in fact there are a lot of unexpected things going on. Elvis really has one hell of an imagination. We actually get to meet him at the end of the level and it sounds as though he has some dreadful fate planned for poor Lara in the future. Intriguing. I really can't praise this highly enough. It's one of the most original and inventive levels I've ever played. If you haven't already downloaded it why not? Go and do so immediately." - Jay (26-Feb-2004) |
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| "I have to say that I like the first part better. Graphics in this one partly I did not like so much. Some of the colours were just a little too colourful for my taste and rather intense. All the level jumps at the beginning got on my nerves. Lara had to do tasks to progress back and forth and you need to be observant to not totally lose orientation which negatively impacted my gaming fun. Puzzles however were really well designed and not too hard. Music and sound was good. Enemies varied (did not like the sight of the white enemies). Could not play the bonus as I only found one of the three thistles. So I am a little disappointed but it is still recommended but a matter of taste." - Navi (25-Feb-2004) |
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| "What a game! Full of puzzles jumping tricks and traps and extraordinary surroundings. The levels can be played in any order which adds to the challenge of this quest to save the earth from evil and destroy the temple. Elvis says in the readme that these levels will be played in 2-3 hours well it took me nearly 7 hours and a great deal of fun! I don't think my Lara has ever screamed so much from falling since a lot of places here are set high up in the air - think floating islands - and there's a lot of tricky jumping involved. You also get to drive the snowmobile in a tricky way don't think it can't be done - just do it! A lot of special effects made me just go - WOW! There's also a lot of humor in these levels not the least if you have found the three secret thistles and get to meet the creator himself - finally! ;-)" - G.Croft (24-Feb-2004) |
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| "The long awaited sequel and without a doubt it was worth the wait. This is an impressive and epic game which holds a massive amount of gameplay and puzzles and as such is a bit of a showcase what you can do with the level editor. Outer Temple (9/8/8/8 100 min. 4 secrets): The action never stops - but I do not mean this in terms of enemies and battle (only a few coloured ninjas and cool ice beasts around). It is more in terms of work Lara has to do to progress. Several torch puzzles some keys buttons timed jumping lots of swimming including a tight sequence through slicer dicers and more. I liked the use of waterfalls a lot sound effects are neat and the ninja blowing up the bridge is a definite highlight. Then there is a cleverly designed boulder run and lots of fun with the snowmobile. From a builder's perspective the way Elvis managed to break a long fall of Lara is unique and has never been done before (which says a lot after more than 3 years of the editor out on the market). The secrets are often in their own areas which is great and are actually not too hard to get but still fun. What I did not like so much in this part: It can easily get frustrating in its non-linearity the texturing had too much colour for me and seemed utterly mixed and lacking an overall theme and the monkey swing maze - though not too tedious - was a pain to go through. I got stuck once after jumping over a gap with the snowmobile and then going back as I had seen a waterhole but that was kind of my own fault. And then of course you get the huge ice palm tree and melt it into a lake and all those little gripes are forgotten. The Source (10/9/10/9 100 min. 4 secrets): From the fabulous starting flyby I knew I would love this part. Floating in eerie space this has a great structure revolving around a three-button-puzzle which subsequently opens up the various areas. There are simply too many things to do here to mention them all but to just pick some of my favourites: the bull meeting the Midas hand (even though it did not technically work so well in my game with the explosion occurring first the the actual effect quite a bit later) the jumps around the trees the use of the transparent red guide the beautiful windmill and all the shafts of light. It is still easy to get disoriented but there are a few helpful hints that keep you going. Only a few demigods as enemies around but you won't miss any as you are busy finding your way. Dark Side of the Source (10/9/10/10 70 min. 8 secrets): I am reviewing this as a third part in itself even though in reality Elvis sends you through all three levels back and forth here constantly building up towards a fantastic Grande Finale which nicely carries the storyline. But first things first: I thought the 20 minutes in the Castle with the 'crystal hints' were wonderfully inspired gameplay and the puzzle with the explosions a true highlight in custom level history. Again a torch is used and the arch structures were awesome. The vultures are very suitable enemies around their nest areas - creepy atmosphere there. On your trip back through the previous parts there are more special encounters like the X-files moment followed by a short but hilarious sequence fighting Alien raptors (very cool) the placing of the guardians and eventually the Dark Spell (scroll) causing a superb ending of the story indeed. But even then it is not over as you get a final treat of meeting the author himself. All in all a unique experience although every now and then in the 4.5 hours of net gaming time I thought maybe less could have been more as indeed it seems Elvis has packed almost every possible thing the editor has to offer into this epic. But it is simply too much fun to rate gameplay down because of that. Looking forward to his next piece of work - I have a feeling we will maybe not have to wait another two years for it ;-) " - Michael (22-Feb-2004) |
