Level reviews

"As the builder says, it works nicely before another competition level. I can add: also after another. No remarkable or epic stuff here, just a stroll through a small oriental world - but everything is in place as nicely as in the bigger adventures, while the aesthetics remain pleasant." - DJ Full

"Lara climbs up and down a giant tree to tackle several challenges before claiming her prize. Not sure how the player would know that said tree is climbable on all four sides; I guess the only clue is that eventually there is no where else to go but up. Other things I took issue with include doors opening without a camera cue, randomly placed hidden passages behind solid waterfall textures and foliage, and jumpswitches placed in nonsensical locations (no architect is going to bother to build such a mechanism into natural rock!). There are some simple pushable puzzles to solve, a timed run, and some trap sequences to conquer. Granted most of the challenges were for secrets, but they were welcome either way. Visuals could use a bit of work, the rooms come across as boxy, especially when they use natural surfaces for their walls. I quite liked the lighting though. 37 minutes." - JesseG

"(6) Gameplay & Puzzles: I enjoyed the concept of climbing up and down a tree and using branches to access various areas and perform tasks. However, the tasks themselves were not very engaging or creative. I was having an OK time until the final 25% of the level; the annoying maze and a lackluster pushblock puzzle left me ending the game feeling a bit let down in terms of gameplay. (7) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: Enemies were few and far between and I would have liked to have seen wraiths used at some point. Object decor was great, and I think the highlight of the level is the secret system. You initially start off with a super easy secret, but then the other secrets become more and more challenging, and I thought that this was interestingly designed. I do think the blade traps next to secret #2 were overly obnoxious though, as the ceiling is too low. Traps along the "main path" were too easy. (5) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: Atmosphere is very lacking for the most part, with the environment being too cubic. The one area that has great atmosphere is the final outdoor courtyard, but you only spend a moment there before you finish the game. Given that the builder used a bright and colorful palette for her lighting and texturing, I feel that chipper Oriental background music would have been more appropriate than an eerie background ambient loop. Cameras were OK, with a nice flyby when entering the tree area, but I do think there should have been a hint camera for the waterfall that you can walk through, as well as the hidden foliage. (7) Lighting & Textures: Texturing is decent; a bit wallpapered at times, and I wasn't a fan of using a ladder/monkeyswing texture for non-ladder/monkeyswing tiles. Lighting is hit and miss; it's fine in some areas, and in other areas, the colored lighting is just too much (same goes with the colored lighting choices of some statics). Overall, neither the gameplay nor the aesthetics was memorable/engaging for me, and I would sum up this level as "uneventful". 6/7/5/7." - nerdfury

"This level is enjoyable enough while it lasts, but it doesn't present anything particularly challenging or involving, and the ending is also startlingly abrupt (it kind of ends in a quite attractive courtyard where more could have been done, maybe the builder just ran out of time). In gameplay terms, what there is works well, and the majority of the level flows smoothly in a linear fashion with no real stopping points (most of the difficult parts are only for secrets), the pushable puzzles are easily solved and even the maze shouldn't have you too confused. Environment-wise, there's nothing that stands out either. What I mean is, it's not badly constructed, but the rooms are rather plain and empty with very little added to spice them up a bit more. Overall, nothing bad, but nothing memorable either and doesn't quite come up to the best of BtB2006." - Ryan

"There's really not much to say about this level - it's very short at 20 minutes, very simple in its design - both in gameplay and the looks - and apart of a few nice tasks and some weird but still effective use of lighting never offers anything special. At the start there were a few too well hidden things, later on the progression is a little more flowing - on the whole there is really not enough to tax player's skills too much, there are only few highlights. The hardest actions, i.e. timed runs and blades, are reserved for secrets, save for a boring underwater maze I - as usual - could've done without. Architecture is also rather simple, with very boxy and uninspired looking rooms (the best area is actually the last one). The texturing is rather solid though, there's not much to say about the placement which is rather clean, the lighting feels too flat though and the occasional colours feel a bit artificial. Enemies are very few but rather nicely placed. The secrets are well hidden, yet one of them is not well set up as Lara can get stuck in a timed raising block. All in all rather medicore, yet also with no blatant design mistakes - it's just not very memorable." - manarch2

