Level reviews

"The design here is decent but nothing too special; areas look convincing enough but there's nothing especially stand-out, and the scale is relatively small. The lighting and texturing fit the theme, but don't do much more, and it's relatively flat for most of the duration. While still relatively simple I did like the attempt at a swamp area though. Objects mostly fit decently but there's not much more to them (although breakable grates have one or two nice uses). This is another quite short level, and it's mostly quite straightforward outside a quite hidden pushblock and the somewhat obscured swamp exit (which also makes some nice use of Crocodiles in the most creative bit of combat here), and it just sort of ends when it feels like it building up to something a little. An okay level but another in the contest that doesn't really do much unexpected given what the author went on to do; from what I've played so far this contest seems like an early learning experience for multiple future legendary authors." - Mman

"Surprinsingly short this one, but pretty fast paced and somewhat linear (for the record, thanks to Selene for the walkthroguh) with just a few areas where you stick around. I'm usually pretty chill with the use of fixed cameras but I have to admit that there was one particular area here, a swamp-like lair with crocodiles and lots of plants, which made me want to tear my hair out, as you lose all of Lara's mobility while she's trying to outwade(?) swimming crocodiles, all the while the camera keeps shifting depending on where you walk, there might have been four or six different camera angles in that room and it felt too much even for me. Otherwise it was a pretty standard and enjoyable adventure. 25 minutes. 04/24" - Treeble

"A reasonably short level if you know what to do but you tend to spend an inordinate amount of time at the beginning trying to find your way forward. Once you get started though the level tends to flow quite easily. I only had to refer to the walk through once. A reasonable amount of platforming involved and the graphics are just gorgeous. Unfortunately it ends far too soon." - Torry

"Very visual appealing setting, layouts and environments in this south pacific level make it a lovely experience to in explore around looking for items and switches making your way through using tricky platforming, swing poles, monkey climbing and swimming! its not all peaceful and serene though as you'll find nasty boulder, fire and spike traps as well as crocodiles and dinosaurs as enemies. There is no real puzzles here apart from maybe the moveable object task but i did enjoy myself working out the way through the traps and obstacles and of course exploring the very well constructed and textured areas the level has to offer which oozed with so much atmosphere i did really feel i was there in the south pacific!" - John

"Compared to a couple of the other South Pacific Contest levels, this one is more of an easygoing exploration of a humid tropical jungle. Not that I'm complaining, as it makes a nice change to have more of a relaxing level for a change. It's a little light on the puzzle side; mostly just making your way from one area to the next, following a linear path, with some traps, an easy object puzzle, some swimming and some jumps, plus a few unpleasant surprises due to enemy attacks (quite unfairly used). The jungle setting is pleasant, as is the norm for these levels, though, so if you just want something simple yet pleasant to play, you could do worse." - Ryan

"This is a fairly easy level, with good gameplay. The puzzles are simple enough to solve, the lighting is correct. I did not like the passage in the swamps with crocodiles attacking without being seen them. Raptors are wedged into corners but it was easier to kill them. There is a good architecture and good cameras. This is a good and easy level." - Drakan

"A nice break, I would say - colorful and relaxing, and unusual enemy work adds much to that: there's possibly only one AI mesh used, however creatures stand on Lara's way in unusual places, making several encounters really unique and providing various killing techniques for them - we have a swamp crocodile battle, a crawlspace raptor hunt and a bunch of raptors perforable with spikes. No boss fight this time, though. Spike creativity must be added to the praise batch, and in the dislikes pack only comes the lighting, which is definitely flat, as for this author (what means it might still not disturb the majority). SUMMARY: Follow Teemu's sunny detour from the mystery mood he got us used to. Recommended." - DJ Full

