Level reviews

"The single offering from this author (who sadly went on to recant it later) isn't bad at all. I mean, there definitely are signs of a debut level, such as wafer thin walls and floors, one too many levers to push — one single underwater room might hold the world record for underwater levers —, one instance of pitch block fog used on a single spot to conceal a jumpswitch for no good reason other than just because, and several 'gotcha' moments that made this last much longer than it should. As the life of a working adult is nothing short of awful, I had to split this over two week nights, but still I enjoyed it for what it is, there are some nice trap setups here and there and the use of soundtracks from the first two movies made me realize it's been a minute since I've last watched them. If only time wasn't always against us. 85 minutes, 3 secrets. 11/24" - Treeble

"Nice one. Not so polished but feels good and gets better the further you go. Too many times you can get to a place without a way out so keep it in mind. Also watch out in the underwater switches puzzle, as it's easy to lose track of which ones you pulled already. Quite recommended." - DJ Full

"This is certainly an ambitious debut game and for the most part, it is certainly an enjoyable experience, although a few annoyances and moments of frustration crept up on me throughout. The first level is by far the most complicated with plenty of jumps, trap sequences (possibly too precise, a flipmap and a horribly complex underwater lever puzzle which was buggy and slightly overstretched itself (even with the excellent walkthrough, I had a hard time opening the second exit door and I had to reload quite a few times before it worked correctly), but mainly it's quite enjoyable. The remaining three levels are much more compact and easier to follow with the highlights being the tedious but well thought out pushable pillar exercise in the second level and the quads bike finale, which adds a bit more spice to the whole thing. Mainly it's quite attractive to look at and is well made, although some sections seem a bit bland in comparison. Try it out, as It's actually enjoyable when you get into the swing of things." - Ryan

"I decided to review this game for two reasons: the first one is to motivate the builder to continue making levels (which he obviously ceased to do), and the second is to point out where the builder did well, and where he should improve in the future. It is obvious that this builder has a great potential for level building, and that he knows how to play with traps, maybe best I have ever seen so far. He likes traps a lot, and he knows how to use them to make an unforgettable adventure for our Lara. He is also extremely good in setting the switches, triggers, keys and doors, and also with cameras and flybys, which are perfectly used here to give you the hints you need. The gameplay is very good, fluent and interesting, with unexpected turns and events, and although being quite hard at moments, it isn't very likely that you will get stuck somewhere. Yes, you will drown several times before you find the way through the maze in the second level, or when you run away from many boulders, or when you try to trap the demigod inside the room with many spikes and blades, and so on, but you will definitely not be bored, not once in the whole game. However, there are some downsides, and the builder should pay more attention to them in his next levels. First of all, he should experiment more with the lighting, and use lighting to create more reliable atmosphere. Also, he should never release a game that lacks a few textures here and there. When building mirror rooms, he should place the entrance closer to the mirror and make both rooms a bit darker, so that we can see something in it. What I particularly disliked while playing, were the scarce supplies of medipacks throughout the game. I was stuck for days in the room with mirror and two gladiators, because I had no spare medipacks, and only 10 percent of energy. Eventually I had to start the game from the scratch in order to get to that room with at least one spare medipack. When Lara must lose health in a drop or something, then the builder should give the players enough supplies for enemies. The game is highly recommendable for skilled players, because it is a bit too hard at moments, and immensely interesting and dynamic. I would really like to see more from this author in the future." - Nina Croft

"Still not sure about this mini-game. It is quite an ambitious debut level and for me it didn't pan out as much as it could. Not talking about the paperthin walls, or textures that could use attention or the ones that were even missing, this has to do with gameplay. I got to the finishing trigger but it still doesn't make sense to me about the"what and how". I had to play in small doses, no problem, because there are many nasty traps. There are also pretty annoying moments as a level one had to pull twice in the third level, yeah right, that was pretty obvious... NOT. The labyrinth, don't get me even started. Overall the ideas are very good, but not so good executed, I'm sorry to say." - Gerty

"I'm dumbfounded by the low average rating to date of this four-part release. Granted, it's not easy to navigate. The first level concludes with as complicated an underwater switch-pulling puzzle as I've ever encountered. Even with Jose's typically clear and concise walkthrough close at hand, I could never have made it through had I not rendered myself impervious to drowning. The second level had a different kind of tedium, an extended piece-pushing puzzle that had me yawning near the end. The concluding two levels, however, were shorter and more to the point, and in all I gleaned more than two hours of gameplay in well-constructed and varied settings. There are traps galore, too, mainly spikes and spikeballs and blades of various sizes and shapes. It's all good stuff, so don't let the low scores put you off. Recommended." - Phil

