Level reviews

"(5) Gameplay & Puzzles: Unfortunately I didn't have fun with this level; while it's very easy in terms of platforming and trap evasion, it's exhausting to play. This is largely due to the labyrinth-like structure for the majority of the adventure, as well as some cheap gameplay in my opinion. Examples of cheap gameplay included the villa, where the crux of the villa's gameplay involved finding a lever hidden behind a plant; and the fact that the builder utilizes a sloped platforming room, with fiery floors and a water-based flipmap, which is exactly what she utilized in BTB2006 Asia. The room with the pipes that you have to sideflip over (at a very precise angle) was also very counter-intuitive. There were a couple of interesting moments (the multi-harp pushblock puzzle and the 3 boulders) but they were dwarfed by a poor gameplay flow. It's one of those levels that you can blaze through if you have the walkthrough, but will run around in circles for ages if you don't. (8) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: Enemy placement, and how packs of baddies would sometimes surprise me, was the strongest aspect of this level. It added a thrilling touch (killing a bunch of baddies with the glock was plenty of fun). Object decor didn't make sense at times and required further care; for example, gaudy sophisticated pillars in sewers, and outdoor plants, with no pot, placed on carpets. The secrets were done very well overall. (6) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: I would say about 60% of my game time was spent exploring very tight labyrinth-like quarters with lots of dead ends, which results in a not-so-enjoyable atmosphere. The atmosphere does improve once you finally reach the canal area, but even then the environment still looks quite boxy and uninspired. While music cues were used appropriately during tense moments or discoveries, I missed a background audio track when exploring indoors. Cameras are a mixed bag; sometimes hints are done well, other times camera hints are missing when necessary (for example, there was no camera after pulling the hidden lever behind the potted plant in the villa). The fixed camera during the sloped platforming sequence was just obnoxious. (7) Lighting & Textures: Textures are generally well-applied, although wallpapering is evident across the adventure. While the level was well-lit, the builder would sometimes use strange colored blobs of lighting which didn't make sense given the available light source. I also wasn't a fan of the builder's choice to brightly-colorize some static objects; it wasn't good for immersion. Overall, this wasn't a fun level to play due to it largely being set in labyrinth-like areas; it also has some rather cheap gameplay at times. 5/8/6/7." - nerdfury

"This was actually all right. It's not up there with the very best of the contest, but it's still nice to play. A few timed runs, puzzle items to find and nice atmosphere. Bit of a relaxing break really. Oh, and the explosion was nicely done." - Ryan

"I'm sorry to say this but this level became quite a chore to play very early on. Despite the rather promising start, with exotic claustrophobic inverse-U shaped rooms, it soon enough became quite a drag as you went on and on trying to figure out the next lever. The sewers area was particulary very annoying as all the areas looked far too much like each other and then, just for good measure, a number of timed runs to spice things up. I ended up playing to the finish line with the walkthrough, So, definitely, it didn't click with me. A few areas did look nice (such as the beginning and later on the villa), but in other parts it didn't even try to make sense - the window right in front of a wall, for instance, or even the room with the pipe valves (it felt wrong that the ceiling was low and the only way across was backflipping over them, but it felt even wronger when you have to run between the pipes to find the door out of sight. But, hey, you'll probably also have the walkthrough at hand when you get to this point as well, so probably no big deal). 60 minutes, 3 secrets. 02/14" - Treeble

"The boulder puzzle is unusual, I can't recall seeing such thing anywhere else so far. Also the double-pipe sewer room with the exit ascent is great, and the red object tinting is probably unique for this level. Even the sewer part, containing some lively lights, is somewhat pleasant. I cannot understand what the timed picture door puzzle was supposed to mean though, and the secrets are useless, however still fun to collect. There are several inconsistencies: we can get two wine bottles which might merge into each other in the inventory (but this doesn't cause any dead end, so one of them can be a souvenir Lara is able to take home on special conditions); and when we finally deal with countless mafia members armed with dogs and uzis standing on our way to the final TNT detonation, we realize one thing: why did we blow it all up if we were supposed to DEFUSE the thing and save the district from explosion?? SUMMARY: A quick level recommended mostly for shooter fans who can live with backtracking through sewers and enjoy the following relaxing part." - DJ Full

