Level reviews

"This level gets so many things just right, atmospherewise everything feels exactly how you'd expect such setting to be conveyed in our rather limited blocky engine. New textures and objects feel like they belong and the feeling is further enhanced thanks to the use of TR1 audio tracks. However, and here's the big issue I have with this level, gameplay is both engaging and annoying at the same time. There are fun sequences throughout and the final secret wasn't as tough as I'd expected from reading the author's own insights in his walkthrough, but I felt there were one too many narrow mazes to navigate, and an insane amount of levers scattered about. I mean, sure, some of the puzzle setups require many levers, and I guess this is hardly an issue and more like a feature when it comes down to classic TR gameplay, but it got old fast here. It's possible to get crushed by a rolling boulder during the opening camera flyby in the second level while being none the wiser, and towards the end there was one tricky jump that felt rather unnecessary. I hardly believed when I finally landed it after spending about 5 minutes reloading and trying with ever so slight directional changes in the run-up. Definitely worth checking out, but definitely go with the guided experience. 100 minutes, 4 secrets. 09/23" - Treeble

"Lara explores a series of pretty interior gardens (which get flooded over time) in this two-part level, in search for pieces of an ancient weapon. The lighting is nice and the architecture is well done, but some textures suffer from poor rotation when broken up into triangles. During the search Lara will solve a couple of fun puzzles and overcome slicing blades, rotating blades, flames, boulders, and some tricky jumps, while combating a bull, a lion, and some troops (hm, combat is actually a bit light for the amount of weapons you find). I like how the upper balcony of the main chamber was reserved for a secret that has its own special timed run. I was not a fan of the huge underwater maze which is too easy to drown in. The four-level chamber also has a poorly placed flyby that is easy to trigger while boulders are rolling toward Lara, so after sitting through the long sequence you just find her squished into the floor. There can be a fair amount of backtracking if you dono't do things in the correct order. But my biggest complaint is that switches are purposely camouflaged to blend into their surroundings. If that was just for secrets I would be fine with it, but making players get stuck because they didn't light a flare or something in a specific spot is not my idea of fun. I would still recommend playing this engaging adventure though, if you can handle some hidden switches and challenging jump sequences." - JesseG

"This is a very entertaining level that had me absorbed for over 2 hours of net gaming time! It seems to be two different parts, but the level name in the load screen doesn't change. It's very cerebral and puzzle-based, so be prepared to solve an extensive numerical symbol puzzle, use dynamite, flood layers of a huge multi-tiered room and accomplish some tight timed runs. I like the different textures that were used and gave the level a unique appearance. Definitely recommended for puzzle aficionados." - Ryan

"A pack of objects has been used here which never strays too far away from the original ones, so the game feels classic yet a bit different - a right move as for Sumerian setting which was never captured in any of the original TRs. The place is largely overtaken by plants and water but instead of green/blue lighting used for majority of such cases here we have a lot of unusual yellow. The contrast is sometimes too great, sometimes too little, we can only feel the power of sunbeams in the torch maze. Unfortunately, one of many labyrinths of this level. Yhese parts could have been shorter, just like the multi-stage flooding. That one could have had just two or three floors with some impressive location thrown inbetween instead. And/or a puzzle as themed as that riddle of Babylonian Numbers, which, as well as the bull chamber, was the moment when I felt the closest to the ancient world in the whole set. I think the theme allows much more of such experience, but then it was back to mazes and tight corridors, without any build-up, and the final artifact doesn't feel important enough either. SUMMERY: Lacks progression. Several locations and puzzles are particularly interesting and it's still worth to see/solve them, but they aren't arranged in the order which would result in a rewarding game. Decent but nowhere close to epics like Babylon is Fallen. The Middle-Eastern civilizations still have much unexplored..." - DJ Full

"A large improvement over the author's first level set. Visuals have improved a lot, with some large and impressive rooms at points, more varied design in general, and a much less generic theme. There are still a few too many cramped and maze-like corridors, but they are rarer, and with more interesting and challenging gameplay. Gameplay is quite a bit more involved and difficult than Secret of the Catacombs, with some tricky sequences (and a large emphasis on swimming) and much larger levels with more exploration. The gameplay mostly flows well, but backtracking is a bit much at a couple of points, as you have to redo certain parts multiple times, and one block puzzle took a bit long and I think it could have been compressed a little without taking anything away from it (but I really liked the concept behind it). The author shows a big improvement over their first release, and it's a shame they haven't made anything more considering the story still seems to be unfinished." - Mman

"A very enjoying and well-constructed level, with a good deal of action and puzzles and lovely environments. There are interior and exterior settings, where the use of texture and lighting effects is precise, tasteful and pleasant. The gameplay is very good, you have several things to do as you explore these nice rooms, and there are also a few good traps to make it safe through. It has several elements from the classics, but also nice innovative details that produce a notable piece of work." - Ravenwen