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| "As much as I loved Armageddon's Temple 1 I wouldn't compare it to the second installation simply because this game is superior to the first. The author has successfully combined good gameplay with an amazingly beautiful environment. I just love colourful areas and this game especially the level 'The Source' captured me almost immediately. Of course I didn't enjoy this level only because of the surroundings but for the puzzles as well which are intriguing enough to satisfy every player. The constant change of levels though at some point just after one task's completion wasn't to my liking. The levels were very confusing and I believe most of the back tracking needed was redundant. However the way the levels are structured there is no chance of missing a part as you have to complete the tasks in every area to be able to progress so rest assured that you'll eventually visit everything there is in this game; that's a success. Moreover this is the first time I saw a builder relieving the player of the anxiety to lose a torch. Usually we need to be very careful of where we place it in an attempt to keep it handy for the case that we will need it again. Many of us know about the bug that occurs when you change levels the torch often disappears and the unlucky player is left with a problem which can't be resolved; unfortunately you have to replay some parts or the game which is a nuisance. Another point added for that as well as for the retextured enemies I dislike the poisonous creatures the use of the guide is something not often encountered and the clever puzzles throughout the levels. Some of the items the player will be searching for are a hand which will be used in many areas keys and the thistles; secrets that will lead to a bonus as well as to the author's picture followed by an on screen conversation unfortunately without the characters present between the author and Lara. The most impressive area for me was the one with the three buttons that you needed to operate to form combinations so as to visit three different levels of that area the TOP MIDDLE AND BOTTOM. Some issues that occurred during my playing hours were resolved with the cooperation of the author which I'd like to thank. There are sixteen secrets of which I found five in 'Outer Temple' five in 'The Source' and two in 'Dark Side of the Source'. Not bad I would say for someone that's not good in finding secrets besides luckily not all of them are needed for the bonus. This game is capable of competing with the best out there in fact it IS one of the best and if you don't play it then it will be your lose. Well done Elvis and nice picture by the way. J" - Kristina (22-Feb-2004) |
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| "It's been a long time a level kept me puzzling at night and neglect my duties during the day but this level did. From start to end it was highly entertaining the puzzles are great (like disarming the landmines and make sure you won't catch fire pushing a button) and the scenery wonderful. Not too many enemies just enough to keep you alert. Great jumping to do every now and then and a nasty ride with the snowmobile. And who would think of jump and hang on a ceiling tile to activate something very sneaky. Also the use of torches was very clever and I just loved the way you get rid of the bull (after he crushed some tiles of course). And if you wonder why the doors above the waterfall don't open don't worry you'll get back there eventually. There is a lot more to say about this level but you should just play and enjoy this it's one of the best around and I was very sorry to see the end. (And I did it all without any help I'm a little bit proud of that actually must have had a good working brain last week lol) 21-2-2004" - Josi (22-Feb-2004) |
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| "Just don't miss these levels; they are outstanding to say the least. Beautiful environments and fabulous game play throughout. I don't know how Elvis kept the pace up but he did and you will never get bored here. Some of the most spectacular places to visit and items to collect and use along the way made this a full weeks worth of pleasure for me the windmill was stunning and it had to be my fav place of all because I have a passion for windmills. Enemies were Ninjas Yetis alien raptors Demigods and vultures with a swarm of locusts thrown in for good measure. Atmosphere throughout was perfect with the dizzy heights and spooky caves the carpet ledges and the beautiful water areas the colours in these levels are truly amazing and just have to be seen. There are some special things to do like burning plants and melting ice you get to use the snow mobile and you even enter an alien ship. There is so much to say about these levels I will let everyone else say more I think everyone enjoyed this and had their special moments. Meeting Elvis at the end was so sweet of him after hiding himself for so long. Thank you Elvis for that and also for a perfect set of levels which I will without a doubt go back and play again." - Moonpooka (22-Feb-2004) |
