Level reviews

"I liked the typhoon and the camera on it, also the butterfly effect death and the fall sound. Combat was disappointing, we get all the ammo but nothing except from the shotgun, then we can't kill the chicken because it's out of reach without explosives. Unless the "nightmare" was exactly to give hope then take it away, and if so, then my reception was just like intended. But just out of curiosity, I cheated for all weapons and their sounds are still customized, so maybe I can hear them legit in the next level." - DJ Full

"Another early Lukasz level and another profound disappointment. It seems to be an experiment in just showcasing a few hectic battles with familiar TR2 enemies (the big bird attacking the dogs and guards inside a cage was actually a funny sight) and the Nightmare in Vegas textures which are rather haphazardly applied and don't really create a good aesthetic impression. I was also annoyed by the fact that Winston kept getting in Lara's way and blocking her (intentionally or not). Not the best of Lukasz's early efforts, I'm afraid." - Ryan

"Well, that happened. I know that this level draws from it's official counterpart in TR2, but it really gave off a different feel. Unlike the fun-loving excursion that was "Nightmare in Vegas", this one just felt disorienting. And it didn't seem like much of a shooter, due to me constantly trying to figure out where I was. Probably just my personal distaste for some of the textures and design choices. The door to the pit of death was actually a lot funnier than it should have been. Not awful, but nowhere near great." - Xela

"Trying to find a Las Vegas level I ended up with this early Lukasz Croft level and I have to say it is a bit of a let down since I already played some really nice level made by this author. The level was short and the game-play was limited to pushing a few buttons, kill Bartoli thugs and dogs and dodge bullets. Funny Part: Lara opens a door and shoots a butterfly then jumps into black depth with a weird scream sound (had to play that part a few times). Maybe an unfinished end or humorous add-on by the author. The atmosphere was ok with a mix of TR2 and TR4 background sounds. Textures seemed all to come from TR2 and didn't look so well applied, as there were many stretched ones. The lighting was a bit harsh on the eyes and the level ended quicker than expected by crashing to the desktop. The most interesting part was the bird monster but it never came out of the cage. Only recommended for those who love to shoot and avoid game play." - Blue43

"A short 15 minute level with TR2 feeling. Not only textures and some rooms from the "Nightmare in Vegas" level were used here, but also Lara's TR2 moves and sounds. I think the architecture was quite nice here. Very good, I thought, was exspecially the hotel suite. A quick raid, with not much to do, but some nice textures." - manarch2

"It's been a while since I last played one of Lukasz's levels, but I still recall his style (probably because to some extent I find them quite appealing). As usual you get plenty of custom sounds here and they're all excellent and quite nostalgic (coming directly from TR2), with the exception of Lara's scream which has been completely distorted for some reason. Speaking of nostalgia, this level borrows a lot from the bonus level of The Golden Mask, so it could be a plus for fans of that game. While gameplaywise this is just your average run and gun type of level, there are some nice touches, such as the birdman in the end trapped in a cage with a number of foes and killing them all, one by one. On the other hand, there is a door that leads to an unfinished area - it's actually a pit that will kill you, much like if you were jumping off the window, but with the exception it just feels like a loose end; and the level ends quite abruptly just a few minutes in. I actually laughed when I saw Pokemon Venomoth flying through the door I just referred to, simply because it looked quite misplaced. 10 minutes, 1 secret. 07/09" - Treeble

"At such a hotel I would never spend the night. Or was this maybe no hotel, but a property of Lara? In Las Vegas?. No notion. Anyway very strangely. Rowdies running around. And shooting-furious types. And dogs. And the gigantic bird man from TR2. Luckily one must not surprise for long, because after a quarter hour one is already at the level end. Here it was taken over a lot from TR2. Nevertheless, the textures are ok, but sometimes very strange Result: Only for the small level hunger" - Scottie

"The only reason that I downloaded this level is because I have never played a Vegas-styled one before, and after playing it I wished I hadn't bothered. It basically involved shooting enemies and making simple jumps...well, simple apart from the one where a flyby camera decided to kick in while I was jumping over some spikes. The textures are decent in some parts, but are overly stretched in others, and the lighting isn't particularly well done either. The secret that I found constituted pushing a button to open a door right next to it, which isn't exactly good placement in my opinion. The choice of enemies, objects and sounds were nice however, and easily gave me that 'TR2-feeling' that I love so much. It's just such a shame that the atmosphere was ruined by the end of the world lying in full view behind a door...which kind of further points out the fact that this level is both buggy and unfinished." - Spike