"It seems that this author loves the spikes. We can qualify this adventure as the "spikes game" 'cause they are present in many rooms in all levels. There are thousands of spike balls too. Interesting levels with some good ideas but not a well finished touch. I can't understand why all those paper walls and ilegal slopes. There were some features I didn't like too as the absence of camera shots in many places when you trigger something or switches which trigger things very far from the places. Another times there's no way to return to the places so you can try again the tasks and you have to reload. There are few enemies, you don't need to use your guns often, and many of them are big bosses; few secrets to find too. I liked the many flares I disposed for the dark areas and some clever traps, but there are few puzzles. At least the time for the timed runs is not too short. If you like traps, this is your level." - Jose

"This can only be described as an 'o.k' level. I think the levels were designed well and mostly all of them were set out in a good way without any problems such as paper walls. I think the textures were very interesting at times but they were still ok. The camera was sometimes a bit strange as it seemed to occasionally fix itself and you could watch lara run away; either this was my computer which i doubt or it is a serious bug. I thought the gameplay was fairly inattentive at times and it was a bit repetitive since the builder has a love of giant spikeballs. A good level with some displeasures. Overall - 7.25/10" - herothing

"In type "promenade in Hell" this game is very successful. I recommend it in everything those who wish pricked a crisis of nerve fast. Gouts, worries is needed for everything am that for me too much hushed up difficulty the pleasure of playing and I left before the end of the 4eme level. Question decoration, I will say that it is not too wrong for a starting creator (He says it in his "Lisez_moi.txt). Some more delicacy in textures and progress is missing remain to draw up in terms of lighting. In short the author should be able to make better." - Daffy

"It is not often that I disagree largely with the other reviewers but as the third one to comment on this debut level set, I have to say that I have apparently enjoyed this much more than they did.
La grotte cachee (8/7/7/6, 40 min): From the word go you need to be on your toes. Nice opening to the level there. And more creative ideas follow: a high room to consecutively fill with water, a series of underwater levers (a bit too tedious), a slide into a lava room and fights with zombies and more. Indeed the texturing and lighting is not the best and there are several thin walls and floors that could have been avoided. And invisble ledges are always a minus in my book, but aside from that, this part has a nice and fluent pace.
Le Chambre de Secrets (8/8/8/7, 30 min): I really liked the idea with the boulders that you need to be quick against and the wraiths are always good for some adrenalin rush. You get to lock up a hammergod, so you can fully enjoy the extensive puzzle which includes five pushable objects (again a little too tedious, but well thought out) and there are a few tough spike/blade traps to navigate.
Le Temple des Dieux (8/7/7/6, 20 min): Some more traps here and mostly a rather (too) dark ambience. You actually get outside into a jungle like setting and meet some raptors and T-Rex. The spikewalls room is fun, but easy to get irreversably stuck in, so keep good savegames. The placement of the sun goddess looks great, as does the scion.
Le Labyrinthe de l'ile perdue (7/7/7/8, 20 min, 1 secret): A maze is never really welcome, but this one turns out small enough and is not particularly annoying. Plus it adds quite a bit of action on the 'outskirts', including collapsible tiles, boulders, crocs and eventually you slide down a nice set of waterfalls and get to run over a bunch of soldiers with a quad bike and the level set ends.
As said, I enjoyed the flow and the action throughout the adventure, even if some elements drag out a bit and I did not mind some of the smaller technical glitches, as they did not get in the way of the fluent gameplay. So have a look for youself..." - MichaelP

"For a first adventure with the editor , this is somewhat ambitious, with some obvious technical achievements such as flipmaps , mirror room , invisible ledges which are visible with the binoculars , sinks , interesting use of cameras at times and of many different objects. It could have been easily improved by correcting some issues such as many thin walls and floors, and some gameplay mistakes as well. A set of levels of 2 hours with enjoyable parts and others which are more irritating. This is a bit challenging sometimes ; bright up your screen (it's rather dark) if you are in that mood. LA GROTTE CACHEE : This first level is a rather classic raid in caves and catacombs , there is also a few rooms with a wild range of textures. What you have to do here is always rather obvious , there is some traps but nothing too difficult , and some good puzzles, in the goal of retrieving the two parts of the golden Eye. One of them includes a series of water flipmaps , an underwater maze not too big, and a puzzle that consist of pulling many underwater levers, which require systematic method and memory from the player. On the whole this is an enjoyable level with only middle difficulty , that should have benefited of a better lighting , for Lara mostly does not appear in 3D. There is good ideas here already , and the enemies are well used. LA CHAMBRE DES SECRETS : The second level starts gently with the retrieving of the crowbar and I quite like after that the run up of the ramps in time to reach the main area of the level. Well sadly I did not enjoyed much of the rest which is a bit sadistic at times , the main idea of the level is good, but the hammerguy was a pain before you can lock him up. There is too much darkness in the area with the rope, and the mirror room although technically well made, was not well used gameplay wise , as when you enter here you are too far from the mirror to see something in it. The entrance should have been nearer from the mirror. The looks are greatly spoiled by all the thin walls here. LE TEMPLE DES DIEUX : This 3rd level was more enjoyable for me , as if there is many challenges and traps of every kind with spikes , blades , ploughs , trapdoors , moving spiked walls , they were enjoyable. Also the setting and texturing are more coherent with a classic South America theme with raptors and T-Rex. It is a pity that there is the possibility to be stuck for good. The door after the trapdoors/plough challenge should not be timed as apparently it can't be opened again (the challenge with trapdoors is quite sufficient in itself by the way) , also in the T-Rex area , the way to open the doors of the temple is really weird as we can be stuck for good there too (the trapdoor closes and if the UW lever has not been pulled twice you have to reload a savegame if the trapdoor closes). Nevertheless a level that I liked , the ending part with the sun goddess artefact is well designed and with a great flyby. LE LABYRINTHE DE L'ILE PERDUE : After grabbing the Iris in the previous level, this one is all about the escape , you firstly have to negotiate a labyrinth in an outside area , not bad really , to find two artefacts, and that includes a few more challenges with collapsible tiles , pendulum blades , rolling balls and more blades. That was rather fun. Then a series of caves with very good use of sinks before meeting some soldiers and use a custom verhicle to end the level. I like the design in this ending part of the level although there is still some irritating things such as a pit where Lara can go down safely but is unable to return." - eRIC