"This level isn't especially accomplished visually, but it's okay. There are various stretched textures and some odd lighting, but also some nicer looking areas as well, and you can always at least tell what setting the author is trying to communicate (as opposed to it being entirely abstract). The level is based around a hub in the form of a giant tree with various offshoot areas around it. There are a couple of bits of vague gameplay (especially the starting room, which throws an extremely camouflaged jump-switch at you instantly), but it's mostly decent with one or two more challenging moments. The author seems to have run out of ideas at the end though, as possibly the best looking area in the level just involves pushing a block on an obvious tile to open the exit. The other problem is that it's quite short, and the content isn't really creative enough to make up for how little time it takes to finish. Not a great entry, but it's enjoyable enough for it's short duration." - Mman

"This is a short and rather uneventful level. There's a few artefacts to hunt, 4 or 5 baddies to kill, an underwater maze to navigate, and a couple of push-block puzzles to solve. The only mildly challenging tasks are reserved for the secrets: two not-very-difficult timed runs and a tricky double blade trap. The maze is good, as far as mazes go. The push-block puzzles are a lot simpler than they appear at first.
The looks and atmosphere are ok, but not particularly memorable. There are a few pretty areas, like the final outdoor area, but otherwise the rooms are a little too square. The builder has tried to inject additional colour into the level by lighting the plants in various bright colours, a technique which occasionally succeeds, but at other times looks strange.
Overall: Not a bad level to try out if you just want to dip your toe into BtB 2006, but don't expect any great challenges." - Mytly

"The adventure is so short, I don't know what to say about that... The blades for the 2nd secret shocked me, what a difficulty for collect a poor MP... Textures & light are ok, but the design is really too cubic." - Jerrod

"This was the first level in the btb2006 series that I played. I had to try it directly due to Tinka's problem with the block puzzle ;) A very clever puzzle indeed which she seems to have solved very well. She also told me that she did this level in 6 days only!! I'm really impressed by that! The environment and atmosphere is very nice and I especially liked the big tree area. It also involves a challenging time run to a secret which took me a while to get. Other highlights are the waterfall "room" ad the overall atmosphere. I really liked this one. It's sad that Tinka doesn't build more...she hase a rare talent for fine and interesting levels and great gameplay! Great job Tinka!" - QRS

"This level was also a good adventure. It's not very hard if you don't want to have all the secrets. But if you do, well, in this case you better gather all of your skills. Finally was able to complete it without using medipacks, but at the 2nd secret almost all of my energy had gone at the two blades. At the other secret you have to run very fast, and climb and jump and swim. So the secrets mean extra challenges on this level. There are not much enemies, only some guys with staffs - the monkeys I did not hurt. The small pushable statues near the end of the level made me sweat, then I realized that I have to use only one of them. Nothing refers to this anywhere on the level, so this was a little bit nerve-racking. The textures are beautiful and although this is not the beautiest level in the project, I suggest everybody to play it. For those who collect all 5 secrets, I esspecially congratulate. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/16/btb2006_13_qinghai_artefact.htm" - Obig

"It's another one of the short levels and quite easy. You need the Yin-Yang, two gems, a star and in the end you get the desired artefact. The enemies are few and the design of the level very plain. I found five easy secrets and I would have liked to place them in a secret area or something like that for a bonus area so the gameplay would last a bit longer. Give a try for just about thirty minutes of fun." - Kristina

"One of the shorter BtB Levels at about 20 minutes of net gaming, but fast paced and fun nonetheless, with diverse action, a few nice traps, well placed enemies and secrets and I really liked some of the colourful lighting effects added. Two timed runs/swims can be avoided if you are ok to miss out on secrets, so this can be a real easy level or a little more difficult for those who like more of a challenge. The jump room is fun as always and the jump to reach the spot where you place the two gems was surprisingly tricky. Nice and relaxing little level." - MichaelP

"A very good small level. And for it's size it has the right amount of everything, enemies, objects and gameplay. In hindsight it was very straight forward, but definitely not so while in the level, because the player almost certainly will come to a grinding halt in certain places, due in the first place to a well camouflaged leafy entrance. I had to read about that as I would never have found it on my own. And speaking of that tree. It was easy enough to discover it was climbable, for a couple of reasons. One, it was the only thing left to do so soon into the level, and Two, it was a natural thing to run to the trunk and see 'if' you could climb it. This is not always possible in a custom level, so it was great to find it can be done here, and that is more realistic anyway. Once outside the first jungle type room gameplay revolves around the climbing of this tree to different branches and entrances in the surrounding walls. One with a tricky run to get the crowbar. And another a very well hidden route to the first yin/yang piece. Lara is looking for ruby stones, a fan, dragon stars, blue gems and the yin/yang halves. She swims through circular blades, snakes in the water, deals with thugs, ropeswings, climbs, and the toughest of all - those horizontal wall blades in a narrow corridor. There are two very good timed runs in this level; the first one getting out of a crawlspace and trying to jump to a slope without falling into water, but also aiming for the correct gate before it lowers. And the second one underwater. I discovered I was swimming the wrong way and never quite made it through the rising block. My Lara got caught forever in this block. Then I decided to go a slightly different route and swam through first time. I thought the flipmap/draining the pool exercise was very good. So you see, small in area, but packed with action, and that is always better at times than vast areas to cover not knowing where to go or what to do. Taking away from a higher gameplay score is the problem with the object pushing puzzle. If you don't get it right you have to reload. All this leads to a beautiful garden/pool/pagoda area that is a lovely peaceful ending to this little adventure. So there you have it. A great small level to play." - CC