"This level is a nice example of how much a builder has improved from time to time. Unfortunately, this is not a compliment to this level, as in my opinion the gameplay felt rather uninspired and not very interesting. While most of the devices used in this level like fixed cameras, sound usage, lighting, decent object usage created a nice atmosphere, the very linear gameplay didn't really catch me. There were only two challenging elements this level - firstly the fights against quite a plethora of different enemies, varying from natives over bats, lizards, crocs to raptors, but they rather felt like placed wildlessly in this level without a clear sense. However, I liked the native freeing a lizard to help him in his fight against Lara, and secondly some of the boulder traps (but still really easy to get out). The gameplay just moves on and on in a very linear fashion and never you will be searching too long to find what you need to do next, except for a very unfairly hidden pushable block at the start. Also found some smaller bugs like the split second camera at the underwater lever after releasing the boulders, strange animations of Lara while shooting in a crawlspace and raptors running constantly against a wall. The"croc swamp" was a nice idea but due to the fixed camera the exit was rather hard to find and I could not really kill those crocs before they killed me, so I reloaded an earlier save when finding the exit. I wished there were some more puzzles or at least a little bit more complicated gameplay in this level (e.g. there is no need to place four wheels in one corridor accessible via the same kind of trap - steam - to open one door). Everything else in this level was more than just average, but I must say this is the SPC level I least enjoyed gameplaywise. Finished after only 25 minutes." - manarch2

"Lookswise, this level is great: lots of crumbling temples, jungle foliage and waterfalls. I also like the use of plants and shallow water to create a swamp (though the fixed camera angle makes navigating it difficult). The dense, humid atmosphere is very palpable throughout the level.
Gameplay is strongly trap-based, but the traps are of a wide variety, ranging from rolling boulders to steam vents to slicing blades to burning floors to good old spikes. A couple of tricky jumps add a bit of spice to the otherwise fairly simple platforming. Puzzles are unfortunately nearly absent.
The enemies are rather poorly used. Sometimes, they seem to be unfairly hard, for example: crocs ambush you in the swamp while remaining unseen below the 'mud'; mini dinos attack when you're in a crawlspace; raptors attack you while a flyby goes on, leaving you helpless to defend yourself. At other times, they are ridiculously easy: raptors in a pit blow you, where you can easily pick them off; a tribesman and lizard at the bottom of a slope.
Overall: A good level in spite its flaws, but at barely half an hour long, it left me wanting a lot more." - Mytly

"Funny though as I know precisely when I binned this game, as almost at the end I just couldn't get to that jump switch because a nasty laying skeleton pushed my Lara always from the block. This time (with a new download) I had no problem at all. Still mystified why the title of the level is different than the title"in-game". I liked this level and even if this is not the perfect game in my opinion, it does has a lot to offer. Nice traps throughout, enemies are placed very well (sneaky is a better word). There are some nasty fixed camera moments, especially the swamp. That took some doing before finding that sneaky crawlspace. Didn't find any secrets and read that there aren't any, oh well.." - Gerty

"This level surely was to my taste. Textures, objects and lighting are put together very well and this level looks very good. Gameplay is also good despite it's a bit too easy in my opinion. I think also that the ending is a bit unexpected and this level doesn't contain any kind of final highlight which I would have liked. All in all this level is built with good level building skills and it's very fun to play through." - Samu

"Lara's objective is, as the title indicates, to find the lost stone of Puna and she goes hunting for it in a series of lovely, fresh and exotic environments where we can admire the beauty of the scenery and have a nice adventure at the same time. The sequences are generally easy but very pleasant to carry out, you can easily figure out the puzzles (mostly jumping stuff, but there's also a pushable object one) and overall have a great time while playing this beautiful level. There are a few tighter sequences however, so more experienced players won't get disappointed either. The settings are great, and the atmosphere is gorgeous. I only found some of the enemies acting a bit weird, as they would get stuck somewhere or run around in circles, making killing them far too easy. In any event, this level is a little gem, and it's such a shame that it had to be so brief." - Ravenwen

"This was a nice adventure, great in its simpleness. To be honest, if I look at its components, I have to say that I've seen more beautiful levels before, and better and more interesting. But in the combined effect of those, it somehow grows beyond itself, it's much much more than the sum of its parts, it is so together, Tomb Raiding at its best. The level building, textures, lighting, atmosphere are very well fit together. Mostly quite dark, but fantasticly atmospheric, nowhere overly light or very dark; it's mysterious, I didn't even have to use any flares, so in that respect was perfect. I played at night though, at daytime it might had been too dark. There weren't meny pickups, and no secrets, but that wasn't a bad thing, we can concentrate on the scenery and the todos. There were many of the latter, nothing too difficult or taxing, but varied and exciting. Only the fixed cameras were a bit disorienting in the swamp. I finshed without a scratch, that suggests the level to be easy, and come to think of it, it really was, but somehow that didn't occur to me on the way, surely because of the atmosphere, which really takes you away." - Akcy