"After a longer break, I finally finished this level and I must say I enjoyed it pretty much, but that's probably due to the availability of a walkthrough, which I used quite often. The first rooms looked quite good in my opinion, and the placement of the demigod was great. Tinka succeeded in frightening me in at least two situations in this level only because of good enemy placement. The gameplay was mostly flowing very well, but there also were some very obscure parts, mostly too well hidden levers or different object usage. The latter one is quite nice regarding the idea, as there was a good pushable puzzle, but you needed to push on an uneven floor, which I never have seen before. Also, using the wine bottle as gasoline was new to me. The visuals were good the inside areas and the sewers, but the outside areas didn't appeal me because they seemed too blocky and too orange for me. There is some nice sound usage here, but there are also missing sounds (e.g. for the dying rats), and I missed more camera hints to know where to go next. All in all I spent nearly 50 minutes in this recommended level and found four very well hidden secrets." - manarch2

"This is a very unique game, I think I have never played something quite like it before. Maybe the storyline isn't so amusing, but no one is focusing on it these days. The game is actually rather simple. We have here all kinds of typical gameplay, although given in a specific way. This reminds me of the levels made at the beginning of the Level Editor building, back in 2001. The areas aren't so varied: although there are 2 villas, most of the time you spend in sewers. I had no bigger problems with passing through the game, though I didn't know what to do in the 'portrait' timed run. Author created one slightly tough timed run, but I did it by the fourth time, so it wasn't as difficult as it had seemed. To the builder's credit - gameplay is really well done and it's a pity that it isn't supported by similar quality of lighting and textures. The former is ok, although there aren't any specific shadowing techniques or something like that, the latter are quite often squished or stretched. You can notice a very inventive texturing at one point - the window in the building is transparent only from the inside, but not from the outside.

Enemies and ammo are equally placed, so you can take down nearly all of them with Glock 17. I don't quite understand why 2 wraiths appears when you enter the element puzzle room, but maybe it happened only in my case. 2 of 4 secrets were found by me - the other two are to be found in a moment when I run straight to the exit, so I had no way to find them ;-). It is difficult for me to rate the third category, because this level has something unique in it and I don't know exactly whether it's atmosphere or something else. There aren't many cameras in the level, but there are lots of audio tracks. I always like when there is much of different music in the game and here I enjoyed it too.

In the end, it's a very unique level. Everyone should give it a try, but be warned: It might not fit your imagination of a good level. Anyway, it's a kind of great level, but rather in a metaphorical sense of greatness." - jawi

"Tinka's levels usually have military-like, precise and brief objectives and this one's no different - find the Mafia HQ and blow it up. Fortunately for Lara they all but leave the match and igniter next to the stock of TNT, but before you get there, you'll have to cover a labyrinth-esque sewer and tunnel system, a house, a garden by the canals till you can enter the headquarters guns blazing. The tasks are mainly timed runs, though a simple jump sequence, a simple, but clever puzzle involving boulders and movable tables and lots of gunfights spice up the menu. The timed runs vary in how tough they are - one is fairly challenging, most pretty doable, but I found the one with 2 switches involved did not make sense intuitively, and I had to resolve to the walkthrough to see what I was doing wrong. Though enemies usually come in packs, if you managed to get hold of the Glock at the beginning of the level, none of them should really be an issue. I found the looks a bit odd already from the first rooms, and while it improves somewhat as you progress, I'm sorry to say it did not grow on me too much. Apart from the sometimes eccentric texture choices, I have to agree with Magnus, that essentially this doesn't feel very real - more like a string of rooms put together for the author's gameplay ideas to take place. One could argue that that's all any TR level out there really is, but the ability to transcend that and create an illusion of there being something more is what makes these games so addictive and fun to spend our time with. That said - in those places where this isn't confusing, it is indeed very fun to play, and worthwhile one's attention for the highlights it offers. Found 2 of the 4 secrets." - eTux