"Quite a pleasant little level this one. Pretty short and all in all not so difficult either. There weren't many puzzles in it, only a few moveable pieces near the end. Lara had to locate two gems in order to finally reach the Qinghai Artefact. I really loved the secrets, which were named Secret Artefacts, and there were five of them to find altogether. There were a few traps(mainly a spiked wall, an underwater stargate and some blades, but not that many. The only one I found a tad irritating was the very narrow passage with the two blades.......it took me ages to find a way past them without losing all or most of the health. Can someone please tell these builders that having waist-high blades when the hallway they're located in is one cm from qualifying for a crawlspace is not necessarily a good idea??? You could also find two timed runs here, the first one for the secret was really tricky, but completely satisfactory once the secret was finally retrieved. The second one was in an underwater maze, but not really hard to get through once you know where to go. The textures were nice, but not really as oriental as I might have wished for and some of them were blinking/disappearing. Enemies were mainly ninjas and snakes and there weren't many of them. One of the ninjas got stuck in a wall at one point and some extra lights could have been added for a better atmosphere. Not much music to be heard, but some dramatic sequences here and there. I found the rope swing to the roofs a tad irritating as she would bang her head in the roof and miss the ledges more than not. In overall a pretty ok level, which gave me a bit less than an hour of fun gameplay." - Selene

"A simply level with an old TR style, but nice to play. No difficult tasks (perhaps some jump or the narrow passage with the blades), half-lineal, easy puzzles and secrets, good gameplay, you'll not have to go to the same places many times, the path to follow is obvious. Very few enemies, and I didn't find weapons too. Well cameras but poor sounds. Lights and textures only correct. An entertained level easy to play." - Jose

"Another magnificient level, beautifully built & more beautifully textured. You have to find the yingyang peice along with the blue gem use them to get access to the Quinghai Artifact & escape the tomb. There are plenty of pickups & secrets throughout the levels to pick. The lightening effects used are pretty good too. I especially loved the tree which was built so naturally. Download it just to watch the beautifull enviroment of this level along with the great gameplay." - Anurag

"This is another one of those levels that is a joy to play with beautifully designed rooms and gardens, thoughtful lighting and cameras where needed. It is difficult to find fault with these types of levels. In fact, the only things I can think of are a couple of exceedingly well hidden doors that were not secrets - they had me running around for some time in my quest for progress. :-) The only other thing I did not understand was the spikes on the tree branch. Were they protecting some secret that I never found? Overall, though, a splendid level. It's amazing the variety you can get when all builders use the same WAD and textures." - Staticon

"When starting this one up, my instincts told me this is another level made by a new builder. They'll be scolded if that's not the case, but the big, blocky rooms among other clues certainly indicated that I could be right. But, mind you, though maybe not particularly memorable for anything, it is a pretty good level on the whole. The underwater maze was not my favourite part, and finding the climbable sides of trees with little indication that there are some, as well as figuring out the pawn puzzle by the underwater maze were not my idea of a very good level either, but in the big picture those are minor and hardly subtract anything from the enjoyment the level otherwise gives. What I liked especially were the 3 secrets I found (must've missed at least one in the underwater maze and another one elsewhere, seeing that there are 5), and, given that they are puzzle items, I hoped that maybe they could be used to unlock a hidden area later on, but I understand very well with the given resources why it couldn't have been done. The looks of the level are not bad, but not something mind-blowing beautiful either. If I'd have to name a memorable place - then the last area right before the end is probably the best. Bottom-line - this is a pretty average level with reasonable highs and lows, fairly straightforward gameplay with only a couple of places where you could get stuck, and nice looks. You won't go wrong if you're looking for relatively easy and short level to enjoy." - eTux

