Level reviews

"Classic TR4 Egypt, pleasant to look at but a bit too long and simple. Next level is very familiar instead of a surprise, maybe it would be better in the opposite order of maps. Still, I think it's underrated, 4+ is way too low." - DJ Full

"This is a fairly easy two-level set, the first of which is definitely the most substantial. You have to find a couple of eye pieces, negotiate a couple of mazes, solve a devious (if not unfair) floor tile puzzle and pull a lot of floor levers. The second is little more than an add-on and is heavily based on the original tutorial level. I found it a bit too dark at times. It may not be entirely original, but it's not bad for a debut and let's hope for something a little more ambitious next time." - Ryan

"While very run-of-the-mill in terms of how Egyptian-themed levels play out(with a lot of the same ol' assets present as always amongst average texture and lighting utilization), I actually found the general exploration factor of the gameplay to be entertaining enough to warrant me sticking it through to the end(outside of reviewing purposes). And while the second level was particularly disappointing(due to the builder lazily copy/pasting the original TRLE tutorial in its entirety), this was still an entertaining hour-long raid. Recommended, if you're looking for an alright Egyptian release to play." - Ceamonks890

"My expectations weren't particularly high when I went into this two-level set,but it's actually a cut above your average Tutorial beginners attempt.Of the two adventures,the first is by far the most substantial and provides the real meat - a generally fluent (save for one absurdly cryptic puzzle) adventure,where the player goes back-and-forth through the level,often arriving back at a place they'd been to before but from a different angle (a favourite gameplay element of mine),pushing levers and collecting puzzle pieces.A few well hidden crawlspaces keep things intriguing,and the adventure (although rather dark throughout) was fun and worth recommending.This can't really be said for the second level,which was very slight,occasionally reminiscent of the Tutorial,and over in 15 minutes. Nevertheless,this double-level adventure provides reasonable enough entertainment to keep most players pleasently occupied for a quiet afternoon,and is generally much better than its overall ratings would imply." - Orbit Dream

"Oh dear, it seems the author was ill-tempered when building these two levels. Unmarked spikes, boulders squishing you after you use a lever, a few mazes, and absolutely no camera cues to help you know which doors are now open are things that might make you have a bad day yourself. Textures show some effort but are highly wallpapered in some places, and are often stretched or squished. Thankfully sunbulbs are used in outdoor areas, a relief from the indoor rooms of various colors using only the ambient light - it is a good idea to save the colors for lightbulb objects. The level is also incredibly dark in many places. Flybys are not setup properly and do not disable the player's control - running over one too far makes a boulder crush you during the sequence. There are also useless dead-ends that are often traps you cannot escape, useless large areas that only contain one or two pickups, useless ropes, and useless shatterable vases, though one randomly triggered a secret. Most of the second level is generally useless as well as it is the tutorial level. The most impressive part is that it took me just under an hour to complete. However, I would encourage players to look elsewhere first when deciding how to spend that hour." - SSJ6Wolf

"Laratr-II (40 minutes): a rather flawed and very basic tut1-WAD level. From the first room you get the idea the level won't be eye candy and it doesn't get any better later on. The flybys keep looping, sometimes going through walls, there's a distinct wallpaper effect on most of the rooms and a number of mazeish areas, both under and above water. The flare bug also happens later on the level, when you'd actually have an use for the flares because earlier it's always bright enough. And usually the dark spots are traps so you have to either guess if you jump over spikes or if you run beneath a boulder at every new pitch black spot. Laratr-III (10 minutes, 2 secrets): when you thought another tut1-WAD level couldn't get any more basic, it does -- after the initial rooms you're into the Playable Tutorial Level itself you know by heart if you played it at least once. A few changes on the map but nothing that affects gameplay. Final stats: 50 minutes, 2 secrets. 12/07" - Treeble

"These two levels based on the Tut1 wad (and some of that project's room geometry) are really quite OK, although they clearly represent a record of the builder's first attempts at the level editor. Gameplay and puzzles are kind of predictable given the limits of the Tut1 wad, but the author has made some good attempts to get the basics right. Lighting and textures are adequate but have all the hallmarks of a first level with patches of unnecessarily deep darkness, unmarked traps and climb surfaces. The use of too many flames has been well documented in the knowledge base but still the flare bug occurs in the first level. Sound and cameras were used correctly and the builder showed some good common sense with logical enemy placement - I like that. A good effort without stepping out of the safety zone." - EssGee

"This was a level really coming back to the basics. It only uses the whole stuff of the tutorial level. But for this the level was made very nice and made with the objective to make a good work. Sure there are some stretched textures, but they are really less and not very obvious. Over all the textures are set very well. I would be difficult to set it better only using the tutorial stuff. I would have made some rooms a bit smaller, but it was acceptable. Sure with the basic stuff you only face ninjas, mummies and scorpions, that sometimes appear out of thin air. You've no blocks to move, no levers to jump - only the floor lever. There were some problems with the camera flyby that were looping endless because the author forgot to configure it as "One Shot". Some fixed cameras didn't make an obvious sense. The secrets are too easy and I would wish some more difficult jump combinations. More flair was given by the violet electricity room and as lara faces the hot water rooms. I found it really good. Also the big pool room at the start of Level III gave an impressive atmosphere and was made very well. And after you found the way to leave this last pool room you get the bonus to run again through the original tutorial level, with the difference that it is completely retextured and relighted. If someone wants to know what can be done with the tutorial stuff and wants to get a first look on what should be the less on delivering a level this level would be a nice example. I had a lot of fun with it!" - Mannix