"A well constructed classic tombs environment. A few unnecessary traps but several good puzzles to nut out. Just enough to get you thinking without getting frustrated. The Hanging Gardens concept has been quite well portrayed without being spectacular. Occasionally some areas feel a little dark and claustrophobic. A good solid effort though with several well used new objects. This one's good for a night or two's raiding without too many hang-ups." - EssGee

"Frankly I did not know how to precisely rate this game. There are plenty of excellent things in it , but the degree of pleasure it gave me was limited by the facts there are areas which look a bit like mazes, and also there is a lack of enjoyable actions for my taste , as this game is clearly puzzles based. I reckon most of the puzzles are excellent. I'm pretty sure I will enjoy this game better when I will replay it again some of these days. I would like to emphasize the amazing work the author has made with the use of new objects , and also his work to modify textures. I would qualify this game as innovative and a bit "cerebral", you have to think and observe carefully if you do not want to be stuck often. If you love solving puzzles in a good environment with the occasional challenge and not many enemies , Hanging gardens of Babylon is highly recommanded !" - eRIC

"Good work. A very long level with new features and many things to discover. Perhaps I missed some more enemies, more cameras and more interesting puzzles but in general was good. You'll have to explore very well all the areas, 'cause there are well hidden switches and openings; secrets are well placed too. Near the beginning I found a bug: once I throw the torch to burn the green floor and pull the switch, I went to get the ringed sphere; looking for an exit I returned to that place and Lara was able to walk in the air were the burning floor was. Once you get the glass plate and return to the main room, if you don't go outside through the double doors and return to the previous areas through the crawlspace, you will not can return outside and have to reload a savegame (if you keeped one!). I don't understand the purpose of the pads with the balls over them in the corridor when the bull was following me; I simply ran and a trapdoor opened to escape (bug?). The last timed run pulling the chains was too much hard for me so I couldn't complete this task but I could finish the level (could be a secret?). The best level I've play recently after some months." - Jose

"With all those tasks, which were laid out ahead of me, I found this adventure being most enjoyable, very challenging and rewarding as I made my way through these fine set of levels, You will be encountering a fair amount of puzzles solving like dealing with pushable objects, pulling some underwater levers, avoiding traps of boulders, blades and burners as your are in search of the many keys, which will help you to progress further and deeper into this wonderful laid out adventure. I really liked the idea in finding all those water keys, which enabled you to raise the water up four levels, by doing all those needed and various tasks ahead of you first and by avoiding traps, before you were able to collect the appropriate water key to raise it up to the next level. That was really well thought out and designed by this author, which in turn gave me endless fun and pleasure, as I was in search of all the right keys and achieving that goal. In general, with making your way around underwater mazes, doing some puzzle solving, conquering some timed runs, avoiding traps and killing off a few enemies, which cross your path, with all that taken care off, this will enable you to complete and finish another fine Lara Adventure. The textures, layouts, lighting and with the right objects chosen by this author, gives you the appropriate feel and the right kind of atmosphere for this type of environment setting and game-play. This was a most enjoyable set of levels to be in, which I think most raiders should venture into and will enjoy." - Gill

"More than two hours of pure puzzling entertainment are on offer in this adventure. It sometimes feels almost a bit too linear, ie solve a puzzle to move to the next stage, then solve the next puzzle and so on, but in the later parts this gets much better and the high room area where you need to raise the water four levels is very well designed. So, enjoy multi-lever puzzles, use dynamite, pushable objects and symbol puzzles, underwater action, a mirror room, a short timed swim, an encounter with a bull, and quite a few traps too (burners, boulders, blades and the likes). The game has relatively few enemies and at times the texturing felt a bit too repetitive and uninspired, but that did not take much away from the fun here. There are also a few custom objects that fit in really well and the 4 secrets are very well placed too. All in all a very well rounded game that you should not miss." - MichaelP

"It's great when an author tries to use new textures, as in Babylonian, rather than the same old stuff. This level starts out slow and gets more interesting. Most of the action takes place in a large room that Lara has to flood in series of levels. It doesn't really look like a hanging garden, but there are plenty of opportunities to take a bad fall. Lara gets to climb around on a large scupture, which maybe was meant to be a bull. I did not have any of the bugs reported by others, and I can't say why. I found this an engaging and enjoyable play, and I grateful to the author for giving it to us." - Duncan

"Well this was a nice attempt to create the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It has however nothing to do with the original Hanging Gardens. Here you have to keep your eyes wide open so you can spot through all the plants and vines that are covering the walls, openings in those walls as you have to jump into them. There are also climbable wall that are a bit hard to spot, but once you know where to look for, you?ll know for the next time. The timed runs are not that hard and there are traps to avoid, but all in all this is a big part of exploring. Do remember where you saw where to place some artifacts as I forgot where to put those bulls horns and that took me all over the place again LOL. The first big puzzle with the gates, well I didn?t like it as that took forever to decipher, the rest is fun IMO." - Gerty