"I liked this Venice level. I suggest for everyone. Just a few time running, but not that hard as you think. Enemies are baddies, dogs, some bats, and rats, but ont he beginning of the level you can pick up the Glock17, so you can complete this adventure without medipacks. You can find a lot of ammo too. You have to collect to vines in this level, but you just need one. What about the second one? ? Well cheers! ? You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/trle/treditor/10/btb2010_19_cannaregio.htm" - Obig

"Found this one very difficult. The lighting is sublime and the overall level structure is great. Unfortunately you get hammered by very fast shot enemies and have little in the way of medi-packs on offer. I also didn't find anything other than pistols throughout the whole level which made it pretty hard going given the lack of medi-packs. That said, this is probably the best textured of the Back to Basic Venice levels I've played so far, and the great colourful lighting reminds you just how good a 10+ year old game engine can look with the right time, attention and talent. The only other thing was that my progress was plagued by game crashes. At one point the game looked impassable as it crashed each time I tried to collect a bag of sand. Having experienced no other crashes with other back to basics levels I'm not sure why this happened. The ending is left quite open ended, so hopefully the author will contine this level. Completed in 1 hour 51 minutes" - TheStig

"Not bad this level, but the first part was annoying 'cause there's a a lot of backtracking and sometimes it's not very clear the way to proceed. there's a very difficult timed run/swind in the underground area too. The second part when you enter into the villa is better, at least you don't need to visit the same places many times. I liked the enemies and enough ammo for the glock, but I missed some more cameras when triggering something. The best for me were the well applied textures." - Jose

"I was positively suprised that Tinka submitted a level for this year's competition and I think it is definitely her best effort yet, with a rather fast paced and entertaining gameplay overall and some original ideas built in, like the transparent floor effect, the use of the demigod at the start when most other builders have placed it near the end, a small push puzzle, a puzzle involving switches and raising blocks, timed sequences and the cool blow up of the HQ near the end. The entire sewer area was quite engaging with all the tasks to do and the going back and forth between the rooms until you had everything figured out. On the downside, it was on occasion a bit too enemy-heavy for me, even though an ample amount of medipacks is provided, and the underwater maze to get the crowbar seemed a bit unnecessary, but that is also a matter of taste. Very solid and enjoyable level to play! (50 mins, 4 secrets)." - MichaelP

"Would a rose by the name 'sewer access key' smell as sweet as a regular rose? Just something to think about. This is another average Back to Basics level, most likely made by someone who doesn't have too much experience with the Level Editor. The gameplay is mostly straightforward, but it's never particularly interesting and relies too heavily on having you run back and forth pushing buttons (some of which are timed, so pay attention!). The story sees Lara infiltrate a mafia headquarters, and maybe that's the reason there are so many enemies in this level. You'll often face three or more, many of which are mafiosos - easily the cheapest enemies in this year's Back to Basics wad. Make sure you pick up the Glock 17 right at the start, because you'll likely not make it through the level without it. The level's overreliance on throwing groups of enemies at you is frustrating, but so is its architecture. Most of the level takes place in buildings or underground, and it never feels like you're in a real place. Instead, you're running through corridor after maze-like corridor, and I lost count of how many times I had to turn around because I ran into a dead end. This might sound like a minor complaint, but it really hurt the level's flow. The lighting and texturing are both decent for (what I assume is) a first effort, though there are a lot of cracks and quite a few stretched textures. Overall, this is an okay forty-minute level that, despite its flaws, shows promise. For the author's next level, I'd suggest working on making it flow better and lowering the enemy count, as well as making sure the player feels like he or she is in a real place, rather than a series of labyrinthine corridors." - Magnus