"This one of SPC is very good too. Great environment, good atmosphere, excelent architecture, good puzzles,... This level was easy to play, I only got difficult with the running jump from the ledge with the skelleton but at last I discovered the trick. I missed some more pickups too, medipacks were enough for me but not the flares, weapons and ammo. Often the raptors got stucked running against the walls or another objects. Cameras were the best for me. Good job." - Jose

"If I thought"Dangerous Paradise" was short then this one is even shorter. It is well done though like the others but the gameplay is a bit lower although enjoyable as well. This time Lara has to kill more dinos and small poisonous green birds in a crawlspace I might add, we have been through this one many times- never place enemies in crawlspaces, and pass a blade trap to access an underground area. I liked the way the levels started with a pool and then we get inside a temple like area with a few jumps to perform and a fire trap. It's a nice and easy level to play." - Kristina

"This is what I would call a middle-of-the-road entry in the South Pacific Contest. Not too easy, not too difficult, a pleasant enough 45-minute raid. Selene has provided a helpful walkthrough that got me through some of the rougher spots. Near the end I had to enable the flycheat to get through the crawl space in the croc marsh. The opening is not large enough for Lara to stand up in, but it's too large for her to maintain her crouch as she pulls up. I tried it from both sides and in the middle, but each time Lara would attempt to stand up and then fall back into the marsh as if she were on a slope. Other than this glitch, I had a good time here. Recommended." - Phil

"As long as you know what you're doing - or what you should be doing - this level will neither be very long nor very hard. Figuring out what it is you're missing is the problem as usually and the author sure knows how to make matters worse for the poor player! Tricky jumps, boulder traps, awkward camera angles and sneaky enemy attacks await you as you traverse this rich, a bit spooky temple in the middle of the jungle, which seems infested with crocodiles (you'll hate these when you reach the swamp), the small compsognatus dinosaurs (you'll hate them when you'll be in the crawlspace that takes you out of the swamp!) or their bigger relatives (you'll hate them, when they gnaw on Lara during one of the last fly-by's) with a cameo appearance of a native, who will release his green uzi-ammo-swallowing pet lizard if you don't fill him with bullets fast enough! Overall the adventure is pretty exciting, the looks one of the best in this competition - if you don't mind the little nuances in the tasks that might halt progress once in a while. Found no secrets, but apparently there were none, so I don't have to worry about missing out on anything of this little gem of a level. Recommended, especially if you like jungle or South Pacific island themed levels!" - eTux

"A very well crafted level with places that look authentic. The looks are very good and the atmosphere convincing. Many various tasks to accomplish in this not so long level, good clean fun in general except for entering a crawslpace which was a bit difficult for some reason without speaking of the tiny dinos which were awaiting Lara in there. Aside from that I would say to watch out for your health ! the 1st time I simply could not complete the level. When entering the final area the raptors were on Lara already before the end of the flyby , they were poisonous and did not had any medipack left. Good work anyway." - eRIC

"This is a sneaky level - lots of lovely misdirection going on. It's perhaps not quite as picture postcard pretty as some of the other entries in the competition, but it has bags of atmosphere. I didn't find much in the way of pickups and was a little nervous about the possibility of running out of medipacks (especially after being chomped on by invisible crocodiles in the swamp), but luckily I made it through with medis to spare. Nice gameplay - not too hard." - Jay