"For 2 full hours you are completely inundated with puzzles and fun and interesting things to do, the mathematical movable object puzzle being one of my favourites, as you make your way around this Babylonian temple. I also admired the route taken as even though there were a couple of maze moments I always felt like I was achieving forward momentum even though there is a circuitous flow to the setting. If there is anything I could even come close to saying are drawbacks then they would have to be that there isn?t much in the way of enemies, frankly though that suited me fine, and there is a puzzle that involves having to coax a bull into stepping over a handful of certain tiles but in my game I just had Lara run over them and this triggered the subsequent trapdoor to open. With 4 excellently placed secrets, the last involving a long backtrack and a fairly tight timed run, this was a wonderfully involving and brilliantly executed game." - Sash

"I liked very much the setting and atmosphere in this game, there's a nice aged environment but not with old textures and nice puzzles. There are a few keys to get, a couple of puzzle items to find and dynamite. The underwater maze isn't that bad and as you progress the level is getting interesting. At some point though getting all those keys became a bit tedious, I believe the builder could have made that area more challenging or at least replace a few of the keys. In one underwater area you need to take a good breath before trying to pass it because of the many underwater levers you'll have to use and there is no air hole down there. The timed runs are not very hard but nicely done. I found four secrets in two and a half hours." - Kristina

"For the most part this is a traditional raid of the old-school variety, but it's well laid out and takes the better part of three hours to complete. The walkthrough provided by the builder was very helpful, and the vast majority of the gsmeplay is of medium difficulty. However, I encountered some glitches along the way that are worthy of note. There's a pushpiece puzzle fairly early on that didn't open the exit door after all pieces had been correctly placed. Other gamers had encountered the same problem, so a posted savegame was required in order to proceed. And I had a completely unique experience when first coming out into the room that had to be flooded in stages. I knew there would be boulders coming after me (having died on the first such attempt), so I swerved to the left immediately upon reaching the entrance balcony. At the end of the long flyby I was returned to a view of a very squashed Lara lying face down on the pavement. Of course, she wouldn't respond to the control keys, so I had to reload. I've never had a flyby take place after Lara had already died. Finally, the last secret of the level requires beating a very tight timed run. I couldn't conquer it after my arbitrary limit of 10 tries, but the problem is that once you commit to going after the secret, there's no way out and you either have to beat the timed run (and automatically get the secret) or fail and be stuck. Luckily I had a savegame just before the point where I'd committed for the secret, so I simply played from there, ignored the secret and finished the level (after another difficult jump of the banana variety that you have to master in order to progress, and I think I made it on the 10th try). Aside from these minor complaints I had a fun-filled romp through Babylon, and I'd recommend this level without reservation." - Phil

"I must say the vegetation is quite lush and good for concealing things. I liked the first level from this builder and this continuation of the adventure is even better. It looks lovely, with some excellent custom textures, and there are some good puzzles and agility tests - not much in the way of enemies though, if you're a shooter fan. It's sometimes hard to put one's finger on just what makes for a really satisfying level, but this certainly achieved it for me. It's nicely paced, coherent and consistently entertaining - I enjoyed every minute of it and I really, really hope there will be a part three." - Jay

"I found this level to be very entertaining. Great atmosphere, challenging (and sometimes frustrating!) puzzles, and sometimes evokes a class Tomb Raider aura. The beginning is a bit odd, however, as you begin in a white stone tunnel where you go through grabbing pick-ups until you grab the North-South piece; at which point a new level loads with Lara sliding down a slope outside a temple area. You must then solve a basket puzzle before you can move on further in the level, and you have to pay attention to which switches move which baskets up and down. Once you are finished wracking your brain on that, you are off to an underwater maze. You feel like the tunnels are never going to end and that it is impossible to swim through this maze. And it is impossible...to swim it. After making it through the maze, you come out in another level with the main room having 3 doorways, and a sphere receptacle. After placing the sphere, your main goal is to flood the room in order to reach the upper balcony. Doing so requires you to learn your Babylonian numbers, use dynamite, and make your way past a fire trap. I liked the use of the hanging lanterns instead of the usual pedestals. The final section of the Hanging Gardens involves flooding a large, vertical chamber. This part is better to experience for yourself than to have someone describe it for you, that's all I can say." - Celli

"I guessed this level made me bored as seeing some items located simply before my eyes at the first scene. But I noted at once it's my mistake. There're a lot of new designed objects, textures, puzzle parts, the unfamiliar setting of some switches and doors. Bt for some illegal mapping, this level would be perfect for me. Please play this level. It's standard TR game play but has many points making you excited. I assure you won't to be disappointed." - Blacksheep

"When I began to play this game, it was a bit boring. However, it got much better all the time when I was playing it. I think that puzzles are the best thing in these levels because they are hard enough and solving them is really fun. Secrets are very hard to find and I like also the way of placing objects. Unfortunately the environment is one of the worst things despite these levels include some quite beatiful areas. In a whole I had a lot of fun when playing these levels." - Samu