"From a comparative viewpoint - obviously - I don't think I can say I enjoyed this level much. The gameplay is rather confusing at times and with a few bugs (namely with switches that don't seem to work properly). The settings are mostly dull and most of the game happens in sewers. The timed runs - which I happen to generally like - can be a little too tight; I happened to manage one of them by passing across a now closed trapdoor like a ghost. They can also be confusing (is the wallswitch a timed run at all? What's the deal with the two switches before getting the first - why two? - bottle when, for some strange reason, the door seems to open only when you use the closest one?). I believe this has to be the work of a new builder. In that sense, it's not that bad and I'm sure it can get better. But you can't compare it with with the overall quality of this years BtB's levels." - Jorge22

"Even though I thought there were not enough camera hints, I enjoyed the sewer 'maze'. Timed runs were challenging, especially the two lever run without any hints. I initially stopped at one timed run and I'm glad I went back to finish it. Interesting table/boulder task, unique, I think, to this series. Also unique was the whatever-it-was hidden in an object at the very beginning. Surprising and clever. Very atmospheric, good lighting and textures. Lots of enemies, placed well. Recommended." - Bene

"I was in dire need of something bright and sunny to play, and judging by the pictures on the levelinfo page, Cannaregio was just such a level. Sadly, the pictures are a bit misleading, as they are from the second half of the level, whereas the first half is set in the sewers (sigh!). The only positive point about that is that at least the sewers aren't dark.
Gameplay is on the simplistic side, especially in the sewers: apart from one timed run/swim, there's mostly just a lot of running around in nearly identical labyrinthine tunnels, pulling switches that open up doors to other switches, and so on. The slope jumping challenge could have been enjoyable, had it not been for the fixed camera angle. But gameplay improves on getting out into the open, for example, some of the tasks in the mafia headquarters like pushing mirror-tables out of the way in order to get boulders to roll down a slope, or blowing up the headquarters at the end.
There are plenty of mafia thugs around (well, it's their headquarters, what did I expect?), but since the builder very generously provides the Glock right at the beginning as well as plenty of ammo for it along the way, the enemies are never much of a problem. Objects are a little strangely used (a tree growing out of a carpet) and often strangely coloured (bright red furniture). I am also slightly puzzled by the secret items - why does Lara need to collect 4 compasses, when she already has a similar one? Maybe they are collector's items. ;) I could have used a few more camera hints, especially in case of the second timed run in the sewers and the one in the villa, where it isn't clear what the switches are supposed to be opening. Atmosphere, lighting and textures are quite good, if not spectacular.
Overall: Not a bad level, though a little on the simple side. Quite likely it's a debut level, in which case, it's a very good start." - Mytly

"Level with nice challenges like a couple of tight timed runs, a kind of Labyrinth with many doors to explore and finally the headquarters where the enemies had to be slain. The Crowbar was a bit hard to find... Good level, liked it..." - Dutchy

"At this level Lara have to use all of her skills. It needs a lot of diving, jumping and climbing to solve timeruns and traps, eliminate opponents and collect numerous items. Variety is thus ensured. Unfortunately there is a lack of exciting and demanding puzzles. The game process is disturbed sometimes, because camera instructions are missing or appear delayed. There have been a lot of enemies and usually in packs of three. For my taste too much." - repley

"A long heavy level with to parts: the sewers and the villa. The sewers has too much similar rooms, allocated on the 3 floors - it is a labyrinth with to little hints and helps, with to much timeruns and a lot of disorientation for the player. Too much enemies with too little munition - it is not possible to survive. The villa is grand and undecorated. Again timeruns, again enemies. It was boring. Negativ: too much enemies and timeruns. Cracks. Too long and heavy gameplay Positiv: This level was a challenge for me" - masha

"Another nicely built adventure here in Venice. A sneaky little thief must have stolen one of my wine bottles for I am almost sure there were two of them ! I enjoyed playing it . Well worth a try ." - Ruben