"An enclosed area to begin that soon opens up to the outside. I quite like the idea of a tree w/o any obvious handholds that we can still climb anywhere, to reach all sorts of other places - did one not as a precocious child? (Makes it more realistic - pity the tree trunk & branches are so 'square', but presumably that is not entirely the builder's fault.) A few EoW views at the top of the 'giant tree' room, unfortunately, where we can also touch the sky. (And we can repeat this in the next, 'waterfall', room when the rope is dropped.) Lovely 'waterfall rooms' & 'waterfall door'. 3 of the secrets were tricky: timed run, timed swim and some VERY difficult (for me) blade traps. Then via the great tree again to a new 'gentle', pool area - as the waterfalls earlier, though the areas to which these led could be less than gentle! (Remarkable bright yellow flower bushes!) A cube puzzle not readily obvious (adds to the intrigue). A water maze that we are shut into. Funny how what is clear to one person (re use of maze and cubes) is 'opaque' to others! My 'thorough exploring' time was 1hr 12 mins and my 'fast as possible, pick up everything' time was exactly 12 min. With IMMENSE(!!) patience, despite the very tight passage with v.tricky cutting blades, it is possible to go through the game and suffer no health loss." - rjb

"Straight forward level with some hidden passages. You are climbing one big tree to access different areas. Distances are short so you always remember where to go. The level gets more exciting in the middle, when you get the crowbar. Technically everything was perfect, but the rooms were all a little too square (speaking of the outside areas, of course) also texturing could be improved. I got a feeling that this level would be much better if there was more time to polish the things out. Time: 47/22. Difficulty: easy. Lighting: balanced. Gameplay type: straight forward, explore. Tech skills: basic." - Bojrkraider

"The game play was sound, with plenty of back tracking to visit places several times. An intelligent use of the various areas ment keeping ones eyes open and thinking thigs through, especially finding the hidden areas. The enemies were restricted to baddies and snakes, I don't count baboons. The block puzzles were made more difficult by the lack of distinction in the colours and for me who is red/green colour blind it was definitely a case of trial and error. Camera angles were on the tree appalling, leaving you staring at bark several times (use of ins key needed to refocus). Also when passing through the green and water curtains. Generally the graphics was good and I particularly liked the bright purple areas in the caves. The textures were reasonably well used to create some realism." - Whistle

"My initial through when I entered the tree room is how square, square room, square tree. Some textured could be better applied and in retrospect this was a short level. Not much enemies but there are parts that you need the medipacks you gathered. There is no clue in which object you need to push, so better be save, and save before doing that or else you'll never find the right one as I think this one has no reset. The secrets are nice, as some of them are on a timed run. For the last secret you have to go back to the start to collect that one. 24-01-2006" - Gerty

"Another lovely level to play. Looks very well and had little or no problems getting through this one. Had to have a look in the stuck for the Push puzzle as I first couldn't find out what the green piece on the Tile did, but I forgot to look IN the pool, Then all became clear and I could move on. Pity we couldn't have a look in that nice house at the Chinese garden, looking in from the outside it looked great." - Dutchy

"Initially, I thought I was doing really well with this level in the 'not getting stuck' department until I fell foul of a really (and I do mean really) well hidden passage entrance. That slowed me down considerably. Otherwise, I found this to be a reasonably straightforward level, pitched for the most part at all but the most inexperienced player, but when oh when will I learn not to jump straight into water without first checking for snakes or something equally deadly. The last area was a water garden of such pleasant aspect that I was inclined to linger for a while - call it a meditation break." - Jay

"There are a few exceptions to this level that make the fact that all the rooms are just square not such a big deal. One of those exceptions is that of the 4 secrets I found (there are 5) a couple were nicely timed to give them a real reward feeling and another was health depleting to get to. Also there are a couple of well hidden entrances camouflaged by natural elements and some movable object puzzles which hold a little challenge but on the whole you should have no trouble in getting through in about 30 minutes. So a pleasant level to play but maybe a little too short." - Sash

"Not much of a storyline really but my mission has been accomplished: I found the artefact and I'm now heading for the next level - lol. Very nice albeit a tad short level. In the beggining, I must admit I thought "Oh, no! Another level by a begginer!"... Not that I have anything against begginers, in fact some of the very best customs out there have been built by begginers, well, you know what I mean. Anyway, as the quest evolved, I must also admit that, even though I still think this may have been built by a begginer, it may also have not. Simple yet challenging, not a feast for the eyes yet correct, this level brings along some very clever moments and it isn't dull at all, I quite enjoyed it in fact. Even the wall blade traps! But at least there was a large medipack at the end. What can I say? I'm not giving it the Oscar but I think it deserves its place on our screens." - Jorge22

