Level reviews

"Readme and story give a hint but don't say it's for avoiding a massive softlock - I mean DON'T move to next level without taking a star from each of the first two levels. Other pickups are abundant but not a must, though revolver and explosives help a lot. Makes more sense to play and rate this trilogy together, which forms a solid adventure, and that's why I rated and reviewed all parts identically. In short - you can feel the messiness, but the build is creative and recommended. There are Italian voice lines, "liberato" of the fairy forest being an understandable objective, but I would add the english version anyway - though I don't make a good fairy, so hire someone else..." - DJ Full

"By following Harry's walkthrough, I kept a savegame and booted this one immediately after the previous level. It's a much better level all around, but some issues still remain such as flickering/overlapping rooms and I have no idea however Harry even found the way through the ceiling to the two secrets at the top of the castle. Gameplay revolves around finding a key and colleting a star while blowing many skeletons to kingdom come. Harry says to keep the savegame for part three, so I guess my raid for tomorrow is already set. 15 minutes, 2 secrets. 02/21" - Treeble

"A bit better than the previous level, but only a bit. It notices an advance in the architecture and lighting, but there are a lot of paper walls and missing textures in the roofs near the tower. Again, excessive pickups, and only the explosive ammo is useful here, only skeletons to deal with. There are several fixed cameras, but not useful cameras and also not extra musics to create atmosphere. We'll see the advances in the next level." - Jose

"This second level I actually found slightly worse than the previous. The environments are nicer, I liked the castle textures and blowing up skeletons with explosive ammo proved somewhat enjoyable, but there's not much else going on. A Portal Guardian and gate key to find, a brief excursion on the rooftop (a sequence that positively shouts out to this builder's Complex Simplicity entry) and an underwater sequence to accomplish. Better visually, but a bit of a let down gameplay- wise." - Ryan

"I found this to be a rather odd level. There are way too many walk-/climbthrough walls in here that made this level feel rather unrealistic. Set in a kind of castle, the atmosphere is okay as well as the textures (some of them looked a bit strange inside the castle) and I liked the fixed cameras; somehow this level reminded me a bit on the map of his later Keeper of the Seven Keys. Gameplaywise exploring is your only task and while being rather uneventful most of the time, the occasional skeleton provided a bit of action; the half-unmarked ladder wasn't so nice though and all in all I left this level feeling underwhealmed. 10 minutes." - manarch2

"Even though this level was built in 2004 it looks like a builder's first try in the early days of the level editor with a rather mediocre texturing, some very dark spots and a missing gameplay. I found it very unfair to chase a dozen of skeletons on Lara right at the start while she is still running around looking for a weapon. It takes some time (and medipacks) until she finally finds the crossbow, a key and the 2 puzzle pieces needed to proceed. Very strange though to find shotgun, uzi and grenade ammo, but none of the appropiate weapons. And what was the golden star good for? I did not find the crowbar to pick the star off the wall, but nevertheless I could finish the level. After less than 20 minutes it's over." - Jerry

"This level is better than the previous one, because at least it is playable with no crash. Although there are some irritating things here like the unmarked climbable wall to find the ornate handle. The setting is somewhat original , a castle (rather small) with different staircases leading sometimes to the same floor. There are some thin walls unfortunately ; and while the author has make an effort to design a real place , some of the new textures seemed to me a bit strange. This said, I quite like the central tower. There are plenty of skeletons in this place, so the explosive arrows collected in the 1st episode come in handy. A short level which can be completed in 10 minutes if you know where the unmarked climbale wall is , and if you don't mind finding the secrets on the roof and collect all the pickups." - eRIC

"Even shorter at 15 minutes than part 1 and set in a nice castle. Unfortunately it has many unnecessarily dark corners and many walls are rather thin. Enemies are skeletons in abundance but you do find the needed weaponry. Some good use of fixed cams with the windows and a nice double secret on and around the tower are the highlights. You leave with your second golden star of the series." - Michael

"Again like the first instalment this is quite interesting to look at, this time in a white castle, but the game in itself lacks somewhat. For the 20 minutes it lasts you are running around collecting the Hathor effigy pieces and finally a star in a watery cavern underneath the castle. What I did like though was the placement of the two secrets, but even that was odd as when I collected the first I checked my stats and it registered as 2 secrets but then I realised I must have hovered over the second secret and that is how it registered even though I hadn't collected it at the time. Let's hope the third level in the series has a bit more to offer in all categories." - Sash

"This time it is set in a sort of castle setting and the main goal here is to get the Hathor Effigy and the Ornate Handle. You can be fooled to grab the glass like roof and suddenly you are upon the roof, but that is not the way as there is no way down. There is also no crowbar to find in this level so if you didn't take it with you from level one that Star still be there for the next Raider. 20-05-2005" - Gerty

"I was pleased to find that this level is linked to part one so I could take all my pickups through, especially the explosive crossbow ammo because this castle is heavily populated with skeletons. I didn't find the actually crossbow in level one, but luckily I found one quite quickly in this part so an enjoyable bye bye Mr Bony session ensued. Once I had peace and quiet I was able to explore and find lots of pickups plus a portal guardian, key and, after a spot of swimming, a gold star. Then a quick run around the battlements completed this section of the series." - Jay

"The second level in this series is a curiously half-baked affair; the sort of level that appears to be heading toward something memorable but which comes to a frightfully abrupt halt before it's had time to reach it. In this case we have a rather well-presented Castle (the exterior camera angles are lovely) with very little to do inside. You run; you collect an effigy; you swim a bit; you end the level. A Star on a wall remained un-collected due to the absence of a Crowbar, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that I should have done much more before the somewhat premature end. Alright if you want a 20 minute run-around in rather pleasant surroundings; but not much else." - Orbit Dream

"The second level in this series is made memorable for another climbable wall, this one not defined at all that I could see. I spent way too much time on the roof and the tower, trying to get down. There is a way up to that area without using the handle/effigy and if used, the player will find no way down or back. Once in the castle, keep the binoculars handy to find the effigy head and the crossbow. Without the crossbow, the skeletons are manageable but without the handle and the head, there is no way to proceed. Once on the roof and in the tower, I found the fixed camera to be an irritant. My game ended with the level crashing at the start of an outside archway and again, I spent too much time trying to find a way around that. There isn't one - that seems to be the level end. As the 'Read me' is in Italian, it was good of Cheyenne to translate the information that this is the second in a six part series and that we may need a savegame to continue." - Bene

"This one is a bit better than the first level but barely. It has some very dark corners so look carefully, usually they have items you need. There is a nice tower outside that gives the player the idea of being on a castle but all that after you use the portal guardian. There is an illegal path that gives access to the roof but don't follow it; it's not the right way to play the level. The enemies are a lot of skeletons but once you find the crossbow they pose no threat. I found two secrets and I have the feeling that the trigger for the secret chime on the roof was wrong. A nice effort but it needs much work." - Kristina