"Miss Croft receives the order to destroy the headquarter of the mafia in Venice. As if she has nothing else to do. The town fathers must have offered her a big sum, because voluntarily nobody tangles with such bad lot. But the inclined player plays voluntarily such good level. The level builder has really managed the atmosphere. One can see here several nicely built places. Above all I have liked the headquarter. Less well were the missing camera hints. There were many switches and levers, but one seldom knew which door was opened. So one had very often to go on the search. This was sometimes quite irritating. And why must several opponents shoot always at the same time at Lara? Though one could find enough Medipacks and ammunition for the revolver, but the level builer could have left out a few opponents. Actually, Cannaregio is a good level, but because of many opponents and the missing camera hints the play fun has suffered badly." - Scottie

"Cannaregio is a large district in Venice, the Mafia are about to blow it up and Lara must stop them. This level involves travelling through six areas; all of which are fun and interesting. Enemies are, a witch, Mafia, hounds, rats and a couple of fire-wraiths. You'll begin in a three roomed area, tackle a floating witch, move some harps and open the way to the stacked maze. Well. it's sort of a maze but it's not a dull "let's-get-lost" run-around. You can get the fist secret here by means of finding two sneaky switches. You also need to find a key here to access the sewers. Once inside the sewers, you'll meet the first of many Mafia, and you will be searching for a wire, code card and a key to the Villa. There's a nifty timed run to do and another sneaky secret switch to find. I liked this area a lot, it had a nice atmosphere and the various side rooms were fun; especially the slope room. Eventually you will enter the Villa. This was a small area with a timed run for the front door key; which will give you access to the garden areas. The garden was lovely with it's plants, trees and small boating lake. You'll gather the final secret from here at the end of the level, but first you need to locate the headquarters' key and tackle the mob within. Once inside the headquarters, you'll be searching for the two mask pieces, a bag of soil and waterskin. These you will use on two element scales and then finally you can nip off to destroy the headquarters; not before grabbing the 3rd secret though. Ok, so you're good to go and can now go get the final secret from the garden and head off home. I liked this level a lot. It was free and easy and nothing was too taxing. The rooms were nice throughout but a few textures were out of place. Lighting was perfect for me, and enemies were just enough without being coming tedious. All in all, a very nice level and a perfect raid for me :-)" - Moonpooka

"This level shows a clear increase in the builder skills throughout. I found the first half of the level kind of drab; you spend most of it in maze-like corridors in a sewer, which is about as exciting as it sounds (some timed runs did add interest, although they might be a bit much for some players). When you reach the outside areas and streets the level becomes a lot more interesting (including a very satisfying conclusion). It's definitely one of the more challenging levels so far, with the timed runs and several sneakily hidden switches combined with the maze-like areas. It could have done with a few more cameras though.
I found the design of the earlier parts a bit dull, and it didn't really sell me on the sewer atmosphere, but it did pick up a lot later, although it's still quite simple visually, including some issues like badly lit static objects. This definitely seems to be a beginner level but the later parts show a lot of potential for the future." - Mman

"I'm not sure how this level gets its name. To me it looks like something you'd order in an Italian restaurant. Never having attempted to build a level, I'm also not sure how much work it is to craft beautiful surroundings with textures that have already been provided by someone else. In any event, intentionally or otherwise, this builder has given a lower priority to ambiance while concentrating on the puzzles and the timed runs. That doesn't mean it's a bad level, however, or even a level that's not terrific fun to play. I enjoyed fighting my way around that potted lemon tree and then dashing upstairs before the timed painting swung shut, even though it took me a number of tries before I finally made it. And I'd never before seen a boulder puzzle where you trigger the boulders by getting a pushpiece out of the way. Even with Moonpooka's typically thorough walkthrough it required about 75 minutes to complete the level, and it was an engaging raid each step of the way. Not a top tier finisher, I'll wager, but recommended nonetheless." - Phil