"Probably the shortest level by Lukasz I've ever played....I got through it in about 20 minutes or so. And I must sadly admit that it was 20 horrid minutes too. This isn't the best he can come up with, I've clearly seen that in later releases. I have never played Nightmare in Vegas, but I'm sure it will be far more to my taste than this. The entire level is completely and cruelly depraved of any potential gameplay. The only "puzzles" were to press a few buttons and unlock one single door. And what on earth was Winston doing there in the first place???? He was just a waste of pixels and got in the way everywhere....at one point he pushed Lara through a door into a room soaked in utter darkness(a room she had opened by pressing a button) without a floor and thus she fell to her death. Completely and utterly pointless and a waste of space. Otherwise it was just picking up weapons and ammo and running around shooting as usual(this time Venetian thugs, dobermans, a fish in the pool and even one single and completely malplaced butterfly). There was also a bird monster which could have elevated the gameplay slightly, but it was unfortunately locked in a cage where it would pummel a dog and a few thugs if you waited long enough. Being the sharpest knife in the drawer is obviously not a demand when playing a level like this....you couldn't get lost if you tried really hard. I found one secret and it got pretty annoying to hear Lara go "mhm" every time she picked up one of the approximately 8 pickups or so you could find scattered in one tiny room alone. Lukasz has gotten pretty notorious for his lack of ending triggers and although the level did actually end it was at an entirely pointless moment when Lara runs into a wall decorated with an overly stretched poster of Bartoli(what's THAT doing in Las Vegas anyways?). And oh, the game crashed to the desktop as soon as it ended as well. The lights were lacking in some areas and nearly cut you in the eyes in others. The textures were psychedelic remains from the 70's and the colours were nausea-inducing. That's one home I'd never live in. No music to talk of and the atmosphere of an empty lunch box, the download was way too large for this anyways and there is really nothing here to recommend or even anything else worth mentioning." - Selene

"No idea why this is classified as a shooter level, probably because there's nothing else to do. Only very few thugs to encounter and you get loads and loads of ammo that you don't need at all. Interesting textures though. The shooter level "Opera" by this author is way better. 20-10-05" - Tinka

Perhaps yes for other people, but for me a level where you don't have to think or to explore isn't a level. Only shoot, shoot and shoot. How many time the author spent building this one, half an hour? A level very short with psychedelic textures and a very simple architecture. Objects aren't bad, but there were no puzzles, no cameras, no melodies, game crashes at the end,... I know this author knows how to make things better, but this time he didn't want. - Jose

"Well if this is Las Vegas remind me never to visit! I'm imagining this is the kind of Vegas that Elvis must have seen when he was popping all those pills. For 15 minutes you have to fend off the killing advances of a load of thugs, dogs, rats, and a butterfly, yep, a butterfly. Other than that, and a secret stash that you can't really miss, there isn't much to do, and frankly the odd texturing of stars and musical notes made me happy that it only lasted that long." - Sash

"I always like revisiting the scenes of former fun and frolicks from the original games. It doesn't really matter how simple they are. Here we have the textures and hotel setting of Nightmare In Las Vegas. This however is a very short level, and very limited in places. Winston shows up looking all sinister and spooky in a darkened pool room with a dangerous fish in the water. We come across extremes, like an all-black-and-white textured room that was hard on the eye, a big bird caged with a gunman and dog - hang around long enough and they meet a horrible end, and then a darkened purple coloured room, very like the backstage setting, and for me this is where it all ended, because I couldn't get back up to the hotel again. It comes across as very unfinished, which is a pity, because I do like this type of nostaglic level. Oh, almost forgot, there's plenty of gunmen to shoot to keep you occupied." - CC

"In this level be prepared to get shot at a lot. Lara starts out in a hotel with her manservant Winston. I tried to lock him up in the secret room but he was too agile for the girl. Textures reminded me of the pop-art we had in the 70s. And when you come to the part of the big bird in the cage, have a look as the big bird will pommel the prisoner and the dog to death, yuck 23-04-2005" - Gerty

"Well, this level is not a hot stuff. But let's make it a little bit more interesting. Let's play it without using medipacks. This way the task wil be harder, but not too hard so either. The textures are average, but there are some added sounds, and well... well maybe it worth one try. :) You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have an English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/15/las_vegas.htm " - Obig

"Well, I'm sorry to say it, Lukasz old chap; but you're not even bothering to make a playable level with this one, are you? You just want to show off the 'Nightmare in Vegas' objects and textures. Yes, they're very nice I admit, but they're put to no effective use other than to provide a sort of wild pastiche of the original (which was, in itself, a pastiche of course). This is simply another 'Lukasz wants us to run into each room shooting madly' level, and (yet again) it has a disappointing conclusion." - Orbit Dream

"Dangerous dogs and rats in the bedrooms, plus man eating fish in the bath. Hmmm, time for serious words with the management methinks. Nightmare in Vegas is one of my all time favourite TR levels so it was lovely to see some of those textures again, although their use was definitely a bit hit and miss. It's a very short shooter basically - a spot of mindless fun if you don't expect too much." - Jay

"I liked the wacky-retro setting and being able to lock Winston away. But just as I was getting warmed up to this level, it was over. It is even shorter and more abrupt than 'Temple of Creatures'. I think this author has some real talent, and I truly wish they would take the time to lengthen and finish their work." - Duncan

"Hmm this was a strange level. Too short for my taste. A huge plus for the TR2 monster in the cage though :) This levels would have gotten higher scores from me if it had been longer, less predictive and harder. Nothing wrong with the atmosphere though. I like psychedelic scenes from the 70's! Strange end though.. I went back to desktop after stepping at a different tile. A bug? 2005/04/24" - QRS

"Lukasz just seems to continue to come up with level after level. Again, this one is a bit of a shooter and lasts for just over 10 minutes with one moment that is a bit tough as four baddies open fire on Lara at the same time. You get a few weird textures that hurt the eye and look like straight from the 70s, a brief encounter with Winston and a hilarious chicken in a cage near the end." - Michael

"It is a short level with textures from Las Vegas and a few baddies plus a fish. I am not fond of this kind of levels so I didn't like this one either. Lara shoots a lot of baddies, finds a key and opens a few doors with buttons. That's about it so there's nothing interesting in it even though I had hoped it might have been something different from the usual. Give it a try if you like but don't expect much." - Kristina