"Although only a shortish level,I found this interesting and surprisingly entertaining.The gameplay is well thought out (the ingenious moments involving branches and the waterfall are neatly done,cleverly hinted at and quite satisfying) and centered around a rather small area,which you criss-cross (and go up and down) several times. The aquisition of secrets was as much a part of the level as attaining the Artefact,and I suspect the overall 35 minute duration would be considerably shorter if you were to only concentrate on the latter. As it is,the final impression you are left with (not helped by a rather deflating final sequence) is of a level which seemed to end just as it was getting itself nicely into gear. Nevertheless,the overall construction is quite sound (although the big waterfall appears to come pouring out of thin air) and I recommend this for 35 minutes of unpretentious fun." - Orbit Dream

"The level at the beginning does not look very good. Square rooms , lighting too colourful , easy puzzles. But later on, I rather enjoyed reasonably as there are a couple of stuck situations, secrets which offer some challenge and extra gameplay, a good flipmap and a puzzle with movable objects and hints. It was funny to see the snake falling down suddenly when the pool was drained. What else ? It is not very long, it has more a Coastal atmosphere than an Oriental (which was somehow a relief for me) , the sun bulbs are present in every room which is always a plus , and every level without this boring audio track from AOD has my blessing. Qinghai artefact won't win any prize, but it's a good little level." - eRIC

"A nice little level, albeit a bit too short. Gameplay is of average difficulty, the obstacles here being essentially in the research domain as the author sure knows how to hide things. The push-dice puzzle is quite easy to figure out and the underwater maze is well balanced, meaning not too short and easy but not too complicated either so you can beat it in one go without drowning/reloading. Otherwise, the gameplay's pretty straightforward (maybe too much). There are few enemies, none of them being tough to beat. The secrets are generally easy to spot or guess although three out of five require some expertise either at timed-runs or dealing with blades without being killed miserabily. The atmosphere is good but the choice of "classic" TR music against Chinese ones killed it a bit for me. Too bad, since the lighting is really nice at places, with nuances and an apparent care for details. Texturing is fine too, with a good mix of greenery and Oriental indoor areas served with a couple of beautiful cascades and pools. All in all, one that's perfectly suitable for beginners and fun enough to avoid boredom. Well done." - Sutekh

"This is my first exposure to the 2006 BtB levels, and I have the sense that the overall quality is going to be high. The lighting and the surroundings are very pleasing on the eyes, and the level of difficulty for this my maiden voyage was not unreasonably high. There was a generous total of five secrets, two of which were attainable only by beating the clock. Val's walkthrough was clear, concise and quite helpful. The enemies consisted of a couple of snakes and a few thugs. The moving piece puzzle near the end, however, was somewhat annoying for two reasons: the colors were not clearly discernible, and if you moved any but the correct pieces the door wouldn't open even when the correct pieces were finally placed. If all the levels are of this quality I'm going to have a good time indeed before it's all over. Recommended." - Phil

"This was a short level where Lara goes after the Quinghai artifact (most complex storyline). The level on it's own is really simple and quite easy, except for two hidden walk through passages (one at the waterfall and one at the top of the tree), the tree on it's own also didn't give much of a signal it could be climbed, I found it out by chance. It's a pretty straightforward level set on the find puzzle items scheme, some are hidden, others aren't. It's a nice level, quite enjoyable, but it could have been a lot more. The level also could have used some more lighting work. 25 minutes, 2 secrets. 01/06" - Treeble

"This was a fabulous little level with not too much difficulty in getting through it, although there are a few areas where health will be stolen so you need to take care. The textures are nicely set, lighting is good and that's all I can say about the technicalities because I much prefer to mention the game play and stuff. Enemies are the oriental baddies of course, and there aren't many of them thank gawd, and a few snakes will slither by, don't you just love those little guys? You'll face a few traps in this level, wall blades, circular blade, a crashing wall and a fabulous slope jump round a deadly water room, what fun! The secrets are well placed, and you'll need to gather five of those. Two of them involve timed runs and the timing was set just right. There's a small object move, and another very small one at the end of the level, and you'll also use the rope a couple of times too. Items to collect are two diamonds, the yin and yang pieces, and a blue star; then finally you will leave with the Qinghai Artefact. All in all this was great fun, not too taxing and a nice start to my BtB adventures." - Moonpooka