"This is mostly a journey through the sewer areas of a town for just about an hour. Unfortunately this means that while the level looks solidly built, it is not as impressionable as the other entries I have played so far, simply because it is mostly one dark chamber after another. The outdoor area was a pleasant touch, however. The timed runs are the highlight of the level, but that is much of the gameplay given here - yes, there are other puzzles too, but they are rather simple. It would have also helped to have more camera cues to know what certain switches did, and to avoid potential bugs by giving Lara the right pull switch animation - or, in this case, do the authors have no control over such things? Either way it is a nice level but, compared to other entries, is simply average." - SSJ6Wolf

"I get the feeling that this level is from one of our less experienced builders; not that it hasn't been very competently built, just that it seems a little bland in some areas. Having said that however, if this is the work of a relative newbie then it really is a very decent offering. The gameplay is quite inventive in places (and occasionally just a little frustrating). The timed runs are enjoyable and the use of a fixed camera angle did a lot to spice up the slide and bounce sequence in the fire tile room (and looked pretty cool at the same time). Excellent use of the bottle of wine and torch too. The copious enemies are easily dealt with by a generous supply of Glock ammo and medipacks, so no real problem there. OK, not a contender for winner of the competition, but well worth playing all the same." - Jay

"Playing through Cannaregio I did notice, as I further progressed, that this seems to be the work of a relative beginner practicing some more sophisticated tricks of the editor, and while it has its flaws, it does result in a fun, competent adventure. Much of the gameplay has you searching for rooms with switches, objects to collect, solving a few puzzles as well as braving a few very close timed runs, but overall it works out enjoyably. The environments are a little strange at the beginning and become a bit boxy in the middle of the level, but steadily the aesthetics improve with more interesting architecture, and nicer lighting and texturing jobs. There are also a few interesting ideas in my opinion, like a timed run's possibility being dependent on the order of switches, or moving away objects that prevent boulders from rolling down. More interesting was that these said objects could have been pushed/pulled on a sloped surface. I also thought that the transparent checkered floors made for an interesting visual trick. On the downside, Cannaregio can be confusing. There aren't too many cameras to guide the player along, a few are delayed and can be missed, and it's not always obvious which way to take to progress. However, the author does have a firm grasp of the editor and it did show in the latter parts of the level. If he/she keeps it up and works on correcting the flaws, the builder's future work can be stuff of excellence. Great effort, and worth a playthrough." - Relic Hunter

"I can't help it, I like Venice levels! Even the initial glitch I experienced - where the game just ceased to play after the first couple of rooms - didn't put me off. I put this game aside and went and played another level then came back to it. The problem was fixed by replacing the title.tr4 file with the original level editor one, and after that all was plain sailing. This was a well built level with and though there weren't a lot of traps - mostly ambushes, the ones there were came as a bit of a surprise. I did find the timed runs extremely tight, and probably had about 50 attempts at each one before I completed them (That makes 30-40 attempts too many, in my humble opinion!) But having said that, I did not experience the level of frustration I have with other levels when I have been in the same situation, otherwise I would have marked the gameplay lower. I enjoyed the way the builder used the items and textures, and the overall atmosphere was enjoyable. I did get a bit lost towards the end, probably more because of fragmented playing thus forgetting what I had still to do when I came back to the game. I missed one secret, but found the other three quite easily. Though there could have been more information provided in the way of cut scenes, I thought the player was guided through the game well and although some things could be easily overlooked, backtracking was not a problem. Overall an enjoyable level." - sharnilal

"This Venice level is a bit bizarre. At the start the setting which did not seemed quite convincing , and the phantom that hid itself in an object , and thus was hard to kill , did not augured too well of this adventure. But it soon became better once the water sewers are reached. The rest of the level was a mix of good ideas and some a bit less good. Some of the objects are used cleverly and with inventiveness , such as the couple of pipes we have to jump laterally, or the tables we have to push to let the balls rolling ; some other use of objects is odd , like a puzzle_hole which has no purpose, or the fact that the Wine is found twice. The timing of the few timed doors is just fine , the timed door where two switches are to be pulled is very well set up technically wise, but is unfair to the player. More cameras would have been welcome to know what does what ; too many enemies for my taste and I had to use techniques or reload the sequences so to not loose too much health in combat. Overall a solid level but with some odd choices. [ 1 h 26 - 3 / 4 secrets ]" - eRIC