"La Grotte Cachee: Boy does this builder like his boulders. Get ready to run. Also, prepare to become waterlogged as there is a lot of swimming to do with a rather clever room flooding sequence, involving lots of 'hands' and a truly bewildering array of underwater levers. Le Chambre de Secrets: Some tricky traps to negotiate in this section, involving, yes, more boulders and also spikes and blades. There are some tough enemies too and a rather nice 3D push puzzle. Le Temple des Dieux: And you may well be calling upon some gods when you see the traps you need to pass in this part. It's not a long section, but it certainly is eventful. At least you get a shotgun before facing the T'Rexes (if you missed one earlier). Le Labyrinthe de l'isle perdue: Not exactly a title to imbue one with confidence, but as mazes go this one isn't too dreadful and at the end you get a quad bike to escape on, running over quite a few guards on the way. It's an oddly bi-polar sort of a level, this one. Mainly, it looks really good, with attractive textures and lighting, and then you spot the occasional wafer thin wall. Similarly, whilst there is much to enjoy in the way of gameplay, there are also some frankly rather tedious moments and at times I found myself getting a bit frustrated. Definitely above par for a debut level though." - Jay

"I would have dearly loved to have awarded this 4-level adventure a 10 for gameplay as it was continously inventive and surprising,with some truly innovative moments which (even after having played over a thousand custom levels) very positively surprised me.Unfortunately, there are just a few too many small irritations:moments where multiple saves are required in order to avoid irreversable stuck situations,or trap placement which occasionally verges on the 'too sadistic'.Atmosphere is generally highly effective but occasionally spoilt by some easily resolved construction issues (wafer-thin walls,sticky slopes,etc),while the texturing intermittantly falters (massively stretched textures in many places). The imaginative use of lighting compensates on many occasions,though;and the variety of enemies,coupled with creative use of objects is spectacular. In many ways,this level is one of the best debuts I've ever seen.It was released without any splashy 'look what I've built!' fanfares,and surpasses many a higher-rated level as far as gameplay is concerned; but,alas,its occasional shortcomings will probably mean that it will never achieve the full recognition that it genuinely deserves." - Orbit Dream

"The first level is a classical Caves/Catacomben level, with many Spikeballs, an underwater labyrinth, a space room differently high water levels, many levers, invisible blocks and deadly water. Lara must find both parts of the eye of the Horus to open the door to the next level. The second part plays in a building. Namely in a multi-storied room with a few next rooms. Lara must push here columns, lock up a hammer man and find three balls. These open the floor trap to the next level. The third part should be called temple of the traps and obstacles and not temple of the gods. Here there is Spikeballs, clap plates time run, ground traps, knife traps, two small dinos and two big dinos. Aim is to find both parts of the sun statue and to gather afterwards the irises. In the fourth part Lara must find two long crystals in a maze. And also here there are many traps again. Then it passes through caves and waterfalls. Finally, Lara finds a Quadbike in a small soldier's base and drives after about two hours at the level end I would gladly write, that the level makes really fun. I would this really gladly. Since, actually, the level is built very well. And, actually, the textures look really good. But now comes the big BUT: There are paper-thin walls. The sound is sometimes absent. The camera work is more than once miserable. Many knife traps, Spikeballs, other traps and labyrinths are partly completely exaggerated. How should any form of flow of play and play fun arise there if one must reload so often? And what do have to do the mazes? And it gives annoying graphics problems. It can happen, that Laras plait goes through the whole picture. It would have really been better if the author had built only two or three levels and had put then a little bit reasonable on the legs. Result: The level looks good, but the play fun is deep in the cellar" - Scottie