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| "Since I am the last one in the review list and you read much about this level I do it shortly (my reviews are always short LOL) well nevermind - this is great and impressive with new textures (in some places there are windmills - I liked those) and new puzzles and very good looking flybys. There are many things to do and this level will keep you busy for a long time but it's worth every minute of playing. Elvis has done wonderful work here and finally we saw Elvis after a long time of refusal to show himself now to see Elvis you must find three thistle objects. My recommendation: don't miss these levels." - Yoav (21-Feb-2004) |
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| "Floating Islands meets COTW meets Walhalla. That's the best way I can describe this visually stunning masterpiece. Add to the mix a lot of techno wizardry (some of which I still can't figure out) and this will have you hooked till the end. The gameplay of most sections is generally of moderate difficulty but the overall game seems harder because of the vast and sometimes confusing non-linear design. There are many choices that can be made and it's sometimes worrisome to leave an area with so many tasks still not done - my advice is just get on with it - it all resolves itself in the end. I didn't love every moment of this game however: some of the puzzles involving pushable items seemed to drag on and involve too many repetitive jumps in between and a couple of the puzzles seemed too oblique and the underwater swimming sections seemed designed always to snare Lara on her own ponytail - all minor points when you look at the game as a whole - most of which played like a dream. A big thumbs up!" - Dick (18-Feb-2004) |
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| "Oh boy! you guys are in for a treat. Elvis has outdone himself. It was an absolute pleasure to beta test this. There are a number of levels in here and sometimes I was surprised to slip from one into the other with the same name but this may have had something to do with the size of the levels or the way the levels need to go to allow the player to get around all areas. It also helped with health as I was very low on a number of occasions. The opening load screen shows a map which gives a useful idea of the areas accompanied by lovely music. You are going to see beautiful and colourful rooms excellent lighting new enemies new objects great puzzles. You will ride a snowmobile to an enormous underground ice kingdom over chasms the sides of canyons over bridges; do a monkey swing maze over lava; climb around jungle type settings; stung by bees near a river with a turning windmill; Oriental even Barkhang type buildings to make your way around; you're even abducted up into an alien ship. Starting out are the levels called OUTER TEMPLE (outer temple of Armageddon we start here where that level ended) next comes THE SOURCE think Obsidian Heights but daytime the underparts of the rocks have greenery so you feel like all this is floating in the sky. This is a huge area and Elvis has employed the fog for the distance. The idea here is the three push-button puzzle not Egyptian symbols this time but precious metals gold silver and bronze. Pushing the right combination gets you to different areas. Pay attention to the awesome flyby as you enter The Source. And then we have the DARK SIDE OF THE SOURCE think Floating Islands at nighttime. This area was very unusual temples with disappearing floors so you could fall through to nothingness and exploding you're way across three bridges. Along the way you get the tools and the clues for how to proceed. I'd recommend taking a note of what's written on what you pick up like the scroll Elvis explains you may lose them through the levels and you do need the information. Cool enemies like ice-apes demigods bees a very good bull run (yes there's a bull but wait 'til you see what happens to him!) a great red ghost and raptor screening vultures. Some long swims that I guarantee are not boring climbs jumps (some very difficult ones trying to get from one rock in space to another) shimmys monkeyswings ropes dives. The ultimate aim here is to get three thistle secrets. And I would NEVER have found them if it wasn't for Elvis's help because of what needs to be done to get them. Placing these lets you enter a cool looking house to have a 'talk' with Elvis himself who then gives you the code to open the Bonus level. There are numerous 'extra' areas that slowed me down first time through that are well textured and can be explored but I found nothing there. Second time playing took me 4hrs 19mins and I still didn't locate or pick up 5 of the 16 hidden secrets. I can see even very experienced players having difficulty and asking for help. But I highly recommend the levels and it now enters the 'most memorable' levels category in my mind. This level will not let you go even if I went off for a break I was thinking about what I could do to move on. Hours of fun. A great job Elvis excellent." - CC (16-Feb-2004) |
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