"Yes a first and yes a Tut wad. Nothing wrong as it is matter of a learning curve and it is not the building as such but the imagination that should shine. There are indeed many beginner mistakes and issues with trigger tiles and fly bys, same goes for textures and lightning. So up to the next and I sure hope there will be a next, as practice is a main part of level building." - Gerty

"I don't like Egyptian levels and this one is a classic so even worse for me. The puzzles are pretty standard with the Eye of Horus to collect in both levels and a lot of levers to push. Some areas were very dark and the second level was a copy of the editor's tutorial. The usual enemies are present, ninjas and scorpions so no surprise there. The secrets from the first level did not register for some reason but the two I found in the second did. Even if someone is a fan of Egyptian levels this game has nothing new to offer." - Kristina

"Those are the kind of levels not for my taste. There are some defects as cameras that don't stop (I had to save and reload to return the camera to Lara), the flare bug, not marked trigger tiles, no cameras when you trigger something (at least in the first level), poor architecture,... But the most important defect is that there are no puzzles, only pull a lever, pull another level, and another,... Enemies are white ninjas (always attacking at your back), mummies and scorpions, ambience is not bad with some musics and the playable tutorial level for dessert. Definitively not the kind of levels I like." - Jose

"You'd figure that almost 7 years after the editor was originally released, tutorial inspired adventures would long be a thing of the past by now. Well, this level easily proves that assumption wrong with being a tutorial inspired level released in 2007 (obviously). And there's really nothing wrong with that as long as quality levels are inspired by that setting, and this certainly has its quirks. There's still a plethora of beginner's mistakes like a wafer-thin walls, underutilized rooms, door bugs, etcetera, etcetera, but the looks are decent enough for a first-timer and the level's pace is fairly fast, so it's easy to overlook the less impressive parts in the long run. There's a whole bunch of vases in both levels, but until the beginning of the second level, I didn't bother to check them out diligently enough to find if they actually had any contents in the first part, but you can justify the moral issues of destroying thousands of years old vases as they have some goodies for Lara (always wondered who put them in there in the first place) in them. Strangely enough the second part will soon become a pretty close copy of the original tutorial level, so the familiar surroundings will make the pace even faster. I would've appreciated more camera work, as sometimes (though not for very long) the path got confusing, even to the point of the inclusion of a mini-maze, and while still at cameras - Lara could move freely during most of the fly-by's - what I suppose was just a little odd, and not an error as such. Overall - an interesting contribution by a new author, showing she obviously is on the right path, and now only has to practice more to improve with new adventures, that hopefully we will also get to enjoy!" - eTux

"The main aim (no pun intended) of this level appears to be shooting vases. Well, I don't know if it was necessary and I certainly didn't find anything in them until the second part of the level, but it's always fun isn't it? This is a traditional Tut1 style debut level and shows good knowledge of the level editor, but is occasionally a bit sparse on the gameplay side. The rooms are impressive and solidly built but frequently rather under-used. Still, it's clear that this builder has definite promise and as a first attempt it's very creditable and I really hope he/she(?) feels encouraged to carry on building and live up to that potential. A good beginning." - Jay

"For a first level this short set is good. And although it is made using the tut1.wad it is not a direct copy of the tutorial level. The rooms are well built and thought out but they are either just that little bit too bright or too dark. Sure, there are stretched/compressed textures and paper-thin walls but there are also spike traps and rolling balls to avoid, levers to find, doors to open and a good time to be had. The gameplay might be easy but who said easy is bad? The flybys are well done but there are no camera 'hints' to guide you, however the path you should take is usually quite obvious so it is not a huge problem. These levels prove Biggi has a good understanding of the level editor. I'm looking forward to what Biggi will build next." - Kitkat

"I don't know why the author has included the 2nd level , because with the exception of the first 3 minutes it is a replica of the tutorial level. On the opposite the first level is new , offering almost an hour of play. Nothing out of the ordinary , it is still the standard tutorial stuff with not many puzzles and the usual enemies , scarce at the beginning, then later on the ninjas shoot you in the back , oh the cowards ! The gameplay is easy , there is no camera work to guide you , but the path is always rather obvious. There are some drafts of good ideas at times, the red herring in the room with holes , the gameplay in the room with pink deadly water (the one just before the boulders room), and the jumps in the room where you find the 2nd part of the eye of Horus to complete your quest. The lighting could be better, it is sometimes too dark and too bright underwater with no light or shadows added (although it is decent in some rooms : the first room or the hedge maze where the author seems to have placed a sun bulb), and the flares bug appears near the end of the level at a bad moment, when you have to outsmart the boulders then progress in a dark and trapped corridor. I also notice that Lara is not immobilized when the flybys are running which seem to have been fixed in the 2nd level." - eRIC

"Alright, not really a level set that can be scored very highly, but it proves that it is the right thing to get started with the basics of level editing, as Biggi has done here and then evolve from there. These two levels both are built with the good old plain Tut1 WAD that we all know (and mostly hate by now) and provide fast paced gameplay, always on the move, never thinking to hard about the next step, as it is generally about finding the next lever to open the next door. In the first level (40 mins), all vases you shoot were empty, while in the second one (20 mins) most offer a goodie. The second level borrows very strongly from the original Tut1 Level though. Texturing overall is quite ok, but much more can be done with lighting which is either a bit on the dark side or too flat for the ambience. Bottomline, this demonstrates that Biggi has worked herself properly through the manual. Now, onwards and upwards to the next set of improved levels, please." - MichaelP