"Although technically well-accomplished,this was a thoroughly confusing level to play.You very rarely had any camera clues to point you in the right direction (and there were many different directions to go!),and you even experienced that highly irritating 'camera view of somewhere you haven't even been to yet' phenomena. The gameplay refused to flow smoothly: one puzzle receptacle appeared to be used simply as a Prop,whereas the others were essential for progression;a timed door sequence involving the apparent use of two switches was rather unfair and un-hinted at;there was way too much back-and-forth in a labyrinthine sewer.I never even had the impression that Lara had any sort of objective,as she left empty handed. Nonetheless,the environments looked pleasing enough (although most of the adventure took place within assorted corridors);the textures were well applied;lighting helped create much needed atmosphere;secrets were placed with ingenuity;sounds were used effectively and enemies were well placed and helped spice the adventure up considerably.The whole level kept me occupied for an afternoon,but was a little too irritating in places to be completely enjoyable.A solid effort,nonetheless." - Orbit Dream

"This may be by a relative beginner, but it isn't bad. It isn't a walk in the park, either. Puzzles are always about five times harder than the creator thinks they are, so players do need guidance. I could have used some gentle hints, such as camera shots for what a few switches and buttons did. The timed runs were shaved rather close: Lara just got to a trapdoor as it closed. I used the trick of having Lara jump from a height, and throw away a lit flare just before she hit the ground. She lands ready to run, instead of going into her crouch and recovery routine, which wastes a vital second. The extra second was all that was needed. Then Lara did another timed run over and over again, before I figured out that there were *two* switches, that Lara had to do them in correct order before dashing through the open door. And behind a potted plant there is a nasty wall lever--timed, of course--and Lara can't backflip away from it because of the plant. There is a nice setup with Lara pushing tables aside, to unblock boulders that then roll down a ramp. Usually enemies show up in two or threes, sometimes including a dog. I felt the level spent too much time in confusing underground passages, though near the end when Lara finally reaches outdoor scenery it is the least convincing part of the level. The element puzzle has an explosive difference. (For some reason I thought that Lara picked up two bottles of wine, but only used one.) The ending part needed work on the architecture, but overall this is quite playable, if sometimes a little frustrating. Important Note: when I started to play this, the level crashed several times. I substituted the original TR4 title.tr4 for the title that was included in the Venice package, and never again had a crash. If you have problems, try that simple solution." - dmdibl

"I was nicely surprised by this level, being the first I have played of the BtB2010 set. As I had been one of the 'many' builders that pulled out of the competition halfway through, I am fully aware of the objects available to use and the textures that are supplied. I view that the builder used these quite well, however, there are quite a lot of squished and stretched textures in the level. I found it clever that the builder was able to base their story around the textures in the wad, so that the TNT textures could be used and easy blocks could be made. Some of the objects appeared to have been placed randomly into the level as well, as some objects did not fit into the surroundings, (I dont tend to have a tree in my bedroom for example). If you overlook these things, the level is quite enjoyable and well thought-out. I got stuck a few times during the level and, unfortunately, there were no stuck threads to help me on my way, so I ended up running around for about 20 minutes. The answer was generally a well hidden lever or something that was quite obvious. I would have prefered a few more camera hints and the second timed run seemed to be very sneaky (too sneaky). The lighting was quite nice, however, there may have been a few too many light bulbs in corners and unexpected places, making it less real. Enemies were numerous and annoying, though you never ran out of ammo, as they often confronted you in closed spaces where you cant avoid their bullets, but I never ran out of medipacks. Overall, I found this level got better as I progressed but there still seemed to be more areas to explore. This seems to be a first-time builder, and if so, it is a very good attempt at a level. 1 hour, 3 secrets." - Cory