"Being my second level played in the South Pacific I can not help but notice that the difficulty is increasing. Here we are back in an island/jungle/temple-like area looking for a stone belonging to Puna. It is quite a thrilling run with plenty of traps and enemies, as opposed to the peaceful Paradise Island. Here you're met with a couple of crocs already at the very beginning and it goes on with those, the South Pacific lizards, a tribesman and of course: a small variety of dinos(raptors being the most common of those). In most cases they could easily be avoided though. It contains quite a few challenging traps with boulders, spikes, blades, steam and fire, but the gameplay itself is rather straight-forward and never too difficult to figure out. In fact, in some cases it was almost too straight-forward, such as making your way across a trap gauntlet to reach the pedestal with the gemstone: all you needed to do was to climb up on the side and first use the monkeyswing to the first pillar, then just jump across the rest. And here I was expecting grueling jump sequences that would make Japanese levels seem like a spoonful of baby's food!! Alas, it was never that difficult at any point though. For most parts the enemies could be dodge or climbed away from and the uzis were also very helpful. The only part I absolutely didn't like was the mud pool with the fixed camera angle. First of all the mud pool was crawling with crocs and considering Lara's limited movements it became rather frustrating trying to kill them all. Secondly I had to wade around for ages before finding that well-hidden crawlspace up on the wall, this could easily have been avoided with a hint or two or the elimination of the fixed camera. The end was also a bit unsatisfactory and abrupt and there were no secrets to be found. Otherwise it was a fun experience and with plenty of things to do throughout the entire 40 minutes or so I spent on it. Well worth playing!" - Selene

"It's a nice level, very well developed on the visual level. Excellent lighting, with different nuances of the colours, which render the atmosphere very attractive. The gameplay is good but not awesome, and it keeps this feature throughout the game." - PaoloM

"This one has a more spooky, darker seeting in the jungel with temples and caves and it's very well done! Texturing and lighting is rather perfect. What a fun to roam around here! Gameplay is well balanced and not very difficult. So a short (30 min), but very enjoyable raid!" - Raymond

"This is a shortish but action-packed addition to the South Pacific adventures,and possibly the most enjoyable from a Gameplay point-of-view;no-where too hard,but with plenty of 'stop and think' moments.The atmosphere is effective (no pretty outdoors stuff here;just a sombre and hostile jungle Temple) and the textures are faultlessly applied.Having raptor's attacking during a fly-by is not a particularly good idea,but other than that this was a fast-moving and exciting little adventure which kept me enjoyably occupied for 45 minutes." - Orbit Dream

"This is a great adventure and I am very confident of my guess! I loved the venue - beautifully crafted, challenging gameplay, and crocs (all enemies, for that matter)used to their fullest advantage (could have used some more medpaks here, btw). Lara's quest is to find the red stone of Puna in order to open the gate guarding the prize. You will love this one !" - Mugs

"This 30 minute level is actually not as bright as you would expect, rather a spooky sort of jungle, which does look quite authentic. Quite a variety of enemies to battle throughout with crocs, dinos, a native, a lizard and a series of boulders and some steam to avoid as best as you can. The caves look good with all the greenery but I hated the swamp and the camera angles which had me run around forever before I located the high crawlspace. The huge temple area at the end felt a bit underutilized as if the level had to prematurely finish and there are no secrets to find." - MichaelP

"This is the second South Pacific contest game I've played and this one is just as enjoyable as the first. It is set in a dark, spooky jungle littered with rolling balls and spikes. Oh, and there are some dinosaurs running around too! Lara makes her way through the eerie jungle to the temple where the artifact is housed. This outside area is especially atmospheric, it's just a shame we didn't spend longer in it. And unfortunately it signals the end of our romp. Good thing there is four more SPC levels for me to play..." - Kitkat

"This was the first level within the SPC that I managed to complete, and I was certainly not disappointed. The opening area at the start of the level is very nicely done, and the atmosphere was excellent. The gameplay here was quite simple (pull a lever, grab a key) but it was executed well. Soon after, we travel down into the areas below land, dodging traps and using switches. The room with the waterfalls was also pretty, and had a particularly effective atmosphere. After a pretty hard to traverse flame corridor, and a few skewered dinos later, we emerge into a large outdoor area that was also very visually impressive, yet soon afterwards the level was finished. All in all this was a very enjoyable raid that lasts in the region of 20-30 minutes, and I urge anybody who hasn't played it yet to download it now." - Spike